DMs: How are you leveling your players (in modules)? [Archive] - Wizards Community

DMs: How are you leveling your players (in modules)? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Drammattex
04-04-06, 11:34 AM I'm curious as to how DMs are leveling their players while playing published Eberron modules.

A module states that it is for characters of a certain level (let's say "a party of four 2nd level characters," for instance).

The Eberron modules are divided into parts.

While playing the module, do you dole out XP after each part is finished? At the end of a gaming session? Is it intended for the PCs to go up levels during the adventure, or is the entire adventure meant for PCs of the specific level printed on the module?

Finally, regarding encounters and EL: I'm noticing that a handful of friendly encounters have an EL.
While it states in the DMG that PCs earn XP for dealing with encounters, even if they avoid combat, some of these "friendly" encounters are hardly a challenge at all if the PCs make the obvious choice (there is an EL 3 messenger owl in one adventure that comes to deliver a message to the PCs). Now, should PCs get XP for those encounters?

Thoughts?
Tom McCarthy
04-04-06, 12:19 PM I'm only handing out XP for situations that are likely to involve social conflict or combat. Winning someone over with Diplomacy is worth some XP, but knowing enough to not kill the messenger is worth 0 XP.

I calculate and post XP totals after each playing session.

I started with training rules that said the party got their HD and only their HD if they leveled up during an adventure, and then only with a good night's sleep. To get skills, class features, BAB, save, and spells would require training time (typically 1-2 weeks, but occasionally as much as 4 when starting a new class). This gave the party fits when they set off on Whispers of the Vampire's Blade and were still only 4 HD when they faced a vampire who could drain 2 levels at a hit.

When I asked on the boards why the party faired so badly (was it me?), the answers generally included that the adventure designer had a reasonable expectation that the party would level up over the course of the adventure, even though Whispers and Grasp offer relatively few opportunities for training, if that's part of your campaign. Item creation is right out. Combining my training rules with a bit of 'inefficient' character builds and party mix was probably the root of the problem.

As much as I like training rules, I think I'll abandon them in future to simplify things. But then, people will only level up between sessions, and likely while resting.
Drammattex
04-04-06, 12:30 PM When I asked on the boards why the party faired so badly (was it me?), the answers generally included that the adventure designer had a reasonable expectation that the party would level up over the course of the adventure, even though Whispers and Grasp offer relatively few opportunities for training, if that's part of your campaign.

A-ha! So they do expect you to level, at least, and it doesn't look like they have training in mind... Tom, can you post a link to that thread?
DarkWarriorKarg
04-04-06, 02:11 PM Generally speaking, the authors are under no obligation to follow a DM's house rules. :) Modules are generally made using the RAW with no options.

Whisper's is a chase. There is no time for anything. And should be heavily modified for logical consistancy (it's pretty awful)

Grasp? You might have some time going up the river. That's about it. As a side note, I got rid of the DMPC that the module puts in. And I recommed the original shark encounter as written by Bruce Cordell, available on his website.
Tom McCarthy
04-04-06, 02:41 PM Oh yes, if I thought the players were in trouble in Whispers ((the dangers of transportation, or of facing a cornered vampire)), the shark and the scorpion in Grasp definitely threatened to slay the party. The climax has me slightly worried, but I think they'll pull through.
Ricohard_Draconis
04-04-06, 03:04 PM the scorpion was a walk over, but then they never actually entered its room which it can't leave...

Vermin bane arrows took it down in a few minutes.
Hungry_Backpack
04-04-06, 03:56 PM Well, I haven't played any of the modules except the forgotten forge, but I deal XP after each session/adventure, depending on what comes first, and I don't give XP for easy-talk-situations or even easy traps. I might give a little XP for traps, but only if it is a really hard one, (puzzlewise that is, since my party doesn't have a rouge that can disable traps).

I also lvl up my players after a session or after an adventure. By after an adventure I mean if the players are in the middle of the session, but finished the mission I have given them, I let them get XP and lvl their characters if they have enough XP.

That's how I do it.
Kreistor1
04-04-06, 04:48 PM As a member of Tom's group, our fight went significantly differently.

Our rogue equivalent failed to detect it before reaching the door. Being a dwarf, he had trouble entering. He squeezed in and was grabbed. So, unlike Ricohard's group which obviously had an Artificer, we did not have preparation time to create the requisite bane arrows (if we even had an Artificer). We had a choice of saving the rogue or losing a character. Heroes choose the former.

