Rewards

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With great risk comes great reward, and there are few things riskier than adventuring. Standing over the body of the dread warlock Muld'r or atop the ramparts of the fallen citadel of Conest, you get to enjoy the satisfaction of victory. You also get experience, and hopefully some loot as well.

EXPERIENCE

Experience represents the trials you have overcome and lessons you have learned on your adventures. Acquiring experience allows you to advance in level. Experience is doled in packets with a standard of 16 total packets required to reach the next level:
8 Combat Packets

Combat packets are gained through battle. Your DM may reward you a half-packet for overcoming a small challenge, decimating a foe, or pulling off a spectacular stunt. Your DM may also reward you a packet for a normal challenge, or even two packets for defeating a powerful foe.

4 Exploration Packets

Exploration packets are gained through exploring new locales, finding and disabling traps, overcoming harrowing skill challenges, uncovering treasure, and learning information about topics that aid your goals. Your DM may reward you a half-packet for safely crossing a perilous bridge, discovering a treasure horde behind a secret door, or learning a foe's weakness, or a packet for scaling a harrowing cliffside or disabling a complex trap series.

4 Story Packets

Story packets are gained through interacting with NPCs, gaining allies, or advancing the story. Your DM may reward you a half-packet for entertaining roleplaying within the party that results in a decision to move the story in a new direction or gaining the trust of a guard who would normally keep you from your goal, or a packet or more for convincing the queen to open up talks to end war or helping to rebuild the orphanage the sorcerer "accidentally" burnt down.

Adventure Articles

Combat
Exploration
Social Interaction

INSPIRATION

Most heroes adventure in a party pursuing a common cause. When you lead your fellows in advancing that cause by leveling up, you earn inspiration befitting such an exemplar. Inspiration is awarded to the first hero to gain all the required packets of a specific type to level. For example, if you are the first to reach 4 exploration packets, you are awarded Adventurer's Inspiration.
You can only be awarded one inspiration per level, so if you are the first in two experience categories, the second-place hero in the second category is awarded that inspiration. Inspiration provides a chance to approach a challenge from a completely different angle. During a challenge while you are at your new level, you can alter the challenge's requirements.
Adventurer's Inspiration (Exploration): You can change the nature of an exploration challenge, such as changing a Sleight of Hand check to a Swim check or a Climb check to a Survival (Tracking) check.
Ambassador's Inspiration (Story): You can change the nature of a story challenge, such as changing an Arcana check to a Persuade check or a Persuade check to an Engineering check.
Captain's Inspiration (Combat): You can change the nature of a foe or foe type in combat challenge, such as changing an elemental's fire absorption to psychic absorption, a gorgon's Juggernaut movement trait to Cowardice (critical hits), or a group of goblin shamans from casting color spray to fog cloud.

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LOOT

Whether you call it 'treasure', 'booty', 'the haul', or 'greens', loot is the physical reward you receive through heroic deeds. A magic sword, a pound of gold, or a powerful spell book are all considered loot. Acquiring the deed to a ship or taking control of a castle can be as well. Your DM determines the loot you receive from your exploits. In addition to the coins and items you receive, you may also be granted item boons or upgrade your gear through repurposing enchantments.

ITEM BOONS

Item Boons are rare rewards your DM may grant you to level up a possession. An item boon can instill the weathered old longsword you employed in your righteous deeds with a spark of divine power or cause a random shield you found on a hobgoblin to begin radiating heat after you use it to protect a companion from a dragon's fiery breath.
Item boons may also come in the form of ensorcelled jewels that fit into the clutch of your staff, chimera heartstrings you fletch your bow with, or sigils you can lay upon your backpack. In whatever fashion they come, item boons grow from the story you build around important objects in your possession.

REPURPOSING ENCHANTMENTS

Sometimes you uncover a powerful magic item that no one in your band of heroes can use. With the help of a master smith, you can turn this disappointment into a win by repurposing an item's enchantment. An item can have its enchantments disassembled and forged into a similar item by a master smith.
For example, a master smith may be able to melt the steel from a +1 dagger and fold it into the blade of your scythe, making it a +1 scythe, re-craft glamoured chainmail into a suit of glamoured studded leather, or re-forge the intelligent shield into a set of intelligent bracers of protection.
The cost of repurposing an enchantment is usually a day's worth of time and 1000 gp per level of enchantment. If you are adding the enchantment to an existing magic item, you add their enchantment levels together to determine the cost.

The Pen & Dagger RPG    Players & Heroes Book    Adventure!      Rewards