Character Level
Most people you encounter in the world will be common folk and their ilk, rarely accruing power any greater than a 2nd or 3rd level adventurer. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but much like in other D&D realms, it’s just not something that happens frequently and is one of the greatest differences between the world’s common folk and those who don the title of “adventurer”. That said, we otherwise follow the normal level guidelines provided in the 5E Player’s Handbook (PHB), and to reiterate, use experience for tracking level progress.
A character choosing the Emerald start begins the game at Level 3 (Emerald). You have some prior experience adventuring before you reached the guild – perhaps you’re a local folk hero, for example, or a warrior groomed from youth for this day and now ready to venture forth and prove yourself. Whatever your history, you’re not a complete novice in the field. In addition to any starting gear granted by your character’s class and background, you begin the game with 100 gold pieces to your name. You also gain the benefits of the Blessing of Innocence, a blessing imparted on the world by the twin angels Ezekiel and Phanuel Dumah to protect those vulnerable to or incapable of defending themselves from the terrible powers presently threatening the world. To those willing to take up arms and join the fight, the blessing manifests as an influx of reinforcing energy. Whenever you complete a short or a long rest, you gain temporary hit points equal to 50 minus five times your character level, replacing any temporary hit points you already have. The blessing remains with you until you reach level 8. This can easily be tracked by running !g thp # whenever you complete a rest, replacing # with the expected temp HP value. For those unfamiliar with THP, these are effectively a sort of shield or bonus HP. Whenever you take damage, you lose THP before losing any of your own; however, lost THP cannot be recovered by normal means. Ruby Start
A character choosing the Ruby start begins the game at Level 8 (Ruby). You are an individual who’s been pulling their weight in whatever community you hail from, so much so that you have likely gained some level of notoriety beyond your home and throughout whichever region you originally hail from. You are more familiar with the dangers constantly lurking beyond our sight, and whether you’re confident in your skills are not, are at least familiar with the chaos of combat and how to work with a team. In addition to any starting gear granted by your character’s class and background, you begin the game with 500 gold pieces to your name and may either choose a single Rare magic item or two Uncommon magic items to include in your starting items, representing significant heirlooms or items obtained in your adventures prior to joining the guild.
Guild Ranks
While characters still progress normally between levels 1 – 20, we handle it a bit differently with the members of the guild. As a symbol of your membership, and as a means of quickly assessing your relative power and experience compared to other guild members, any individual that joins the guild is provided a Hero's Badge. Among the badge’s many unexplained powers, it possesses the ability to “read your soul” and displays the weight of that measure as a tangible rank. Expand the below chart for the specific guidelines.Start Options
When you create a new character, you can choose to start either as an Emerald or Ruby member of the guild, explained below. In addition to affecting your level, your start point effects your starting wealth, belongings, and backstory to some extent. Emerald StartA character choosing the Emerald start begins the game at Level 3 (Emerald). You have some prior experience adventuring before you reached the guild – perhaps you’re a local folk hero, for example, or a warrior groomed from youth for this day and now ready to venture forth and prove yourself. Whatever your history, you’re not a complete novice in the field. In addition to any starting gear granted by your character’s class and background, you begin the game with 100 gold pieces to your name. You also gain the benefits of the Blessing of Innocence, a blessing imparted on the world by the twin angels Ezekiel and Phanuel Dumah to protect those vulnerable to or incapable of defending themselves from the terrible powers presently threatening the world. To those willing to take up arms and join the fight, the blessing manifests as an influx of reinforcing energy. Whenever you complete a short or a long rest, you gain temporary hit points equal to 50 minus five times your character level, replacing any temporary hit points you already have. The blessing remains with you until you reach level 8. This can easily be tracked by running !g thp # whenever you complete a rest, replacing # with the expected temp HP value. For those unfamiliar with THP, these are effectively a sort of shield or bonus HP. Whenever you take damage, you lose THP before losing any of your own; however, lost THP cannot be recovered by normal means. Ruby Start
A character choosing the Ruby start begins the game at Level 8 (Ruby). You are an individual who’s been pulling their weight in whatever community you hail from, so much so that you have likely gained some level of notoriety beyond your home and throughout whichever region you originally hail from. You are more familiar with the dangers constantly lurking beyond our sight, and whether you’re confident in your skills are not, are at least familiar with the chaos of combat and how to work with a team. In addition to any starting gear granted by your character’s class and background, you begin the game with 500 gold pieces to your name and may either choose a single Rare magic item or two Uncommon magic items to include in your starting items, representing significant heirlooms or items obtained in your adventures prior to joining the guild.