The resulting fight was a massacre we didn't deserve to beat. With no levelling, we were EL6 vs. CR10. One grab could instant-kill two members of the party, and a Claw crit would insta-death anyone. Tom gave us a freebie: we could damage the claws to free players, since there was no winning the Grapple check against that kind of size bonus.

In the end, we did get out of it with one (unnecessary) PC death.

Depending on the party make-up, some fights are pushovers and other fights are not. Some combinations trivialize certain monster builds, some are vulnerable. Just because one group walks over a high CR fight that doesn't mean all groups can.

When dealing with modules, unless you are going to sanity check every fight, I highly recommend allowing insta-levelling. Meeting CR=EL+4 as a random, potentially unavoidable encounter is not serving your players a reasonable challenge, it's murdering PC's.
DMDaddy
04-04-06, 11:09 PM I give out experience as it is earned (after battles and encounters). I allow level up on the spot, unless it is in a dungeon that is sensitive the character levels. A 2nd level module may not be created for 3rd level characters. Allowing them to level up could change the balance of the game.
allenchan
04-05-06, 04:29 AM I give XP at the end of our week's playtime. Level up with sleep (which is where we end the week's adventure, almost always).
The Law
04-05-06, 05:57 AM Our group is going to start with Whispers now on Sunday. There's 6 of them, and they're level 3 (i reckon this is reasonable for a level 4 adventure). I enforce training for level ups, and I give XP at the end of every game session.

The group has to find a trainer in a city or town and then level up. So far it has worked (and it makes more sense than waking up one morning and being more bad-ass than the previous day), but with Whispers I might need to stretch out the section in Sterngate.

This will allow the PCs to reach level 4, so they'll have a fair chance at the lightning rail encounter and the end-game with Lucan. They'll prolly level up again by the end of the adventure, but they can gain their levels in Sharn as per usual. That makes them a group of six 5th level adventurers going into Grasp, and with some luck they can level up on the river boat. But perhaps I change Steel Shadows to a 5th level adventure, and have them gain a level there (while they're in Sharn) before going into Grasp.

I have the Phiarlan bard perform in Menthis (and receive additional training in the House enclave), the warforged fighter gets to train at Clifftop Adventurer's Guild, the rogue is a member of the Boromar Clan and received training there (or I let him level up with 'side missions' that happen during downtime and between our games, via our message boards). The artificer creates items and studies at Morgrave university to level up, and the paladin trains at the Cathedral of the Cleansing Flame. The sorceror learns his new spell(s) and skills at the Guild of Starlight & Shadows.

This involves more timing, but it explains where skills and abilities come from. We like it that way :)
Tom McCarthy
04-05-06, 08:32 AM The Law,

In my limited experience, a 5th HD makes a lot of difference when the vampire eventually uses his slam attack. Strongly consider letting your players gain that level before they reach that fight. My players had a party of 6 level 4 characters heading into the conclusion of Whispers (which I considered roughyl equal to 4 5th level characters in combat ability), but the energy drain that accompanies the slam makes awfully fast work of 4 HD characters.

And really, the plot of Whispers can make it hard to justify how you catch the single-minded fugitive if you stop to train (and note that I had reason to want the players to train and level).
The Law
04-05-06, 08:45 AM Hi Tom,

Don't want to go OT but I suppose you could simply delay the lightning rail's departure for 3 or 4 days, due to technical difficulties? Lucan then has to lay low in town and wait for it to be repaired. The players will realize (or have it hinted at by the DM) that the shortest way to Karrnath from Sterngate is via lightning rail.

You could even let an NPC (the ticket salesman?) say something like "Just like I told that white haired chap with the strange eyes, the rail will only be fixed in 4 day's time, the whatch-may-call-it broke and the artificers are looking into it." The party should be able to piece things together from there.

They can use the time to train & level up, buy equipment, and rest. I actually recall the adventure module saying something along those lines ("Remember to give PCs time to rest because set piece encounters consume lots of resources, etc.")

It is your campaign and adventure after all, I don't see why you cant delay the train's departure. It's not like Lucan is going to make off on foot, and horses aren't so good an idea as he'll be in trouble during daytime now that his coach is ruined.

