Here's why I don't bother with most PWs...

[Legacy_Eradrain]

               

Drewskie wrote...

I like "American Monster" cleric 20 druid 19 and the token level of monk.  American Monstaahhh...

I find that annual, or semi-annual, vault wipes tend to help with level balance issues...

Yeah, you'd think that if he was going to powerbuild anyway, he'd build something clever.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Varanon]

               On The Way Inn, we try to address this issue by individual caps. Every character is capped at levels 4, 6, 8, 10 etc and can only progress through the cap when a DM allows them to pass (maximum level on the server is 20).

The effect is that most people don't soar through levels by powerlevelling, and most people also play more than one character. This spreads the level ranges that are in play at any time through the whole range of level (looking at the current player list, I see every level between 2 and 10, five of them below level 5 which makes teaming up with a level 1 perfectly possible).

It's not the all out solution, but it works very well for us.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_PeeTeeEm]

               Lol. Judging by the names, there are worse problems.



I'll just jump in here quick and mention what our under-construction server is doing. We had the same problem back at the server we came from (which was a NWN2 server). And it *does* affect roleplay, not just fighting. We've set it up so that:



1. The maximum level anyone can ever reach will be 16.

2. Getting higher than level six is not a matter of time or who staff likes best, but who asks for and completes special quests.

3. Initially, the maximum level will be 6, not 16, as the main town is a small frontier town that specializes in....*drumroll* fish. The maximum level will only go up as the town develops, most likely through player initiative (ie setting up a store, doing crafting, etc). Players are strongly encouraged to invest in the town.



What this means is that, one, we will never be looking at a 40-level wide gap. Closer to a ten-level wide gap. It also means that old players will not get a massive head start--they will be capped at the same level as everyone else until the town develops. So new players will have an easier time catching up. This also means no amount of grinding or brown-nosing will get you to the top. Everyone can request a challenge, and everyone can complete it.