Tiering Up
WIELDER
How to Tier Up in Wielder
Players will create unique characters in Wielder that are able to advance their Tiers, from 1 through 3 in the initial Wielder game set. Players may expect to advance through the third Tier within a full campaign playthrough which could last for anywhere between 3 sessions and approximately 3 months dependent on how the Narrator paces the storyarc and adventures.
This departure from D and D-like models is based in a frustration with an inability to fully progress a unique character through the 20 levels of a Class, leaving many players feeling frustration in unattained goals. In Wielder, the possibility of fully maximizing your unique Character should be within one’s reach and offering this chance should create a better incentive to stick with campaigns and see the adventure out to completion with their Party and Narrator. This is something that was missing from many of my own D and D sessions as DM and player, a sense that after a few level ups, there was so much that needed doing to complete the campaign and fully leveling up, that after a year of sticking with a campaign, players were eager for something new.
One of the great aspects of D and D is the possibility of a long, immersive campaign that a player can really build a new character around. With that said, I can’t deny the frustration with burn out after a long road. We want to offer an alternative with Wielder that makes fully Tiering Up within reach and when the character has attained mastery, they may become something like a Teacher, Master or General in the game world. At this point, should the campaign continue beyond the 3 Tier goal, players may create new characters that accompany their first, or their Tiered Character may become an NPC within the world.
Tier advancement >
I. Narrator specified goals The Narrator details the goals of the campaign missions, quests, and bounties, with stated rewards for completion of these goals. For example: The Narrator discusses the offering of a Quest with the Party. They are to escort a wizened Seer to an Oracle deep into a troubled region of Twain. There are multiple enemies, factions and 2 Final Foes between the Party and victory. The Narrator would provide details as they are able about the nature of the threats and what the offering for victory would be, not only for the completion of the Quest, but also for defeat of individual foes and possible recovery of Artifacts, treasure and the like. The Quest completion would offer Tier advancement. Defeat of the 2 Final Foes and carrying the Seer to the Oracle to receive the prophecy are requisite goals that must be completed for Tier Advancement. Each secondary captain and General type foe would grant the Party Badge/Honor/Tribute/Credit/Notes which the Party or individual Characters may spend/use/build as they see fit. Badges/Honors/Notes/Tributes/Credits may be used to elevate one’s stats. Stats may be elevated to raise one’s Tier Rank.
> Using this method of Narrator Specified Goals in Tier Advancement, a new Party should expect 3 individual quests/missions/bounties within a full campaign which would see the Party each raised to the Tier 3 Mastery.
II. Character Stats related to Tier level. At Tier 1, each new character will be provided with 10 Dominant and 10 Lesser Traits, with 1 point each for Dominant Traits and 0 for Lesser. As the player attains boosts to Trait scores, they will see their Collective Attribute Score rise.
> Tier 1 CAS should be between 10 – 20
> Tier 2 CAS should be between 21 – 30
> Tier 3 CAS should be between 22 – 40
III. How do players raise their Trait scores? At Tier 1, each new character is granted 2 points to assign to any Dominant Traits. They will also get 1 point from their Species selection and another from their Armor. This would bring a new Character up to 24 CAS (Collective Attribute Score) at the start of the campaign.
> Trait Roll Success: Players keep track of their Trait Roll successes and failures. 3 successes would provide a player the opportunity to raise one of the traits used in the successful rolls by 1. > This mechanic should incentivize frequent Trait Rolls.
> Trait Roll Failures 3 failures should reduce the score of one trait used in those 3 rolls by 1. This should Incentivize the use of each possible item, skill, or boost to a players Trait Rolls. This may be in the form of a Talisman or charm that provides an additional roll, extra points to add, permanent or temporary boosts to trait Scores used in Trait Rolls.
> Obtaining gear in the form of Talismans, Charms, Accessories which permanently boost Trait Scores. * Temporary boosts to Trait Scores cannot satisfy the Tier advancement by CAS numbers.
III. What happens at Tier Advancement? If a character has completed a Narrator Specified Goal, such as completing a quest, their trait scores would reflect the higher Tier numbers.
> The Narrator would award each player the number of points necessary to bypass the CAS numbers for the next Tier. It would be up to the player to assign the points to their Dominant traits.
> At the start of a new Tier, each character receives 2 Bonus Trait Points and 2 Chance Points.
> Each unique Class offers upgrades to Artifacts, provides new consumables, deployables, and materials at each Tier. At the start of a new Tier, each player should review the Class-Specific Charts provided for their Class Archetype. Whatever is listed within the Tier is provided to the character to make use of as they see fit.