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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 1485711" data-attributes="member: 63">Let's see. . . .  I don't have a clear method.  So far, in my latest campaign, it's been the players asking, "Have we leveled?" and me saying yes or no based on how much I felt like they'd done.  But let me brainstorm something a bit more solid for the future.I want to go for a more narrative progression of power.  I certainly don't want more than a few leveling ups in a year.  In my latest game, the world just went crazy because everyone was teleporting every day it seemed like.  They really couldn't get any downtime.  It was a cool experience for a one-time game, but I prefer to let a little more time pass in a game.  Seriously, in the span of three days, they gained two levels just from all the crap they were doing.So, first things first.I'm all for free-form adventures -- railroading is bad, and you ought to let the characters go about things as they desire -- but I think I'm going to shoot for a chapter-based pacing, with each chapter having an ultimate goal.  If I were to take the last campaign, I'd make it this way:Scourge of the Burning SkyThe cruel Ragesian Empire ruled the world, its army able to travel anywhere in an instant with the Torch of the Burning Sky.  Now, with the assassination of its immortal emperor Draco Coaltongue, and the theft of the Torch, that empire has fallen, and those seeking to fill the emperor's place are bringing war to all the world.  In the heartland of the Ragesian Empire, the Grand Inquisitor Leska has decreed all disloyal magic-users are to be killed.  The party must flee this scourge, the scourge of the burning sky.* The group starts at 5th level.  I think I don't want the game to go much higher than 12th or so.Chapter One: Refuge  The party flees from Ragesia, to the supposed safety of the wizard school Lyceum.  A contingent of Leska's inquisitors pursue them.  There are many paths to Lyceum, and if they travel swiftly, they should be able to reach this refuge before the nations in the empire get their armies in motion.* Once the party reaches the safety of Lyceum, they gain a level.  Along the level there are a lot of different things they can do, and I'd assign different XP values for each.  They ended up taking the quickest route, bypassing any trouble they saw, and only dealt with one thing.Chapter Two: Resistance  The wizards in Lyceum have to organize a resistance to survive the ire of several nations of the former empire.  The Elves, in a loose alliance with Leska, try to blockade the harbor of the city Lyceum is in to make sure more mages can't escape there.  The Elves are aided by some strange weather magic that keeps the city trapped in a storm.  Because of the weird circumstances of the PCs' escape, they are some of the few who can find and defeat those threatening the city.* If they stop the bad guys, level.  If they don't, or if they flee, or whatever, I have to rewrite a lot of stuff, and I'll find something else to do.Chapter Three: Finding the Torch  Lyceum sends the PCs to try to find the missing Torch and Emperor, and make allies with those who assassinated him.  * Along the way, the PCs run afoul of the emperor of the Elves, and lead an enemy army into a cursed forest where they're killed.  There was a lot of stuff in this 'chapter,' so they ended up gaining three levels over the course of 10 sessions or so.  In the process of getting the Torch, the PCs really pissed off Leska.Chapter Four: Fighting Leska  Leska is also, sadly, immortal.  The party has to figure out a way to stop her.  They do.  Level, and as a cool bonus they get some permanent magical powers, worth an effective level.  Defeating Leska was very hard.Chapter Five: Unification  Stop the remaining warlords and emperors, to ensure peace.  At the climax, the Emperor returns briefly to power and tries to go all 'scorched earth' because he know he can't keep control of his nation.  Stop him and save the world. So I'm thinking, generally, if you show up at a session, add together the total party level, multiply by 100 XP, and that XP is divided evenly among all members of the group.  Thus, even if you don't do anything huge or dramatic, you'll level after ten sessions.  But undoubtedly you will be doing dramatic stuff.  Various goals will have XP values assigned, which sometimes fluctuate depending on how tough or important they are.  For instance:* Find the way to the Aquiline Heart - 300 XP per level.* Destroy the spell tombs that stop teleportation - 100 XP per level.* Take out Pilus and the Stormseeker Warship (including the army on board, and all of Pilus's biomanced monsters, and his allies) - 500 XP per level.* Help the fey escape the spirit of Indomitability - 50 XP per level.</blockquote>

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