# Forum > Gaming > Roleplaying Games > D&D 3e/3.5e/d20 >  You just gained a level in real life: 2023 edition!

## Troacctid

A new year, a new level!

You can choose any class to gain a level in, and you gain the benefits of that level for yourself in real life. What would you choose?

*Rules*
Before posting, please consult the spreadsheet to double-check whether you have any other levels already! If you participated in this exercise in previous years, you keep the level(s) you had before, meaning you may now be as high as level 8! Those levels are all locked in as of the new year. However, if you didn't post in the thread that year, you did not level up.

Use 3.5e or Pathfinder, whichever you're most familiar with. 3.5e includes Dragon Magazine and official web enhancements. By popular demand, 3rd party material (for either edition) is allowed and counts as a separate, third category. If you're familiar with multiple editions, you can do all of them individually if you like, and have two or three different versions of your build, all of which will be the same level.

As part of gaining your first level, you gain your choice of the nonelite array (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8) or the standard array (11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10), arranged as you like. These scores control your "game" attributes such as spellcasting and skill points, and the associated modifiers will be layered over your real-life abilities to make you stronger or weaker in that stat, as appropriate.

Similarly, any skills and other abilities that you gain from your class levels will be layered on top of whatever you can already do. If you get a bonus to something, you will become that much better at that thing, and if you get a penalty, you'll become that much worse. For example, whatever languages you already speak would be your automatic languages, and if you gain a bonus language due to your Intelligence score, you can learn a new one. If you take the Murky-Eyed flaw in order to gain Endurance as a bonus feat, you'll be a better athlete, but you'll be wanting a new pair of eyeglasses.

As a human, you gain the normal benefits of being a human. In Pathfinder, that includes the ability score bonus, and you can choose variant traits if it suits you. In 3.5e, you can still get the +2 ability bonus to one score by trading away your bonus feat and skill points via the Complacent Human variant. Aging modifiers apply as normal.

The reason we're doing it one level at a time is because part of the fun of the exercise is seeing the gradual payoff of your choices and maybe even changing your mind about some of them and going in a new direction. It also makes it into a fun annual tradition as well.

Bonus points if you stat out a whole character sheet!

*Previous threads*
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016

*FAQ*
Q: Do I model my abilities after my abilities IRL?
A: No. Arrange your ability scores however you like according to one of the arrays given above. You will then become stronger or weaker or smarter or dumber accordingly.

Q: Do magic abilities work? I mean, magic isn't real, right?
A: Yes, magic abilities work. Rumors that Earth is a dead magic zone have apparently been grossly exaggerated.

Q: Are other people in the world leveling up too?
A: Only the people who have posted in this thread.

Q: Will I be leveling up again in the future? If so, when?
A: Maybe you will and maybe you won't. I guess it depends on whether you post in the thread each year!

Q: Is retraining allowed?
A: Yes. Use the normal rules for it under your chosen system.

Q: What about rebuilding?
A: Pathfinder rules allow for rebuilds; 3.5e rules do not.

Q: Am I going to lose any of the skills and abilities I already have and replace them with game statistics?
A: No. The level you gain is layered on top of everything you can already do, and any modifiers apply to your existing skills as a baseline. You can think of it as a gestalt build if that helps.

Q: How do gp costs work?
A: They use up money or material wealth at a reasonable exchange rate. Specifics aren't important; we're not here to do math.

Q: How do xp costs work?
A: You accumulate xp over time by literally accumulating experiences. Over the course of one year, you can earn xp equal to your level x 1000 at a fairly constant rate of about 20 xp per level per week, provided you spend time living your life and doing meaningful things. You do not gain xp in any other way. The amount of xp you can hold at a time is limited to your level x 1000. (This is based on the xp a character of your level could have in-game.) This is _only_ used for xp costs, not for leveling up; to level up, xp total doesn't matter, you just post in the yearly thread and that's it.

Q: What counts as a meaningful life experience for earning xp?
A: As long as you're not in a coma, or mindlessly watching TV all day, or whatever, you can expect to get your xp. There is one exception: you cannot earn xp on any day that you spend xp. Activities like crafting will temporarily pause your xp gain until they are completed.

Q: I get that I have to be a human, but can I take a template?
A: Template classes are fair game as long as you have at least one real class level first. Use savage progression rules for them, even if the template class wouldn't normally work that way. Any template that can't be taken as a template class is probably going to be unavailable, unless you can somehow gain it via class features. For 3.5 characters, you can take UA bloodline levels as if they were a template class: taking 1 bloodline level unlocks the benefit of a minor bloodline, and subsequent bloodline levels upgrade it to the next category up.

Q: What about setting-specific material, or regional requirements?
A: Assume they are adapted to another, similar requirement that makes sense in our world. Specifics aren't important.

Q: What about inherited powers? Can I take Draconic Heritage even though I'm not descended from dragons?
A: Much like how you can take sorcerer levels without worrying about your ancestry, any sort of bloodline-related power works fine even if you don't actually have an ancestor who was a dragon, or a fey, or a member of a dragonmarked bloodline, etc. Much like in the game world, these effects are usually inherited but can also represent spontaneously gaining powers due to magical influences.

Q: Is 3.0 material available?
A: 3.0 psionics is unavailable, as the system for it is defunct. Most other unupdated 3.0 material is probably okay, but may not work as expected due to the changes inherent in the revision. Use it at your own risk.

Q: I have a question about how a particular rules interaction would work under this model.
A: You can ask in the thread, but here are two general rules of thumb. First, most things work the way they'd be expected to work in an actual fantasy world, so if one interpretation of a rule would conflict with established D&D canon if it were true, and another wouldn't, the latter one is probably correct. Second, if you would normally have to consult with your DM about how it works, you can assume you don't know the answer as you make your decisionyou'd have to try the interaction and find out for yourself. For the purpose of this exercise, I'll act as the referee for such things and adjudicate what would happen.

