Power levels
A Telvanni setting can't work without characters knowing who is safe to piss off and who is not. For that reason, we implemented power levels.
These are also used to restrict event access: any kind of adventuring and/or dangerous situation for a bunch of guardsmen is crashed immediately when Neloth Telvanni drives past in his chariot of fire.
A character's social position and ambition also counts towards their power level:
A higher social position is more risky to challenge
Ambitious characters are more dangerous than those who are content with what they have
Explanation
Expertise | The level of proficiency at something that you can expect from characters of this level. Exceptions are probably the rule. |
Resources available | Assets - how much backing can a character of this level produce, if necessary? That includes both gold as well as connections, favours owed etc. |
Kind of RP | What does a character of this power level typically do, what kind of RP can you expect? |
Examples | Some examples, which are by far not exhaustive. |
Usage
⇩ 2 | They can destroy anyone from this power level. |
⇩ 1 |
They can destroy anyone from this power level unless their target has means to counteract them. |
0 | They are evenly matched on their area of expertise. A master carpenter will defeat a master swordsman in a carpeting contest. However, the consequences might not be to their liking. |
⇧ 1 |
They are outclassed - should the higher class character notice that they attempt to go at them, the -1 rule would apply to them... so one would have to be very clever about it. Facing a +1 character on their area of expertise will almost certainly result in a flat-out loss, but every armor has kinks - doesn't it? |
⇧ 2 | How does one bring down something that powerful? With craftyness - or not at all... |
The levels are somewhat vague on purpose! We want you to talk about this!
The power levels present themselves as followed:
Very Low
Expertise | Varying - a slave can be an expert slave and still be a slave, while an adventurer in this category would most likely be inexperienced. |
Resources available |
next to none, unless given by others - if favours owed, then by peers. If you are the cobbler, then it's sure nice if the butcher owes you, isn't it? |
Kind of RP | Whatever you can do when you have almost nothing - mostly errand running |
Examples | Most slaves, servants and adventurers at the beginning of their journey |
Low
Expertise | They are probably good at their job, but that job doesn't pay very well - or they are still learning. However, there are people who are better at it. A lot of them. |
Resources available | Relatively little - their monthly wage minus rent and accessory charges, armor and weapons, and whatever else they managed to scrape up. They aren't important enough to curry favour worth noticing. |
Kind of RP | Limited adventuring/errand running |
Examples | Guards, very new apprentices, especially crafty slaves, adventurers with a valuable family heirloom |
Medium
Expertise | Solid. |
Resources available |
Middle class - your character doesn't need to concern themselves with how to pay rent this month, but can instead focus on whatever else they are doing, but their resources are limited. (Do you really want to sell your house to take the Mages' Guild portal? Really) |
Kind of RP | Almost everything - anything that's interesting enough for the higher power levels might be yanked away from them, though, and should be kept secret! |
Examples | Lesser talents, inexperienced wizards, veteran adventurers, most Wardens |
Expert
Expertise | They are among the better in their field - they can teach others, but they will still be outclased by those who dedicated a lifetime to whatever it is they do. |
Resources available | Moderate wealth, can resort to luxury within reasons. They can know important people, and perhaps those even have reason to want to be on their good side (imagine a renowned carpenter with many wealthy clients and a loooong waiting time!) |
Kind of RP | same as Medium, unless stated differently, although the stakes are usually higher. UPS quests are usually out of the book. |
Examples | some Wardens, the most seasoned adventurers, most spellslingers |
High
Expertise | The very best! Those characters could do what they do after being woken up by a Dark Anchor dropping on their heads two hours after they passed out drinking and still get results. |
Resources available |
Wow! Those people are rich! (Unless they aren't - your call!) They can talk to almost everyone, within reason (Almalexia is probably too busy, but they have a realistic chance of talking to her secretary) - whether those people will want to owe them depends on them, of course. |
Kind of RP |
The character is a professional at something. Whatever it is they are doing, they are renowned for it (unless it is a secret). Their competence excludes them from low powerlevel RP, as they could solve problems too easily. Usually far too busy to do anything themselves - almost a quest giver NPC! |
Examples | Wizards and some Spellwrights below council level, elite Wardens (the Aetherial Blade's hand-picked n'wah special ops and reconnaisance experts) |
Please keep in mind that once a character has reached this level, they don't have much room left to grow. Having a mighty character seems attractive in the first place, but in terms of RP, it can be rather dull (unless you enjoy being quest giver for lesser power levels, of course!).
Highest (NPC)
Expertise | Those characters have to be the very best at what they are doing - how would they have gotten so far otherwise? |
Resources available |
Limited only by time... and who cares for that? Our NPC gather favour like House Hlaalu gathers coin. It's the real currency among the powerful. |
Kind of RP |
Limited to a politic game of pick-a-stick (the first to make a move loses) or highly theoretic research - these people are far too busy to go adventuring themselves and will only leave whatever it is they are doing if absolutely necessary (or to give others RP). Those characters serve to spawn RP for others. |
Examples | Characters who seized great power by other means than conventional wizardry - the members of the council and Telvanni Navradas Taryl (you never heard of him!?) |
Characters like these are little more than NPCs because their presence alone could crush plotlines and subdues lower power level characters. Furthermore they are attention magnets, easily gripping a scene and dominating it even if the player didn't intend to do so. They are the Neloths and Divayths of our setting, though those two likely outclass our scale.
Those positions are occupied by trustworthy long-term members whose families are permanent guests at a secure location.
Conclusion
Of course these are general categories and nobody is expected to follow them slavishly, but please consider that if you want to play a character outside their power bracket they might crash the event or plot simply by being present.
Any two characters inside a power level will be evenly matched in ideal circumstances:
An assassin would be obliterated in open combat by a wizard of the same powerlevel, but they would be able to design a situation that would allow them to successfully assassinate the wizard.
Naturally your characters can change power level over the course of RP!
Example
Hla: Power Level none / very high
Hla is the Slavemaster's bantam guar. While the pet itself possesses literally neither skills nor assets, killing it would upset the councilor greatly - any fool willing to try can find out for themselves how many people have reason to prevent this.
Ravani: Power Level Expert / high
Warden and Spellwright Telvanni Ravani, currently in her early hundreds, has been honed to be a Hand of Almalexia her whole life - that included combat training both armed and un-armed as well as supported by her magickal talent, basic triage and first aid as well as leadership and logistics of any military unit smaller than an army.
Due to her relatively young age, she would end up in the expert class - she will always be defeated by someone with the same training and a few decades experience bonus, or any other advantage. The fact that the Aetherial Blade has personally equipped her would enable her to take down any High power character with a different specialisation in direct combat and the rank of Spellwright that she holds would mean that she could get away with it. However, Ravani simply knows better.
Anyone seriously attacking Ravani on a social level will face a high power level the moment she takes defensive action - not Ravani herself, but rather those who are fond of her...
Despite all this, she is an expert level character who will not be able to hold her ground against a serious attack on purely magickal level.