Minimum Level

[Svabodnik]

I hadn't much considered the state of starting out on this server until this post, but got wondering for a bit. Winding the clock several years back, I've played on a server where upon creating your character, you were bumped up to level 3 (or [3 - ECL] for non-standard races, which required DM permission, so those were largely unseen).

For someone who knows how NWN2 works, where the quest NPCs are, and which of those quests you can complete without encountering a single hostile enemy, it's actually fairly easy to get a foothold with a new character with even the most suboptimal build. With foreknowledge of where you can buy invisibility potions using your starting gold in order to complete higher-level quests with minimal risk, it's even easier. Even without the aforementioned advantages, it's still very much doable, as I've done during my first pass through here.

Still, there are many 1+ ECL races available on character creation, and there is a vast divide between the HP and tools available to a level 1 and level 2 character (which directly translate towards survivability during those first moments where you may be unsure of where to go). Likewise, 3,000 XP is of small significance towards the climb between 1 and 30.

Could there be an argument made to increase the base starting level for new players?

EDIT: As an addendum, I imagine the current RCR scripts would need to be further modified in order to incorporate the changes, which I hadn't initially considered in terms of the dev-time/content-provided concern of an active server.

[Sun Wukong]

Backpack of the Hearty gives +5 HP. I think those are still sold by Maltz, but perhaps that item should be moved to the Easter Farmlands where the rest of the newbie weapons are sold. Just going from memery... I don't think I saw those Backpacks at blunt.

The extra 5 HP does give longevity at level 1.

[Svabodnik]

Definitely, that is one solid starting item for level 1 if you don't know how to skip the first level from quest XP in order to easily burn through later encounters through combat. Maybe introduce it at the new Nexus starting gear vendor, if the minimum level is a no-go?

[Rudolph]

Personally speaking, I actually like the excitement and danger of the first levels (it was even greater in the olden days, when item usage, too, was tied to levels). Since there is that backback, death and resurrection do not cost much early on, xp grinding gains are very high, and RCR is free up to lvl 9, I don't really see the need for starting at lvl 3.