Advancement¶
LFG provides two options to advance PCs as they gain experience in the game world: Downtime Level Up and Session Advance. The two methods may be used together or separately.
Downtime Level Up¶
Using this method, adventurers who meaningfully participated in the last adventure advance one level during downtime. Some GMs might require gold and/or time to be spent on training before the level up occurs. For a slower advancement rate, consider levelling up after two (or three) adventures.
Session Advance¶
Using this method, at the end of a gaming session, each adventurer who meaningfully participated in the session gains a partial level advance. The player chooses one improvement from the adventurer's next level and applies it immediately.
Each class has at least three advances each level; increased hit points, an additional Reroll die or extra use of a class ability. In addition, other advances are often also available: increased attack bonus, a new skill, a new unique custom feature, a new or improved class ability, a Luck increase, and so on.
If an adventurer has gained all of her increases for a single level, the character is officially "levelled up" and no further session advances are possible until the next adventure commences. In the alternative, a fully levelled up PC who earns a further Session Advance might be permitted to recover 1 point of Luck, at the GM's discretion.
Example
A 5th level Magic User with 16 Int gains a session advance. Looking at the advancements available for 6th level, the player could choose to gain one of the following benefits: (1) attack bonus increase, (2) more hit points, (3) an extra reroll die, (4) gain one extra 2nd or 3rd level spell use, (5) learn 3 new spells, (6) substitute one known spell for a new one, or (7) gain a Unique Feature.
Optionally, GMs might prefer a degree of randomness to Session Advances. If so, players roll at the end of each session (or other period or milestone determined by the GM); 1d8 for all classes except Magic Users who roll 1d10. If the result is not applicable (eg: rolling hit point increase twice), use an adjacent result instead (if two possible advancements, determine randomly).
| 1d8 or 1d10 | SESSION ADVANCE |
|---|---|
| 1 | Next level's Luck Increase |
| 2 | Additional Reroll Pool die |
| 3 | Next level's Class Attack Bonus |
| 4 | Extra use of a Class Ability |
| 5 | New Skill |
| 6 | One new Class Ability |
| 7 | New Unique Feature |
| 8 | Next level's Hit Points |
| 9 | Learn one new spell (MU only) |
| 10 | One extra spell use (MU only) |
Lower Level PCs¶
If a PC is lower level than most of the party (perhaps because a prior character died, and is being replaced with a new 1st level PC), the GM might allow that character to advance twice as quickly until they catch up to their fellows (ie: two levels per Downtime Level Up, or two advances per Session Advance, capped at two levels per adventure).
Maximum Level¶
The default maximum level in LFG is 12th Level, after which PCs are assumed to shortly retire. Like all LFG rules, GM's are free to ignore this and extrapolate higher levels if they wish.
Designer's Thoughts
12th Level was chosen as the end point for a number of reasons: (i) to keep certain powerful monsters especially scary and dangerous to even the most powerful PCs, (ii) to keep lower level monsters relevant for longer, and (iii) to remove the highest levels of magic from the game.
Downtime¶
Characters get up to things in between their adventures. During periods of downtime, an adventurer might choose to engage in one or more extracurricular activities. The specifics of what may be achieved during a period of downtime is left to GM discretion. Some example activities are outlined below.
Crafting¶
An adventurer with the right skills and tools might be able to craft one or more objects, or hire an NPC to fashion them.
In addition to stock items, characters might obtain unique or customized gear such as specially modified weapons, rare pets or unique alchemical concoctions.
Domain Management¶
Some adventurers may choose to build keeps, towers, guild halls, underground lairs and so on. Nearby land might need to be patrolled, monsters expunged, peasants taxed, neighbours appeased, and so on.
Research or Rumour Hunting¶
With access to a library (for research) or taverns (for rumour hunting), your adventurer might unearth new secrets or valuable information worth exploring. Magic users might discover (or create) a new spell.
Injury Recovery or Adaption¶
Sometimes recovering from a serious injury takes up all of an adventurer's downtime. The injury and healer's kit rules provide some guidance to the GM.
GM's might permit adventurers with permanent injuries, such as lost eyes, ears or limbs, to modify or negate some or all related penalties after a sufficient period of retraining and adaptation. For example, a fighter with a missing eye might negate the 33% miss chance after acclimatizing to one eye, or a rogue with a peg leg reduce her movement penalties.
Madness Progression¶
Characters with a madness trait might find their condition improving, deteriorating or staying the same. Refer to the madness rules for guidance.
Training¶
An adventurer might spend time training with an expert teacher to learn new skills or abilities, at the GM's discretion. Training is often associated with 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 12th level advancements. This activity might also encompass training animal companions.
Sufficiently experienced adventurers might take on apprentices, train militia, or push the boundaries of their chosen profession, earning coin, fame and/or respect.
Family or Other Involvement¶
Some adventurers have family, business, religious or guild responsibilities or obligations to attend to. Examples might include turning a quick profit in a curio shop, dealing with a wayward sibling, attending to guild obligations, religious observance, or investing in a field of personal interest. Of course, some businesses and guilds are less legal than others, risking the attention of authorities, rivals or other stake holders.