I intend to add a Adventurers guild to my homebrew world, and am currently trying to decide how I'll "Rank" Guild adventurers, to help decide what quests will be available when. So, l decided to Write down my thoughts here, in the hope that those more experienced than me can give advice.
While the easiest method ls to use the standard 1-20 scale, l love anime and video games, and wanted to see if a different ranking system could be used, which is why i'm making this thread. (Yes, l know the 1-20 method will be easier, l still want to see if my ideas listed below are feasible before ruling them out)
So far, I have the previously stated 1-20, and the current CR system for monsters
The Letter based (F-A) Ranking system From Tensura/Slime (Which is my main inspiration in asking this)
A 9 Rank system Similar to The Overlord Ranks, but with Rank based on Spell level a Full caster of that rank would be able to cast. (1st rank-1st level spells, ect)
And a Simplified Rank system based on the 4 main coins used. (Copper-Platinum.) (Which would be the most equal Rank to level conversion, being one Rank per 5 levels, but personaly l think that might be too many levels per rank)
So, If l use the "Slime Letters", i'll have
6 Ranks (F E D C B A) and with "Overlord Metals" I'll have 8 Ranks, seen above.
20 ÷ 6=3.33, while 20 ÷ 8 is 2.5, so i'm not sure what l should do if l want to balance rank and Player level. Maybe use the overlord Metal system, but add two more ranks to make one rank be worth 2 player levels? Or use the slime letter ranks and have one rank be worth 3 player levels, with quest ranks having + and - Variants? Maybe have 7 ranks (F E D C B A S) to have it be 2.8 (Rounded up to 3) Player levels per Rank? Maybe Have 9 ranks, each being tied to the level of spell a Full Caster of that rank would be able to cast? But that might feel discriminatory for non casters, or half casters.
Any Constructive advice is welcome.
Thanks you Farenas, That is very helpful advice! Thanks to your advice, l have decided to use the following:
(Using the overlord system as the base) Copper (1)- Iron(2-4) - Silver (5-7) - Gold (8-10) - Platinum (11-13) - Mithril(14-16) - Orichalcum (17-19) - Adamantine (20) (Though, l am considering swapping the places of Orichalcum and Adamantine, given the latter is a actual metal type, used to create Armor, while l have no knowledge of Orichalcum existing in any canon dnd setting, and l think having it be a super rare, mythical metal in my world would be interesting, especially given Farenas' idea to make they final rank "legendary".)
You could make it so that level 1 and level 20 don't actually match to any rank. The first one because the guild doesn't want to take on any random people so they only accept those who have proved themselves already or those who pass a trial quest. The last one because it is not an official rank but a rumored/secret one that most people are convinced doesn't actually exist and it is only for the most sensitive missions. Like, there are rumors about it but nobody actually admits that they are at that rank.
That way you only have to divide 18 levels, which is compatible with the 6 or 9 ranks system. Though considering that the first big jump in power is at level 5 and that something challenging for a level 4 might not be for a level 5, you might want to separate in either 5 tiers of 4 levels or ignore levels 1 and 20 and make 6 tiers of 3 levels.
There is not really a need to make the tiers even. Ask around at what levels you can expect the biggest jumps in power and use those as threshold.
Or you could do it as actual trades do it: apprentice - journeyman - master - and let's call a capstone Grandmaster. And just follow the tiers of play for what sort of work for which an adventurer is rated.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I'd suggest checking out the guild system in Ravinca, for ideas about how to rank characters within a guild, and benefits they get from certain ranks within various guilds in that world.
Alternatively, you could adapt the piety system in Theros, or the patron rules from Tasha's. But really, Ravinca has a pretty solid system, it should be easy to adapt to your world. It's got some interesting options and depth, without being overly complicated or needing lots of bookkeeping. You might find one of them fits you well enough to just steal it outright.
If you are going to go down the route of named titleds for ranks, consider a theme for the guild. You could even have two rival guilds with different, opposing themes, for feuds. You could even consider different scales for the different roles, EG the melee tanks, rogues, spellcasters, healers, and ranged attackers (I think that sort of covers it). For example, you could rank the tanks by bears (black bear<brown bear<Grizzly Bear<Snow Bear<Owlbear) and the rogues by birds (Sparrow<Jackdaw<crow<rook<raven), and so on, so there are 5 tiers for the adventurers and they gain different titles - though that's probably overthinking it.
Back to my original themes suggestion, calling themselves the "Thunderdemons" and then ranking themselves by Demon names would be an option, similarly you could have them woodland themed and ranked by tree types.
Regarding how many levels each rank is worth, bear in mind that level 20 is as good as it can be, and people will seldom reach that status, if indeed it's ever happened before in your world. Similarly, level 1 is barely above commoner, so may not get you through the door. I'd pick a range of levels and use those as your baseline for the guild and the NPC's in it, and don't worry about covering all levels. For example, if you have 8 metal tiers, then say levels 1-3 are "Rookie" and then 2 levels per tier to get to level 19, and 20 is just extra. If you have only 6, then 1-4 is rookie and the guild ranks end at level 16 because that didn't even think people could get that powerful, and those that do usually are on the other side when the guild has to band together to defeat them!
Why base on levels? base it on Challenge ratings achievements. you can have a 8th level character that is still Iron rank because all they do is fight goblins or bandits, whereas you could have a 5th level character that is Silver rank because the accomplished something of higher CR.
