What's leveling?

Here on Passing Strange, characters gain new strengths and abilities through a system called leveling. Characters themselves aren’t aware of levels and wouldn’t use vocabulary that is used OOC (ex. common, advanced).

Weres and vampires will be able to sense their relative power compared to members of their own or each other’s species. (As always, new supernaturals may not realize this right away. It’s a learning curve!) Psychics cannot sense how strong other supernaturals are, including other psychics.

Leveling is accomplished by writing specific threads detailed in the handbook entries for each species! For a thread to count toward leveling, it must reach 10 posts, at least 3 of which must be by your character. Threads cannot count for more than one requirement, even if it fulfills the qualities of both. If, for example, your character has a thread with a vampire and a psychic, they can only use that thread to fill one of their leveling slots for writing with a vampire or one of their leveling slots for writing with a psychic.

Players can’t “save” threads from an earlier level to use to fulfill the requirements of a later one. If you completed threads while at common level working toward intermediate, you can’t use them later on as intermediate working toward advance. The exception: turning threads, which can be saved at earlier levels to use for the requirement later.

Characters that go inactive for two or more months will have their leveling progress reset. If they return, their prior threads will still be canon, but they cannot be used toward leveling.

Character leveling is a journey, not a race! If you find your characters has the threads they need to level up, but their character development doesn’t feel quite there yet, we encourage you to let them stay at their current level and move up when it feels right. This can lead to a more natural and interesting experience for you and that character.

Leveling progress is tracked via Resumes. Feel free to style yours as you’d like! When you’re ready to level, you can post your request here and be sure to tag staffers in #completed-forms on Discord.

What level can I join as?

Anyone can join with an unlimited number of new or common weres, new or common vampires, and common or intermediate psychics. (Plus humans, of course!) Players who have been active on site for three consecutive months can also bring in up to one intermediate vampire and one intermediate were. This "slot" will remain taken even if that character levels to advanced!

After six months of consecutive activity, players can bring in up to one additional intermediate vampire and were.

Can a character go down in level?

Yes! A were, vampire, or psychic can regress to a lower level (but never below new for vampires/weres) if their player decides that it makes narrative sense. Level regression is essentially losing touch with your beast for weres or sense of control for vampires/psychics, resulting in a loss of power and other abilities. This could happen due to a triggering incident (being kicked out of or losing a group, ending a matebond unhappily, extended periods of alone time away from their kind), as the result of a general failure to thrive in their level, or for another reason you choose. A character can't deliberately decide to go down in level on their own, and regressing in level is entirely player choice and never required.

Characters who regress in level will need to complete all requirements to regain that level again as if they were working toward that level for the first time. (One exception: Previously completed turning threads can still be used.) Vampires and psychics who regress after gaining powers (a psychic power or animal form) will regain that same power if they level again. However, psychics that de-level to human cannot become psychics again. They will regain their old power if they become a vampire again (assuming you choose to give them a power at all!).

Level regression can only happen in-game and cannot have happened as part of a character's prior history.

What are wildcards?

You might occasionally receive something called a wildcard as a reward for taking part in an advertising competition or as an event gift! Wildcards can be used to fulfill any single leveling requirement except for those related to the passing of time/moons, ex. “Survive 3 new moons.” Five wildcards can also be turned in at once for an additional intermediate slot character!