What are the rules, or standard practices, about how soon players can use new features when leveling up? For example, say you get a new spell slot. Are you able to use that new slot to cast a spell immediately or do you have to long rest first before it is available? Same for new hit points, does your current HP increase along with your max immediately, or only after a rest or healing? Sorc points, ki points, channel divinity, action surge, etc.
We either play with a rule that leveling up either happens on the next long rest or it carries the benefit of a long rest on its own. Figuring out what does or does not update if you aren't pairing it with a long rest is usually more trouble than it's worth.
It varies from campaign to campaign, some older editions even had written rules for having to "train" to gain level up skills. What we're doing right now, you level up in that moment, get the hit die, new features etc. Wizards get the new slots, but no new spells unless they've already copied "advance" stuff into their spell book (which I think is sorta homebrewy). We do it this way because the PCs are de facto "planar refugees" so they've sort of "seen it all" so a lot of the new features they're expressing are narrated as things they've seen before in the game. There also aren't a lot of home base sanctuary type options to more "role play" leveling up beyond what we currently do. But to be fair, to the Wizard, when they come across a library, the party does provide perimeter security (and study carrel overwatch) for the wizard as long as the Wizard needs (on top of spell list increase, recovering fragments of broken realities are important to the campaign plot).
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
This is one of those things that, unless there's some detail in the DMG I don't remember, is kind of deliberately left vague and left up to the DM's preference.
The simplest way to handle it, and something I usually see, is for the level up to kick in during the next Long Rest that the character's experience. It gets the new abilities quickly, but saves the headache of having to figure out whether or not to have it recover spell slots or boost health or anything.
Your current and maximum HP increase, and new spell slots are unused, new limited use features have all their uses. All damage and previously used slots and features carries over to new totals.
It isn't hard, the DDB character sheet will do all this automatically.
My DM has us level up on a long or short rest, gaining all new features, hit points increases, spells, and, spell slots. That's just the way our party does it, and not everyone would do level ups this way, but it has worked for me.
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Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
It makes for a simpler, more logical game if you do not need any form of training. The main issue is higher powered games. Having a trainer makes sense at lower levels, but what about the highest level guy in the land - who trains him? Even if you have 1 twenthieth level guy of each class, are you going to let a 20th level Divination mage train a 20th level Abjuration mage? What if you can't find that guy?
I personally use the following system: If you train yourself it takes 1 month and 100 gold x level squared, maxing out at 400,000 to go from 19 to 20. But if you have a permanent trainer at least 1 level higher than you, it takes 1 week and 5 gp x level squared to train yourself up. I also rule that this time can be concurrent with projects. That is, while your wizard is training he can also scribe extra spells (beyond the 2 free ones) into his spell-book, even of his new level. Your necromancer could be making a flesh golem with a book. Your Cleric could be making a holy avenger. Your Rogue could be scouting etc. Basically, anything that does not involve actual combat.
I find this system encourages more roleplaying, takes away some of the extra cash I like to give out, lets the players make their own decisions, and makes sense to me..
Your current and maximum HP increase, and new spell slots are unused, new limited use features have all their uses. All damage and previously used slots and features carries over to new totals.
It isn't hard, the DDB character sheet will do all this automatically.
Is that a rule somewhere or is it that that's the way it works on the DDB character sheet?
Your current and maximum HP increase, and new spell slots are unused, new limited use features have all their uses. All damage and previously used slots and features carries over to new totals.
It isn't hard, the DDB character sheet will do all this automatically.
Is that a rule somewhere or is it that that's the way it works on the DDB character sheet?
It isn't like it is specifically spelled out in one place. I'll see what relevant rules I can cobble together.
From PHB chapter 1:
When your character gains a level, his or her class often grants additional features, as detailed in the class description.
Each time you gain a level, you gain 1 additional Hit Die. Roll that Hit Die, add your Constitution modifier to the roll, and add the total (minimum of 1) to your hit point maximum.
Actually, Looks like I was wrong about your current HP increasing, but you do get an extra unspent hit dice for short rests for the rest of the day.
All classes have wording like this:
Spell Slots
The [class] table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your [class] spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
And:
Starting at 2nd level/Beginning at 2nd level/At 3rd level/When you reach 4th level/Beginning when you reach 5th level
The wording on slots suggests that the only time they are unusable is after they are expended, and gaining a level that increases your slots does not give you pre-expended slots.