I'm at work so I don't have my books handy, just in case I said something silly :)

Regarding the 5th level, my party is rather tricked out. They're all new to the game so I asked them what class (and style) they'd like to play then I built them optimized characters (I spend some time on the CO boards :D). The warforged fighter has an AC 19 and 35 HP at level 3, and does 2d6 +5 damage with his +1 greatsword. The artificer is fond of the 'bane' personal weapon augmentation trick and the bard buffs the party with inspire courage. The paladin has the powerful charge feat and uses it to great effect with smite evil, and the other party members aren't too bad either.

I'll probably let Lucan just use the soul blade without resorting to slam attacks. IMHO, making a CR 8 vampire take on a group of 4th or 5th levels with all its attacks is just silly. The party doesn't have a cleric either, the closest thing they have is the paladin.
Lilinthra
04-05-06, 05:43 PM Whisper's is a chase. There is no time for anything. And should be heavily modified for logical consistancy (it's pretty awful)
Care to elaborate? I'll be running this in a few weeks, and nothing's jumped out at me as problematic apart from the Polymorph errata's impact. I've really only had a chance to read the first half thoroughly, so it could very well be the airship/train stuff or something I didn't notice.
DarkWarriorKarg
04-06-06, 08:47 AM Care to elaborate? I'll be running this in a few weeks, and nothing's jumped out at me as problematic apart from the Polymorph errata's impact. I've really only had a chance to read the first half thoroughly, so it could very well be the airship/train stuff or something I didn't notice.

Polymorph Errata?

I replied by Pm so as not to spoiil things for the few that haven't gone through it yet.
Edymnion
04-06-06, 10:20 AM Basically, the default rules do not require downtime, training, sleep, or anything else in order to level up. When you get enough xp, you can level, simple as that. Modules also work under this assumption, and will often have the later portions being significantly more difficult than the beginnings, because it knows its handed out enough xp for a level or two, and it expects the party to have leveled by the time it gets there.

If you aren't letting your party level when they get the xp, you need to go through and check CRs of encounters later on in the module and see if they need to be dumbed down or not.
Lilinthra
04-06-06, 10:58 AM Edymnion: That's what I get for quoting by the paragraph and not the sentence. :D I was only referring to the complaint about the logical consistency.

I run levelling as occurring during a night's rest, so that shouldn't be an issue. However, the party consists of five characters who will be slightly below 4th level at the start of the module. Splitting XP 5 ways instead of 4 ways does concern me on level-up timing, and I plan to adjust the ELs slightly to correct for it.

DarkWarriorKarg: I'll keep an eye out for the PM. As for the Polymorph Errata, the February MM errata update changes how gear works with Alternate Form.
Nightshade
04-09-06, 09:45 AM I was thinking about the same problem. I enforce a limited version of the training rules from the dmg (it just doesn't cost quite as much as the dmg version and the cost is the same no matter how many feats or skills you gain).

Anyway, one option I was thinking about was to have them undergoing a heavy duty training session just before the adventure begins. They have the training but not the experience to level up. The experience gained in the adventure will simply clinche the gains then. It is perhaps a little contrived but sometimes the DM has to make these little alterations to smooth things.
Edymnion
04-09-06, 05:05 PM Often I see DMs that want to use training do so in order to not break up the "flow" of an adventure by having to stop while everybody levels up and gets new abilities.

Personally, I've never had that problem, as my groups have all pretty much taken a break after every major combat anyway (for more drinks, bathroom, etc), so there was always time for someone to do a quick level up. And since I keep tabs on the PCs sheets, I always know when they're getting close to level up and can plan appropriately. I run under the concept of "you were training during downtime" or what-not. Anything that does not specifically scream "You need to be taught how to do this!", like picking up the first level of Wizard when there are no wizards in the party to instruct you during downtime, I assume that you are learning as you go. No sleeping required (too video-game-ish for me). Levels are just a terraced way to represent a smooth slope, so I try not to intentionally granulate it any more than I have to.

Heh, can you tell I'm not a big fan of training? :)
DMDaddy
04-09-06, 06:53 PM too video-game-ish for me

DM: As soon as the monster falls, Sylauncka and the other party members hear a <biiiinnngggg> sound and a level up floating disc appears above Sylauncka.
Player: (who plays Sylauncka) I level up before the other 5 monsters get their attack against me.
WarlockDa
04-10-06, 04:26 PM Normally my group just levels up in between gaming sessions. No real reason other than we don't want to lose any game time since we only game on average of once a month....sometimes twice,...sometimes two months between.

