I remember sometime ago reading somewhere that if you level twice before doing a long rest all the extra exp you would gain before that long rest would be waste.
Ex. i had a player lv.4 who got the idiot card from the deck of many things, by the next encounter he will have enough exp to reach level 6, but since i'm using the optional rule that long rest need 7 days, he can't level up from 4 to 5, but he will level up once 7 days pass.
This rule if it exist will block him from getting extra exp after reaching exp for level 6. It exist or not? because i'm looking around and i can't find it, myabe i remember wrongly
I have no recollection of any mention of such a rule. Any idea where you read it? Personally, I wouldn't implement it since it's unnecessarily harsh (he should get the reward for risking the deck, in my opinion), but it's up to you as DM, even if it were an official rule (are you confusing perhaps an older edition?).
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That's why i would like to keep the party balanced level wise. Also he got the exp cause of a card of the deck of many things. Not because he fought an extremely powerful enemy and defeated it.
Reason-wise i would consider that leveling up is some sort of "enlightenment" when you break through a wall of understanding of things like techniques or magic...so too many at once would'nt make sense. So since he got this enlightnement through external forces and not "challenges" he wouldn't have the capacity to get enlightened beyond that for a while, and in that while the other players would catch up.
Honestly i don't remember where i read it, but i can't find it again since quite a bit of time has passed. maybe it was an older edition or it was in a pathfinder campaign or maybe it was an HB rule by the DM at the time. But it's a thing i would like to use.
You are the DM, so you ultimately get to decide the rules, including any variations you make. You have to make a decision based upon the player in question, your confidence as a DM, and what the other players might find fair.
If I were in your shoes, I would recognise this entire issue was my fault. The Deck of Many Things can derail a high level campaign; giving the players access to it at level 4 was a mistake. When I, as DM, make a mistake that gives a player something they enjoy, I try to let them have the mistake, mitigating it through other mechanisms.
Here, I would probably give them both of the levels up, then not let them gain XP until the other players catch up. In so doing, I would provide the player both an in-game explanation and out of game explanation. For out-of-game, I would simply tell the player that one player remaining far ahead can feel unfair to other players, particularly when it is a random effect. Provided your player is not a bit of a jerk, explaining “hey, I am doing this so others do not feel cheated” should be effective.
For in-game, I would explain that the Deck of Many Things is a tool of fate—here, it changed the player’s fate by advancing the potential future self they were fated to become. However, because they were advanced from the future, they cannot develop any further until they reach that future existence (when they would have had that level of XP). Just like the card they drew, the Idiot, they cannot learn anything new for a brief time. It’s a bit messy and beyond the card as written, but works with the flavour of the deck, solves your problem, and ties in the specific card name.
It will be annoying for you for a bit, since you’ll have one slightly higher level player, but, fortunately, at those levels the difference between a level 6 and 7 character is not really that big of a balance problem.
And, moving forward, you might want to find some way to remove the Deck from play (have it stollen, etc.) and might want to switch over to Milestone levelling if you want to keep players a bit more balanced and controlled.
You could just level the whole party along with him. We had a deck of many things and someone drew the card to level up by defeating the next enemy in single combat. He did, and the DM just leveled all of us. The player didn’t feel cheated, we all cheered him on, everyone likes leveling up, and the DM didn’t then have to deal with a mixed level party. It worked well.
In my opinion you should just let him level up. You presented a risk, he took it and got rewarded for it. For you to then get cold feet and withdraw this reward could damage the trust the players have put in you.
If wanna avoid the party skewing in power, I would see if I couldn't present the other party members with their own individual chance of leveling up.
That's why i would like to keep the party balanced level wise. Also he got the exp cause of a card of the deck of many things. Not because he fought an extremely powerful enemy and defeated it.
Reason-wise i would consider that leveling up is some sort of "enlightenment" when you break through a wall of understanding of things like techniques or magic...so too many at once would'nt make sense. So since he got this enlightnement through external forces and not "challenges" he wouldn't have the capacity to get enlightened beyond that for a while, and in that while the other players would catch up.
Honestly i don't remember where i read it, but i can't find it again since quite a bit of time has passed. maybe it was an older edition or it was in a pathfinder campaign or maybe it was an HB rule by the DM at the time. But it's a thing i would like to use.
I would disagree with your reasoning, respectfully. If you are using XP, should it matter that he gained the enlightenment magically and not through challenges? Magically, his mind was opened up and things that he has seen or heard now make sense to him and he is able to put those things into practice.
You threw balance out of the window the moment you gave them the deck. It is one of the stupidest, most campaign destroying items in the game. It should never just be given to a party unless the dm is bored and has given up. That said, to answer your question, I’ve never heard of such a rule and wouldn’t implement it if there were one. But then I also wouldn’t level someone up twice in an encounter by giving them the deck in the first place.
I can’t speak for 5e specifically, but I’ve always held to the longtime tradition that in one session you can really only level up once but gain enough XP that you’re right below the requirement for a second level up.
Edit: I don’t believe it’s ever been a rule, more like a solid recommendation for running the game.
