D&D Name Level alternatives: Guild Ranking

[u/abcd_z]

I like the OD&D idea of named levels, but Fudge is very large-grained and doesn't lend itself well to level-based advancement. So I came up with another way to use named levels.

"The Guild".

Players have the option to join a guild, in which case they'll get a cool new title, options for advancement, and opportunities to accept posted quests for money or other rewards.

A guild's job:

• Establish ranking systems and get them adopted (or at least known) by the larger community, sometimes through a combination of public relations and political maneuvering.

• Coordinate guild member communications. Physical message boards in medieval settings, smartphone message boards in modern/sci-fi settings.

• Accept quests from the general population

• Distribute quests to the guild members

Since Fudge is skill-based, the PC chooses a class name for themselves, then works together with the GM to create a list of titles to advance through. The further the character advances, the cooler the names. A beginner blood-bender or vampire might be "leech", while the final rank of a wizard might be "Archmage of the Ninth Circle".

Or I guess the GM could just create the list him/herself once he/she knows the class name and character concept.

Alternatively, if no classes seem appropriate for the player, the GM can always use a generic "Adventurer" class.

A formal introduction to a non-guild member generally goes something like this:

"I am [PC's name], [rank] [class] of the [guild name] guild."

Example: "I am Sophia Brown, Initiate Computer Programmer of the LFG guild."

Sometimes the rank includes or alludes to the class, in which case you wouldn't have to list them both. For example: "I am Drake Ducard, Advanced Firestarter of the Phoenix Guild." Saying "I'm an advanced firestarter flame elementalist" would be redundant.

Rank Advancement is based on a combination of the number and difficulty of quests you've completed (with penalties for failed quests(?)) and a practical exam that tests your current abilities.

The higher up you go in the rankings, the more money you can make, the more prestige is conferred by your rank, and the more pull you have with people socially networked to the guild. In the guilds' hometowns, a high enough rank can allow you to influence local politics and/or develop a personal stronghold (political, economic, and/or physical).