EXPERIENCE IN THE WORLD OF ELISAR
Experience points are a way to measure the improvement of your character as it travels thru life. Experience in Elisar can be acquired in numerous ways. The experience level advancement chart in the Player’s Handbook is used for experience points needed to advance to the next level. I will call this the XP threshold in this document.
COMBAT – the most common way to earn experience is in defeating another being in combat. Defeating does not necessarily mean killing said being, you could capture them or drive them off. Doing any of those are worth the same number of experience points.
As an example, you are fighting an Ancient, Huge White Dragon named Old White Death. Your party chips away at her using spells, bows, and anything at you disposal. As Old White Death wears down, she realizes she is in trouble, and dives into a pool in the ice cave, swims under the glacier to the other side, and flies away. Your party is unable to chase her. You drove her off, so she is worth the same number of XP as she was defeated, just as if you had killed her.
Challenge levels are used based on the monster, and split evenly among the party on the adventure. As an example, 5 party members kill a ¼ challenge Kenku, worth 25pts. Each party member would get 5xp, even if some of the party did no damage. Every party member contributes in some way with healing, tracking, and shares in the danger of being a target. I do however, upgrade challenge levels based on higher levels of the threat. You are fighting 10 Kenku, one is a sergeant that is the equivalent of a challenge 3 creature, he is worth challenge 3 experience.
Other ways to earn experience would be to complete a task, mission, quest or goal.
TASK – One example of task would be building a roadside shrine to Eldar in a village with no temple or shrine. Another might be to pick a pocket. Or to consecrate ground for a new druid grove, or to aid a traveler who has a broken wagon wheel or is injured. Tasks are almost unlimited.
MISSION – A mission might be to drive off a band of horrid Bullywugs, to open diplomatic relations with a pack of Kobolds, or to solve the mystery of a haunted cornfield. A mission might also be to thoroughly map an area for a commission for a large peat harvesting company. Missions are usually given or assigned to you by another party, and usually require more than one player character.
QUEST – Quests are usually given by a church or the government, and could be a lifelong journey to find the Holy Grail, or to find the homeland of the Golden Unicorn. These are uncommon.
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GOAL – Goals are usually something your player character chooses themselves to achieve, such as build a dam on Whitewater Creek to aid in irrigation. Another could be to learn the Goblinoid language. Goals, by nature, are not easily done or simple. Lets say you have a weakness for ale, and you usually get drunk whenever in a village, or you have ale available. Not getting drunk in The Great Walled City of Agincourt tonight, while a worthwhile goal, would not be a goal in this sense. To rid your self of your weakness for the demon ale would be a goal, and completing it might be going a year without a drink.
All of the above would be worth experience points, which are assigned by the DM.
As with everything in D&D, these should be discussed with the DM.
Another way to earn experience is to complete a job or complete skill training.
JOB – Many jobs you take during our down time between games are basic jobs that earn you coin and develop an attribute. As an example, you dig irrigation ditches for three days for pay. You would get money, and some small benefit in strength, but no experience. (more on the benefit to strength on the paper, Jobs, Skill Building and Reading in the World of Elisar to be published soon.)
But, lets say you have the tinkering skill and you take a job to repair a turnip press that has broken down, paying you 50gp when the press is repaired. You use your tinkering skill, clean, lubricate and replace broken parts on the press. Completion of this task would give you three benefits: the 50gp for completion of the job, a small increase in the tinkering skill, and a handful of experience points.
SKILL TRAINING – Each town offers some number of skill classes available for cost to enroll in. You take the class, complete the classroom/hands on, complete the practice, and are certified in the skill. The benefits are twofold once earning certification. First, you gain a skill that gives you some benefit, and you gain experience points for completing the certification. More on Skill Training in the upcoming paper, Jobs, Skill Building, and Reading in the World of Elisar.
THE DM’s DISCRETION – things happen from time to time that the DM may feel warrants awarding experience points. You complete a selfless act, possibly in the service of your religion or belief system. You do something so off the wall the DM feels it warrants experience. Something bad happens to you, life lesson learned, thus experience. You do something bad, repent and make restitution, lesson learned and experience awarded.
