Level 1 Characters

Level 1 characters, or, starting level characters, have always given me pause. Specifically, the question I ponder is "What does level 1 represent?". Typically starting level characters range from truly incompetent to vaguely capable depending on the system you are playing in. There are a few systems, though off hand I can't recall which ones (I'll try to get that answer for you in another article), that allow for the creation of fairly capable characters right off the block so obviously each system answers this question differently. Or do they?

To begin with, Renaissance doesn't have levels since it's a skill based game. However, we all understand the concept of a level 1 character so the phrasing remains valid. Before arbitrarily deciding what level 1 characters represent in Renaissance, I want to look at other systems and see if, despite the apparent differences in what they consider level 1 characters to be, is there an underlying assumption they all make. One that, perhaps, is something players have come to expect, even if only on some subconscious level.

D&D has rules in the DMG for progressing a character as a Commoner or other non-adventuring class so, clearly, for them a level one character can have different degrees of adventuring mettle. A level 1 fighter, cleric, wizard, etc. is somebody who has not experienced any adventure yet but is equipped to handle it (if in small measure), and may possibly have even been trained specifically to do so. Meanwhile, level 1 commoners, professionals, etc. are ill equipped to handle any sort of adventure, though they are well suited to manual labor or an apprenticeship to a craftsman.

I'm not going to go through how all the various systems I've looked at handle level 1 characters because even at just the 5-8 I've reviewed this article would rapidly become unbearably long to read. However, it becomes obvious that a level 1 character is intended to have a little knowledge, or perhaps a little skill, in their given field (read "class" or "background" in other systems) but otherwise be relatively (or completely) new to adventuring. I don't have levels in Renaissance, but everyone has to start somewhere, so what I'm looking at is the degree of skill or power a character should have in their given field out of the gate when finished with standard character creation. This doesn't mean they will necessarily be suited for adventure, but it does mean they will be sufficiently skilled to perform the basic functions of the profession of which they wish to be a part.

I have two options. Option 'A', which starts with fewer points, and option 'B', which starts with more points. There are Backgrounds one can choose from which aid in the selection of skills, but they aren't really relevant to balancing the power of a starting character at this stage. Even though there is a discrepancy in the level of power characters start with among other systems they all appear to operate under the same assumption that the characters are beginning the game with enough skill to handle the challenges of the game's opening power curve without having any actual experience in the wilds of adventure. As a result, to answer the question of "what is a level 1 character" for Renaissance, I have to decide what is necessary for a character to have a chance of survival against the dangers, skill and RP encounters they should be expected to handle at "level 1".

Armed with this information, and because I feel that the goal of having starting character begin competent in their field is a worthy one, I have chose to go with option 'B' to provide more points to starting characters, rather than less.

Do you feel differently? Do you tend to begin your players with fewer resources and possibly at level 0? Or, do you feel that level 1 is too weak and not representative of the experience a beginning adventurer would have and give your players a couple of extra levels and resources at character creation?