What power level and why?

[BumblingBear]

Sooo....

I'm thinking about running a game.

It looks like I have a handfull of potential players, so that is not an issue.

If I do end up starting the game, I have to decide what power level to start at.

I'm curious - where did all of you start your games at and more importantly, why?

I have thought about the issue over the last day, and I can see it from both sides from both a gm and a player perspective.

What do you all think?

[Mal_Luck]

The two popular choices on the Play by Post board tend to be Chest Deep or Submerged. Both are fairly easy to build for, I know that I sometimes have difficulty trying to build for anything less than 30 skills points.

But I think the main reason behind that... is that we don't want to play weaker characters.

[Ezra]

I had a group of players who hadn't read past about Fool Moon. I decided on starting at Feet in the Water, then running an accelerated advancement curve. This would let most of the group start as Pure Mortals or Minor Talents, then grow into the supernatural abilities that interested them as they explored the setting.

[MijRai]

I suggest Chest Deep, since it gives enough to play any book template, but is still flexible. You can have a Superb skill peak, or a broad lower base. It is where the characters really become somebody in the world. Harry was Submerged in Storm Front, so it seems to me that as a newly made wizard just starting into the PI business by working for Nick Angel, he'd have been Chest Deep.

[BumblingBear]

I think that if I allow everyone to choose characters, Chest deep does sound like a pretty good starting place.  That's the first "level" that a character can really lay the smack down... down by themselves imo.  I started as chest deep in the game I played.  I think that's a good place to have a full idealized character with a lot of room to grow.

If the players want to start as themselves, I'll probably scale it back and just advance quickly.

I really like the idea of advancing in milestones more quickly the lower level the players are and then eventually slowing it down more and more the higher level they get.  This seems the most organic way to deal with milestones in lieu of an experience system.  Obviously the story would have to match, but I don't think that would be too difficult.

Thanks all - you helped a lot.

[deathwombat]

Mine started at submerged cause I wanted to play a wizard,but chest deep would have worked since I wanted to play a wizard
Wizard

[Moriden]

Submerged or higher, because that is the power level displayed by the main charecters in the novels.

[Sanctaphrax]

I guess it depends on what you're after.

GMing high-powered games can be fun because you really don't have to hold back when giving the players challenges. You can have a lone player ambushed by a Denarian, for example.

But I'd rather play in a low-refresh game because I like small-scale conflicts more than epic ones.

So I don't have a definite answer for you. Sorry.

[BumblingBear]

Submerged or higher, because that is the power level displayed by the main charecters in the novels.

This is how I personally feel as well.

I guess it depends on what you're after.

GMing high-powered games can be fun because you really don't have to hold back when giving the players challenges. You can have a lone player ambushed by a Denarian, for example.

But I'd rather play in a low-refresh game because I like small-scale conflicts more than epic ones.

So I don't have a definite answer for you. Sorry.

But this is how a lot of other players feel.

I guess the only way to know for sure what I am going to do is after a discussion with those involved.

[fantazero]

best of luck.
My suggestions
Bring Food
Bathroom Breaks.

[Haru]

I think it depends on you and your group and how well all of you know the world. If I were to start a group with players that did not read the novels, I would give them a very short overview and start them at feet in the water. As they experience the world, they are going to get stronger, of course. A single rcv is going to be a whole lot of trouble for a group like that, but it is also a lot of fun, I think.

If, on the other hand, all of you know the world you can easily start higher, as other folks suggested.

[BumblingBear]

best of luck.
My suggestions
Bring Food
Bathroom Breaks.

Good advice, but nothing is in the bag yet.  I'm kind of waiting to see if the players want to play bad enough to actually start organizing.  If not, I am not going to waste my time starting a story yet.

If they DO make it happen, I'm actually pretty excited to run an idea I had for a campaign - one that involves black court vamps... and politicians.

I think it depends on you and your group and how well all of you know the world. If I were to start a group with players that did not read the novels, I would give them a very short overview and start them at feet in the water. As they experience the world, they are going to get stronger, of course. A single rcv is going to be a whole lot of trouble for a group like that, but it is also a lot of fun, I think.

If, on the other hand, all of you know the world you can easily start higher, as other folks suggested.

This is excellent advice.

On the other hand, I think that lower level players actually have to make more effective use of the FATE system and aspects in order to be effective.

A Chest Deep character can kill a supernatural monster in one shot with stacked aspects and creative aspect manipulation.  Feet wet characters... not so much.

A standard ghoul could make short work of a group of feet wet characters unless they were prepared.  Yes, I know that throwing a ghoul at that low level of a group would be a bit much, I am just making a point.

I do agree that power level should closely mirror the group's familiarity with the source material.

[stabbald]

I think you should be careful about picking powerlevels based on what various critters can do. Combat is a fun thing at times, but I find that the most entertaining parts of the game come from the setting and various roleplaying opportunities that it brings. Unless your players and yourself want a combat heavy game, power level doesn't matter a great deal.

If you're going the political route I would suggest going no deeper than Chest Deep at the most, it'll give your machiavellian tale a little more bite as the players won't be able to brute force their way through the story. Instead of blowing up the vampire they'll have to bargain, which could lead to interesting moral questions as they are forced to compromise for the greater good.

[TheMouse]

I would select a level that fits the idea I have for the game. I see just as much merit starting as mortals first stumbling into contact with the supernatural (feet in the water) as with starting as a full wizard or other supernatural beings (submerged). If I wanted to run a non-canonical game based on Buffy and her pals, I'd probably start somewhere in the middle.

It's a tool kit. Use the tool that works for what you want.

[BumblingBear]

If you're going the political route I would suggest going no deeper than Chest Deep at the most, it'll give your machiavellian tale a little more bite as the players won't be able to brute force their way through the story. Instead of blowing up the vampire they'll have to bargain, which could lead to interesting moral questions as they are forced to compromise for the greater good.

Chest deep is an interesting power level.  On one hand, characters have the potential of destroying bad guys depending on their build and skills.  On the other hand, a more "talky" character at chest deep is quite squishy and can die in a flash.

I like that.