D&D 5E How do you time your level-ups?

[Fauchard1520]

How do you guys play level-ups? Are they strictly for between sessions? Do you wait until you get your next long rest? Or is it possible to grab a couple of XP mid-combat and get a sudden MMO-style reset to the ol' hp and spell slots?

What's most practical? What's most fun? And is there a method you always wanted to try out but never got around to?

(Comic for illustrative purposes.)

 

[SakanaSensei]

I always have it set up for in between sessions so that people who have options get a chance to think about what they want to choose, personally.

 

[DND_Reborn]

When I DM I wait until the PC finishes a long rest. It can be during sessions or in-between, whether via XP, session-based, or milestone.

 

[R_J_K75]

I always have it set up for in between sessions so that people who have options get a chance to think about what they want to choose, personally.

Same here.

 

[Mad_Jack]

I always have it set up for in between sessions so that people who have options get a chance to think about what they want to choose, personally.

Same. Unless the party already knows exactly what they're going to do at level up and they just need to take two or three minutes to roll hit points and write a couple words down on their character sheets, it tends to mess up the pacing of the session.

 

[ECMO3]

How do you guys play level-ups? Are they strictly for between sessions? Do you wait until you get your next long rest? Or is it possible to grab a couple of XP mid-combat and get a sudden MMO-style reset to the ol' hp and spell slots?

What's most practical? What's most fun? And is there a method you always wanted to try out but never got around to?

(Comic for illustrative purposes.)

Next long rest as DM.

As a player it is whatever the DM wants. That varies between sessions, next long rest and after combat in the middle of the game.

If you do it in the middle of the game I have seen it done three ways:

1. Middle of the day, get your hps, PB bonus etc, no more long rest abilities or spells though and any limited use abilities must wait to a rest

2. Middle of the day, get your hps, PB ect, get new spells abilities etc - so if my bladesinger went from level 4 to level 5 and she was completely out of slots and bladesonge she would get one more bladesong (since now she gets 3 instead of 2) and 2 3rd level slots.

3. Level up in the middle of the day and it is a long rest at the same time.

As a player I roll with whatever the DM decides, I have one DM that does #3 above and it is wierd in a combat heavy XP game. In such a game you are gaining levels quickly and since every one counts as a long rest. In one game I am playing we have gained 4 levels (7 to 11) since our last long rest, so every time we have leveled up all our spell slots recharged. We have also had about 15 encounters since the last long rest and since we keep getting recharged we are not even low on slots or hit points.

Since you know how many xp you have you really go Nova when you are about to level up.

 

[Digdude]

I give in field free level ups except for levels 5, 10, and 15. Here they need a trainer of some sort. Mainly for rp reasons and a new contact.

 

[Oofta]

They have to have a long rest at a minimum. I typically try to make it during a longer break where they have months of downtime to train.

I typically have long stretches of downtime, the zero to paragon over the course of a few weeks never made sense to me. In game time years will elapse for the PCs before they hit 20th level.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

most times we wait for the end of a session (weather we get a long rest or not) but more then once we took a break mid game to do it the moment we level up

 

[humble minion]

We do it between sessions because we use a heavily modded VTT and the DM always prefers to have time to test if any newly acquired class features are going to break it (paladin auras were a nightmare, in particular). In-game, your new class features don't apply until after a long rest.