Seems to work fairly well for us :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Drammattex 04-04-06, 11:34 AM	I'm curious as to how DMs are leveling their players while playing published Eberron modules. A module states that it is for characters of a certain level (let's say "a party of four 2nd level characters," for instance). The Eberron modules are divided into parts. While playing the module, do you dole out XP after each part is finished? At the end of a gaming session? Is it intended for the PCs to go up levels during the adventure, or is the entire adventure meant for PCs of the specific level printed on the module? Finally, regarding encounters and EL: I'm noticing that a handful of friendly encounters have an EL. While it states in the DMG that PCs earn XP for dealing with encounters, even if they avoid combat, some of these "friendly" encounters are hardly a challenge at all if the PCs make the obvious choice (there is an EL 3 messenger owl in one adventure that comes to deliver a message to the PCs). Now, should PCs get XP for those encounters? Thoughts?
Tom McCarthy 04-04-06, 12:19 PM	I'm only handing out XP for situations that are likely to involve social conflict or combat. Winning someone over with Diplomacy is worth some XP, but knowing enough to not kill the messenger is worth 0 XP. I calculate and post XP totals after each playing session. I started with training rules that said the party got their HD and only their HD if they leveled up during an adventure, and then only with a good night's sleep. To get skills, class features, BAB, save, and spells would require training time (typically 1-2 weeks, but occasionally as much as 4 when starting a new class). This gave the party fits when they set off on Whispers of the Vampire's Blade and were still only 4 HD when they faced a vampire who could drain 2 levels at a hit. When I asked on the boards why the party faired so badly (was it me?), the answers generally included that the adventure designer had a reasonable expectation that the party would level up over the course of the adventure, even though Whispers and Grasp offer relatively few opportunities for training, if that's part of your campaign. Item creation is right out. Combining my training rules with a bit of 'inefficient' character builds and party mix was probably the root of the problem. As much as I like training rules, I think I'll abandon them in future to simplify things. But then, people will only level up between sessions, and likely while resting.
Drammattex 04-04-06, 12:30 PM	When I asked on the boards why the party faired so badly (was it me?), the answers generally included that the adventure designer had a reasonable expectation that the party would level up over the course of the adventure, even though Whispers and Grasp offer relatively few opportunities for training, if that's part of your campaign. A-ha! So they do expect you to level, at least, and it doesn't look like they have training in mind... Tom, can you post a link to that thread?
DarkWarriorKarg 04-04-06, 02:11 PM	Generally speaking, the authors are under no obligation to follow a DM's house rules. :) Modules are generally made using the RAW with no options. Whisper's is a chase. There is no time for anything. And should be heavily modified for logical consistancy (it's pretty awful) Grasp? You might have some time going up the river. That's about it. As a side note, I got rid of the DMPC that the module puts in. And I recommed the original shark encounter as written by Bruce Cordell, available on his website.
Tom McCarthy 04-04-06, 02:41 PM	Oh yes, if I thought the players were in trouble in Whispers ((the dangers of transportation, or of facing a cornered vampire)), the shark and the scorpion in Grasp definitely threatened to slay the party. The climax has me slightly worried, but I think they'll pull through.
Ricohard_Draconis 04-04-06, 03:04 PM	the scorpion was a walk over, but then they never actually entered its room which it can't leave... Vermin bane arrows took it down in a few minutes.
Hungry_Backpack 04-04-06, 03:56 PM	Well, I haven't played any of the modules except the forgotten forge, but I deal XP after each session/adventure, depending on what comes first, and I don't give XP for easy-talk-situations or even easy traps. I might give a little XP for traps, but only if it is a really hard one, (puzzlewise that is, since my party doesn't have a rouge that can disable traps). I also lvl up my players after a session or after an adventure. By after an adventure I mean if the players are in the middle of the session, but finished the mission I have given them, I let them get XP and lvl their characters if they have enough XP. That's how I do it.