Q: If I take crafting feats, what items can I craft?
A: As long as you have the prerequisites, you can craft any existing, published magic item, or combinations thereof (at the appropriate price modifiers). You cannot invent a custom item unless you are a 3PP build. Items can be combined with one another according to the normal rules for your edition (in 3.5, see MIC p233), and you have some leeway as to their exact appearance (for example, a head slot item could be any headgear of your choice). For 3.5 builds, don't forget that you can give your crafting feats signature traits, per DMG2 p230! 

Q: What about custom prestige race alterations?
A: Eh, sure, subject to the same limits on magic items. It has to be based on an existing magic item, and you'll pay 40% of the item's market price in xp. Just arrange them into a focus path of up to four alterations that are thematically cohesive with one another. You can have up to two such custom foci.

Q: If I take Leadership, how does my cohort work?
A: Much like in the game, a cohort has to be an existing character. So, for our purposes, you choose one of your real-life cohorts, and that person gains as many class levels as a cohort would have, and levels up along with you as you post each year. It's up to the cohort to decide what levels to take; you don't decide for them. You can also designate followers according to your leadership score; only NPC class levels are available to followers. If you want to take Dragon Cohort but you don't have any dragon friends in real life (and you can't cast _lesser dragon ally_ to call one), I will allow it to be applied to a reptilian pet, which then gains draconic powers.

Q: I'm an artificer. Can I cherry-pick the lowest-level version of every spell to make items more cheaply?
A: You can only draw from the spell lists of base classes and domains, or, for a psionic artificer, from the power lists of base classes, mantles, and disciplines. (Psionic artificers cannot convert spells to powers; that's an erudite ability only.) You can also draw from any spell list that is called out specifically in the spell's description (e.g. exalted spells, or spells exclusive to Initiate feats). Prestige class spell lists are not available (unless the prestige class is called out in the spell description, as seen with the assassin and blackguard spells in _Spell Compendium_). This applies to the artificer as well as the chameleon and other, similar abilities.

Q: Can I research spells?
A: Sure. If you're a wizard or erudite, this is probably how you'll be learning a lot of your spells. Use the rules in the DMG (or whatever the PF equivalent is). Tell me what you're trying to research and your rationale for why it should be possible for your class at the level you want it, and I'll adjudicate the result. You still pay the cost regardless of whether your research succeeds or fails. If the spell is on your class spell list at that level already (wizards), spoiler alert, you'll succeed.

Q: How exactly does this world work? Is the timeline altered by our previous levels? Do we know about other players? Are we making decisions for ourselves, or are these benefits applied to parallel universe version of ourselves? Etc.
A: I think it's fine to envision it however you like, but I bet that parallel timeline idea would make for some cool fanfiction. If you'd like to share your idea of what the last year would have been like for the leveled-up version of you, please do!

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## Jack_Simth

Continuing with Oracle.  I'll need to look up what I get at 8th when I have a bit more time....

Oh, and did anyone go after the bait I was leaving out?

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## Crichton

Human
STR 9, DEX 11, CON 12, INT 14, WIS 10, CHA 8 (INT increased by one now at level 4)

Erudite 6
ACF: Convert Spell to Power
Level 1 Feat: Extend Power
Human Bonus Feat: Hidden Talent (Dimensional Pocket)
Level 3 Feat: Imprint Stone
Level 5 Bonus Feat: Craft Universal Item
Level 6 Feat: Craft Dorje

PP: 41 (technically 43, but I don't have enough CHA to utilize the 2pp from Hidden Talent)
UPPD: 4


Psicrystal:

HD 6
Str 1, Dex 15, Con -, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 11 (increased CHA by one at HD4)
HD 1 Feat: Hidden Talent (Dimension Hop)
HD 3 Feat: Draconic Aura: Vigor 
HD 6 Feat: Draconic Aura: Toughness

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## Vizzerdrix

Another level of chameleon it is.

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## Telonius

Woohoo! So glad this is back!  :Small Smile: 

From last year, Cloistered Cleric 4/Warlock 1/Eldritch Disciple 2....

*Spoiler: 2022*
Show

So, new level: Eldritch Disciple 2.

Current build: Cloistered Cleric 4/Warlock 1/Eldritch Disciple 2.

+1 to Invocation/Cleric casting. No new Invocations this level, but I'm now casting as a Cleric5, meaning 3rd-level spells - and the big personal payoff for Cleric casting. I cast Remove Blindness/Deafness on myself (twice), and never have to worry about glasses or hearing aids again. Also, Remove Disease just as the Omicron variant starts to mess things up. Family and friends are now relatively safe. (Still only 1 3rd-level spell a day, but I can space it out if necessary).

New skill points; keeping up on Know (Religion), Heal, and UMD; and I now have the 5 ranks in Balance to not be flat-footed while balancing.

Level 7: Know (Religion) 10, Heal 10, UMD 7, Balance 5


The weird coincidences continue. Last year I got access to Remove Blindness/Deafness. As of about three hours ago, my first cochlear implant was turned on. So, I'm halfway there (and still feeling really excited about it!) 