If you go WAY WAY back to the boxed Red Basic set for DnD, they did have a rule that you cant level twice in an adventure. However, where that was printed was a book set for levels 1-3 where the XP amounts needed to level were very small, and it was a system where people leveled at different rates. Basically, even in the Basic Box, this was more complicated than 5e, which I find hilarious. I actually think that for 5e, given that an adventure can take several sessions, esp when playing 3 hrs online, I got a level 1 adventure on session 4 now..lol, I think I am going to run with cant level twice in the a session. That said, yes, agree the Deck is a very very unstable tool....use at own risk, but be willing to commit to its use and effects and dont cheat players.
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I remember sometime ago reading somewhere that if you level twice before doing a long rest all the extra exp you would gain before that long rest would be waste.
Ex. i had a player lv.4 who got the idiot card from the deck of many things, by the next encounter he will have enough exp to reach level 6, but since i'm using the optional rule that long rest need 7 days, he can't level up from 4 to 5, but he will level up once 7 days pass.
This rule if it exist will block him from getting extra exp after reaching exp for level 6. It exist or not? because i'm looking around and i can't find it, myabe i remember wrongly
I have no recollection of any mention of such a rule. Any idea where you read it? Personally, I wouldn't implement it since it's unnecessarily harsh (he should get the reward for risking the deck, in my opinion), but it's up to you as DM, even if it were an official rule (are you confusing perhaps an older edition?).
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
That's why i would like to keep the party balanced level wise. Also he got the exp cause of a card of the deck of many things. Not because he fought an extremely powerful enemy and defeated it.
Reason-wise i would consider that leveling up is some sort of "enlightenment" when you break through a wall of understanding of things like techniques or magic...so too many at once would'nt make sense. So since he got this enlightnement through external forces and not "challenges" he wouldn't have the capacity to get enlightened beyond that for a while, and in that while the other players would catch up.
Honestly i don't remember where i read it, but i can't find it again since quite a bit of time has passed. maybe it was an older edition or it was in a pathfinder campaign or maybe it was an HB rule by the DM at the time. But it's a thing i would like to use.
You are the DM, so you ultimately get to decide the rules, including any variations you make. You have to make a decision based upon the player in question, your confidence as a DM, and what the other players might find fair.
If I were in your shoes, I would recognise this entire issue was my fault. The Deck of Many Things can derail a high level campaign; giving the players access to it at level 4 was a mistake. When I, as DM, make a mistake that gives a player something they enjoy, I try to let them have the mistake, mitigating it through other mechanisms.
Here, I would probably give them both of the levels up, then not let them gain XP until the other players catch up. In so doing, I would provide the player both an in-game explanation and out of game explanation. For out-of-game, I would simply tell the player that one player remaining far ahead can feel unfair to other players, particularly when it is a random effect. Provided your player is not a bit of a jerk, explaining “hey, I am doing this so others do not feel cheated” should be effective.
For in-game, I would explain that the Deck of Many Things is a tool of fate—here, it changed the player’s fate by advancing the potential future self they were fated to become. However, because they were advanced from the future, they cannot develop any further until they reach that future existence (when they would have had that level of XP). Just like the card they drew, the Idiot, they cannot learn anything new for a brief time. It’s a bit messy and beyond the card as written, but works with the flavour of the deck, solves your problem, and ties in the specific card name.
It will be annoying for you for a bit, since you’ll have one slightly higher level player, but, fortunately, at those levels the difference between a level 6 and 7 character is not really that big of a balance problem.
And, moving forward, you might want to find some way to remove the Deck from play (have it stollen, etc.) and might want to switch over to Milestone levelling if you want to keep players a bit more balanced and controlled.
You could just level the whole party along with him. We had a deck of many things and someone drew the card to level up by defeating the next enemy in single combat. He did, and the DM just leveled all of us. The player didn’t feel cheated, we all cheered him on, everyone likes leveling up, and the DM didn’t then have to deal with a mixed level party. It worked well.
In my opinion you should just let him level up. You presented a risk, he took it and got rewarded for it. For you to then get cold feet and withdraw this reward could damage the trust the players have put in you.
If wanna avoid the party skewing in power, I would see if I couldn't present the other party members with their own individual chance of leveling up.
I would disagree with your reasoning, respectfully. If you are using XP, should it matter that he gained the enlightenment magically and not through challenges? Magically, his mind was opened up and things that he has seen or heard now make sense to him and he is able to put those things into practice.
You threw balance out of the window the moment you gave them the deck. It is one of the stupidest, most campaign destroying items in the game. It should never just be given to a party unless the dm is bored and has given up. That said, to answer your question, I’ve never heard of such a rule and wouldn’t implement it if there were one. But then I also wouldn’t level someone up twice in an encounter by giving them the deck in the first place.
I can’t speak for 5e specifically, but I’ve always held to the longtime tradition that in one session you can really only level up once but gain enough XP that you’re right below the requirement for a second level up.
Edit: I don’t believe it’s ever been a rule, more like a solid recommendation for running the game.
If you go WAY WAY back to the boxed Red Basic set for DnD, they did have a rule that you cant level twice in an adventure. However, where that was printed was a book set for levels 1-3 where the XP amounts needed to level were very small, and it was a system where people leveled at different rates. Basically, even in the Basic Box, this was more complicated than 5e, which I find hilarious. I actually think that for 5e, given that an adventure can take several sessions, esp when playing 3 hrs online, I got a level 1 adventure on session 4 now..lol, I think I am going to run with cant level twice in the a session. That said, yes, agree the Deck is a very very unstable tool....use at own risk, but be willing to commit to its use and effects and dont cheat players.