In the first few editions of Dungeons & Dragons, the mechanic for advancing in level to get more powerful was for the dungeon master to award experience points for killing monsters and gaining treasure (at 1 XP per gold piece). Modern D&D sticks to handing out experience for killing monsters and solving puzzles, at least by default; it also suggests the option of just advancing player characters a level when they pass a milestone, like completing an adventure or every other adventure. Some OSR games (old-school renaissance) go the other way and reward XP only for gold, not monster-slaying.

While they each have pros and cons, all these methods have the same problem: what do you do with all that treasure? There are many suggestions about what player characters can spend their money on, but, without motivation, they don’t do it much. The easy solution to this is to award experience points per gold piece spent, not gained; then players will think of things to spend money on without prompting.

That’s where renown comes in.

Milestone Experience

Level	XP Needed
1	0
2	2
3	6
4	12
5	20
6	30
7	42
8	56
9	72
10	90
11	110
12	132
13	156
14	182
15	210

If you like XP-for-monsters or leveling-per-adventure, you can skip this part. Milestone leveling is the easiest method of managing advancement, and tracking XP in small numbers allows some flexibility for short adventures or side-quests that don’t quite warrant consideration as a full adventure.

Each adventure is worth as many points as the level of the adventure. A 4th-level adventure is worth 4 XP. But characters need double that to advance to the next level, so they’ll always need to go on two level-appropriate adventures to level up. But a side-quest at 4th level might only be worth 2 XP instead of 4.

This is nice and clean and can be modified to taste. If you want the party to advance more quickly, just award slightly more experience per adventure or have more side quests.

Obviously, if the PCs futz around with low-level adventures, they’ll advance very slowly. They need to find more challenging adventures to gain levels more quickly. And how can they find challenging adventures? They need renown to get the attention of those up the social ladder.

Renown

Lords and barons don’t send goblin-busters to fight the Terror of Tarania. The king doesn’t call upon Dudley Hacksalot’s motley mercenaries to battle the Fire Giants of the Burning Mountain; he wants Lord Dudley and his celebrated free company, the Farthingsworth Bold. So the company needs to ratchet up their reputation and get into the lordship business.

Renown is a feature of the player characters that reflects their reputation and notoriety. It is a function of the gold they spend–something that gets people’s attention in any world.

It’s assumed that when you spend gold on various items you also answer questions as to how you came by such fabulous wealth. This is what spreads your reputation. After all, just killing the wyvern of Lindale may help you advance your character abilities, but it doesn’t get you a dinner invitation from Lady Lindale unless she hears about it.

What renown gives adventurers is bonuses to NPC reactions and the attention of NPCs of higher social rank. This may include invitations to feasts, balls, and councils, as well as attempts to hire the heroes or let them off the hook for some past trespass. The value of this is that those NPCs–town bailiffs, shire judges and sheriffs, lords, nobles, and eventually royals–are the people the PCs need to meet to get bigger and better adventures.

You can only get higher-level adventures by gaining the attention of the right people, and you only get that with higher levels of renown.

Gaining Renown

You gain 1 renown for each 1 gp when you:

• Spend at least 100 gp on anything, including lifestyle costs.
• Return valuables worth at least 100 gp to their rightful owner, for which you also get an XP or luck bonus.
• Donate at least 100 gp to your church/temple/circle (see below).

To count, treasure must be disbursed in increments of at least 100 gp, because smaller increments don’t attract as much attention.

You should provide players with an idea of what they can buy to gain renown (see below). Fine weapons and armor only go so far. They could spend money on horses, a carriage, a ship, a house, a business, a stronghold, and so on.

Non-materialistic characters could fund the construction of a guild hall, scholarly library, or some such. A ranger or druid might eventually buy (or contribute to a druid circle saving up to buy) part of a borderland forest to maintain it as a wilderness–once the monsters there are slain or run off.

And, of course, there’s always carousing.

“Can I Buy Magic Items?”

Players will want to spend gold on magic items, but generally they should only be able to buy potions, and all potions should spoil between adventures. Most other magic items should be acquired as part of a treasure. They should have a gold piece value and take the place of gold that would otherwise be won.

However, you may allow heroes to buy some magical improvements to their magic weapons and armor. A suitably powerful sorcerer or sorceress may provide that for a price. How do you find and convince such a person to do it? Renown. You need to reach the “Baron” tier at about 7th level (see the chart below) to make those kinds of contacts.

Donations to the Faith

Heroes can also donate money (or sacrifice valuables) to their church/temple/circle and, when it’s about half the GP value of the magic item, receive a divine vision of the item and where it can be found.

I’ve since designed a sliding scale, so a lesser donation can provide a hook for big travel adventure, while a big donation might merely mean a side quest for nearby fight or puzzle.

