Gaining Levels

Experience is the measure of a character’s ability in his or her chosen profession, the character’s class. Each player character begins the campaign at 1st level with no experience points accumulated. Thereafter, as he or she completes adventures and returns to an established base of operations, the Dungeon Master will award experience points to the character for treasure gained and opponents captured or slain and for solving or overcoming problems through professional means. Characters with high scores in their major characteristic ability area might be entitled to an experience points bonus. When a sufficient number of experience points have been gained, the character will gain an experience level.

It is important to keep in mind that most humans and demi-humans are “0-level”. They do not have the ability to gain experience levels. Player characters are unusual and superior.

Gaining experience points through the acquisition of gold pieces and by slaying monsters might be questioned by some individuals as non-representative of how an actual character would become more able in his or her class. Admittedly, this is so, if the existence of spell casting clerics, druids, magic-users, and illusionists is (unrealistically) granted; likewise, dwarven superheroes, paladins, elven thieves, half-orc assassins, and the like might gain real experience from altogether different sorts of activities.

This is a game, however, a fantasy game, and suspension of disbelief is required. If one can accept the existence of 12-foot tall giants, why not the rewarding of experience points for treasure gained? While praying and religious-oriented acts are more properly the activities for which a cleric would gain experience points, this is not the stuff of exciting swords & sorcery adventure. So too, fighters need physical training and weapons practice, magic-users long hours of study in tomes of arcane lore, and thieves the repetition of their manual skills and discernitory prowess; but none of this is suitable to gaming. It is, therefore, discarded and subsumed as taking place on a character’s “off hours”.

As a rule, one point of experience will be awarded for one gold piece gained by a character, with copper pieces, silver pieces, electrum pieces, platinum pieces, gems, jewelry, and like treasure being converted to a gold piece value. Magic items gained and retained have only a low experience point value, for they benefit the character through their use. (See Dungeonmastering, Experience.)

Magic items gained and sold immediately are treated as gold pieces, the selling price bringing an award in experience on the stated one for one basis.

Experience points awarded for treasure gained—monetary or magical—are modified downward if the guardian of the treasure (whether a monster, device, or obstacle, such as a secret door or maze) was generally weaker than the character who overcame it. A 4th level character versus a single orc is an over-match, and only about 10% of the treasure value gained could count towards experience points; but if nine or ten orcs were involved, the experience points awarded would generally be on the one for one basis.

Monsters captured or slain always bring a full experience point award. Captured monsters ransomed or sold bring a gold piece: experience point ratio award. Monsters slain gain a set point award. Low hit point/dice monsters have a low experience point amount. Monsters with high hit point/dice have large experience point awards.

Special abilities such as magic resistance, spell capability, gaze or breath weapons, regeneration, and the like also increase experience points amounts.

Finally, clerics’ major aims are to use their spell abilities to aid during any given encounter, fighters aim to engage in combat, magic-users aim to cast spells, thieves aim to make gain by stealth, and monks aim to use their unusual talents to come to successful ends. If characters gain treasure by pursuit of their major aims, then they are generally entitled to a full share of earned experience points awarded by the DM.

Your DM will award your character(s) experience points as explained. He or she has detailed information respecting this subject, and a chart of experience points to be given for monsters slain, with bonus points shown for special abilities of monsters. After being awarded points, you will be expected to add any bonus due for high major characteristic ability, total the whole, and record the number of experience points now possessed by the character.

Henchmen. Remember, character henchmen will gain only one-half of total experience. Your referee might require you to inform him or her of new experience point totals in order to keep records. This prevents any “fudging” on the part of over-zealous players. (1)

Gaining Experience Levels

Experience points are merely an indicator of the character’s progress towards greater proficiency in his or her chosen profession.

UPWARD PROGRESS IS NEVER AUTOMATIC.

Just because Darg, Rogue of the Thieves’ Guild, has managed to acquire 1,251 experience points does NOT mean that he suddenly becomes Darg the Footpad. The gaining of sufficient experience points is necessary to indicate that a character is eligible to gain a level of experience, but the actual award is a matter for the DM, to decide.

Consider the natural functions of each class of character. Consider also the professed alignment of each character. Briefly assess the performance of each character after an adventure. Did he or she perform basically in the character of his or her class? Were his or her actions in keeping with his or her professed alignment? Mentally classify the overall performance as:

• E—Excellent, few deviations from norm = 1
• S—Superior, deviations minimal but noted = 2
• F—Fair performance, more norm than deviations = 3
• P—Poor showing with aberrant behavior = 4

Clerics who refuse to help and heal or do not remain faithful to their deity, fighters who hang back from combat or attempt to steal, or fail to boldly lead, magic-users who seek to engage in melee or ignore magic items they could employ in crucial situations, thieves who boldly engage in frontal attacks or refrain from acquisition of an extra bit of treasure when the opportunity presents itself, “cautious” characters who do not pull their own weight - these are all clear examples of a POOR rating.

Award experience points normally. When each character is given his or her total, also give them an alphabetic rating—E, S, F, or P. When a character’s total experience points indicate eligibility for an advancement in level, use the alphabetic assessment to assign equal weight to the behavior of the character during each separate adventure - regardless of how many or how few experience points were gained in each. The resulting total is then divided by the number of entries (adventures) to come up with some number from 1 to 4.

This number indicates the number of WEEKS the character must spend in study and/or training before he or she actually gains the benefits of the new level. Be certain that all decimals are retained, as each 0.145 equals a game day.

Not only must game time be spent by the character desiring advancement, but treasure will have to be spent as well. The amount of gold pieces, or the equivalent in value in gems, jewelry, magic items, etc., is found by using the following simple formula:

Level of the trainee character x 1,500 g.p. = Weekly cost during study/training

The level of the aspiring character should be computed at current (not to be gained) level.

