Experience & Levelling Up

Each Level takes 50 AEX to reach. At each level, your Dergon may claim a Boon- a passive upgrade to their abilities! Some Boons require art to learn, while others simply take effect immediately. 

The full list of Boons is [incoming!]

Basics & Rules

• AEX for a dergon includes art and writing of that dergon. They must be recognizable or mentioned by name; vague silhouettes would not be identifiable enough to count! 

• Art which is done by you, collaborated on by you, or done for you may count for AEX. Art which bears a passing resemblance but does not specifically display your dergon, or art edited to resemble your dergon without the creator's permission, does not count for AEX. 

• Traced art is not allowed for AEX. While references and photobashing are acceptable tools, fully tracing another's work is not.

• Similarly, images created in part or in full by generative AI are completely ineligible for AEX or other game rewards.

Bonuses

• Most AEX Bonuses are not mutually exclusive, and can stack to give your dergon even more points. For example, a dergon shown with one dergon with the same owner, and another dergon with a different owner, would get both bonuses! 

• Literature, sculpture, and animation are all eligible for extra bonuses such as background, event entry, and others. 

Reused Elements

• While YCHs and other instances of reused art elements can count for AEX, there are some restrictions; Basically, only unique instances of art can count for AEX!

• A YCH with a reused background would only be able to count that background for the first piece submitted with that art. 

• Individually colored YCHs would each get the full colored bonus, as each had to be colored uniquely for the dergons they're of. 

• A fullbody sketch being lined, colored, and shaded uniquely would get Color, Shading, and Polish bonuses each time, BUT not the base fullbody points after the first.

• Reused elements generally cannot be submitted for Activities. Exceptions may be made in similar cases to the above; where a sketch may be reused but the majority of the art is done per dergon. Please check in with admins before trying this, as posting multiple of the same pose without saying anything reads as spam art! 

Headshot/Bust (Under 50%)

Base: 2
Color: +2
Shading: +2
Polished: +1
Simple Animation: x1.25 (blinking or bobbing)
Complex Animation: x3 (Larger motions or speech)

Fullbody (Over 50%)

Base: 3
Color: +3
Shading: +4
Polished: +2
Simple Animation: x1.5 (blinking or bobbing)
Complex Animation: x5 (larger motions or motion cycles)

Headshot/Bust (Under 50%)

Base: 4
Color: +6
Shading: +4
(Shading consists of either specifically painting in shadows and highlights, or rigging up lighting on a 3D model, as physical or 3D objects naturally come with some amount of lighting)
Simple Animation: x2
Complex Animation: x4

Fullbody (Over 50%)

Base: 6
Color: +8
Shading: +6
Simple Animation: x3 (blinking or bobbing)
Complex Animation: x6 (larger motions or motion cycles)

100 Words: 1 AEX

1,000 Words: 15 AEX

Word count is rounded up or down to the nearest 100. These counts stack; for example, a piece with 1,500 words would get 15 AEX for the  first 1,000 words, plus 5 AEX for the next 500 words, for a total of 20 AEX. 

These apply to Literature as well as 2D/3D art!

Achievements, Activities, & Quests

Activity Submission: +1
Special/Seasonal Event Submissions: +2
Quest Submission: +2
Aerial Display: +3

Personal (a dergon drawn by their owner): +1
Collaboration (stacks with Personal!): +1 per collaborator

Backgrounds

• Abstract backgrounds are any level of detail above a simple transparent or gradient background. These may have shapes, lighting, or clouds/stars, but not enough detail to count as a Simple background.

• Simple backgrounds are the minimum for an Activity Submission, and consist of at least a clear foreground and background, though these may be simple. The point of them is to show a little bit of the setting the dergon is in for the activity! These may be mostly sky, but should have detailed clouds or mountaintops just to anchor the dergon in the world. Either foreground or background may be substituted with props your dergon is interacting with.

• Complex backgrounds have a clear fore, middle, and background, or any two of those along with a detailed sky or props your dergon is interacting with.