Treasure, Experience & Advancement

p 52.1 Experience and Level Training

Characters advance in experience and expertise by fighting monsters, overcoming obstacles, and bringing lost treasures back to civilization.

Monster XP are determined by the HD & any special abilities they might have.

Returning to civilization with gold and treasure is not enough.

Your PC will need to spend that gold! They need to invest in themselves to gain the XP needed to advance to the next level.

The following is a list of activities the PCs can undertake to convert gold into XP. (There are almost certainly others I have missed, consult the GM with any questions or suggestions.)

1. Any gold spent on pursuing Downtime activities (ex, seeking out rumors and corroboration; creating scrolls, potions, or magic items; learning new skill or language), or earned from Downtime activities (ex, invested 1,000 gp in a caravan, received 110 gp in profits, would earn 110 XP). See Spears of Sojenka for full details (“Downtime Activities, p. 22)
2. Research/study (learn a language, a new skill, a new spell)
3. Building structures for PC or Faction use (a house, a stronghold, a shrine, a library, an alchemical lab) (Spears of Sojenka, Homesteads and Domains, p. 12)
4. Recruiting Henchmen and Hirelings (Faction-building)
5. Attending social events (that you don’t need to play in-session) (Dances, horse races, circuses, gladiatorial matches)
6. Evangelizing for your patron deity (Faction-building, Up to 500 GP per calendar month))

Experience Points in the Shadow Over Sojenka Campaign will be gained from gold/treasure that is spent/utilized in the following ways:

• Any gold spent on resources to advance a PC’s stated Personal Objective. (“300 gp to build a shrine”)
• Any gold donated to the temple of your character’s patron deity. (Up to 500 GP per calendar month)
• Any gold spent toward Guild membership (or other “professional association”, such as a Fighting Man’s Training Yard. Up to 500 GP per calendar month)
• Any gold spent on Level Training, based on a grade of 1. 
• Any additional gold spent for training due to a lesser grade is not exchanged for XP.

EXAMPLE: A PC with a grade of 1 – 1.4 will need to spend 1 – 1.4 weeks training, at a cost of 1,000 – 1400 GP. This PC may 1,000 GP of the training cost toward the next level XP, after the completion of their training period.

• A PC with a grade of 1.5 or more will not gain any XP from gold spent for training. If a PC has a grade of 2.2, for example, they will need to spend 2.2 weeks training and it will cost 2,200 GP.
• Any gold spent on establishing a Homestead/Domain/Stronghold. This would include the expense of the men at arms hired to clear the territory; purchasing or surveying land; labor and material for construction. (“Experience for Infrastructure”, hat tip to Clerics Wear Ringmail)
• Any gold earned as revenue from the inhabitants/resources of a Domain can be counted toward XP at a ratio of 10 GP to 1 XP.

Any gold spent on Upkeep (living expenses) can be counted toward XP at a ratio of 2 GP to 1 XP:

Living Expenses

Each PC will spend money each month for basic living expenses, food, shelter, carousing, etc. Comfortable standard of living will cost 1% of the PC's XP total.

A PC may spend more or less on this, with a proportional effect on their relations with others. Spending less will create a penalty to Reaction Rolls and other checks involving Charisma, Persuasion, Loyalty, or Personal Presence.

XP Multiplier	Quality of Life	Modifier
.5%	Meager	-2
.75%	Adequate	-1
1%	Comfortable	0
2%	Prosperous	+1
3%	Lavish	+2

Quality of Life modifiers apply to Henchmen and Hirelings as well.

XP Limits

An adventurer may gain enough experience during an adventure to advance to the next level, or more. A PC that gains experience in excess of the amount needed for their next level will not be able to accumulate any more until they train up to the appropriate level.

Training

A Fighter needs 2,001 XP to be eligible for second level. Once this threshold has been passed, a PC cannot gain any more XP until they have completed their training for second level.

Training costs 1,000 GP per week. Training takes a number of weeks equal to the PC's grade for the previous adventures

A PC who has done a fair job at fulfilling their role as a character and alignment in one adventure, will get a score of 2. In the next adventure they do an exemplary job of role-play, and get a score of 1. In the second adventure session, they gain enough experience to advance a level. Their average Grade is 1.5, so Training will take 1.5 weeks and cost 1,500 GP.

Ex: a third-level Fighter has accumulated 6,550 XP. They go on an adventure and return with treasure valued at 3,000 GP. Their XP total is now 9,550 which is 1,449 more than the 8001 needed for fourth level. The fighter will not be able to gain any more XP until they complete their training. The Grades for the previous four adventures (since advancing from 2nd level to 3rd) are 2,2,1,2. Training will take 2.75 weeks and cost 2,750 GP.

Maximum Training time is four weeks for all levels.