This year, no surprise: Eldritch Disciple 3. Reflex save and BAB go up one, and a caster level of Divine and Invoking. I'm casting as a 6th-level Cleric and Invoking as a 4th-level Warlock. New Invocation, and time to get serious about my future. Now that Heal is up to 10 (for Healing Lorecall), and Knowledge (Religion) is about as high as I care for it to get, I'm splitting the precious few skill points between UMD and Spellcraft; and getting the Darkness invocation. (Yep, aiming for the Shadowmaster Epic feat way, way down the road; and hoping that the site still exists in some form in 13 years). Stat increase this level! Going to put it in Wisdom again (have to keep bumping it to get access to the higher-level Cleric spells). Speaking of, still sitting at 3rd-level Cleric spells for now. 

*Spoiler: 2023 Build*
Show


Cloistered Cleric 4/Warlock 1/Eldritch Disciple 3

Str: 8
Dex 9
Con 10
Int 12
Wis 13->14 (lvl 4 stat bump)->15 (lvl 8 stat bump)
Cha 11

Human
Feats:
1: Extra Turning (fuel for later), Able Learner (I like skill points)
3: Augment Healing (less worrying about injuries)
6: Extend Spell

Deity: Olidammara. Domains: Trickery, Luck, Knowledge (from Cloistered)
Alignment: CN

Skills
Level 1: Know (Religion) 4, Know (Planes) 4, Heal 4, Bluff 4, Diplomacy 4, Decipher Script 4, Concentration 4, UMD 2, Balance 2
Level 2: Know (Religion) 5, Heal 5, Bluff 5, Diplomacy 5, Decipher Script 5, Concentration 5, Know (History) 2
Level 3: Know (Religion) 6, Heal 6, Bluff 6, Diplomacy 6, Concentration 6, UMD 3, Balance 3, Know (History) 3
Level 4: Know (Religion) 7, Heal 7, UMD 4, Know (History) 4
Level 5: Know (religion) 8, Heal 8, UMD 5, Know (History) 5, Diplomacy 7, Bluff 7, Sense Motive 2
Level 6: Know (Religion) 9, Heal 9, UMD 6, Balance 4
Level 7: Know (Religion) 10, Heal 10, UMD 7, Balance 5
Level 8: UMD 8, Spellcraft 3

Invocation: Beguiling Influence, Call of the Wild, Darkness.
Gift of the Divine Patron: Fearful Glare.

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## aglondier

Happy New Year everyone. Woohoo...3rd level wizard...Craft Wondrous Item is my new best friend...

More to come...

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## StSword

Another level of Chef for me, now level 5.

My income from being a chef now increased sevenfold- making profession checks daily.

And I now can make potions of a third level spell-  I guess Remove disease would be the most useful in the real world.  Lots of sick people.

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## Wildstag

It continues to hurt that I took level 1 in Barbarian, and also that Shapeshift Druid does not work with Druidic Avenger. But alas, I'll take another level in Druid, bringing me to Barb1/Druid4. Now in Predator Form (which is almost always) I gain the benefit of a bonus Mobility feat. Wooo! Another step closer to 3rd level spells.




> Level 3 Neutral Good Human Barbarian1/Shapeshift-Druid2
> 
> Ability Scores:
> 
> Strength 12
> Dexterity 8
> Constitution 10
> Intelligence 9
> Wisdom 14
> ...

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## bekeleven

Well, the best class level after Warlock 2 is Warlock 3. I have a caster level and lots of free crafting XP, but no spells known, so I'll be taking Craft Magical Arms and Armor for my feat. (I can retrain it later.) My 4 skill points will be spent on Diplomacy, Bluff, Disguise, and Spellcraft.

Total build:

Chaotic Neutral Human Warlock 3
8/11/9/13/10/12

Attacks: BAB +2; Melee +1; Ranged +3; Grapple +1
Saves: Fort +0; Ref +2; Will +3

Feats: Murky Eyed (Flaw), Grudge Keeper (Flaw). Feats: Able Learner (1), Silver Tongue (Human), Noble Born (+Flaw), Slow Maturation (+Flaw), Craft Magical Arms and Armor [Trait:Clean] (3).
Skills (24 ranks): Bluff 6 ranks, Diplomacy 6 ranks, Disguise 1 rank, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Sense Motive 5 ranks, Spellcraft 1 rank. Languages: Common, Mandarin.
Class Features and Invocations: DR 1/Cold Iron, Eldritch Blast 2D6, Detect Magic, Beguiling Influence, Call of the Beast.

Skills at this point: Bluff +13 (6 Ranks, 1 Cha, 6 Influence), Diplomacy +19 (6 Ranks, 1 Cha, 6 Influence, 4 Synergy), Disguise +2 (1 Rank, 1 Cha), Intimidate +13 (4 Ranks, 1 Cha, 6 Influence, 2 Synergy), Knowledge (Arcana) +2 (1 Ranks, 1 Int), Sense Motive +5 (5 Ranks), Spellcraft +2 (1 Rank, 1 Cha)


Now that I have skill synergies I can start branching out my skills to grab Chameleon prerequisites. After looking at my feat situation, I'm not actually grabbing Obtain Familiar any time soon, so there's no pressing need to level up Arcana.

Normally I'd be looking into UMD, but since this takes place on earth, I don't expect to encounter a ton of magical devices I myself didn't make. And I can just make ones I can use without checks.

Do I get to use my (2k XP) crafting pool the same level I take the crafting feat, or no?

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## El Dorado

Happy New Year!

My transmuter hits level 7. That means new spells like dimension door, and a new feat like Forge Ring. Keeping Arcana and Spellcraft maxed out. By now I should have a stat boosting item for Intelligence. 