When they’ve defeated the black knight and recovered the item, the other half of the item’s value is considered part of the treasure (for the purposes of dividing treasure between party members). Note, however, that when making a donation, the hero must choose between getting renown and getting a vision of a magic item. (The gods do not bestow visions on those who boast about their sacrifices to improve their reputation.)

They can’t get both, or they will donate as much as they can afford on visions. Likewise, if you choose not to use renown, PCs can get either XP or visions for gold spent, not both.

Sacrifice for visions and blessings was almost universal in pre-modern societies, so feel free to use this for similar things: mystery hints, insight into enemy moves, etc., performed by the party’s cleric.

Renown Advancement

The table below shows the renown need to get access to NPCs of the tier necessary to get adventures of each level:

• Tier: The kind of NPCs the heroes have access to at that amount of renown and who can involve the PCs in an adventure of that level.
• GP Spent: The total amount of treasure in gold pieces the character has spent.
• Adventures for Levels: The levels of adventures available at that tier of renown.
• Treasure (GP per PC): The range of treasure each hero should gain from an adventure of those levels.

Tier	GP Spent	Adventures for Levels	Treasure (GP per PC)
Local	0	1-2	200 to 900
Shire	1,500	3-4	1500 to 3500
Lord	10,000	5-6	5,000 to 8,000
Baron	30,000	7-8	10,000 to 15,000
Earl	65,000	9-11	17,000 to 22,000
Monarch	125,000	12+	25,000 to 30,000

As a general rule, the heroes should need to spend nearly half their gold to keep advancing tiers of renown, but they could rush it by spending nearly all their gold to seem richer and more successful than they really are. This may happen naturally at times, such as when they build or renovate a stronghold–something that’s sure to catch the attention of those of nobles.

Reaction Rolls

Higher tiers give you a bonus (found in the descriptions below) to your reaction rolls with NPCs (but not monsters).

Renown Tiers

Each tier has its own perks. And at each tier, you might interact with a servant or advisor of an NPC a tier above your current tier and perhaps briefly meet the higher-status NPC.

For example, at lord level, while most barons in the shire wouldn’t know you, you might be engaged by an agent of a particular baron to do some spying on his behalf; if it goes well, you could be invited to a dinner at the baron’s castle, during which he greets you and hears your tales but doesn’t suggest opportunities. Only later, when you’ve gained baron level, are you likely to be asked to meet with the baron in private or be hired by a different baron who has learned of your exploits.

Local (1st & 2nd level)

You are known locally in your town (or your neighborhood in a city). You interact with commoners, like local merchants, the town bailiff and constable, a local priest(ess), the local sage, the local alchemist, a humble yeoman in the country, etc. They give you rumors and advice; officials may offer a bounty on certain monsters and outlaws.

You should be 1st or 2nd level. You may establish your company with a charter and coat of arms (which requires you to spend some treasure). Local people probably know your family more than they know you.

Typical adventures:

1. Escort a shipment.
2. Track down outlaws.
3. Explore a cave.
4. Rescue a captive.
5. Find a potion ingredient for an alchemist.
6. Slay a troublesome monster.

Shire (3rd & 4th level)

You’re known generally in the shire/county/province. You have come the attention of wealthy merchants, minor clerical officials (abbot or prelate), area sages, the county sheriff and/or judge, and knights and gentlemen, who regard you as a capable sort of adventurer. They’ve heard your name from the town bailiff, perhaps, or other merchants and such, and they may have a paying job, offer a bounty, or just recommend lesser-known ruins further afield. You get +1 on reaction rolls from NPCs everywhere.

You should be 3rd to 4th level. You are known by reputation around the shire or county by innkeepers and merchants on the lookout for mercenaries and guards. You may be invited to a lord’s feast, but you’re not the guests of honor. (This is a great opportunity to expand the cast of NPCs in the campaign: who IS the guest of honor?)

Typical adventures:

1. Solve a murder mystery at a manor.
2. Help defend the town from raiders.
3. Explore a ruins and its dungeon.
4. Stop whatever is stalking townsfolk by night.
5. Investigate a rising faction.
6. Win a non-lethal contest against rival champions.

Lords (5th & 6th level)

You become known to lords, religious officials (bishop or high priest[ess]), rich merchants, powerful mages, and the like, who regard you as a hero and would happily receive you if you want audience. Some of these may offer you a small fortune for a difficult task or tell of a particularly enticing–but dangerous–treasure to be claimed. Powerful mages may be willing to enchant a minor magic item into a more powerful one (but can’t further enchant an already powerful one). You get +2 on reaction rolls from NPCs everywhere.

