Quote Originally Posted by neonchameleon View Post
Gygaxian D&D was designed quite intentionally in tiers. From levels 1-5 or so you were low rent sellswords with platoons of hirelings trying to keep the local critter population down. From levels 5-10 or so you were people with a rep for being able to fix problems that normal people (including hirelings) wouldn't dare - and the hirelings would just be one shotted if they tried going with you. And from level 9+ you were the movers and shakers of the land and got a keep, cathedral, or wizard's tower as a class feature
Yes; this is an important thing that people tend to forget. If they see that their preferred playstyle X doesn't fit with level Y, then the normal outcome isn't "this game sucks", but the obvious conclusion is "hey, let's play at a higher (or lower) level". It is entirely intentional that level-1 characters are barely better than commoners, and level 10 characters are the equivalent of a duke or bishop.