*Spoiler: Transmuter 7*
Show

Human Transmuter 7
Init +2; Senses Perception +7
DEFENSE
AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10
hp 30
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +5
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee club +3 (1d6)
Ranged none
Arcane School Spell-like Abilities (CL 7th; concentration +10)
6/daytelekinetic fist (1d4+3)
Transmuter Spells Prepared (CL 7th; concentration +10)
4th--dimension door, lesser age resistance (b)
3rd--clairvoyance, dispel magic, fly (b), sleet storm
2nd--bull's strength (b), invisibility, levitate, make whole, protection from arrows
1st--comprehend languages, disguise self, endure elements, feather fall (b), mage armor, obscuring mist
0 (at will)--detect magic, mage hand, mending, prestidigitation
Opposition Schools: Enchantment, Necromancy

STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex (11) 9, Con 11, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 9 (age-adjusted)
Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 13
Favored Class: wizard (+7 skill points)
Feats: Brew Potion, Combat Casting, Craft Wand (w), Craft Wondrous Item, Forge Ring, Scribe Scroll [b], Skill Focus (Spellcraft)
Skills: Fly +10, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (geography, history, local) +10, Knowledge (nature, planes) +7, Linguistics +13, Perception +7, Spellcraft +17
Traits: Classically Schooled, Reactionary
Languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, Japanese, Latin, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
SQ arcane bond (weasel), physical enhancement +2


My telepath also reaches level 7 which gives access to the all-important Psychic Reformation power. Any previous power, feat, and skill choices can be rapidly changed

*Spoiler: Telepath 7*
Show

Human Psion (Telepath) 7
Init +1; Senses Perception +7
DEFENSE
AC 9, touch 9, flat-footed 9 (-1 Dex)
hp 36 (includes psionic body)
Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +5
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee club +3 (1d6)
Ranged none
Powers Known (CL 7th; concentration +10)
4th--mind control, psychic reformation
3rd--body adjustment, dispel psionics, psionic blast, telekinetic force
2nd--clairvoyant sense, cloud mind, concussion blast, defy gravity, read thoughts, sustenance
1st--empathic connection, inertial armor, mind link, mind thrust, slumber, vigor
0 (at will)--conceal thoughts, detect psionics, far hand, psionic repair
Power Points per day: 65

STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex 9, Con 11, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 9 (age-adjusted)
Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 12
Feats: Autonomous, Combat Manifestation, Expanded Knowledge (3), Psionic Body, Psionic Talent
Skills: Autohypnosis +12, Diplomacy +9, Knowledge (psionics) +15, Linguistics +10, Perception +7, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +14
Traits: Focused Mind, Reactionary
Languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, Italian, Japanese, Latin, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
SQ mental intrusion


edit: corrected sample spell list

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## NCat

Ah, a new year, and that means a new level! I intend to continue my hopes for Anima mage, though, I've also noticed a mistake I made in my earlier plans, that being that precocious apprentice needs to be taken at 1st level. Oops.

Well, all that means is that it just takes 2 more levels of spellcasting to get there. Not a problem, I can live with that.

So with that, I take my second character level,  Sha Ir 1. Hopefully I can meet with some other spell-casters in this thread and identify a few of their spells. Im unsure if Sha-Ir can research spells, or if I can Identify spells from my Binder level, but if possible, I'd definitely do those as well. 

Though, for now I only have 5 0th level, and 3 spells of 1st level in my known spells.

*Spoiler: Spell Choices, 0th level*
Show


 Mending Mage Hand Message Prestidigitation Dancing Lights

 
*Spoiler: Spell Choices, 1st level*
Show


 Unseen Servant. Simply put, having an invisible force to handle tasks is pretty helpful. Range is limited at this level, but still, a servant to fetch things, handle housework, and so forth it. The duration is nice too, plenty can be done in an hour. Friendly Face. With my charisma focus, and my need for good diplomacy thanks to needing it to cast spells, a +5 bonus to diplomacy checks is pretty nice. Disguise Self. While this is a little bit redundant due to having a vestige that can grant it at will, the ability to have disguise self regardless of vestige prepared is nice, as well as not losing my voice sometimes in exchange. I just like the spell a bunch too, so yeah, being able to change outfits or my appearance is just something that is cool to me <:

 

As for the Gen, I'll have to find a way to get the money to summon it, since I'm unsure if I get it for free on taking the 1st level, and I assume I don't. Though, I'll take the Air Gen, once I've gotten to summoning it.

Last thing I get are new skill points to spend. We've only got a +1 to int, so we're limited to just 3 points. Makes me sorta wish I went for Nymph's Kiss earlier, oh well, maybe some other year. We'll put 1 point into Knowledge (The Planes), bringing us to 3, since we need 4 for anima mage, and I might as well deal with a bit of it now. Ill put a second into Diplomacy, since diplomacy is always good, and for the last one, I think Ill put it into Bluff? 

Now, the reason for this choice of Bluff is kinda lame, but with my own DnD group, I've kinda realised my ability to voices for characters... sucks? Plus disguise self and all, but yeah, I wanna do voices. But, theres no real "voices" skill, so my best bets were either Bluff (as in, imitating voices), or Perform (as in, voice acting I guess?). Perform is off class, so not that easy an investment. So yeah, bluff might end up getting more ranks as I get levels for this purpose alone. Though, next level up is a year away, so who knows.

*Spoiler: Updated Stats*
Show


*Levels:* Binder 1, Sha Ir 1

Str: 8
Dex: 9
Con: 11
Wis: 10
Int: 12
Cha: 13

*Feats:*
- Ignore Special Requirements
- Improved Binding
- Expel Vestige
- [Meta] Extend Spell

*Character Traits:*
Polite (+1 to diplomacy, -2 to intimidate)
Absent Minded (+1 to knowledge checks, -1 to spot and listen)

*Flaws:*
Methodical Magical Methods
Non-combatant

*Skill Ranks:* Diplomacy +5, Sense Motive +2, Bluff +3, Knowledge (The Planes) +3, Intimidate +4, Craft (Art) +2, Speak Language (Dutch), Speak Language (Portuguese).

