Turbojugend
First Post
We usually just level up without training, but if im picking up a new skill I try to roleplay my character training a bit with it before he levels and actually get the skillpoints.
training
- Thread starter jollyninja
- Start date
In our games we don't generally have a separate down-time for training. PCs do train, but usually it's by stuff that they do in the course of the regular adventures and downtime. A player will say, "I'm hanging out with NPC X in my spare time to learn candlemaking," or "I spend the winter working for mastersmith Z to improve my weapon-smithing," or "I spend a lot of time in prayer and meditation," for learning new cleric spells.
The only real thing is that the DM doesn't give out XP unless there's going to be a few days for characters to reflect on their experiences, so nobody gets to level up unless we're at a convenient break in the action.
The exception is when a PC goes through a major change, like adding a new class or a when a paladin or ranger gains their first spells. For stuff like this it's almost always accompanied by some roleplaying in-game to explain how they pick up their cool new abilities or by an extended period of downtime with a reasonable explanation of how they came by their new abilities.
Happily this isn't stuff that is enforced by the DM, it's something the players seem to naturally want as plausible explanations for their character development. We tend to know a level in advance when we're going to change classes so the DM can prepare some roleplaying or plan on us having the downtime to do so. It works fine, but there's no real mandatory system to it.
The only real thing is that the DM doesn't give out XP unless there's going to be a few days for characters to reflect on their experiences, so nobody gets to level up unless we're at a convenient break in the action.
The exception is when a PC goes through a major change, like adding a new class or a when a paladin or ranger gains their first spells. For stuff like this it's almost always accompanied by some roleplaying in-game to explain how they pick up their cool new abilities or by an extended period of downtime with a reasonable explanation of how they came by their new abilities.
Happily this isn't stuff that is enforced by the DM, it's something the players seem to naturally want as plausible explanations for their character development. We tend to know a level in advance when we're going to change classes so the DM can prepare some roleplaying or plan on us having the downtime to do so. It works fine, but there's no real mandatory system to it.
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Radiating Gnome
Adventurer
I am getting ready to end my current campaign, and start another, and one of the changes I'm making is to add rules for training time between levels. In my current campaign, which ran for three years of RL time and actually far less than that in game time, the players all managed to reach 18-19th level. They have become powerhouses practically overnight, and the world around them has not evolved much with them. This became especially problematic over the past year or so, when they became high enough level that they could get places without having to put in a lot of travel time.
I'm not going to treat it entirely as training time, though -- just as down time. It represents a lot of different things -- training, organizational duties, goofing off, making contacts in the PC's field, etc.
-rg
I'm not going to treat it entirely as training time, though -- just as down time. It represents a lot of different things -- training, organizational duties, goofing off, making contacts in the PC's field, etc.
-rg
Zappo
Explorer
My PCs level whenever they have the right amount of XP. If they have the XP, it means that they've become more experienced. Training would be redundant.
As Radiating Gnome pointed out, PCs can go from farmers to demigods in less time than most of us can get a degree, and this doesn't terribly make sense at a first glance (though there are literary examples of characters becoming very powerful very quickly). However, in my opinion, the problem can't be solved by introducing training time. The fact is that the PCs becoming experienced quickly actually does make sense in many campaigns. Often PCs jump from an adventure to another without so much as sleeping one night in between, and they may be able to solve court mysteries and slice a couple of devils to ribbons in the same day. This is especially true after teleport and similar magics have taken away travel time.
In truth, even war has been described as "long periods of waiting, followed by short periods of excitement". The PCs should have lots and lots of downtime, years even; it's not like the world needs to be saved every other week. I have been trying this approach for a while, but I think it will get some time to get used to, on both sides. I think that the players should appreciate it, getting more time to research spells or creating magical items, or whatever, and it adds a bit of verisimilitude to the world.
As Radiating Gnome pointed out, PCs can go from farmers to demigods in less time than most of us can get a degree, and this doesn't terribly make sense at a first glance (though there are literary examples of characters becoming very powerful very quickly). However, in my opinion, the problem can't be solved by introducing training time. The fact is that the PCs becoming experienced quickly actually does make sense in many campaigns. Often PCs jump from an adventure to another without so much as sleeping one night in between, and they may be able to solve court mysteries and slice a couple of devils to ribbons in the same day. This is especially true after teleport and similar magics have taken away travel time.
In truth, even war has been described as "long periods of waiting, followed by short periods of excitement". The PCs should have lots and lots of downtime, years even; it's not like the world needs to be saved every other week. I have been trying this approach for a while, but I think it will get some time to get used to, on both sides. I think that the players should appreciate it, getting more time to research spells or creating magical items, or whatever, and it adds a bit of verisimilitude to the world.
