Upgrade to Version 2 of the Character Advancement Rules

Today I released version 2 of Character Advancement - A Hero Kids Compatible Supplement for Levelling Characters. This update introduces advanced character development rules. I say "advanced" because:

1. The new levels - 11 thru 20 - introduce some permanent health and dice pool increases which make the characters much stronger compared to the talents acquired on levels 2 thru 10 in the original rules;
2. GMs need to be aware of the level of complexity introduced through the new levels both for them in terms of adventure planning and for their young players in terms of the depth of character management they are capable of; and,
3. This new tier of character development opens up possibilities for running more intricate combat scenarios and potentially extending the age range of Hero Kids.

The ideas for version 2 were spurred by wanting to create some high level super kids, adult superheroes, and supervillains for Super Kids. I haven't decided on how higher level NPCs - good and evil - will be introduced to the world of Super Kids yet, but I have some ideas.  I've been working on creating a high level Dr. Crandall Hailey - the Principal in the New Recruits adventure.

See what you think of a Level 20 Legendary super kid named Blaze. The file showcases the advanced character sheet in version 2 of the advancement rules, Blaze (who appears in the Super Kids expansion), and some prototype powers I'm working on.

A Character Advancement System for Hero Kids

In the fall of 2016, I became increasingly curious about what a character advancement system for Hero Kids might look like. This became a slight obsession as I developed version after version. The current iteration at DriveThruRPG was what I settled on.

It presents a complete character advancement system with the following new game concepts:

• 10 levels of advancement, with characters starting on level 1
• Awarding experience
• Level progression rate options
• Character ranks (novice to master)
• Character classes (fighter, archer, wizard)
• Talents (e.g., skill versatility, battle prowess, multi-classing)
• Feats (e.g., accuracy, critical hit, dodge, disarm, speedy, tumble)
• Character sheet for tracking level advancement

My goals in creating the system were three-fold: (1) present players with new character options as they complete adventures and advance in levels; (2) keep the ideas accessible and kid-friendly; and, (3) make the system compatible with - i.e., not break - current game mechanics and adventures.

As I write this post, and play catch up in writing about the products I've released, I'm nearly ready to update the advancement system to version 2.  Expect more details in an upcoming post.