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I'm curious if anyone has previously published a variant of BoL that included character level as a core mechanic. I understand that careers have levels associated with them already but I'm more referring to a general character level indicated total advancement moreso than that. While I personally prefer level-less systems myself going back to the mid 90s when I cut my teeth on dice pool systems of the day (like Shadowrun), I could see the total freedom granted by advancement points being a bit daunting for players accustomed to more rigid D&D style progression. Have any of the official BoL products or related systems like Everywhen incorporated something like that either as a core or optional mechanic?
I don't think it would be difficult to incorporate as you could relatively easily do it with a system ladder system based on advancement points earned with alternating benefits so as not to overly focus on one to the detriment of the others.. After X points, you get Y benefit (boon, attribute boost, combat ability boost, etc). It would put a cap theoretically on character advancement but it's just as easy to say that after the cap it turns back into the original free form advancement. I'd assume that almost all players at that point would/should be confident enough to choose their own progression without the help of guard rails. Thoughts?
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You'd do well to check out The BoL Hack written by Simon. It really is a good read that does a great job of combining BoL with OSR d20. It's very cheap and excellent value.
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Thanks and I'll take a look. I wasn't looking specifically for something OSR (I'm trying to actually get away from d20 systems overall which is in large part how I discovered BoL!) but I might be able to separate out the level structure from the other mechanics.
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Pit Fighter wrote:
Thanks and I'll take a look. I wasn't looking specifically for something OSR (I'm trying to actually get away from d20 systems overall which is in large part how I discovered BoL!) but I might be able to separate out the level structure from the other mechanics.
The BoL Hack's level system is ultra-simple, and would work fine with regular BoL: complete a number of adventures equal to your current level to advance to the next one (what constitutes an "adventure" is up to the referee.) Trait improvements are triggered by reaching the next level rather than spending AP.
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Interesting... and, yes, that is very simple and to the point as well as progressive! I could see at higher levels though players being a bit frustrated without obvious progress though when you get to the point where you have to play 14 games to get to 15th level. It's an easy enough fix (assuming someone things there is a need of course!) to divide up the levels into groups with smaller amounts of sessions necessary. Regardless, thanks for the info! How many levels are there? Is it a 20 level structure like traditional D&D or a more recent 10 level advancement?
Last edited by Pit Fighter (2/29/2024 1:51 pm)