This step-by-step walkthrough guides you through the process of creating your 1st-level Level Up character.

Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E) is designed to be backwards compatible with the original version of the game. You can use any of your existing (or future) original 5th Edition (O5E) adventures, monsters, spells, characters, and more in Level Up right out of the box.

Melee combat is not always an exchange of weapon attacks—sometimes you are trying to subdue, not kill. Other times, you may want to do something else other than damage your target in order to gain an upper hand. Several other basic maneuvers are presented below. The Narrator can use these to help adjudicate other improvised actions, following a similar structure and using similarly weighted effects.

All creatures can use basic maneuvers, even if they do not have access to combat maneuvers. No exertion points are required to use a basic maneuver.

When you roll a natural 20 and succeed on an ability check, or when you roll a natural 1 and fail on an ability check, if you’re using a skill roll 1d6 to determine what special effect occurs. Because of the benefits of ability check criticals, some players may try a variety of easy ability checks to get a critical effect. The Narrator is always the arbiter of these critical effects and can rule that if an ability check is superfluous or insignificant, any resulting natural 20s and natural 1s have no special effect.

Strength

Strength measures the power of the physical body and the extent to which you can use your body to exert physical force.

Strength Checks

Strength is used for any attempt to lift, push, pull, or break something, to force yourself through tight spaces, to jump, climb, or swim beyond your usual physical limits, and to otherwise apply brute force to a situation:

An ability check tests a character’s or monster’s training and talent to overcome a challenge. The Narrator calls for an ability check when a creature attempts any action (other than an attack) that has a chance of failure. When an outcome is uncertain, it is determined by a roll of the dice.

For every ability check, the Narrator decides which of the six abilities is relevant to the task at hand and the difficulty of the task, represented by a Difficulty Class or DC. The more difficult the task, the higher its DC.

Religion is an indispensable facet of most fantasy worlds, taking imagination into the inner depths of the soul and out into the vast reaches of the multiverse. Like culture and heritage, personal beliefs are a critical part of a character’s identity, and the religious landscape in which they find themselves is often riddled with the seeds of adventure. People’s fundamental beliefs, hopes, and fears often drive them to the dire straits which are the stuff of legend.

The world is vaster than anyone could explore in a lifetime with mysterious corners that promise wonder and peril, yet there are other dimensions far stranger and deadlier, called planes. Many claim to have read the truths of those other realms in books or learned them from religious dogma, or even boast that they’ve visited in person. Their accounts may not be trustworthy, but they all tell of places that pose unique challenges and offer rewards unlike anything one could find at home. 

From fighting on the frontlines to raiding royal repositories, the activities of your character and their party members gains them experience points. As these accumulate a character will eventually gain a level when they’ve acquired a certain number of experience points as seen in the table below.