Spells Known (Sha Ir):

*0th Level*
 Dancing Lights Mage Hand Mending Message Prestidigitation

*1st Level*
 Disguise Self Friendly Face Unseen Servant



Yup, thats 2023. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is up to

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## aglondier

I believe it came up in passing last year but, since we are all existing in the same world, would any wizards and/or other arcane spellcasters be interested in banding together to form a rudimentary guild? We are all gaining our usual trickle of spells, wouldn't it be nice to have access to more of the spell list?

Wizards and other prepared arcane spellcasters can learn spells from each other in game, so why can't we?

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## NCat

> I believe it came up in passing last year but, since we are all existing in the same world, would any wizards and/or other arcane spellcasters be interested in banding together to form a rudimentary guild?


I definitely would be down as a Sha Ir, (plus, that one guildmage PRC is if I recall, my loose plans for late game after anima mage, though that is a while a way)

It just makes sense for spellcasters to group together

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## White Blade

Guess Id pick up Contemplative Cleric 2

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## Vizzerdrix

> I believe it came up in passing last year but, since we are all existing in the same world, would any wizards and/or other arcane spellcasters be interested in banding together to form a rudimentary guild? We are all gaining our usual trickle of spells, wouldn't it be nice to have access to more of the spell list?
> 
> Wizards and other prepared arcane spellcasters can learn spells from each other in game, so why can't we?


Sure. I'm gonna need to get spellbooks for someplace after all.

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## Asmotherion

And an other Level of Wizard for me please, for a total of 4 Wizard Levels! :)

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## Kalkra

Another year and I'm still suffering from my bad decisions in previous years. Now that I know that spellcasting from Sculpt Self doesn't let me meet prerequisites, I'll need to retrain into Sanctum Spell to be able to cast 2nd-level arcane spells to qualify for Cerebremancer. The good news is that at some point I'll be able to retrain it away, once I progress my spellcasting enough. The bad news is that I'll need to take another level of StP Erudite this year, and I won't get War Magic Study for another 4 years at the earliest. Ah well.

What I'm doing with my life really depends on what everybody else is doing. If life continues more or less normally I'm using skill-boosting magic to get rich doing whatever pays the best. If the presence of people who can do magic vastly changes society (as it probably would) I'll probably be researching and selling spells, which would presumably be more lucrative, and honestly I'm probably going to be researching spells no matter what. The thing about D&D is that there are a lot of things spells can't do because that would make the game unbalanced, not because it doesn't make sense for spells to be able to do those things. In other words, I'm pretty sure I could research some broken-good spells because life isn't a game and there are no power-level bans. That being said, I have no way of knowing what spells I'd actually be able to make, so I've been leaving them out of my plans for the most part.

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## Telonius

> Another year and I'm still suffering from my bad decisions in previous years.


I think that's generally applicable.  :Small Big Grin: 


As far as guilds and things go, I'd probably still be keeping under wraps as much a possible. The whole situation is still smelling of "too good to be true." Plus I've read enough X-Men to know what can happen in this sort of situation. I want to stay under the radar until the other shoe drops.

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## Troacctid

> Oh, and did anyone go after the bait I was leaving out?


Is this a question for me?




> Do I get to use my (2k XP) crafting pool the same level I take the crafting feat, or no?


Yes.




> Ah, a new year, and that means a new level! I intend to continue my hopes for Anima mage, though, I've also noticed a mistake I made in my earlier plans, that being that precocious apprentice needs to be taken at 1st level. Oops.
> 
> Well, all that means is that it just takes 2 more levels of spellcasting to get there. Not a problem, I can live with that.


Precocious Apprentice wouldn't do what you want anyway.




> I believe it came up in passing last year but, since we are all existing in the same world, would any wizards and/or other arcane spellcasters be interested in banding together to form a rudimentary guild? We are all gaining our usual trickle of spells, wouldn't it be nice to have access to more of the spell list?
> 
> Wizards and other prepared arcane spellcasters can learn spells from each other in game, so why can't we?


Well, I don't know if I want to pay dues or anything, but I would at least join the group chat, sure.




> Now that I know that spellcasting from Sculpt Self doesn't let me meet prerequisites, I'll need to retrain into Sanctum Spell to be able to cast 2nd-level arcane spells to qualify for Cerebremancer. The good news is that at some point I'll be able to retrain it away, once I progress my spellcasting enough.


I have come to expect this kind of optimism from you. It's very bold of you to keep making risky build decisions based on controversial rules interpretations without knowing whether or not they'll work.  :Small Smile:

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## CatGoddess

I'll be taking my first level of Wizard, and using the Pathfinder 1e rules.

Ability Scores

Str: 8
Dex: 9
Con: 11
Int: 15
Wis: 12
Cha: 10

Arcane School: Conjuration (Teleportation), Opposition Schools = Necromancy, Evocation

Arcane Bond: Fox familiar! With the Elemental Familiar (Air) archetype so that it can fly. 

Feats: Scribe Scroll, Eschew Materials (no spell components on Earth), Scholar (Knowledge (Artificial Intelligence) and Knowledge (Physics))

Spells: Silent Image, Endure Elements, Keep Watch, Charm Person, Feather Fall, Infernal Healing, Heightened Awareness

Bonus Languages: Chinese, German

Skills: Knowledge (Artificial Intelligence), Knowledge (Physics), Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Religion), Spellcraft

Traits: Spark of Creation (+1 bonus on Craft checks, magic items are 5% cheaper to make), Student of Philosophy (use Int instead of Cha for Diplomacy and Bluff)

Future Plans: Take the Magaambyan Arcanist prestige class for access to Druid spells

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## Stoic

Another level of Wizard. (Now Wizard Level 4)

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## Quertus

More of the same (Arcane Spellcaster) for me.




