13th Sage: The Simplest Level-Up

While working on Book of the Underworld a couple weeks ago, I realized that our advice for leveling up monsters isn’t as direct as it could be. Some of you realized this right away, for others it could be a welcome clarification.

The simplest way to level up a creature is to bump it up by three levels.

We built the 13th Age math around the idea that power doubles every three levels. Therefore, the simplest way to level up a monster is also often the most useful way of leveling up a monster, effectively bumping it up a tier.

To add three levels to a monster, follow the following four steps.

First, add +3 to each of the monster’s attack bonuses and double the damage dealt by its attacks. (See the ongoing damage note below for the exception.)

Second, add +3 to each of its defenses.

Third, double the monster’s hit points.

Fourth, if the monster has abilities connected to healing, gaining hit points, or dealing damage to itself, double the points of those abilities. (For example, if you took the 5th level huge white dragon from page 219 of the 13th Age core rulebook and raised it to an 8th level huge white dragon, you’d increase the damage it deals to itself on a natural odd hit or miss with its ice breath attack from 2d8 to 4d8.)

Note on ongoing damage: Ongoing damage tends to increase by 5 points per tier rather than doubling every 3 levels, but especially at epic tier you could bump ongoing damage up by 10 instead of 5.

Most of the time, these quick adjustments will have handled everything you need to handle a three-level jump. Since the point of 13th Age monster design is to have a fun variety of unusual effects, you’ll probably encounter monster abilities that you want to tinker with slightly to reflect a higher tier. You usually won’t have to perform that type of adjustment, but if something feels off to you, adjusting it on the fly should be a lot simpler with the baseline handled by +3 and doubling.

Actually, that might turn out to be more of an issue if you’ve taken the opposite path. Dropping a monster three levels uses the same simple math in reverse, but higher level monsters might have abilities you’re not as comfortable inflicting on lower-tier player characters.

Of course, variations on this arithmetic work for other level-up shifts, as reflected in the DIY Monster Charts. We summarized the multipliers on the GM Screen, as shown below.

Leveling a Monster

+1 Level: Multiplier 1.25

+2 Levels: Multiplier 1.6

+3 Levels: Multiplier 2.0

+4 Levels: Multiplier 2.5

+5 Levels: Multiplier 3.2

+6 Levels: Multiplier 4.0


13th Age combines the best parts of traditional d20-rolling fantasy gaming with new story-focused rules, designed so you can run the kind of game you most want to play with your group. 13th Age gives you all the tools you need to make unique characters who are immediately embedded in the setting in important ways; quickly prepare adventures based on the PCs’ backgrounds and goals; create your own monsters; fight exciting battles; and focus on what’s always been cool and fun about fantasy adventure gaming. Purchase 13th Age in print and PDF at the Pelgrane Shop.

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