Tiers of Play

The Tiers

Tiers are distinct level brackets that represent a particular section of the power curve.  With 5e’s use of Bounded Accuracy, coupled with our rules on magic items, this allows us to hone in and create mini-rulesets for each tier to make them stand out.

*This maximum includes non-attunement items.

Every quest (Player requests are quests!) and PUG is assigned a tier.  This determines both the maximum level allowed on the quest and the maximum amount/rarity of items allowed to be used by characters on that quest.  This helps players and GMs better classify and identify at what level a certain quest or PUG is designed for.

Max Rarity
Magic items are gated by the tier of the quest taking place.  This reflects the maximum rarity of items which can be used in a given quest.  For instance, even if your character has Rare items, they cannot use or benefit from them in a Tier II quest.

One-Shot Max Reward

The magic item rewards of a one shot quest lasting less than 4 hours are limited to the Max Rarity of one tier lower than the quest’s own.  This maximum does not apply to rewards at the end of a multipart series, or a complex, difficult full bodied one shot quest.  As always, rewards do not have to match up to the maximum possible, and should reflect the difficulty of the quest.

Minimum Level
To join a quest of a given tier, you must be at least 1 level lower than the tier’s cutoff listed.  That is, to join a Tier II quest (Levels 5-8), you must be at least Level 4.

Maximum Level

There is no cap on the maximum level for a Job Crystal you bring to a quest.  However, you will be downgraded to that tier’s maximum level and obey the quest’s rules for Max Magic Item Rarity.  That is, if your character is level 11 and joins a Tier II quest (Levels 5-8), you will be playing as a level 8 version of your character, using no more than Uncommon items.  You still apply rewards of this quest as normal - both loot and experience to your normal totals.

Additionally, rewards that depend upon level such as Session Summaries or Orion Crowns earned depend on your level during the quest.  Continuing the above example, your level 11 character would earn Crowns from a Tier II quest as if they were level 8 (i.e. 2 Crowns) instead of their actual level 11 (i.e. 8 Crowns).

GM Caveat

Your DM must assign a Tier to a quest, but may - at their option - change the Max Rarity level of items allowed on the quest.  As an example, a Tier II quest normally has a Max Rarity of Uncommon, but a GM running a quest may decide Rares are allowed to be used. This is not recommended, but can be used as necessary.

This option does not affect the maximum item rewards.