Who Goes There? (Named Levels)

You stand before the gates of the city well after dark. The gates are bared and a lone guard stares down from the city wall raising his crossbow before calling out a challenge.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"Balthar, a second level warrior."

"Didn't you multiclass in Rogue too?" Yolanda the 5th level mage asked.

"Shh... I didn't want to tell him that!"

"What level rogue are you then?" the 4th level guard called down.

"Just a second level one, but I plan to gain a level as a fighter again soon...," Balthar replied.


The level system, while a useful feature for figuring a PC's power compared to the world is a colorless system- lacking the feel of the earlier editions. Imagine the same dialogue above but with named levels rather than abstract numbers. Below is a series of named levels modified from earlier editions of D&D.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"Balthar, a Lance Veteran of the King's Army ."

"Didn't you dabble in the Court of the Rogue too?" Yolanda the Conjurer asked.

"Shh... I didn't want to tell him that!"

"What standing do you hold in the Rogue's Court then?" the Senior Guard called down.

"Just a Footpad, but I plan to continue my service when the war season begins as a Lance Commander...," Balthar replied.

Here then are some possible named levels to spice things up because there's no school like old school.