The Nebulous Heft of Levels in TSR vs WotC D&D

One thing that weighs favourably towards TSR D&D rulesets for me is the different experience of character levels.

Character levels in TSR D&D just strike me as having far more heft to them, than levels in 3e onwards. 

I remember being much more proud of my AD&D fighter reaching 5th level than I ever was of reaching much higher levels in 3e or 5e. And it's not just due to nostalgia. The achievement felt more significant, as if 5th level in AD&D meant more than 9th level does in 5e. Not only in terms of my investment as a player, but also in terms of what that meant for the character in the world.

A 7th lvl fighter in B/X or AD&D setting is a big deal to my mind. A force in the world. A 7th lvl fighter in 5e strikes me as a somewhat more run-of-the-mill character. The AD&D 7th lvl fighter seems somehow further removed from 1st lvl than the equivalent 3e/5e character,

It's a nebulous impression that is hard to explain or justify. And I am partly writing this blog post to gain some clarity on this. At a glance, a level in 3e+ D&D ought to be more significant:

What's the difference between a 1st level fighter and a 7th level fighter in B/X?
6HD, +5 to hit and improved saves. That's it.

In 1e, at 7th level he would improved his attacks per round from 1 to 3/2 and gained another 2 weapon proficiencies on top of +6HD, +6 to hit and improved saves.

2e is the same as 1e, except the fighter would also have gained 2 non-weapon proficiencies if you use this optional rule.

What the difference in 3e?
6 HD and +6 to hit, an extra attack at +2 to hit. Improved saves, four additional feats and (2+INT)x6 ranks to buy skills with.

In 5e:
6 HD and +1 to Proficiency Bonus (improving saves, to hit and skills). Second Wind and Action Surge at 2nd lvl. Choice of sub-class at 3rd lvl which opens a slew of abilities. An ability score improvement at 4th (or a feat, if you use that optional rule). Extra Attack at 5th. Another ability score improvement or feat at 6th lvl. At 7th lvl another sub-class ability.

The WotC 7th lvl fighters have a lot more going on (even though the 5e fighter has only improved proficiency bonus by 1) at each level. They don't just become better, they become different as they advance in levels.

Yet, my impression of heft does not seem to come down to numbers. A 7th lvl 3e fighter would wipe out 7 1st lvl fighters much faster than a B/X equivalent fight. Yet, a 1e 7th level fighter would probably win much faster against 7 1st lvl fighters than a 5e equivalent.

5e Player Characters
vs

B/X Player Characters

No, my impression of heft seems to be more to do with their standing in the world, the achievement inherent in gaining a level.  5e characters require 23,000 XP to get to 7th lvl. 21k in 3e. Conversely, a 1e fighter needs 75k. In 2e and B/X that goes down to 64k.

And here we begin to arrive at what heft is about for me. Levels are gained far more slowly in TSR D&D. Which also means they spend more time on each level. Levels in TSR D&D are more of a station, a place one remains at for a period of time, as opposed to a step one is currently taking towards the next level.

There is another element which I've blogged about before - The notion of character builds. This, to my knowledge, didn't exist until 3e, when multi and prestige classes entered the picture with requirements that basically required making planned choices in advance at lower levels in order to reach certain higher level goals later on. Character progression essentially became a mini-game within the game and builds charting out choices from 1st to 20th level to reach an end goal were suddenly everywhere online. 

Although 5e eased up a little on this, both in terms of less planning needed, but also of realising that one's build should be geared towards where you spent the most time (mid levels) rather than level 20, the mini-game is still alive and well.

And to me this fundamentally changes the tone of the game and how one approaches one's player character. Levels becomes more centred around realising a pre-conceived character concept than the adventures and achievements of said character.

In tandem with the quicker XP progression, it makes levels in WoTC D&D more of a means to an end, a transitory progression towards something else, as opposed to a recognition of one's current achievements, a base that one occupies and has adventures from.

The fact that character death is more common in old school games also gives more of a sense of achievement to higher levels to me than in WotC D&D. 

4e Player Characters
vs

2e Player Characters

This feels like a big part of the answer. And yet - although with Into the Unknown I've exorcised this mini-game and gone with an XP chart that matches TSR D&D, still my sense of level heft in ItU does not match TSR D&D, even if it is a lot closer.

What makes the difference here? Is it just the intangible feel of different games? Its unavoidable mental association with 5e? I can't put my finger on it. But the heft is different. And, as intangible as it might be, it makes a qualitative difference to the experience of the game.