> would any wizards and/or other arcane spellcasters be interested in banding together to form a rudimentary guild?





> Well, I don't know if I want to pay dues or anything, but I would at least join the group chat, sure.


Pretty much this (give or take paranoia). Also, wrt trading spells, I think this has 0 value for my class, no?

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## Quertus

> Q: How exactly does this world work? Is the timeline altered by our previous levels? Do we know about other players? Are we making decisions for ourselves, or are these benefits applied to parallel universe version of ourselves? Etc.
> A: I think it's fine to envision it however you like, but *I bet that parallel timeline idea would make for some cool fanfiction*. If you'd like to share your idea of what the last year would have been like for the leveled-up version of you, please do!


Ill take most any excuse to lower peoples Sanity scores with my horrific fanfiction writing (and, senility willing, Ill do so at some point). However not that Ive the reading comprehension to know whats kosher and whats verboten, but Im concerned Do we know about other players? and fanfiction line up poorly with at least Playground culture, if not rules, without explicit permission.

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## Kalkra

> I have come to expect this kind of optimism from you. It's very bold of you to keep making risky build decisions based on controversial rules interpretations without knowing whether or not they'll work.


That's real life for you. Somebody's gotta try it to see if it works or not. And if it doesn't, my sacrifice will be remembered by all those who come after me who would have done as I did.

That being said, if you're saying that I can't use Sanctum Spell for early then I'll either have to take two more levels of Wizard or some other feat combo, although if you don't like Sanctum Spell you probably wouldn't like Snowcasting either, so I'd need Easy Metamagic on Heighten Spell or something.

I think I asked this in previous years, but do we have some sort of supernatural ability to know how the big DM in the sky will rule on various issues? Because if we don't then it seems kinda like metagaming to change my build based on you telling me what will end up working and what won't.

I'm not even entirely sure your point was that Sanctum Spell won't work, but that seemed to be the implication.

EDIT: Looking back over the FAQ I see that you explicitly don't know if things'll work or not.

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## AsuraKyoko

I have a question: does 3PP material include stuff from the homebrew subforum? I'm specifically looking at the Gramarie system (going with the original version, since the 2.0 update is very incomplete)

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## CatGoddess

Has our world's cosmology been altered in this scenario? E.g. are there gods, demons, planes, etc.?
If so, do all aspects of d&d cosmology get ported over, or are they only added as needed? Because in the latter case I'm certainly going to steer clear of summoning any devils...

On a different note, I'd be down to meet up and swap spells with other arcane casters.

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## El Dorado

> Sure. I'm gonna need to get spellbooks for someplace after all.


We could set up a discord or something similar. Plenty of ways to trade information.

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## Jack_Simth

> We could set up a discord or something similar. Plenty of ways to trade information.


Just hop a plane if scans of a spellbook don't work.

Depending on your morals, magic makes money easy.

Arcane:
With 1st level spells: Charm Person and a Cha check to get folks who handle money to do something they normally wouldn't.  Embezzling on your behalf.
With 2nd level spells: Invisibility makes for an extremely difficult to catch thief.
With 4th level spells: Dimension Door into and out of a vault.  Or (more efficiently), get a picture of a vault, and use Summon Monster IV for a Lantern Archon, which can Greater Teleport in and out of the vault a few times.

Divine: Much easier to sleep at night here.
2nd: Make Whole.  Instant repair shop.
3rd: Really kicks in here.  You'll want a go-between and some access to disguise or invisibility to maintain some semblance of a normal life, but Remove Blindness/Deafness and Remove Disease are SERIOUS money-makers once you've got a demonstrated success rate.

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## Kalkra

> We could set up a discord or something similar. Plenty of ways to trade information.


The Dreamscape might work, depending on which version we have access to.

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## SirNibbles

Another level of Tattooed Monk.

Archivist 1/Mystic Ranger 4/Tattooed Monk 2

I would also like to lodge a complaint- my disease immunity from my first level of Tattooed Monk has clearly not been working this past year, or I've been catching magical diseases.

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## Shalist

Another artificer level (-> sorc1/art7)
I might edit this post later with some build notes, though my free time always dries up around this time of year.

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## bekeleven

Boy, 2k XP is a whole ton. The only stuff I can make is +1 weapons and armor... But i can make multiple _dozen_. I'm not horribly butchering this math, am I? +1 padded armor costs 1155 gold, which works out to 46.2 XP. Then on the day I start crafting I pay that XP, meaning that I don't get XP for that day, which works out to an effective additional -5.48 XP.  So basically, if I so choose, I can make 38 of these suckers? 






> That being said, if you're saying that I can't use Sanctum Spell for early then I'll either have to take two more levels of Wizard or some other feat combo, [...]
> 
> I think I asked this in previous years, but do we have some sort of supernatural ability to know how the big DM in the sky will rule on various issues? Because if we don't then it seems kinda like metagaming to change my build based on you telling me what will end up working and what won't.


You can always try to enter the PrC and, if you fail, take another wizard level. Remember that you get one free minor retrain per level, so you can trade the feat for another whose prerequisites you meet when you took it.

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## Vizzerdrix

> We could set up a discord or something similar. Plenty of ways to trade information.


Name it The Arcane Order. That may be enough to Kickstart access to that particular PrC for people. It takes a few feats, but even a spont caster can make use of it, and with so few statted folks around, versatility will be important until we can secure our safety.

