Questions about 'leveling'

[Starweaver]

Hey folks,

 

I have been running a through the breach campaign with my regular rp group for the past few weeks, we've had about five sessions now.

Most things run ok, but one thing that seems to be difficult for me to grasp is how the 'leveling' works.

In D&D and warhammer fantasy roleplay we usually gave out xp/levels at the end of the session.

This is mainly because we don't run 'one adventure' like you often see. Characters in the campaign go their own way, sometimes they group up with the other players, sometimes they pursue their own things. Story lines mix and mingle and there's a lot of things happening throughout the sessions. Adventures are usually not 'ended' at the end of a session, we simply pick up where we left off the last time, just as if it were a book so to say.

 

To get the characters set up a bit everyone has been gaining a pursuit step in the sessions so they'd have some abilities to play with.

However i'm not certain (and reading the epilogue part of the fatemaster handbook doesnt really make it clear to me) when players should gain what.

 

So basically my question is this, given the way we run the campaign, taking into account that a session takes about 6 hours of playtime, what should the players gain at the end?

A choice of three skills from which they can raise one seems logical.

1 xp point as well

 

but after that, i gets hazy

Should people gain a pursuit level each time?

And when (as destiny seems so, intangible to work with) should they gain attribute points?

 

Any thoughts are welcome

 

[Mako]

The destiny steps are something that took me a little bit to get my head around, but honestly if you're running looser sessions (not trying for a single adventure each time) then you can probably work them in as and when they fit, granting the attributes then. Once someone (or more than one person) encounters a step on their destiny, end of that session they get a boost. I've also given my players other things as they hit their destiny points - one got the ability to use limited magic, another just got access to a spy network of sorts. 

 

I'd say pursuit levels would probably be roughly every session if they're six hours, or just each time there's a lull, say when they're arriving somewhere after completing some objective (en route to another I'd imagine). Either that, or if they're going to be changing from a combat heavy area to a socially focussed one, it's a good time to let them gain one and switch if they want.

 

The skills as you say are fine each session, or when there's a convenient moment for the players to reflect (mid brawl is an unlikely time for it, but it could happen I guess!). Also the 1xp per session - you could probably give them a bonus XP when they accomplish something dramatic or important (the book recommends this for ends of sessions where something big happens), handing it out at that moment even if it falls in the middle of a session.

 

it's a pretty flexible system from my limited experience of such things, so you can probably adapt it to the pace you need without too much trouble.

[Ad1]

I'd consider learning a different storytelling style to supplement the one you already use in running your games.

 

To me Through the Breach Pursuit system and other 'book-end' games are a perfect opportunity to use Serialistic Writing. So you set your games up and run them similar to a TV Series. This allows you to both deal with the shorter 'closed' stories (Episodic Writing) focusing on Fates or some other key aspect of your environment, whether it is a new location, NPC or NPC group that will become a recurring feature as well as allowing an overall narrative to tie the seperate 'episodes/ game sessions' together.

 

Some good advice on writing in such a way can be found in a few different locations. One of the more substantive ones is Story Mastery. A slow read through the resources available on this site will give you new tools and styles to implement in your own storytelling.

 

Crafty TV Writing is more of a broad FAQ. has some great tips in it. When you read them ask yourself "How can this be made relevant to players in my table top game?" and "How can I implement this thing/style in my own delivery or story?" because not all parts of this website are tied to writing in this style.

 

I've included a very basic overview of the use of Acts.
 

 Make sure that act 1 contains the set up for the goal that needs to be accomplished by the end of the episode or serial. In act 2, the mission becomes much more complicated and the stakes go up. At the end of act 2, the character should have hit the all time low for that episode. In Act 3, new determination will have occurred and many of the loose ends and subplots are resolved. In the 4th act, the goal will be reached, but if this is a serial show, then a new problem or teaser will need to be introduced.

 

 

 Source

 

Writng and delivering your games using this kind of style allows you to easily insert a prologue of a simple scene or even a written narrative. Think of the first 3 minutes of a TV Series. You usually know which main character will be the focus (whose Fate will be advanced) and what the primary dilemma appears to be (the hook to get the PC's interested.) Of course this dilemma may be turned on its head in Act 2 when the twist is introduced but it is only supposed to be the hook that gets the fish on the line.

 

After a bit of discussion with our FM and the exscuse that this kind of 'research' let's us watch a lot of TV series we enjoy he has decided to use this style to deliver our own games. Although we are in the unique situation that our game has nine players. So organisation is extremely important for our FM's sanity and to ensure we get through a session with the time we have.

 

If you'd rather just maintain the style you use now I'd agree with mako. Just run with what works for your group and feels right. You can always speed up or slow down the acquisition of Pursuit advancements and use an award of attributes when a major story has been closed off for a particular character.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ad

[Starweaver]

Thanks for the input.

We talked it over in the group and people felt they we're leveling to fast in general so we decided to take 1 or 2 sessions without new levels but maybe  a skillup so people can branch a bit in what they are decent at.