A level up is a representation of a character’s growing power as they gain access to new abilities and class features.
Experience is not easily modeled. A character slaying their first dragon will have learned more from that fight than someone who’s just hunted their hundredth. The experience per dragon doesn’t change, but the hunter’s obviously learned less. This is because the hunter has experienced the fight in a different way than the character who just killed their first dragon.
But the EXP system in D&D is archaic and confusing. It’s a way to promote more character centric play and allow for growth in abilities that doesn’t work very well.
The article does not make much sense by attaching arbitrary numbers to moments of improvement and inspiration.
Leveling in Dungeons and Dragons can be a bit of a pain, but there are ways to make it easier. This article will discuss some of the ways you can adjust the level up system to better fit your game. ..
What Happens When You Level Up in 5e?
Whenever you complete quests, slay monsters, or your DM deems fit, you can level up. ..
The Player’s Handbook explains the steps involved in leveling up a character.
The main points of this guide are: -To find your level in the PHB, skim through its classes section. -There are specific levels for each class, and you can find them by scrolling through the classes section of the PHB.
I’m here to talk about the generalities.
In D&D, character power is almost exponential. This means that as your character levels, their abilities become more powerful and versatile. This can be a great boon for players who want to explore the game’s content and find new allies, or for those who want to take on more challenging challenges.
A 10th level wizard is two times as powerful as a 5th level wizard. There’s a massive difference between the two.
This is because wizards have more access to better options, which in turn allows them to cast more spells.
Your stats also mirror this idea, for levels 1-4 your proficiency bonus (the bonus you get for specializing into the skills you choose as you’re making your character) is +2, for levels 5-8 it’s +3, 9-12 +4, 13-16 +5, and 17-20 +6.
Adding any number to your dice rolls is always a good idea. ..
Each level of the game grants an ability score increase, which is called an ASI.
Your ability scores are your primary stats on the left side of your character sheet.
You can get two points added to your score if you complete a task with two different results.
When you level up, you get more dice, and new class skills.
If you’re a gamer, this is probably what you were expecting. So let’s get into an example of what that might look like.
5e Leveling Up Example
To level up a Bard 2 to a Bard 3, you will need to complete the following tasks:
- Complete the “A New Hope” quest.
- Complete the “The Lost Heir” quest.
- Complete the “The Battle for Castle Volkihar” quest. ..
Charisma affects how much charisma a character has, and Constitution affects how much health a character gets on a level up.
For our Bard, they will both be 12 years old on their next birthday. ..
We’ll configure our new health to improve our overall health.
When you level up, you’ll have the choice of either rolling your class’ hit dice (+Constitution) to find your new health, or taking an “adjusted median” (half of the max for your hit dice +1) +Constitution. ..
The adjusted median is a statistic that adjusts for the fact that people may have different levels of wealth. It’s used to compare the average incomes of different groups of people and it’s a useful tool for understanding how society works.
For a Bard with a +1 Constitution, level 1 health would be 9. Our adjusted median would be 5, plus our Constitution is 6, so for every level until our Constitution changes or we multiclass into different hit dice we get 6 more health.
Level 3 health is now 25.
At level 3, you can choose the bardic subclass, which is the class for a player who wants to learn how to sing and play music. This subclass allows you to choose one of three Bard Colleges: The College of Arms, The College of Lore, or The College of Song.
A subclass is a speciality inside of your class that you can specialize in. Imagine it like the different medical professions you can have: Neurosurgeons and Pediatricians are both doctors, but in vastly different ways.
Your character’s subclass at level 2 or 3 will drastically shape how you play. Make sure you think about what you want to do with your subclass before selecting it.
When I pick my subclass, I’ll get a few immediate bonuses. I like the idea of a combat-heavy bard, so I decide to subclass into the College of Valor. ..
At level 3, this gives you proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons. Basically, when you use any of those things, you can add your proficiency bonus to them.
Inspiration is a Bard spell that I learn that allows me to use a specific spell. This spell is Inspiration, but it’s pretty specific so we’re not going to get into it.
In the PHB, there are a few things you need to know in order to be successful. You just need to follow the instructions and make choices when it tells you to. It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it.
Class skills are the things that all characters have in common. These include things like attacking and defending, as well as skills like crafting and gathering. Subclass skills are the things that each character has that is specific to their class. For example, a paladin might have healing abilities, while a ranger might have tracking abilities. When you level up, make sure to check both sections to see which skills you’ll gain access to. Class skills will be those that are common to all characters in your class, while subclass skills will be specific to your class. ..
How To Calculate EXP in 5e
Quest experience is determined by the manual you’re playing in, or at the discretion of your DM. ..
Monster stats are determined by their challenge rating, which is on the stat block you or your DM are using for the monster.
If you’re homebrewing, be sure to check out this link for custom monster stat blocks. ..
A lot of DM’s like to run combat on the fly without any thought to it. But having a premade stat block can make your combat feel more consistent and consistent play can help you win games.
Adding the EXP to your character sheet will give you a boost in your lifetime EXP.
What To Look For On Each Level
Level 1: You will learn the basics of the game and how to play. This level is important for players who want to get into the game and start playing. Level 2: You will learn how to play more advanced games, including but not limited to strategy games, role-playing games, and first-person shooters. Level 3: You will learn how to play the most advanced games in the genre, which can include but are not limited to video game engines like Unreal Engine 4 or Unity.