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## Telonius

> I would also like to lodge a complaint- my disease immunity from my first level of Tattooed Monk has clearly not been working this past year, or I've been catching magical diseases.


Don't know about you, but the DM has also been kind of stingy for WBL over here.  :Small Big Grin:

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## MinimanMidget

Like a lot of us, I've ended up regretting some of my choices. I'm thinking I'll pivot to something along the lines of Troacctid's Unseenlock build - it'll take some retraining, but I'm reasonably well placed for it. I'll start by ditching my ranks in Sleight of Hand, with some regret, because it's one of my favourite skills, but it just isn't that useful (especially in the real world). That said, there's no way I'm not taking the Darkness + Blend Into Shadows combo I originally planned on - vanishing like a ninja is very important to me.

Human Psychic Rogue 1/Warlock 2
Str 9, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 8
Skills: Autohypnosis 4, Concentration 4, Hide 6, Listen 5, Move Silently 5, Open Lock 4, Search 6, Spot 6
Powers known: Compression (no PP to use it with, though)
Invocations: Darkness, Spiderwalk
Feats: Able Learner, Blend Into Shadows, Point Blank Shot

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## EndlessKng

My build is all over the place, but really, it's all for fun, and I don't care if it's a crash-and-burn mess, I'm going to just go with it.  

This year has brought some... changes.  In my life and in my attitude and situations.  And it's led to a new career that represents a shift in my talents - or perhaps, codifies ones I've had for a while.  

So this year, I'll add Investigator to my build - specifically with the Empiricist and Sphere Investigator archetypes (They stack, as SI only changes Alchemy itself to limited alchemy, and Empiricist only changes the Swift Alchemy feature).

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## thethird

Another level, another Artificer level. Mostly enjoying my 5th level spells and looking forward to 6th level spells next year, planar binding is surely going to be fun.

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## Peelee

Favored Soul. I'll update the rest when I get around to it.

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## VoltsofEight

I missed last years, but Spheres of Power Sage again.

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## Karmea

Second mystic wanderer level and got my familiar. Maybe a dog to blend in. Turn it into a Good dog with that one cleric spell. Or a raven for the goodies, though I'd probably have to be more subtle with that one.

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## Lvl 2 Expert

I figure I actually did gain a level over the last year and a half or so. Or maybe I retrained one, not sure. I think I might be a Ranger or a Bard or a Druid (or an Alchemist or a Factotum or some obscure class from deep inside Pathfinder that does some really specific things) now. I'm not actually sure, I don't know the new me well enough yet. It doesn't count for this thread as I wasn't a lvl 2 Expert in this thread, but it's been a pretty big improvement over being stuck in my dead end lvl 2 Expert career path. The extra feat at lvl 3 probably helps too. I'm not sure if my hit points came in yet.

Edit: you know what, I'll take the second level of Expert in case I decide I want to be inspired by next year's thread to think about my build again.

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## Rebel7284

Conjurer 2

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## bekeleven

I've decided to craft 2 items with my ability to craft (+1) magical arms and armor. First of all, as I said last time, special materials are tricky to get ahold of, so I'll be avoiding those for now. Second of all, I want to craft armor that makes any amount of sense for me to wear in an urban environment, which probably means it'll grab some padded suits as my raw materials and then craft *padded armor*. Due to how the numbers line up, I'll craft a second set, maybe out of a hoodie or jacket, for more casual engagements. The rest of my crafting XP will be spent on "+1 daggers" I can sell as kitchen knives.

*Spoiler: Crafting*
Show

Anyway, the best items for me to craft at this point would be +1 weapons and +1 armor. Also, the _only_ items I can craft, given that you need a caster level of 3X the enhancement bonus. I'd love to use all sorts of special materials, from cold iron to shadow silk to ironwood to mithral to glasssteel to riverine to etc etc etc, but I imagine that on earth they'd be tricky to source. The same is true for some more "basic" materials like the magical leaf used in the blondleaf wrap. Luckily one of my friends is a real-life blacksmith and I can probably ask for his help with the basics.

The material most likely to be accessible, in my estimation? Starmetal. That exists on earth.

GP Costs for +1 Padded Armor: 1155
GP Costs for a +1 Dagger: 2302

XP Costs for +1 padded armor: 46
XP Costs for +1 dagger: 92

XP "deduction" for starting to craft an item: 5.48. (This is 1/365th of my annual XP, and represents the fraction of my 2k annual XP that I didn't earn that day.)

I'll craft *2* [Clean] padded armors and *19* +1 [Clean] kitchen knives. Total XP expenditure: 1955.


The most fun part about the past year has been my Call of the Beast invocation. I'm not sure I'll have it forever, since it's not a component of any epic warlock feats, but I'm not worrying about that for _at least_ 10 more levels. In the meantime, I have the ability to speak with animals at all times, and a +4 on my rolls to influence them.

Speaking of those rolls, I currently have a +17 to diplomacy, which while not "nonmagical dominate person," is definitely getting into the "nonmagical charm person" territory. (Unfriendly to indifferent on a 1, or friendly on an 8). Combined with my +13 to bluff and many parts of my life just got significantly easier to navigate.

I have a question for future build reasons, and I know Troacctid is staying tight-lipped, so instead I'll throw it out to the people: Has anybody done something with their build that *requires a deity?* If so, it is a specific deity? Like could I take a "favored of a god" magical ability? How about "favored of Pelor"?

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## Telonius

> I have a question for future build reasons, and I know Troacctid is staying tight-lipped, so instead I'll throw it out to the people: Has anybody done something with their build that *requires a deity?* If so, it is a specific deity? Like could I take a "favored of a god" magical ability? How about "favored of Pelor"?