Initial study and/or training must be conducted under the tutelage of a character of the same class and profession as the trainee, i.e., a fighter must train under a fighter, a paladin under a paladin, a druid under a druid, etc. Note that the tutor might possibly accept some combination of gold and service in return for his tutelage, at the DM’s option.

Exception. A character with a performance score under 2 need not be tutored, but the study and/or training time will be twice the indicated period, i.e. 1 week becomes 2, 1.2 weeks becomes 2.4 weeks, etc. If a character has a performance score of 2 or greater, and he or she is unable to locate a mentor to train under, the character must remain at his or her current level until such time as a tutor can be located and the necessary training and/or study course paid for and completed before any gain of experience level is granted. Note that self-training costs more, as expenses are per week, and the potential option of service is excluded.

Training under a higher level character applies only to characters who are below the “name”, or nominal upper level, of their class and profession. These upper levels for each class are shown below:

• CLERIC—High Priest
• DRUID—Druid
• FIGHTER—Lord
• PALADIN—Paladin
• RANGER—Ranger Lord
• MAGIC-USER—Wizard
• ILLUSIONIST—Illusionist
• THIEF—Master Thief
• ASSASSIN—Assassin
• MONK—Superior Master
• BARD—special

Characters who have achieved “name” level must merely spend game time equal to the number of weeks indicated by performance in self-conducted training and/or study. Costs (in g.p. or equivalent) of the exercise then become a function of class:

Cleric  = 2,000 g.p./level/week (vestments & largess)

Fighter = 1,000 g.p./level/week (tithes & largess)

Magic-user = 4,000 g.p./level/week (equipment, books, experiments, etc.)

Thief = 2,000 g.p./level/week (tools, equipment, etc.)

Bards are a special profession, as they have already earned levels as fighter and thief. Once they begin gaining experience as bards, each must pay tuition to his respective college. These payments and donations must be at least 50% of all monetary gains plus an additional 1,000 g.p. per level upon gaining a higher one. (Contributions and payments must be made to a druid whose level of experience is such that he or she is able to use more of their highest level spells than the bard is. In any event, the funds so received do NOT accrue to the druid but pass to the amorphous organization of druidical colleges.) Failure to make the required contributions prevents the bard from level advancement. Otherwise, bards do not need to spend extra time in training and study other than a single week - alone or in company with a druid to whom contributions and payments may be made—upon attaining experience points sufficient to advance one level of experience.

All training/study is recorded in game time. The period must be uninterrupted and continuous. He or she cannot engage in adventuring, travel, magic research of any nature other than that concerned with level advancement, atonement, etc. If there is a serious hiatus in the course of training/study the character loses all of the benefits of the time spent prior to the interruption, as well as the total funds advanced for the training/study, and he or she must begin anew if a level of experience is to be gained. Under no circumstances can a character gain additional experience points by any means until he or she actually acquires the higher level through the required training/study course. Thus, a character who successfully adventures and gains experience points which not only equal a new level but are almost sufficient to gain yet a second such level, cannot opt to-forego the period of training and study necessary to go up a level in favor of gaining a few more points and training and studying for two levels at once. (2)

Once a character has points which are equal to or greater than the minimum number necessary to move upwards in experience level, no further experience points can be gained until the character actually gains the new level.

This rule applies to bards, as noted (for failure to make the necessary contributions and payments).

Starting Level of Experience for Player Characters (DM Notes)

As a general rule the greatest thrill for any neophyte player will be the first adventure, when he or she doesn’t have any real idea of what is happening, how powerful any encountered monster is, or what rewards will be gained from the adventure. This assumes survival, and you should gear your dungeon to accommodate 1st level players.

If your campaign has a mixture of experienced and inexperienced players, you should arrange for the two groups to adventure separately, possibly in separate dungeons, at first. Allow the novice players to learn for themselves, and give experienced players tougher situations to face, for they already understand most of what is happening - quite unlike true 1st level adventurers of the would-be sort, were such persons actually to exist.

If you have an existing campaign, with the majority of the players being already above 1st level, it might be better to allow the few newcomers to begin at 2nd level at even 3rd or 4th in order to give them a survival chance when the group sets off for some lower dungeon level. (See Dungeonmastering, Creating a Party on the Spur of a Moment.)

I do not personally favor granting unearned experience level(s) except in extreme circumstances such as just mentioned, for it tends to rob the new player of the real enjoyment he or she would normally feel upon actually gaining levels of experience by dint of cleverness, risk, and hard fighting.

It has been called to my attention that new players will sometimes become bored and discouraged with the struggle to advance in level of experience, for they do not have any actual comprehension of what it is like to be a powerful character of high level. In a well planned and well judged campaign this is not too likely to happen, for the superior DM will have just enough treasure to whet the appetite of players, while keeping them lean and hungry still, and always after that carrot just ahead. And one player’s growing ennui can often be dissipated by rivalry, i.e., he or she fails to go on an adventure, and those who did play not only had an exciting time but brought back a rich haul as well. Thus, in my opinion, a challenging campaign and careful refereeing should obviate the need for immediate bestowal of levels of experience to maintain interest in the game.

However, whatever the circumstances, if some problem such as this exists, it has been further suggested that allowing relatively new players to participate in a modular campaign game (assuring new players of characters of higher level) would often whet their appetites for continued play at lower level, for they can then grasp what it will be like should they actually succeed in attaining proficiency on their own by working up their original characters and gaining high levels of experience. This reasoning seems sound, and provided there is a separation of the two campaigns, and the one isn’t begun until new players have had some number of expeditions as 1st level characters, it is not destructive to the game as a whole.