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7/25/2025, 8:36:34 AM
What, to you, makes a PC feel competent and able to do what you want them to do?
I am unsure of how to better express this. When I create, for example, a level 1 PC in D&D 4e, Pathfinder 2e, 13th Age 2e, Draw Steel, or Daggerheart, the character often feels competent and able to do what I want them to do, both in and out of combat.
Conversely, when I create a level 3 character in D&D 5(.5)e, I often feel as though the character is still some incompetent neophyte getting their bearings, and that they cannot do what I want them to do. (Perhaps it has something to do with that small, anemic proficiency bonus of +2, and how a 2025 commoner will probably be better than a PC at their peak skill.) This gut feeling almost always carries over into actual play.
What seems to be the key mechanical ingredient to making a PC feel capable even at baseline character creation?
I am unsure of how to better express this. When I create, for example, a level 1 PC in D&D 4e, Pathfinder 2e, 13th Age 2e, Draw Steel, or Daggerheart, the character often feels competent and able to do what I want them to do, both in and out of combat.
Conversely, when I create a level 3 character in D&D 5(.5)e, I often feel as though the character is still some incompetent neophyte getting their bearings, and that they cannot do what I want them to do. (Perhaps it has something to do with that small, anemic proficiency bonus of +2, and how a 2025 commoner will probably be better than a PC at their peak skill.) This gut feeling almost always carries over into actual play.
What seems to be the key mechanical ingredient to making a PC feel capable even at baseline character creation?
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