Mine (Cleric/Warlock/Eldritch Disciple) doesn't _exactly_ require a deity. For Domain selection, I could just worship a concept. The fluff (and class feature names) for Eldritch Disciple make reference to a "Divine Patron," so that might require somebody specific. My deity would be Olidammara. This version specifically if it's allowed; if not, the PHB description is laid-back enough that I'd be cool with it.

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## Kalkra

> The most fun part about the past year has been my Call of the Beast invocation. I'm not sure I'll have it forever, since it's not a component of any epic warlock feats, but I'm not worrying about that for _at least_ 10 more levels. In the meantime, I have the ability to speak with animals at all times, and a +4 on my rolls to influence them.


I think we'll stop levelling at 20, so no epic stuff.

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## NCat

> I think we'll stop levelling at 20, so no epic stuff.


I see no point in stopping at 20? I think it could be cool if, by chance this does last 20+ years, the people have been here for decades get the prize of wacky epic stuff.

Plus, planning out your levels not just as to what benefits you now and in the present, but what might benefit you in decades is kinda fun

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## Cruiser1

I take a 2nd level of *Cloistered Cleric*, adding on to the 1st level of CC taken last year.  :Small Smile:

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## Quertus

> I figure I actually did gain a level over the last year and a half or so. Or maybe I retrained one, not sure. I think I might be a Ranger or a Bard or a Druid (or an Alchemist or a Factotum or some obscure class from deep inside Pathfinder that does some really specific things) now. I'm not actually sure, I don't know the new me well enough yet. It doesn't count for this thread as I wasn't a lvl 2 Expert in this thread, but it's been a pretty big improvement over being stuck in my dead end lvl 2 Expert career path. The extra feat at lvl 3 probably helps too. I'm not sure if my hit points came in yet.
> 
> Edit: you know what, I'll take the second level of Expert in case I decide I want to be inspired by next year's thread to think about my build again.


Congratulations! What particular evidence convinced you of this?




> I have a question for future build reasons, and I know Troacctid is staying tight-lipped, so instead I'll throw it out to the people: Has anybody done something with their build that *requires a deity?* If so, it is a specific deity? Like could I take a "favored of a god" magical ability? How about "favored of Pelor"?


Good point. Ive been too lazy to bother*, but I suppose the PF-based me will start taking levels in Cleric of me, to help test your requirements.

* to learn pathfinder

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## Wildstag

Last year I started a 3PP version of using Spheres to take Transformation and Transformation (hybrid) to gain the forms of a werewolf with none of the downsides. This year, I'd progress that by taking a second level in Brawler. This would grant me a Bonus Combat Feat and Brawler's Flurry.

For skills, I'd advance Climbing, Perception, and Knowledge (Local), but also take Ride. Thus 2 ranks in Climbing, Perception, and Knowledge (Local), 1 rank in Ride and Craft (Woodcarving). FCB (Skill Rank) to put 1 in Intimidate.

Bonus Combat Feat seems like it'd have to be Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike). What with the low attack roll (only a +4 or +5), I'd want a bit of accuracy to shore up the penalties from Brawler's Flurry. Plus it builds into so many potential options.

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## Kalkra

> I see no point in stopping at 20? I think it could be cool if, by chance this does last 20+ years, the people have been here for decades get the prize of wacky epic stuff.
> 
> Plus, planning out your levels not just as to what benefits you now and in the present, but what might benefit you in decades is kinda fun


To clarify, I think Troacctid said in a previous year that we stop levelling at 20. Of course, I could be misremembering, and things might change. Then again, once you get epic spellcasting things spiral out of control very quickly, so I understand the decision.

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## Lvl 2 Expert

> Congratulations! What particular evidence convinced you of this?


A broader set of (marketable) skills with improvements large enough that I'm looking for at least one case of either skill synergy, a feat or spell access kicking in, existing skills being honed and getting updated, not just significant but near miraculous better results on rolls to get hired, different treatment by other characters and significant increases in my weekly "take ten" results on profession/craft for income. Even after considering my age being around right for going up an age category (in at least some potentially applicable species) giving me +1 to my intelligence, charisma and wisdom modifiers it's a pretty noticeable difference. (My constitution did take a bit of a hit a bit over a year and a half ago, which might have been the age up moment, but I seem to have mostly recovered, which might be the extra HP from the level up.)

The bad news is that in this gritty campaign I'm in characters seem to max out at level 5 or 6 and most don't get to that hard limit at all, certainly not ones that start with NPC class levels, so odds are this is my final form. I'd better make the most of it.

So, anyone looking for an offensive support kinda henchman?

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## Quertus

> So, anyone looking for an offensive support kinda henchman?


Im basically playing a glorified TARDIS, making my cohort the counterpart of the Doctor, I suppose. And offensive support henchman sounds like a Doctor thing. So maybe? (Although my Who lore suggests you may need to kiss my cohort to make it official and that the retirement program is the worst.)

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## Lvl 2 Expert

> Im basically playing a glorified TARDIS, making my cohort the counterpart of the Doctor, I suppose. And offensive support henchman sounds like a Doctor thing. So maybe? (Although my Who lore suggests you may need to kiss my cohort to make it official and that the retirement program is the worst.)


I think we're on different planes then, time travel is mostly fictional here. But if you have a plane shift spell I'm up for putting in my one month notice and going on an adventure.

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## TalonOfAnathrax

Troacctid, is there a mistake on the Google Sheet ? I wrote that I took Durthan 1 last year, but it's written I'm a Sha'ir 4 instead of Sha'ir 3/Durthan 1. I wasn't using any early-entry cheats either.

What I take this year will depend on what I had last year so this isn't a definite choice, but it'll probably be Cloistered Cleric 1.

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