Here on Heir Apparent we have a unique character leveling system that was specifically designed to encourage character involvement and development. We want to see our members dive into their characters and create stories through them that are moving and lasting. The focus of the leveling system is just that: depth of character and story. Please read below for more details.

Each level has a series of requirements as spelled out below. The reward for each level is influence and/or combat points.

A character's influence score represents how much weight their voice and actions carry. It amounts to their importance to the public, and qualifies (or disqualifies) their involvement in certain threads. NPCs are more likely to listen to and respect a character with high influence. A character's influence can earn them things that a person lacking influence may not have access to.

A character's combat score represents how capable that character is when engaging in physical combat. It directly reflects their training and prowess, giving members a quick and easy way to assess who is the generally superior fighter. Individual encounters and exceptions can always be made, especially when it comes to magic, but across the board the score is a guideline to rank characters in terms of combative capability.

Your leveling PM is created for you by Eloell when your character is accepted. When the time comes for your character to level up, you will provide necessary links to display achievement of leveling requirements, and then claim your desired rewards. For each level, please reply to the original PM so that all of your character's leveling records are in one place. Your character will start at level 0. The character will not, however, begin with 0 combat and influence points. All new characters will have their applications assessed by me and will be awarded appropriate starting combat and influence points based on a number of factors. The staff team has diligently worked the formula out, so please understand that it is as unbiased a process as it can be.

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For every level your character gains they will need to meet 4-5 criteria. These fall into a post count minimum, certain kinds of threads meant to encourage character development, and then a wildcard option. Please read below.

General Requirements: (complete both)
+ 50 posts
+ Either a combat-oriented thread or political-oriented thread, based on whether you intend to redeem combat points or influence points for their reward (if you want to split the points between both then you need 1 of each kind of thread)

When Reaching an Odd Level... (complete both)
+ Character must attend a gathering (i.e. political, party, ball, event, etc.)
+ Character must engage in conflict with another character (even if it is small)[

When Reaching an Even Level... (complete both)
+ Thread in which your character is debating, defending, or teaching their beliefs or perspective
+ Thread in which the nature of a relationship with another played character is altered in some way (even if it is small)

Wildcard Option (pick 1)
+ Engage with the same character in two separate threads
+ Have a romantic encounter of some sort
+ Learn a new skill
+ Change occupation/rank/relationship status/name/something else substantial
+ Thread with 3 different characters
+ Thread with a (played) family member
+ Character does something that is atypical for him/her
+ Doing something they have never done before
+ Meeting someone new[

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+ 5 points to distribute to either combat OR influence, or combat AND influence (depending on which thread requirements were fulfilled)

+ For levels 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, and so on there will be additional rewards; please message Eloell when you are close to reaching these milestones so that we can work on the details of what your character will acquire. Click here to see which characters have achieved these milestones and the kinds of rewards they have acquired.

+ For levels 30, 50, 60, 70, 90, 100, and so on your character will get +10 points to distribute to combat and/or influence.

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LEVEL 1
+ 50 posts
+ Political - Unexpected Times (Cassian refusing to arrange a marriage with Imelda)
+ Gathering - Do You See the Stars of Change? (Imelda's bday)
+ Character engaging in conflict - Don't Touch My Heir (Cassian saved Imelda from slavetraders)
+ Same character in two threads - Prince Cassian in the Flesh and Getting into Mischief (Lennox)

Reward: +5 Influence Points
* Only use a thread once for fulfilling requirements.
* When a character dies, you may claim half of their post count and distribute it between your living characters.

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As plots develop and characters change, so will their occupations, ranks, reputations, and more. In an attempt to properly replicate how one's influence changes in the real world as various factors do, there is also a process of adding and removing from influence points. For example, if a character become a monarch, their influence will grow; if a monarch is banished, they will lose influence. Likewise, if a commoner become a nobleman, they will gain influence; if a noblewoman in Nevermere marries a commoner, she will lose her noble claim, thus losing influence. Reply to your character's Leveling PM when changes of this nature occur so that your characters' influence can be adjusted accordingly.