<<DMs Only>> How do you let your players level up?

[MarauderX]

I like the Call of Cthulhu method for skill leveling so each time they perform a skill successfully they put a tik next to the skill. When they level up they make a skill roll DC 30 for each skill they performed successfully. If they FAIL they can freely spend skill points on that skill. If they SUCCEED then they didn't learn anything they didn't already know. If they didn't use that skill then their only option is to seek training either by themselves or with a tutor. If they can't spend all of their skill points at once when they level up then so be it. They keep them until they can spend them so they don't go away. I like the system and I've used it for some time.

Ouch. I let the players level when they get the XP, no matter where they are, what they are doing, and without training. Does it make sense? Sure, if you don't mind making a few assumptions about the activities the PCs have in their free time. In my campaign the PCs are assumed to be practicing and showing interest in the skills they decide to invest in. The only problems might occur while they are in the wilderness and decide to load up on a Knowledge skill that doesn't apply... but can be explained away once they reach a town where books are more available. On top of that, it can be explained that they receive training from another PC if that PC already has the skill. It's easy, and I don't like to slow up my game with rules mechanics.

 

[Count Arioch the 28t]

I was just curious how most of you handle player level-ups? One of my players recently left my game because he didn't like how I had them level up. I like the Call of Cthulhu method for skill leveling so each time they perform a skill successfully they put a tik next to the skill. When they level up they make a skill roll DC 30 for each skill they performed successfully. If they FAIL they can freely spend skill points on that skill. If they SUCCEED then they didn't learn anything they didn't already know. If they didn't use that skill then their only option is to seek training either by themselves or with a tutor. If they can't spend all of their skill points at once when they level up then so be it. They keep them until they can spend them so they don't go away. I like the system and I've used it for some time.

Anyway, do you just let your players instantly level up or do you handle it differently and if it is differently then how do you do it?

I can understadn perfectly why he'd be that upset. that skill increasing system sucks for so many reason, I won't even go into them here. Alright, I will. Failure should never be better than success in anything, and putting artificial caps that could harm the palyers in the long run by crippling them is also a bad idea. You do realize that DC 30 isn't too hard to beat past level 10 or so, right? I do not relish going into a 19th levle adventure with the rogue having the skills of a 10th level rogue. I would have left too. I strongly suggest you use RAW for skill increases, not some lame, potentially damaging artificial mechanic.

Anyway, I assign my character EXP when they get a break from adventuring. If they want to raise a level in any base class, they can, because there's usually a month or two long break from adventuring, they have time to pick up some new skills.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

In the games I'm in, xp is handed out at a point when it's convenient for the DM (usually at the end of a session) and levelling occours automatically.

However, if I was DMing myself I'd be tempted towards making players that multiclass or want a PrC to get some sort of training, or at the very least write an account of the training in between sessions. Of course, they'd get xp for out of session RPing, so it'd be good all round.

 

[Arnwyn]

I'm both liberal and a hard*ss when it comes to levelling up.

I award XP at the end of every encounter, and the PCs may level up immediately upon gaining the required number of XP (even in the middle of the deepest, darkest dungeon). When they do, they immediately get all class-related abilities (hps, BAB, saves, spells) - except skills and feats. They may immediately put skill points into any skill that they already have skill points in or any skill that can be used untrained. They may also immediately take any feat that is an "improved" version of a feat that they already have (it must have the word "improved" or "greater" in the feat title).

However (and this is where the hard*ss part comes in), for any other skill, feat, or class, the PC requires training. He may be trained by anyone who has at least 1 rank in a skill, has the feat, or has at least 1 level in the class. Base training time is 1 week per rank for the skill, 2 weeks for the feat, or 3 weeks for the class. This is multiplied by 19 minus the trainer's Wisdom (to a minimum of 1).

So a mix of both, but it works for us.

 

[Grazzt]

In our FR Game, I award XP at the end of the session. Someone who already has training in an existing class goes up a level without needing to train - I rationalize that in their adventuring they learn, they untap new potential they didn't realize before, and can now do things because the daily behind-the scenes training and trial and error pay off. You don't see Conan train, but you do see Conan get better.

If they want to pick up a new class, they have to search out a teacher, and spend time with them. This may require money, a task, or a debt to be repaid. The time is usually a month or possibly more, depending on the storyline.

That's how I do it ('cept its not an FR game )

 

[Ylis]

For me it's a mix, depending on the game. For instance, most normal-paced games, I'll wait for them to get into a town and make them tell fireside stories in the local inn (IRL, they tell me what they did and what everyone else did...I kind of run my experience off of a fudged RIFTS experience chart, since I give more role-playing experience...I also divvy up experience for fighting according to who did what..I've never agreed that those that sit around doing nothing in a fight should get EXP). Now, in a high-powered game, where they could really, really use a level up in order to survive, I will let them level up on the spot, and get EXP after every fight...

 

[Wombat]

In my current game XP awards are given at the end of each adventure (whether this is the end of a session or not is variable). Time is assumed to pass between adventures, so there is "time to level up".

I have played around with many variations on this theme and never come to a 100% happy answer...

 

[Cor Azer]

In my campaigns...

I usually just hand out experience at the end of each session, and then players can level their character between sessions if they have enough experience. In my current face-to-face campaign, I wanted to ensure game time flowed as well, so I put in a training time requirement. It started at 1 week for each level you had, but that got too long towards 10th level, so they learned some "long-lost Elven techniques" (it worked story-wise because they had just liberated an Elven Forest that had been sealed from the outside for a thousand years) to reduce it to a day per previous level.

I put no special requirements on how to level the characters beyond that.

 

[Gothmog]

I award XP at the end of every adventure. If the PC wants to level up in a class he already has, no problem, he can do that immediately. If he wants to gain a level in class he never has had before, he has to be trained by an appropriate master, which takes (6-Int modifier) weeks, minumum one week for non-magical classes (fighter, rogue, barbarian). Spellcasting classes (wizard, cleric, druid, paladin- there are no sorcerers in my world) require longer to train due to the arcane and subtle nature of their disciplines (usually 1 year- 2 weeks per Int modifier). In addition, if he wants to enter a spellcasting class , he'll also have a master/religious structure to be responsible to. The exception are diabolists (evil spellcasters who bargain with demons for their power), which take only one week of training and suitable sacrifices, but the character is the thrall of the demon. Prestige classes are VERY rare IMC, and a character wanting to enter one of those must have met a previous member of that class, and usually is given an initiation ritual or task to perform. If they fail, they cannot take that PrC. If the character wants to learn a new feat, it takes 5 days training to learn it. I don't tend to have really time-sensitive campaigns, so it hasn't been a problem.

 

[Davelozzi]

I calculate XP the day after the session and email the results to everyone.

If I'm pretty sure that someone is going to raise, we'll roll for HPs before they leave. I use a method of you roll and if you don't like it, I'll roll but if you pick mr roll it sticks even if it's lower than yours.

When I email out XP, I generally send it with a semi-updated copy of the character sheet. I update BAB, saves anything that doesn't involve decision making. Then I tell them how many skill points, feats, spells, powers or whatever they have to choose and they usually get back to me by email before the next session.

Sometimes, a player won't get back to me about skill points, or occasionally a feat, and they'll sit unspent for a while.

I generally don't worry about training, but sometimes if they wouldn't logically have access to something, I won't let them do take it. For example, I didn't let one player take several ranks in Orcish (custom language system) all at once without a trainer. And another player has met all the mechanics requirements for a paladin PrC but I won't let him take the level until he gets back to town and undergoes a ceremony admitting him to the Order of St. Halmied.