OOC
Welcome, everyone! We're going to be starting with a total of seven players, mostly to offset the inevitable dropouts that happen near the start of every RPoL game I've ever been a part of.
The first order of business is obviously going to be figuring out the party itself, but I've got a few issues that I could use some player input on.
First off: do we want to start at level one, or skip ahead to level 3 or so? There's something for the idea of starting at the very beginning, but level 1 characters are a little boring, and a lot of builds don't really work until level three or so (nonhuman gunfighters/alchemists/kineticists finally get precise shot, unchained rogues get dex to damage, etc)
I've also been going back and forth with the idea of how to make victory and defeat more meaningful, since I'm going to be very lenient about character deaths and resurrections. So far, the possibilities I've thought up include:
1: No reward, the fight itself is enough: Win or lose, everybody levels up, gets new gear to match their level, and is ready for the next fight. I'm worried this would leave the fights without any real stakes, but maybe stakes aren't actually needed.
2: Only level up on victory: If you lose the fight, you don't get a new level or new gear, but stay at your old level and face an enemy appropriate to that level. More work for me, but it could work.
3: One time bonus: Winning a fight gives the party some sort of advantage for the next fight. Maybe temporary bonus HP equal to their level, a single re-roll per player, or some sort of treasure or consumable picked out by myself. Or just more money than they would otherwise get.
4: You stay dead: No free resurrections, anyone who dies has to make a new character. It's an option, though I'm worried it would be a bit too demoralizing, and keep people from getting invested in the game.