I started playing roleplaying games just before I started college. I met a few D&D players back then, and I've met others since then, and one thing I've noticed is that all the players I have met like to brag about their favorite (often highest-level) character.
I have been a gamemaster for just as long as I have been a player, since I started playing in a campaign about the same time that I started running my first campaign. Whenever I meet a fellow D&D player, I like to talk about some of the stories I have run over the years, but inevitably, what they like to talk about is their 20th level badass with a +5 holy, vampire, shockingburst sword of awesome... or something similar. It never fails. EVERY player I have met, upon first meeting them, talk about what level they were, what magic items they had, but why? Are they trying to impress me? If so, they're failing.
So, why am I not impressed by what level you were, or what you acquired? You might think it's because I've been playing since 2000 and I've probably had several characters get to epic levels with god-like magic items. No, not at all. I have never played a character who surpassed 12th level upon writing this (in D&D 3.5). Maybe it's because I've had players get to that level in my games. Well, not really. I only ever ran one campaign that got to the point of the players reaching level 20. So, why do their characters not impress me? Simple. They haven't told me anything that they accomplished! You say you have a level 20 paladin with an epic sword... alright... so what? Everything your character has was given to you by your gamemaster. If I wanted to, I could start a game next week and give all of my players artifacts that can destroy and rebuild worlds and make them all level 40 if I wanted. Your levels and your magic items mean nothing.
When you talk to a fellow player, don't brag about your level and your items. Those aren't important. We are roleplayers. We participate in stories, but not as readers, but as a part of that story. Players in an rpg have a unique opportunity to not just listen to a story being told, but to help shape that story, to make it a tale of their accomplishments. I had a player play a paladin who decided to be a diplomat. When I talk about him, I don't talk about what level he was or what weapons he carried. I talk about how he befriended the dwarven royal family, how he talked down a group of minotaurs, how those minotaurs came to his rescue in a later battle, how he single-handedly killed a fire giant 4 levels higher than him, and how he united people, married into royalty, and eventually became a king with an alliance of three nations. THAT is how we should be bragging about our characters. Tell each other about your stories, that is what roleplaying is all about.