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I intend to add a Adventurers guild to my homebrew world, and am currently trying to decide how I'll "Rank" Guild adventurers, to help decide what quests will be available when. So, l decided to Write down my thoughts here, in the hope that those more experienced than me can give advice.
While the easiest method ls to use the standard 1-20 scale, l love anime and video games, and wanted to see if a different ranking system could be used, which is why i'm making this thread. (Yes, l know the 1-20 method will be easier, l still want to see if my ideas listed below are feasible before ruling them out)
So far, I have the previously stated 1-20, and the current CR system for monsters
The Letter based (F-A) Ranking system From Tensura/Slime (Which is my main inspiration in asking this)
The Metal based system from Overlord (Copper - Iron - Silver - Gold - Platinum - Mithril - Orichalcum - Adamantite) (Which I hear was inspired by older D&D. 3/3.5 if i'm not mistaken)
A 9 Rank system Similar to The Overlord Ranks, but with Rank based on Spell level a Full caster of that rank would be able to cast. (1st rank-1st level spells, ect)
And a Simplified Rank system based on the 4 main coins used. (Copper-Platinum.) (Which would be the most equal Rank to level conversion, being one Rank per 5 levels, but personaly l think that might be too many levels per rank)
So, If l use the "Slime Letters", i'll have
6 Ranks (F E D C B A) and with "Overlord Metals" I'll have 8 Ranks, seen above.
20 ÷ 6=3.33, while 20 ÷ 8 is 2.5, so i'm not sure what l should do if l want to balance rank and Player level. Maybe use the overlord Metal system, but add two more ranks to make one rank be worth 2 player levels? Or use the slime letter ranks and have one rank be worth 3 player levels, with quest ranks having + and - Variants? Maybe have 7 ranks (F E D C B A S) to have it be 2.8 (Rounded up to 3) Player levels per Rank? Maybe Have 9 ranks, each being tied to the level of spell a Full Caster of that rank would be able to cast? But that might feel discriminatory for non casters, or half casters.
Any Constructive advice is welcome.
Thanks you Farenas, That is very helpful advice! Thanks to your advice, l have decided to use the following:
(Using the overlord system as the base) Copper (1)- Iron(2-4) - Silver (5-7) - Gold (8-10) - Platinum (11-13) - Mithril(14-16) - Orichalcum (17-19) - Adamantine (20) (Though, l am considering swapping the places of Orichalcum and Adamantine, given the latter is a actual metal type, used to create Armor, while l have no knowledge of Orichalcum existing in any canon dnd setting, and l think having it be a super rare, mythical metal in my world would be interesting, especially given Farenas' idea to make they final rank "legendary".)
You could make it so that level 1 and level 20 don't actually match to any rank. The first one because the guild doesn't want to take on any random people so they only accept those who have proved themselves already or those who pass a trial quest. The last one because it is not an official rank but a rumored/secret one that most people are convinced doesn't actually exist and it is only for the most sensitive missions. Like, there are rumors about it but nobody actually admits that they are at that rank.
That way you only have to divide 18 levels, which is compatible with the 6 or 9 ranks system. Though considering that the first big jump in power is at level 5 and that something challenging for a level 4 might not be for a level 5, you might want to separate in either 5 tiers of 4 levels or ignore levels 1 and 20 and make 6 tiers of 3 levels.
There is not really a need to make the tiers even. Ask around at what levels you can expect the biggest jumps in power and use those as threshold.
Or you could do it as actual trades do it: apprentice - journeyman - master - and let's call a capstone Grandmaster. And just follow the tiers of play for what sort of work for which an adventurer is rated.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I'd suggest checking out the guild system in Ravinca, for ideas about how to rank characters within a guild, and benefits they get from certain ranks within various guilds in that world.
Alternatively, you could adapt the piety system in Theros, or the patron rules from Tasha's. But really, Ravinca has a pretty solid system, it should be easy to adapt to your world. It's got some interesting options and depth, without being overly complicated or needing lots of bookkeeping. You might find one of them fits you well enough to just steal it outright.
If you are going to go down the route of named titleds for ranks, consider a theme for the guild. You could even have two rival guilds with different, opposing themes, for feuds. You could even consider different scales for the different roles, EG the melee tanks, rogues, spellcasters, healers, and ranged attackers (I think that sort of covers it). For example, you could rank the tanks by bears (black bear<brown bear<Grizzly Bear<Snow Bear<Owlbear) and the rogues by birds (Sparrow<Jackdaw<crow<rook<raven), and so on, so there are 5 tiers for the adventurers and they gain different titles - though that's probably overthinking it.
Back to my original themes suggestion, calling themselves the "Thunderdemons" and then ranking themselves by Demon names would be an option, similarly you could have them woodland themed and ranked by tree types.
Regarding how many levels each rank is worth, bear in mind that level 20 is as good as it can be, and people will seldom reach that status, if indeed it's ever happened before in your world. Similarly, level 1 is barely above commoner, so may not get you through the door. I'd pick a range of levels and use those as your baseline for the guild and the NPC's in it, and don't worry about covering all levels. For example, if you have 8 metal tiers, then say levels 1-3 are "Rookie" and then 2 levels per tier to get to level 19, and 20 is just extra. If you have only 6, then 1-4 is rookie and the guild ranks end at level 16 because that didn't even think people could get that powerful, and those that do usually are on the other side when the guild has to band together to defeat them!
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Why base on levels? base it on Challenge ratings achievements. you can have a 8th level character that is still Iron rank because all they do is fight goblins or bandits, whereas you could have a 5th level character that is Silver rank because the accomplished something of higher CR.