Your character's class serves as both their job and their calling. It's more than just a profession; it's a set of abilities, philosophies, and even divine or arcane powers that set them apart from the average denizen of the world. The choice of class informs how your character will interact with challenges and obstacles, how they'll contribute to a team, and how they'll grow and evolve as they gain experience.

When choosing a class, consider not only the kind of hero you want to become but also how you want to navigate the world around you. Do you see yourself on the front lines, clad in armor and brandishing heavy weapons, or in the shadows, dealing in secrets and precision strikes? Perhaps you're drawn to the arcane mysteries, ready to wield magic to reshape reality itself. Each class comes with its own set of skills, spells, and equipment proficiencies, giving you a unique toolkit to engage with the story in a manner that aligns with your vision. The choice shapes your adventure, the stories you'll tell, and the legend you'll ultimately become.

Beyond 1st Level

As your character goes on adventures and overcomes challenges, he or she gains experience, represented by experience points. A character who reaches a specified experience point total advances in capability. This advancement is called gaining a level.

When your character gains a level, his or her class often grants additional features, as detailed in the class description. Some of these features allow you to increase your ability scores, either increasing two scores by 1 each or increasing one score by 2. You can’t increase an ability score above 20. In addition, every character’s proficiency bonus increases at certain levels.

Each time you gain a level, you gain 1 additional Hit Die. Roll that Hit Die, add your Constitution modifier to the roll, and add the total to your hit point maximum. Alternatively, you can use the fixed value shown in your class entry, which is the average result of the die roll (rounded up).

When your Constitution modifier increases by 1, your hit point maximum increases by 1 for each level you have attained. For example, if your 7th-level fighter has a Constitution score of 17, when he reaches 8th level, he increases his Constitution score from 17 to 18, thus increasing his Constitution modifier from +3 to +4. His hit point maximum then increases by 8.

The Character Advancement table summarizes the XP you need to advance in levels from level 1 through level 20, and the proficiency bonus for a character of that level. Consult the information in your character’s class description to see what other improvements you gain at each level.

Character Advancement