A Level based rules system that doesn't rely on classes needs another mechanic to restrict what characters can do, how good they are at and when in their career they can get access to various features of the game.
My attempt to regulate this is by using Learning, which can be implemented in various ways to suit different campaigns, from short campaigns to "forever" campaign spanning long story arch's over many sessions.
This is a first version of my Learning Mechanics:
A core mechanic of Hawk Tales is Learning, a way to integrate character development and advancement into the game and its story.
There are several aspects to Learning, let’s look at an example. Say your Character wants to become a Wizard, there are several ways to learn Arcane magic, but if you want to be able to do more than dabble in the arcane arts, there are no way around it, you need to be proficient in Arcana.
The Arcana feat has:
Prerequisite: None
XP Cost: 400
Learning Roll: Intelligence DC 15
This variant is intended for detailed long-term gameplay where character advancement is handled incrementally during gameplay.
Target DC: is the roll that must be met, and the number of days that must be cleared, meaning a Successful Learning Roll must be made each day for the DC amount of days.
This looks like grim odds for an aspiring young character eager to learn the arcane arts, but these are the odds for a cold start without any prior knowledge or help from someone who can teach.
You can make one attempt per Long or Full Rest if you do other activities besides learning and resting. Each learning session is assumed to take around 8 hours, which means you can squeeze in 2 sessions a day if you are in a suitable environment and can focus all day.
Have never experienced the topic at hand: Make the Learning Roll normally.
You have newly experienced the topic at hand: Make the Learning Roll with *Advantage*
A natural 20: means success, and a second roll that day is made at an Advantage (or Double Advantage if you already had Advantage) .
A natural 1: means you have a setback and your effort that day is waisted, and your accomplishments are reduced by 1
Gain +1 for each successful attempt: It gets easier and easier the closer you are to finishing your Learning Task.
You have someone skilled teaching you that day, is like rolling a natural 20 that session, meaning you get an almost guaranteed progress each day. If you roll 1 on your second roll for the day all your effort is wasted that day, even with a tutor.
Using Tasked Learning means that Character advancement takes time and happens gradually during gameplay. The method of improving on what your character knows will usually be made with Advantage, which makes becoming better at what you already know much easier than learning new things.
You can learn most things even while adventuring, some things might be easier to learn while out adventuring. It is up to the GM to determine if and what Learning Rolls can be attempted each day. To learn some things might require a wizard’s lab, or even a library which limits the possibilities to make progress while adventuring out in the wild, on the other hand big city offer limited possibilities to lean things like Nature Skill, while having excellent facilities to serve a deity or do spell research.
Declare what your character wants to learn and allocate the XP.
The GM and the group determine the criteria for Learning: and when that criterion is met, your character succeeds at Learning.
This variant can be formal, like new capabilities will be acquired when a new level is gained, every game session, when you are back in town for downtime, or when some other predetermined condition is met. For example, the GM can set it to be 1 week in game time per 100 XP needed to Learn, this would mean that it takes many years to become a fully capable 20th level character. Which might be reasonable in a long term game, but not suited for a short-term campaign that plays out over a few sessions.
Character advancement is a key part of roleplaying games, both mechanically and as part of the fun. This means that, regardless of the variant used, it needs to work well for the game you are running. Let’s look at the different aspects going into Learning.
Prerequisites
This is a major way to limit when characters can learn something, which means that is should not be tampered with lightly or you will have either a bunch of superheroes, or even worse, underpowered characters not able to survive. Tweak the Prerequisites when you deem it right for the setting, a divine intervention, something a character learned from its ancestors in a magical way. This can be one-off, or permanent changes, but do them carefully.
XP Cost
This is a "hard" aspect tied to game balance, so it should under all circumstances be implemented equally for all characters. It is tempting to have story interfere here, like a dutiful paladin being rewarded by its deity. You can award a new feat or trait to a character like that without the XP requirement, but it will unbalance a game. For a short-term game at a convention no problem, but for long term campaigns it can lead to serious imbalances. It is like handing out treasure, it needs to be done carefully.
Time
This is a much more flexible aspect that will not upset or unbalance the game in the long term. Having character advancement fits the pace of the story and sometime it can be directly implemented, like the warrior who reach in during battle to find his [[Rage 1|Rage]] and can that way defeat the monster.
Be flexible and have fun with this one, a bit of resistance and some unexpected gains can liven up a campaign.
Difficulty
This is another flexible aspect, if you use Tasked Learning give Advantage (or even Double Advantage) in some circumstances, like when they have had an encounter with some enemies and barely escaped, that might warrant learning a weapon, specialize in it, improving [[Combat Prowess 1|Combat Prowess]] or something similar with Advantage, even give them a give success that day on related Learning Tasks.
If your GM allow it, you can "forget" a Feat, Skill or Proficiency you have learned, and get the XP back to learn something new. When you decide your character no longer needs or wants to stay current with something it has learned, you can then free up the XP used to learn and use it to learn something new the normal way.
Note: Prerequisites still applies after you Learned something, so you can only forget things that are not prerequisites for other things your character can do.
If you for some reason want to go back and start using the Feat, Skill or Proficiency you forgot, you can "refresh your knowledge" and get it back again. It will need to take some time, depending on the circumstances, determined by the GM. After the time has passed you spend the XP again and you have your Feat, Skill or Proficiency back, no Learning Roll needed.