Class features wording suggests they are just available as long as you are that level. And the limited use ones again have no wording to indicate you start with 0 uses until your first rest.
Basically, because it always says "you can do this if you are this level" and nothing says you have to wait.
What are the rules, or standard practices, about how soon players can use new features when leveling up? For example, say you get a new spell slot. Are you able to use that new slot to cast a spell immediately or do you have to long rest first before it is available? Same for new hit points, does your current HP increase along with your max immediately, or only after a rest or healing? Sorc points, ki points, channel divinity, action surge, etc.
We either play with a rule that leveling up either happens on the next long rest or it carries the benefit of a long rest on its own. Figuring out what does or does not update if you aren't pairing it with a long rest is usually more trouble than it's worth.
It varies from campaign to campaign, some older editions even had written rules for having to "train" to gain level up skills. What we're doing right now, you level up in that moment, get the hit die, new features etc. Wizards get the new slots, but no new spells unless they've already copied "advance" stuff into their spell book (which I think is sorta homebrewy). We do it this way because the PCs are de facto "planar refugees" so they've sort of "seen it all" so a lot of the new features they're expressing are narrated as things they've seen before in the game. There also aren't a lot of home base sanctuary type options to more "role play" leveling up beyond what we currently do. But to be fair, to the Wizard, when they come across a library, the party does provide perimeter security (and study carrel overwatch) for the wizard as long as the Wizard needs (on top of spell list increase, recovering fragments of broken realities are important to the campaign plot).
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
This is one of those things that, unless there's some detail in the DMG I don't remember, is kind of deliberately left vague and left up to the DM's preference.
The simplest way to handle it, and something I usually see, is for the level up to kick in during the next Long Rest that the character's experience. It gets the new abilities quickly, but saves the headache of having to figure out whether or not to have it recover spell slots or boost health or anything.
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RAW, you just get all the new stuff.
Your current and maximum HP increase, and new spell slots are unused, new limited use features have all their uses. All damage and previously used slots and features carries over to new totals.
It isn't hard, the DDB character sheet will do all this automatically.
My DM has us level up on a long or short rest, gaining all new features, hit points increases, spells, and, spell slots. That's just the way our party does it, and not everyone would do level ups this way, but it has worked for me.
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
So what I'm hearing is that there really aren't any rules for this and each table will do it differently, so ask your GM.
There are no restrictions on when to level up (i.e. requiring a rest), no.
As for what resources you have after you level up, they are as I laid out in my first reply.
It makes for a simpler, more logical game if you do not need any form of training. The main issue is higher powered games. Having a trainer makes sense at lower levels, but what about the highest level guy in the land - who trains him? Even if you have 1 twenthieth level guy of each class, are you going to let a 20th level Divination mage train a 20th level Abjuration mage? What if you can't find that guy?
I personally use the following system: If you train yourself it takes 1 month and 100 gold x level squared, maxing out at 400,000 to go from 19 to 20. But if you have a permanent trainer at least 1 level higher than you, it takes 1 week and 5 gp x level squared to train yourself up. I also rule that this time can be concurrent with projects. That is, while your wizard is training he can also scribe extra spells (beyond the 2 free ones) into his spell-book, even of his new level. Your necromancer could be making a flesh golem with a book. Your Cleric could be making a holy avenger. Your Rogue could be scouting etc. Basically, anything that does not involve actual combat.
I find this system encourages more roleplaying, takes away some of the extra cash I like to give out, lets the players make their own decisions, and makes sense to me..
Is that a rule somewhere or is it that that's the way it works on the DDB character sheet?
It isn't like it is specifically spelled out in one place. I'll see what relevant rules I can cobble together.
From PHB chapter 1:
Actually, Looks like I was wrong about your current HP increasing, but you do get an extra unspent hit dice for short rests for the rest of the day.
All classes have wording like this:
And:
The wording on slots suggests that the only time they are unusable is after they are expended, and gaining a level that increases your slots does not give you pre-expended slots.
Class features wording suggests they are just available as long as you are that level. And the limited use ones again have no wording to indicate you start with 0 uses until your first rest.
Basically, because it always says "you can do this if you are this level" and nothing says you have to wait.