Dungeons & Dragons is a game where characters have "levels" describing their relative power. I thought I'd provide a chart listing what this means in the game-world, with some real-world professional equivalents.
Level | In Game | In Law | In Science |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Rookie, but blooded | Young associates at a firm | Doctoral students |
3 | Boss, mentor figure | Senior attorney | Adjunct professor |
6 | Significant authority | Partner at big firm, judge | Tenured professor |
9 | Hero, best in a generation | Scalia, Brennan, Posner | Watson & Crick, Feynman |
12 | Epic hero, best of all | Blackstone, Holmes, Hamilton | Newton, Galileo |
15 | Mythological, god-like | Moses, Hammurabi, Confucius | Pythagoras, Daedalus |
The main reason I'm doing this is to enforce the idea that characters with Classes are very important folks, and that very few institutions in the world can withstand a determined, sustained assault by mid-level characters if you're playing cleverly and are willing to take some risks. If you want to try overthrowing Lord Stefan at level 6, go right ahead and try—I want the Black Peaks setting to be "fully breakable," both because that's more rewarding to players, and because it also keeps the world dynamic and interesting.