Kreistor1 04-04-06, 04:48 PM	As a member of Tom's group, our fight went significantly differently. Our rogue equivalent failed to detect it before reaching the door. Being a dwarf, he had trouble entering. He squeezed in and was grabbed. So, unlike Ricohard's group which obviously had an Artificer, we did not have preparation time to create the requisite bane arrows (if we even had an Artificer). We had a choice of saving the rogue or losing a character. Heroes choose the former. The resulting fight was a massacre we didn't deserve to beat. With no levelling, we were EL6 vs. CR10. One grab could instant-kill two members of the party, and a Claw crit would insta-death anyone. Tom gave us a freebie: we could damage the claws to free players, since there was no winning the Grapple check against that kind of size bonus. In the end, we did get out of it with one (unnecessary) PC death. Depending on the party make-up, some fights are pushovers and other fights are not. Some combinations trivialize certain monster builds, some are vulnerable. Just because one group walks over a high CR fight that doesn't mean all groups can. When dealing with modules, unless you are going to sanity check every fight, I highly recommend allowing insta-levelling. Meeting CR=EL+4 as a random, potentially unavoidable encounter is not serving your players a reasonable challenge, it's murdering PC's.
DMDaddy 04-04-06, 11:09 PM	I give out experience as it is earned (after battles and encounters). I allow level up on the spot, unless it is in a dungeon that is sensitive the character levels. A 2nd level module may not be created for 3rd level characters. Allowing them to level up could change the balance of the game.
allenchan 04-05-06, 04:29 AM	I give XP at the end of our week's playtime. Level up with sleep (which is where we end the week's adventure, almost always).
The Law 04-05-06, 05:57 AM	Our group is going to start with Whispers now on Sunday. There's 6 of them, and they're level 3 (i reckon this is reasonable for a level 4 adventure). I enforce training for level ups, and I give XP at the end of every game session. The group has to find a trainer in a city or town and then level up. So far it has worked (and it makes more sense than waking up one morning and being more bad-ass than the previous day), but with Whispers I might need to stretch out the section in Sterngate. This will allow the PCs to reach level 4, so they'll have a fair chance at the lightning rail encounter and the end-game with Lucan. They'll prolly level up again by the end of the adventure, but they can gain their levels in Sharn as per usual. That makes them a group of six 5th level adventurers going into Grasp, and with some luck they can level up on the river boat. But perhaps I change Steel Shadows to a 5th level adventure, and have them gain a level there (while they're in Sharn) before going into Grasp. I have the Phiarlan bard perform in Menthis (and receive additional training in the House enclave), the warforged fighter gets to train at Clifftop Adventurer's Guild, the rogue is a member of the Boromar Clan and received training there (or I let him level up with 'side missions' that happen during downtime and between our games, via our message boards). The artificer creates items and studies at Morgrave university to level up, and the paladin trains at the Cathedral of the Cleansing Flame. The sorceror learns his new spell(s) and skills at the Guild of Starlight & Shadows. This involves more timing, but it explains where skills and abilities come from. We like it that way :)
Tom McCarthy 04-05-06, 08:32 AM	The Law, In my limited experience, a 5th HD makes a lot of difference when the vampire eventually uses his slam attack. Strongly consider letting your players gain that level before they reach that fight. My players had a party of 6 level 4 characters heading into the conclusion of Whispers (which I considered roughyl equal to 4 5th level characters in combat ability), but the energy drain that accompanies the slam makes awfully fast work of 4 HD characters. And really, the plot of Whispers can make it hard to justify how you catch the single-minded fugitive if you stop to train (and note that I had reason to want the players to train and level).
The Law 04-05-06, 08:45 AM	Hi Tom, Don't want to go OT but I suppose you could simply delay the lightning rail's departure for 3 or 4 days, due to technical difficulties? Lucan then has to lay low in town and wait for it to be repaired. The players will realize (or have it hinted at by the DM) that the shortest way to Karrnath from Sterngate is via lightning rail. You could even let an NPC (the ticket salesman?) say something like "Just like I told that white haired chap with the strange eyes, the rail will only be fixed in 4 day's time, the whatch-may-call-it broke and the artificers are looking into it." The party should be able to piece things together from there. They can use the time to train & level up, buy equipment, and rest. I actually recall the adventure module saying something along those lines ("Remember to give PCs time to rest because set piece encounters consume lots of resources, etc.") It is your campaign and adventure after all, I don't see why you cant delay the train's departure. It's not like Lucan is going to make off on foot, and horses aren't so good an idea as he'll be in trouble during daytime now that his coach is ruined. I'm at work so I don't have my books handy, just in case I said something silly :) Regarding the 5th level, my party is rather tricked out. They're all new to the game so I asked them what class (and style) they'd like to play then I built them optimized characters (I spend some time on the CO boards :D). The warforged fighter has an AC 19 and 35 HP at level 3, and does 2d6 +5 damage with his +1 greatsword. The artificer is fond of the 'bane' personal weapon augmentation trick and the bard buffs the party with inspire courage. The paladin has the powerful charge feat and uses it to great effect with smite evil, and the other party members aren't too bad either. I'll probably let Lucan just use the soul blade without resorting to slam attacks. IMHO, making a CR 8 vampire take on a group of 4th or 5th levels with all its attacks is just silly. The party doesn't have a cleric either, the closest thing they have is the paladin.
