In which we go up a level

So I bent the rules a tad last session.  Second session with 1st level characters.  Party is coming together.  God role playing going on.  Fun n stuff. But one of the "pre-packaged" adventures I've given the hook for suggests leveling up to 2nd after completing "Chapter 1."  Party was about 80% of the way there so I DID bump them up.  They'll still have to EARN that last 20% so it might take them a tad longer to get to 3rd.  We'll see.

There's a rough rule of thumb that indicates you "should" go up every four sessions or so.  I've been using the Three Pillar XP from the old UA from 2017.  Basically points based on your tier, the CR of your opponents and the tier level of locations, item, social interactions.  100 XP to advance.  So that means 25 xp per session to meet the 4 sessions per level approach.  And then we're talking 8-10 xp in each pillar.  

The Social pillar grants 10 xp for a successful interaction with an NPC in your tier, +10 for every tier above yours, +5 for a tier BELOW yours, and 0 if more than a tier below.  Pretty easy for an involved party to interact positively and sway  SOMEONE in town with some pull.  Local lord.  Captain of the guard.  Guild head.  This one's harder in the wilderness but lieutenants and bandit leaders might present opportunities.  This gets tougher in tier 2 but we're still a month or so away from that.

The Exploration Pillar can present issues as well.  I always give 1 xp when a 20-mile hex is entered for the first time.  Visiting plot hook sites can usually get your 10 points for this one.  Current party got points for the lost abbey and for the demon tree.  Not likely to pick up any next session.  Unless you're always on the move and wrapping up plot hooks rapidly this one will be the "slow" one.  Magic can be used to boost it if need be.  Finding a rare non-consumable magic item can do this at first tier, and I usually only give it to the party member who gets the item but it makes for a timely addition if the rest of the pillar is low.

Finally comes the "Combat" pillar - although "Encounter" pillar is a better label.  Overcoming an obstacle using skills and ingenuity warrants these points as well as besting critters.  For our four-character party as currently constituted that would mean two encounters of CR 2-4 or one of over CR 4.  It could also mean over a dozen encounters under CR 1.  Last week's owlbear was helpful but they needed some nagging blights and wolves to hit the number.  

What I NEED to start doing is paying attention to where the party IS and what they're planning on doing, in order to make sure I have sufficient points on offer.  The coming session should allow for plenty of encounter points.  Unless they surprise me there won't be many opportunities for social points.  And I've already give the 20-mile point and the important point points.  So to hit that sweet spot I'll need to include plenty of CR appropriate encounters and at least one magic item.