D&D Player Character Advancement

D&D Player Character Advancement

How many giant rats do you have to kill to get to level two? And does it even count if they’re kind of cute?

Leveling up in Dungeons & Dragons has been part of the game since the beginning, but how you get there can really change how the story unfolds at the table. In the early days, it was all about experience points—you kept track of every monster defeated and every piece of gold collected. It was a system that rewarded the classic approach of kill things, take their stuff, and watch the XP add up.

But that’s not the only way to do it anymore. A lot of groups have shifted to milestone leveling, where advancement is tied to big moments in the story—like finishing a quest or uncovering a secret. It’s a way to keep the focus on what the characters are doing and why it matters, rather than just the numbers.

Some tables go even simpler: no XP at all.

Characters level up when it feels right for the story—maybe after a certain number of sessions, or when a major plot point wraps up. It’s a more casual approach, but one that puts the emphasis on the characters and how they’re growing.

Personally, I’ve come to prefer what I call chapter advancement. It’s a mix of session-based and story-based leveling. I think of the campaign like a book, with each chapter ending in a new level. It’s not tied to exact numbers or monster kills, but it still gives the players a sense of momentum—and a chance to see how far they’ve come.

These chapters aren’t a strict formula, and they’re flexible if you’re starting a campaign with characters beyond level one. The idea is to keep things moving and to give everyone something to look forward to.

If you’re curious about how this works in practice, I talk through it in more detail in the video above. And if you’ve found a leveling approach that works well for your group, I’d love to hear about it.

Cheers,
Brian