Bendris Noulg
First Post
I use a combination of considerations. For instance, is the character simply getting better at something they've already been doing? If so, than there usually isn't any training or delay involved. If, however, the character is gaining something previously unavailable (a Fighter 3 becoming a Fighter 3/Sorcerer 1, for instance), then I call for some degree of in-game justification for the new gains. This is often in the form of training, tutoring, apprenticeship, memorizing or analyzing the lore in an old tome, or other role-playing based activity.
A character may pre-train for something new (i.e., having spent the last adventure in the wilderness with a Ranger, the Fighter 3 learns Tracking and Favored Terrain, and levels into Fighter 3/Ranger 1 without hindrance). Most mundane (i.e., unrated or Extraordinary) abilities are learned in a short amount of time, although the more magical it gets (with spellcasting at the top), the longer such training takes (becoming a Channeler, Sorcerer or Wizard can take years).
A character may pre-train for something new (i.e., having spent the last adventure in the wilderness with a Ranger, the Fighter 3 learns Tracking and Favored Terrain, and levels into Fighter 3/Ranger 1 without hindrance). Most mundane (i.e., unrated or Extraordinary) abilities are learned in a short amount of time, although the more magical it gets (with spellcasting at the top), the longer such training takes (becoming a Channeler, Sorcerer or Wizard can take years).
DragonLancer
Hero
Before my current campaign I never bothered with training. It was far easier and simnpler to just let the character level. Then I decided that for this current campaign the character (if muklticlassing) would need to find a teacher who had at least 3 levels of that class and pay him/her 100gp for the training.
But that has fallen by the wayside as it is just easier to let the character level up. I only stick to the teacher idea if they want a PrC.
But that has fallen by the wayside as it is just easier to let the character level up. I only stick to the teacher idea if they want a PrC.
Wombat
First Post
I have gotten around this problem by only handing out XP at the end of a given adventure. As there is a space of time between adventures (days, weeks, months, depending), I have no problem with character's levelling up. They cannnot go up in power mid-adventure, so nothing really alters that way ("Oh look," sez wizard, "I found there are actually more spells in this book if you simply turn the page!").
Easy way to handle things. Minimum of muss and fuss.
Easy way to handle things. Minimum of muss and fuss.
My Approach
I have always required training time, but I have also often run into the problems described by MerricB and others. My current approach is somewhat similar to Shilsen's.
I have my characters train *before* they earn a level, and I allow them to train up to 3 levels in advance.
In my system, the players are asked what they want their characters' to learn in the next few levels. A tutor NPC can be found, and will charge basically 10 gp per level per week to teach something to the character. Multiple things studied from the same tutor (like a skill and a feat, or multiple skills, or a new spell level and a feat, etc.) add 5 gp per level per week to the training cost.
Time required is based on the longest time (usually 4 weeks for a feat) + 1 week per additional "course".
Institutions/organizations offer training "packages": 3 levels of 1 core class, including skills, feat(s), bonus feat(s), new spell level(s), and class feature(s). The training package also concentrates the time, cutting it down to 2/3 the time required to take them all separately.
This approach lets me have my NPC mentor/contact list, and it solves the verisimilitude problem of "instant leveling" (at least for me). Because the PC has already studied the "theory", the gaining of XP in the dungeon shows when s/he "gets it" fully.
I award XP between sessions, often in mid-dungeon. I have always awared the XP between sessions (from 1st Edition on), but 3rd Edition seems to be geared around expecting that approach, and expecting the characters to gain 1 or more levels in mid-adventure. Naturally, not all styles will match with that, but I find my players enjoy it more.
I have always required training time, but I have also often run into the problems described by MerricB and others. My current approach is somewhat similar to Shilsen's.
I have my characters train *before* they earn a level, and I allow them to train up to 3 levels in advance.
In my system, the players are asked what they want their characters' to learn in the next few levels. A tutor NPC can be found, and will charge basically 10 gp per level per week to teach something to the character. Multiple things studied from the same tutor (like a skill and a feat, or multiple skills, or a new spell level and a feat, etc.) add 5 gp per level per week to the training cost.
Time required is based on the longest time (usually 4 weeks for a feat) + 1 week per additional "course".
Institutions/organizations offer training "packages": 3 levels of 1 core class, including skills, feat(s), bonus feat(s), new spell level(s), and class feature(s). The training package also concentrates the time, cutting it down to 2/3 the time required to take them all separately.
This approach lets me have my NPC mentor/contact list, and it solves the verisimilitude problem of "instant leveling" (at least for me). Because the PC has already studied the "theory", the gaining of XP in the dungeon shows when s/he "gets it" fully.
I award XP between sessions, often in mid-dungeon. I have always awared the XP between sessions (from 1st Edition on), but 3rd Edition seems to be geared around expecting that approach, and expecting the characters to gain 1 or more levels in mid-adventure. Naturally, not all styles will match with that, but I find my players enjoy it more.
the Jester
Legend
We don't currently use training rules, but I've been considering adopting them.
BrooklynKnight
First Post
phsaw! training shmaining.
