Playtest (A5E) Level Up Playtest Document #1: Origins

Welcome to the first Level Up playtest document. This playtest contains a candidate for the game’s Origins system—the initial building blocks of your character.

Are you ready to level up your 5E game? Welcome to Level Up, the standalone 'advanced 5E' backwards compatible tabletop RPG coming in 2021!

A crunchier, more flexible version of the 5E ruleset which you know and love. If you love 5E but would like a little more depth to the ruleset, Level Up is the game for you!

Level Up is a standalone hardcover roleplaying game brought to you by EN Publishing, the company which brought you EN5ider Magazine and Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters!

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What this is
This is a playtest document. We’d love you to try out the rules presented here, and then answer the follow-up survey in a few days.

What this is not
This is NOT the final game. It’s OK if you don’t like elements of these rules; that’s the purpose of a playtest document. Be sure to participate in the follow-up survey in a few days. All data, positive or negative is useful.

What we use this for
Your survey responses help form the direction of the game as it goes through the development process.

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Sign up for the mailing list for notifications of playtests, surveys, and news. And make sure you get notified on Kickstarter when the project launches in 2021.

 

[jmucchiello]

I'd like to see the "book" backgrounds include 2-3 features per background that you choose one from. Examples of what a feature can be make it easier to create new features. But some people don't like making up a feature. So having "tested" sources for features is useful.

 

[skotothalamos]

Just getting into this, but my first comment comes from reading the Deep Dwarf culture ability Superior Darkvision. It makes the assumption that the member of that culture has the Dwarf heritage or another heritage with Darkvision. Also, it gives a flat range of 120 feet, which doubles the Dwarf darkvision.

A) it feels offputting to have a physical boost in culture, but
B) I can see it being an adaptation to the environment. However
C) it should be made more generalizable to other heritages. Maybe "If you have darkvision, its range increases by 60 feet. If you do not, you gain darkvision 60 feet."
D) Which I now see is the wording for Shadow Elf Umbral Acclimation. These two abilities could be standardized to Superior Darkvision.

 

[tetrasodium]

Just getting into this, but my first comment comes from reading the Deep Dwarf culture ability Superior Darkvision. It makes the assumption that the member of that culture has the Dwarf heritage or another heritage with Darkvision. Also, it gives a flat range of 120 feet, which doubles the Dwarf darkvision.

A) it feels offputting to have a physical boost in culture, but
B) I can see it being an adaptation to the environment. However
C) it should be made more generalizable to other heritages. Maybe "If you have darkvision, its range increases by 60 feet. If you do not, you gain darkvision 60 feet."
D) Which I now see is the wording for Shadow Elf Umbral Acclimation. These two abilities could be standardized to Superior Darkvision.

It's good that they didn't include daylight sensitivity with an already generally iffy ability like superior darkvision but even in settings with wide magic item availability it makes more sense to start them with goggles of night or similar than say humans & wjhatever else living there were magebred/flifeshaped/etc.
Maybe start with