Your proficiency bonus is +2 at the level you select.
Level 1 (+2): Starting Level, you’ll find your classes starting health (unless you’ve multiclassed) and usually gain access to that class’s signature ability. ..
Rage is a powerful emotion that can be used to motivate oneself or others. Bards get inspiration from their music and lyrics, while wizards can use their spells to cast powerful spells.
You’ll get your classes’ proficiencies and skills. This is usually the busiest level in terms of new skills.
Now, those with good primary skills can access their abilities (think Lay on Hands for clerics, and Action Surge for fighters, monks). ..
If you’re lucky, you’ll also gain access to your subclass at level 2 which will give you a slew of abilities to play with.
The clerics, druids, and sorcerers all keep an eye out for your subclass. If you have a wizard as your subclass, you can watch out for the spells that are specific to that class.
This is your subclass level.
You gain a second ability score increase, at level 4.
You now get a class’s secondary ability. This ability is usually more attacks, for casters it may be access to their first ‘big’ spells.
Bards are the only class that can use a tertiary ability. This ability is usually nothing to write home about, except for bards.
Level 7 (+3): For casters, you get a higher spell slot, for everyone else it’s probably an ability. ..
You can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, increasing its value by 4. ..
This is your class’ tertiary ability, or higher spell slots.
Casters get access to new spells at every level, while physical classes only get new spell slots at levels 10 and 20. This means that the game would become more unbalanced over time if physical classes were to gain more abilities than casters. ..
Rogue abilities are more diverse than any other class, with one ability that specifically benefits Rogues. They get one of their extra abilities here.
Warlocks now have a new ability, called “Level 11 (+4): Buff to primary ability for physical classes, spell slots for casters.” This buff increases the damage of your primary ability by 4%.
You gain a third ability score increase.
The buff to second/tertiary ability for clerics and rogues is increased by 5 points, while the buff to spell slots for casters is increased by 10 points.
Level 14: You gain a new subclass, which increases your ability to hit with your weapon.
The new ability for physicals is a level 15 spell slot that allows you to cast a higher level spell.
Your fourth ability score increase is as follows: Your intelligence increases by 5.
The caster gains a new secondary ability, which is much more powerful than their original ability. This new ability is likely the caster’s biggest level since they finally gain access to 9th level, reality bending, world-ending spells.
Level 18 is the most involved level in your class, and it also has the coolest skills. These skills are what make 18th and 20th levels so interesting.
At level 19, you gain a sixth ability score increase, giving you a total of 18. This increases your Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores by 2 each. ..
Your level 20 class is your magnum opus. It is the culmination of your training and experience, and it will define who you are as a player. Make sure you are prepared for this momentous occasion by doing your best to complete all the required quests and achievements. ..
For fighters, it’s your third attack per turn. For casters, it’s usually some form of regaining spell slots to keep you casting for longer. ..
Congratulations on reaching level 20! This is a significant milestone in your journey to become the best player in the game.
Multiclassing is a great way to customize your character and make them unique. The maximum level for multiclassing is based off the sum of your character’s levels. This means that if you are a Fighter 10/Barbarian 10, your maximum level is 20. ..
D&D Beyond has a great class information page that breaks down every class in detail.
How To Better Represent Growth By Leveling
I’ve had the most fun with D&D 5e because it’s a great game that allows for a lot of creativity and improvisation. I’ve been able to create my own characters, playtest them with friends, and even create my own campaigns.
This article is about the benefits and drawbacks of hard EXP systems in role-playing games. However, you should always support the choices your DM’s make. Don’t use this article as proof that hard EXP systems are garbage.
That’s not to say that EXP systems are garbage. But your DM is trying their best and they don’t need that sass.
The system seems to be confusing players by giving different levels of EXP for different tasks.
This is because the designers felt that players were getting too powerful and too fast. They wanted to make the game more challenging, so they increased the level cap from 12 to 15.
The company wanted to encourage more people to play their games.
The developers of the game made it easier to level up and anticipate your next skill, but the problem is that the EXP system was dragging out people’s games and making them unenjoyable to the point where they were getting bored.
WotC made changes to the game to try and alleviate the problem of people getting stuck in the middle levels.
The Milestone system avoids the problem of players leveling up too quickly by letting the DM decide when their players level up, often at pivotal choices, points of character development, or after a sufficiently herculean task.
When you level up, you don’t have to worry about player burnout as often.
You as the DM have more control over the story than any other player. ..
You don’t need to artificially pump EXP numbers or have them fight twelve plot irrelevant dragons to reach the magic number. If your players are ready, it’s up to them.
The new EXP system offers a unique level of customization and specificity that a pre-existing EXP system never could.
The D&D Beyond character builder offers a milestone system that is one of the options under the tab for calculating EXP.
The way D&D was always meant to be played is by having sessions that play out more like stories, with characters getting stronger as the adventure calls for it.
Players in D&D often feel like they’re stuck in a time warp, where the rules don’t make sense and the game is just too hard. But the DM is responsible for making the game fun for everyone, not just themselves. If they can keep players engaged and enjoying their experience, they’ll be more likely to keep playing.
I highly recommend experimenting with the Milestone system the next time you play, and unsaddle your campaign from the hail of numbers that is our overworked EXP system.
You might be surprised to find out how much fun it can be to do something you’ve never done before. ..
