Games cannot balance around both those who speed run through it and those who are completionists.
Sure they can ...
That is main (and in many cases the sole) purpose of level caps!
Regular player gets to the power you expected and completionist will not get ten times stronger ... bcs there is cap.
Sure you can easily end in situation where even regular player hit the cap pretty soon ... but that can easily be result of that player doing much more side quests than you expected.
For example ... you said "before i even go to Underdark" ... or something like that ... but i ask what have you done so far.
I mean if you go right to the grove, missing the whole crypt ... then right to the Goblin camp (prefferably as Drow so you miss all those fight xp) ... and then if you side with Minthara your EA practicaly ended after you wipe the grove out ...
Dont tell me you would reach even level 5! Bcs i dont believe that.
Sure person who does WHOLE surface would reach it easily ...
But what motives have your party to explore it?
That is where we start talking about completionists.
