New Campaign question for G.M.'s and players

[Steven Morgan]

A little back ground about the new campaign idea then the question.
I am working on a new campaign for my group 6 players total.
It is a city campaign totaly placed inside the city after looking about i decided to use the city of Katapesh where everything could be had for the right amount of gold. now im thinking this is going to be mostly a role playing campaign but of course there will be the bar fight city brawl sewer excusion etc. etc.
now for the questions.
I am thinking that in Katapesh I am wanting my players to start characters of higher than 1st lvl thinking around lvl 5 what do you think of this?
also I am thinking that i want one of them to be a little higher than that as an older person in the group that is the defacto group leader im thinking 2 level bump for that person. but im not sure how this would work with the over all group what do you all think?

thanks for taking a look and letting me know.

[Talonz51]

Why 5th level? Are you wanting to use threats of that level? Or just want the characters to be experienced already? Why not 3rd, or 7th, or whatever? You need to answer that question yourself really.

Im not sure what you mean by the second question, are you talking about the character or the player? Leadership need not come from greater experience (although it often does), and giving a player 2 extra levels over the other players will smack of favortism. In short, dont do it.

You mention this being a city based roleplaying heavy campaign. Then there will be little need for a leader unless you intend the group to function as their own or part of a faction.

So either guide them into that, or allow them to function independently in their owl little world/guild/faction, but have come to rely on each other due to similar interests or beliefs (IE: support/overthrow the local lord, similarily grouped alignment, promotion of a religion, further their own power, put an end to the red cloak gang, etc.)

The more you dig deep and answer your own questions, the more the answers will come to you, if that makes sense.

[Steven Morgan]

It does make sence.
and let me see if i can answer some of those questions, 1st off i ment for the players character to be 2 levels higher but you're right the favoritism is not a good way to go, i wasnt thining like that i was thinking more of someone with more experience in the city a older character that helps to guide them. and I was thinking 5th level becouse the city of katapesh is a very rough place with slavers running around freely picking off people and putting them on the slave blocks and that they would need a little help in serviving not wanting to start them to high but 5th lvl gave them access to 3rd lvl spells , but not quite there for 2 attacks per round for the fighters. etc. im thinking that they will be a part of a faction there are 3 to choose from but i kinda need to let the players choose what one. there is the corrupt officials that run the city in the name of the guilds, the rebals that want to over through them and then there is the slavers that like things the way they are "its good for business". the officials really dont like the slavers its just they cant seem to crush them becouse so many people have slaves and there own practices of putting criminals into slavery.
anyway you get the picture i think.

[Talonz51]

I think you should turn this 'older character' into an an npc, and/or simply reward those players with knowledge local with more or frequent info.

You may want to approach the players and ask them for input. Do they want to run a standard adventuring party in this setting? Fight for one of the factions? Or something different, like having established characters already in the city independent of each other and respond to some critical event as they please (said event to be the beginning of upheaval/opportunity in the campaign). Players are often the best resource for ideas at times.

If they are undecided, perhaps craft a scenario to force them to decide...that older character npc could be found being captured by slavers for instance....how do they react?

[Shizvestus]

the 2 levels could be Aristocrat, an be bacically like having 1 level :)

[Shoga]

This is pretty simple.. as GM, start everyone off at 1st. 1st level players are going to be tougher than most citizens with the exception of a few higher level constabulary. Have a patron who hires the pc's to do tasks for him(her). You can make a really long term adventure in which the patron is grooming the pc's to take out the city leaders/slaver... etc.. to put his(her) own people in power. Of course, you could throw in information that the pc's find that the patron is a high level demon or some such who is trying to take over the city to sacrifice all the people.

[Elven_Blades]

I'm alway in favor of keeping PCs at the same (or close to) level. All though your role playing intentions may be pure, it leave the window wide open for jealousy of the "favored player".

That being said, what level you start the party at is not particulary important. The only time i find it of utmost importance to start at level 1 is either a) published campaign with intended "check points"of level (usually reading as "players should be about x level when starting chapter y) or b) when you have new or relatively new players at the table that still need to get a feel for the rules or a grasp on their character. Starting at higher level for new players can be incredibly overwhelming, so i wouldn't start any higher than 3rd if you have any inexperienced players. Aside from those situations, start at whatever level you like. Or talk to you players and ask what level they would like to start at if beginning a game above first.