Lilinthra 04-05-06, 05:43 PM	Whisper's is a chase. There is no time for anything. And should be heavily modified for logical consistancy (it's pretty awful) Care to elaborate? I'll be running this in a few weeks, and nothing's jumped out at me as problematic apart from the Polymorph errata's impact. I've really only had a chance to read the first half thoroughly, so it could very well be the airship/train stuff or something I didn't notice.
DarkWarriorKarg 04-06-06, 08:47 AM	Care to elaborate? I'll be running this in a few weeks, and nothing's jumped out at me as problematic apart from the Polymorph errata's impact. I've really only had a chance to read the first half thoroughly, so it could very well be the airship/train stuff or something I didn't notice. Polymorph Errata? I replied by Pm so as not to spoiil things for the few that haven't gone through it yet.
Edymnion 04-06-06, 10:20 AM	Basically, the default rules do not require downtime, training, sleep, or anything else in order to level up. When you get enough xp, you can level, simple as that. Modules also work under this assumption, and will often have the later portions being significantly more difficult than the beginnings, because it knows its handed out enough xp for a level or two, and it expects the party to have leveled by the time it gets there. If you aren't letting your party level when they get the xp, you need to go through and check CRs of encounters later on in the module and see if they need to be dumbed down or not.
Lilinthra 04-06-06, 10:58 AM	Edymnion: That's what I get for quoting by the paragraph and not the sentence. :D I was only referring to the complaint about the logical consistency. I run levelling as occurring during a night's rest, so that shouldn't be an issue. However, the party consists of five characters who will be slightly below 4th level at the start of the module. Splitting XP 5 ways instead of 4 ways does concern me on level-up timing, and I plan to adjust the ELs slightly to correct for it. DarkWarriorKarg: I'll keep an eye out for the PM. As for the Polymorph Errata, the February MM errata update changes how gear works with Alternate Form.
Nightshade 04-09-06, 09:45 AM	I was thinking about the same problem. I enforce a limited version of the training rules from the dmg (it just doesn't cost quite as much as the dmg version and the cost is the same no matter how many feats or skills you gain). Anyway, one option I was thinking about was to have them undergoing a heavy duty training session just before the adventure begins. They have the training but not the experience to level up. The experience gained in the adventure will simply clinche the gains then. It is perhaps a little contrived but sometimes the DM has to make these little alterations to smooth things.
Edymnion 04-09-06, 05:05 PM	Often I see DMs that want to use training do so in order to not break up the "flow" of an adventure by having to stop while everybody levels up and gets new abilities. Personally, I've never had that problem, as my groups have all pretty much taken a break after every major combat anyway (for more drinks, bathroom, etc), so there was always time for someone to do a quick level up. And since I keep tabs on the PCs sheets, I always know when they're getting close to level up and can plan appropriately. I run under the concept of "you were training during downtime" or what-not. Anything that does not specifically scream "You need to be taught how to do this!", like picking up the first level of Wizard when there are no wizards in the party to instruct you during downtime, I assume that you are learning as you go. No sleeping required (too video-game-ish for me). Levels are just a terraced way to represent a smooth slope, so I try not to intentionally granulate it any more than I have to. Heh, can you tell I'm not a big fan of training? :)
DMDaddy 04-09-06, 06:53 PM	too video-game-ish for me DM: As soon as the monster falls, Sylauncka and the other party members hear a <biiiinnngggg> sound and a level up floating disc appears above Sylauncka. Player: (who plays Sylauncka) I level up before the other 5 monsters get their attack against me.
WarlockDa 04-10-06, 04:26 PM	Normally my group just levels up in between gaming sessions. No real reason other than we don't want to lose any game time since we only game on average of once a month....sometimes twice,...sometimes two months between. Seems to work fairly well for us :)