You should be 5th or 6th level. You get invited to feasts–some thrown in your honor after a triumph–but you may also gain a jealous rival. A troubadour might compose a song about your exploits. Depending on your class, a noble may make you a knight; or you get accepted by the guild as a master of sorcery; or you are elevated to a special position as defender of the faith.

Typical adventures:

1. Recover a treasure from a sunken ship.
2. Spy in the lands of a lord’s rival.
3. Elude murder by an enemy gained on a previous adventure.
4. Renovate an abandoned stronghold.
5. Assault the hideout of an evil lord’s champions.
6. Stop a cult from summoning a demon at the next full moon.

Barons (7th & 8th level)

Now, lesser nobles know of you, as do high religious officials (archbishops) and wizards. Your name is whispered in guild halls and brought up in privy council rooms. People thruout the realm admire you; important people defer to you. You get +4 on reaction rolls from NPCs.

You should be at least 7th level. Depending on your class, you may be gifted a house or a powerful magic item as a reward or even lands (potentially making you a lord). Or you may be given a position of authority, such as sheriff or seat on the council of wizards or church/temple official. Troubadours sing ballads of your exploits. However, you likely have made an enemy.

Typical adventures:

1. Delve into a mad wizard’s demented tomb.
2. Help the baron restore his rightful lands.
3. Fend off an undead army attacking a city.
4. Reclaim and guard a corrupted wilderness from monster hordes.
5. Find a lost magic item and wield it in the name of the faith.
6. Travel to a foreign land and bring back a live creature for the baron’s menagerie.

Earls (9th, 10th, & 11th level)

At this tier, you are known as a great hero to the most powerful nobles as well as minor royals, top religious officials (cardinals or high patriarch/matriarch), top mages, and perhaps rulers of this and neighboring realms. You are sought out for the most dangerous tasks or begged for help by powerful personages. You get +6 on reaction rolls from NPCs.

You should be 9th level. Depending on your class, you may be rewarded with lands (making you a lord), or be offered a position in a college of magic or be appointed abbot/abbess of an abbey or some similar important position.

Typical adventures:

1. Fight an ancient dragon.
2. Apprehend a rebellious lord.
3. Battle a cabal of mad wizards.
4. Negotiate a treaty with mountain giants.
5. Recover a lost legendary magic item.
6. Retrieve a rare ingredient to save the earl’s daughter.

Monarchs (12th level & above)

The king and queen themselves would receive you and, indeed, may call upon you to save the very kingdom–or a council of nobles may approach you to help them overthrow a tyrant. You stand among the greatest heroes in the realm, if not the continent. You may even be sought out by rulers of neighboring realms. You get +8 on reaction rolls from NPCs.

You should be at least 12th level. Troubadours write you into legend; nobles and top officials consider you a peer–or rival; you may be gifted another or greater noble title (earl, duke, etc.) and/or legendary magic items for services rendered to the monarch.

Depending on your class, you may be made a baron[ess], high wizard of the realm or head of the council of wizards. Or you may be made a top church/temple official or headmaster of a church college. But you also are likely targeted by some malevolent being or organization as an enemy.

Typical adventures:

1. Meet with giant chiefs and negotiate a treaty with the most reasonable one.
2. Fight a treasonous noble with an army.
3. Root out enemies of the realm in the royal court.
4. Take a side in the war of succession.
5. Battle the greatest threat to the continent.
6. Recover a legendary artifact to keep it out of the wrong hands.

Underspending the Party

Some players may be reluctant to spend enough gold to gain the same renown as their companions. In that case, the ones with more renown are the ones who are well-known and respected, and the others are treated as henchmen or even servants.

The paladin, wizard, and cleric might get invited to the lord’s hall for a feast but not the rogue, druid, and ranger. At the feast, the heroes can find out where certain magic items might be won or else gain information about a personal quest they have. Or a troubadour might compose a song about the heroes but leave out the characters who haven’t reached the others’ renown.

If this seems like a particular problem at your table, you may want to explicitly tie advancement to renown as well. A hero may have the XP needed to advance to 5th level, but if they don’t have the appropriate renown, they can’t get access to mentors for the training they need.

What, Exactly, Do You Spend It on?

It’s best to give your players a sort of catalog of things they can spend money on.