TRACKING EXPERIENCE – The DM handles all of the tracking of experience. I have sheets for each character, in which I keep track of experience, skills, jobs etc. When you achieve a level, I will tell you, either at the end of the night at Geek Boom, or possibly, if you take advantage of the Jobs/Skills/Reading available on the Wednesday Facebook page, when you complete one of the above jobs, skills, reading, and you obtain XP, reach an XP threshold and go up a level. I would tell you on Facebook, usually by Facebook Messenger. You are free to ask where you are at on experience, at any time. I will tell you where you are relatively to the next level, but not the number. Such as, about half way, almost there etc.
GOING UP A LEVEL – When your character goes up a level, you have 4 options:
Go up a level in your current class
Add a new character class
Advance another level in an additional character class
Add a new subclass
GO UP A LEVEL IN YOUR CURRENT CLASS – When you reach the experience level threshold for the next level, you attain that level and all benefits that go with it. Example, you are a 1st level fighter, you reach 300 or more XP, you go to 2nd level fighter.
ADD A NEW CHARACTER CLASS – You reach the experience level threshold for the next level, instead of going up in your current class, . You choose to add a new character class, you add that character class, at 1st level, if you have a high enough score in the prerequisite ability. Example, you are a 1st level fighter, earn enough XP to attain 2nd level, instead of going to 2nd level fighter, you decide to become a Bard in addition to being a fighter, provided you have at least a 13 Charisma attribute, You become a 1st level Bard, gain all of the abilities of a first level Bard, and still retain all of the abilities of a 1st level fighter. In this situation, you character would be considered second level for the purposes of hit points and XP. In order to advance one or the other of these classes, you would have to reach the XP threshold of 3rd level then ONE of the two classes would advance to SECOND level. And yes it is possible to be 12th level in XP and hit points and be a 1st level
Barbarian/Bard/Cleric/Druid/Fighter/Monk/Paladin/Ranger/Rogue/Sorcerer/Warlock/Wizard
Never seen it, but it could be done. Three classes is the most I have seen.
ADVANCE ANOTHER LEVEL IN AN ADDITIONAL CHARACTER CLASS – You are a 1st level Fighter/1nd level Bard, you reach the threshold for 3rd level XP, you choose to go up in the Bard class. You become a 1st Fighter/2nd Bard, and gain all abilities of a second level Bard while retaining all abilities of a 1st Fighter. Upon reaching the XP threshold for 4th level, you could advance in either class, or choose a third class.
ADD A NEW SUBCLASS – Instead of going up a level in a certain class, you choose a 2nd subclass FROM THAT CLASS. You must be at the combined levels to get the second subclass, and gain the abilities for that 2nd subclass, and that levels hit die, but no other abilities for that level.
As you advance in levels, you would be 1 level behind for benefits of achieving that level. And you would have to choose which subclass to benefit for the subclass advancement if there is any.
Example. Your dream is to be a horseback fighting, arrow shooting terror, (you always liked the Mongols). You choose to be a fighter, and you want to gain the benefits of cavalier and arcane archer. At 3rd level, you get to choose a subclass, and you choose Cavalier, and gain all benefits of Cavalier and any other benefits gained for reaching 3rd level fighter. You reach 6th level, and want to add the subclass Arcane Archer. Since it takes 3 levels to gain a subclass, you may add an additional subclass at 6th level. You gain the benefits of arcane archer, and the normal hit die, but forgo the other benefits of reaching 6th level, which in this case would be Ability Score Improvement. When you reached 7th level XP threshold, you would gain a hit die, and the Ability Score Improvement from 6th level, as you are one level behind for benefits. When you reached the 8th XP threshold, your character would gain the 7th level benefit, gaining a hit die and gaining a martial archetype (subclass) feature. You would only gain the benefit for ONE of the archetypes (sub classes) not both, your choice. This choice does take more attention to detail in record keeping.
MAXIMUM LEVELS
While we are not anywhere near this, and the campaign may end before we get here, 5e only supports characters up to 20th level. If you were to attain that level, or combined levels, you stop advancing in the game. However, I allow you to continue attain levels in a second or third class.
In other words, 20th level is currently the highest you can go in a single class, but once reached, you could continue to attain levels in other classes.
There are NPC’s and opponents out there who are 20th rogue/13 druid, 20th fighter arcane archer cavalier/20th wizard, etc.
We will discuss this more if and when we reach this situation. Or you face an opponent who, unfortunately for you, has attained such lofty levels.
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