D&D 5E Breaking up the level advancement

[SeaJay]

I would like to break up the level advancement of 5th ed, similar to how 13th Age does it.

I'm not going to use the xp award system at all, I'll simply tell the players when their characters advance. But an advance brings only one improved benefit at a time.

For example, the first advance might be to increase hit points, the second increase might be improving your skills, the next, you gain a feat etc. That kind of thing.

Has anyone done this and/or has anyone got any advice?

Thanks all

 

[The Crimson Binome]

The obvious problem is that 5E doesn't have skills that improve steadily with level, or feats that are independent from class features. The three things that you get with level are Hit Points, class features, and proficiency bonus; but the proficiency bonus only goes up with 20% of the levels.

If you only split levels 5/9/13/17 into three increments, then it would feel like you're progressing more slowly for those levels, no matter that the whole thing is just ad hoc anyway. It would probably be better to just switch it between HP/proficiency bonus as one linked benefit, with class features as the alternate benefit. That way, you'd always be gaining something with each advancement, even though some advancements would give more than others.

 

[Li Shenron]

I'm not going to use the xp award system at all, I'll simply tell the players when their characters advance. But an advance brings only one improved benefit at a time.

For example, the first advance might be to increase hit points, the second increase might be improving your skills, the next, you gain a feat etc. That kind of thing.

Well you obviously need to balance the fact that different classes get a different amount of benefits when levelling up. While a character may get only HP and a single benefit at a certain level, another character may get 3-4 benefits for the same level. So to be fair, you'd need to grant those 4 benefits during the same time the first character gets 2.

There is no formula for this, you would need to keep track of everyone and grant benefits accordingly. If using XP, at least you could divide the amount needed for next level by the number of benefits, although not all benefits are equal.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

Why the penalty? I can see slowing down advancement but why deny earned class abilities? Are the players good with this?

 

[manduck]

Whenever I see a thread like this (I want to change x rule or advancement or whatever) my first question is always a simple one. Why?

What are you trying to achieve that the rules aren't giving you? Without knowing why you want to change something, we can't really help you make the change or offer advice.

Though I'll start with some very direct advice when it comes to rules. Feel free to use or not use whatever rules you like, but don't go around changing them for the sake of change. You'll just make things far more complicated for yourself than they need to be.

 

[Sunseeker]

Are you going to award them more often? Taking from the "how often do you level" thread, how many sessions would it take in your expected game for a player to get one advancement and then one "complete" level?

I don't know how 13th Age does things, but typically when people start saying "I want D&D to do things more like *that other game*" I ask: why not just play that game then?

 

[SeaJay]

It's to avoid the 'ding' issue, wherein suddenly, everyone is better at attacking, skills, tougher (hit points) etc. I want a more gradual progression.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

It's to avoid the 'ding' issue, wherein suddenly, everyone is better at attacking, skills, tougher (hit points) etc. I want a more gradual progression.

Back in the day I had DMs that would make us 'train' to level up, as though 'real' experience wasn't enough to gain the benefits of leveling. I thought it was bogus and a needless display of DM fiat. But whatever your group likes is cool.

Depending on the class there would be a variety of things that could be parceled out. Proficiency Bonus increase, hit point increase, class features and other (increased cantrip bonuses, inherent new spells for casters, etc). Maybe set up benchmarks for when characters 'earn' these during their current level. I'd allow players to determine the order of awards, though, so they get a say in what they're concentrating on and what's important to them.

 

[manduck]

If you're looking to avoid that "ding" feeling, where suddenly everyone is better, I think the problem is perception and not the rules. Gaining a level isn't suddenly becoming better for no reason. Gaining a level is the culmination of all the knowledge (experience) you've picked up throughout the whole previous level. An increase in proficiency bonus, for example, comes from getting into quite a few fights or using your skills to overcome different challenges. All those different encounters teach your character something until they figure out new things they can do or improve what they can already do.

So my advice would be not to change the rules at all, as you'll just make your life more difficult. If the players are having fun and you're all involved in a good story, that's all that counts. Save yourself the headache of changing things that don't need to be changed. Just tell a good story and get them involved.