Item	Cost
Lifestyle befitting your level and renown	50 gp per level after each adventure
Fine armor and weapons	Fine quality costs 5x as much as standard (but bejeweled ones could cost thousands)
Fine clothing, harness, and saddle	A few hundred to several thousand gp
A standard or fine house in the city (includes renovation)	2 to 10 thousand gp
Horses and carriages	1000 gp or more
A charter as a free company of adventurers, mercenaries, or traders	100 gp (the company as a whole pays this)
A coat of arms	200 gp (the company as a whole pays this)
A powerful NPC wizard upgrades your fine weapon to +1, your +1 to +2, or your +2 to +3	2000, 3000, or 4000 gp
A powerful NPC wizard adds some special power to your magic weapon with the correct plus.	Half the gp value of the magic item with that power
A small, medium, or large ship	3, 5, or 8 thousand gp for a standard ship, but 9, 15 or 24 for a particularly fine one (fast and beautiful)
Jewelry	A few hundred to several thousand gp
A tavern or brewery	3 to 5 thousand gp
An inn (courtyard, stables, etc.)	5 to 8 thousand gp
Training from a mentor needed to level up–martial and rogue classes	50 gp per level
Borrowing a tome, grimoire, or book of lore long enough to level up–wizards and clerics at low level	100 gp
Purchasing a tome, grimoire, or book of lore needed to level up–wizards and clerics at 5+ level	1000 gp, and you’ll eventually need more than one
A decently reliable map of a region	500 gp
Donation to the city for a fountain, statue, memorial, etc.	100 to 1000 gp, depending on materials
Donation or sacrifice to the faith–especially paladins and clerics	Any, but amounts of 1000+ gp should be earmarked for specific efforts to help build or renovate a religious building; such donations tend to be rewarded with information or divine visions of magic items
Land–settled land that earns 1000 gp a year for you (usu. comes with workers)	10 thousand gp, and if you’re a gentleman/woman, you become a lord of the manor; if a commoner, a yeoman
Land–rangers and druids buying untamed wilderness borderlands	4 thousand gp
A ruined structure you can renovate–church, tower, manor house, abbey; is there a dungeon under it?	4 to 10 thousand gp, depending on condition, location, and importance
Influence (bribery?) in local court to get a lord–a vampire or bandit king–declared an outlaw, so the party can go after the villain	A little evidence and a few hundred gp
A couple of servants to take care of an ordinary house	10 gp per adventure
Several skilled servants to take care of a large house or small fortress	100 gp per adventure

Purchases That Are Adventures

The purchases and adventures can sometimes go hand-in-hand. There are great role-playing opportunities in buying property to use as a base and discovering its secrets.

• At 5th level or so, a city official arranges for the company buy a house or inn for sale in the city and make it their base, but they discover it has secret access to an underground complex or a resident ghost with unfinished business.
• At 7th level or so, an agent of an earl offers (for a reasonable price or as a reward in lieu of gold) to make the ranger or druid the warden of a piece of untamed wilderness with the requirement that the heroes tame it and preserve it for the earl’s hunting privilege.
• At 8th level or so, the heroes buy a ship that has a wee bit of a curse on it.
• At 9th level or so, a royal agent of the queen offers to sell the heroes a decrepit keep on the wild borderland that they must explore, clear, and renovate for one to them be named lord.
• At 12th level or so, an agent of the queen offers to install the heroes as nobles of a rebellious barony if they help her seize the lands of the troublesome baron.

Some of these could instead be rewards for some other adventure the noble in question owes the company for, meaning the company is paid not in gold but in buildings, lands, and/or titles, essentially making the reward the next adventure.

Indeed, most high-level adventures should be rewarded by the monarch or top religious figure primarily in lands and titles (and perhaps magic items) rather than coin, but these should still result in greater renown. After all, if you manage to best the Great Serpent of Athomar and are rewarded by the king with a barony, everyone is going to be impressed.

Losing Renown

Any time a character commits an infamous act, he or she can lose renown. This includes open rebellion against a rightful authority, being accused of murder, etc. The character should drop one renown tier. People still know who you are, but you are now notorious instead of illustrious, and people will treat you accordingly.

Being marked with a writ of outlawry cuts the character’s renown in half. Even if the declaration is by an evil noble, and even if the common people view the character as a hero righteously fighting that noble, other nobles are less likely to associate with the character. For this reason, it’s wise to play a little politics and, for example, convince the right people that evil Lord Cunquar is a scoundrel who himself must be declared an outlaw so that the heroes are free to pursue him.

This should all cause players to work to protect their reputation by, at the very least, keeping any skullduggery in the shadows.

Of course, a tarnished reputation won’t be a problem for certain NPCs. Foreign nobles might be rather happy to invite the heroes to an adventure in their lands… or to commit espionage or open rebellion in their homeland.

Historically, it was surprisingly common for knights and nobles to be declared outlaws and then, after a heartfelt apology to the king (and the gift of a chest of silver and gold), have the writ of outlawry rescinded. There’s no reason the heroes couldn’t buy their way back into the king’s good graces too and even have any seized lands restored.