Levels & Experience

Experience helps your dragon level and progress through the game. Each level unlocks special bonuses and may even grant you some rare rewards! EXP is automatically tallied and tracked when you turn in art of a dragon. Riders don't level up, but they do grow in a story-based way called Prestige, which you can learn about here.

Dragon EXP

Level 0: Starting level. Level 1: 100EXP Level 2: 200EXP Level 3: 300EXP Level 4: 400EXP LEVEL 5: 500 EXP
  • 1 Adventure Loot
  • No breeding slots (Courtship slots are still available!)
  • Rites of Renewal Available
  • Rite of Passage Available
  • Rite of Ascension Available
  • Grand Courtship Available
  • 1 Adventure Loot
  • +10 Breeding Slots
  • Tier I Magic Available
  • Pair Bond Available
  • 2 Adventure Loot
  • +10 Breeding Slots.
  • Tier II Magic Available
  • 3 Adventure Loot
  • +10 Breeding Slots
  • Tier III Magic available
  • 4 Adventure Loot
  • +10 Breeding Slots
  • With the assistance of their Rider, Tier IV Magic available
  • When breeding with another level 5 or above, the clutch will receive one extra egg.
  • 5 Adventure Loot
  • Unlimited Breeding Slots
  • Your dragon may have custom backgrounds without needing an item (you must provide the image and have permission to use it!).

 

art by Anime4Eternity23

GAINING EXP:

ILLUSTRATION
Linework or Sketch – 1 EXP
Color – 2 EXP
Shading – 1 EXP  
Outline, Flat Background, Gradient Background, Stock or Simple Patterns – 0 EXP
Standard Background – 2 EXP – A standard background has at least four objects with some sort of detail, and not including the sky or ground. It should also not contain large areas of solid color.

WRITING:
2 EXP per 300 words

ANIMATION: Each keyframe is judged as its own image. Elements that do not change between keyframes (background, other characters, etc.) will only be counted for the first keyframe they appear.
3D WORK: Models receive +3EXP. Textured models receive a further +3EXP.
NON-ILLUSTRATIVE ART: This includes beadwork, sculpture, plushies, and similar weird stuff. 5EXP Small object, 10EXP Large object.

 

BONUS EXP:

Bonues EXP only applies if art could otherwise receive an activity roll. Some events have special bonuses.

GENERAL BONUSES:

5 EXP - Exceptional Effort - if the piece took considerable effort, you may list this as a buff. YOU decide when this buff is applied. Note that this buff can only be applied to a minority of your art, given its nature to be exceptional compared to your norm!
1 EXP Personal Art – if the dragon belongs to you and you are the artist
2 EXP Accompaniment – if an image of any type is accompanied by 300 or more words of related writing. EXP gained from the written art will follow normal rules.

2 EXP Collab – if the work is a collaboration between two people and they both contribute a substantial amount. Collaborations otherwise follow normal art/writing requirements. Keep in mind that art with a minimum word count may not be enough to reward multiple characters with EXP.
2 EXP Storytelling – for every 1200 words in a written entry
2 EXP Traditional – for art of the following types: physical paintings, colored pencil or shaded charcoal illustration, mixed media without digital coloring
1 EXP Terrain – The dragon is in a terrain that matches its element. (Read more about Terrains here.)

Familiar 1 EXP – A pet that belongs to the character or the character’s Rider, as evidenced by their master list entry. The familiar must be depicted in the image to grant the bonus EXP.
Partner 2 EXP – Another character sharing an image with your character. Partners must belong to other players/artists, but they can be any shape or form. This includes other ARPG species, should their rules allow for it! Partners do not need to be friends or even cooperative to get the bonus.
Rider 3 EXP– A character that shares a telepathic bond with the dragon. Only applies to that Rider’s dragon.
Other ARPG 1 EXP – if image contains one or more ARPG species or closed species from another group (link their import in description)

Other types of traditional art (including non-illustrative) will receive a bonus on a case-by-case basis during processing!

Submission Rules:

  • The dragon must know Tier Two Magic in order to get credit for art with non-dragon forms. If using a closed species alternate form, you must have permission to do so from the owner of the species. A Dragon only counts as one ARPG critter at a time when counting EXP (dragons in alt closed species forms cannot ‘double up’ on art experience). Players found to be doubling experience for the same character will have the EXP removed.
  • Color, shading, and linework must be used throughout the art. If the rest of the image has shading or color, but the dragon does not, then it will not count towards that dragon’s shading or that dragon’s prompt requirements.
  • Any art found to be stolen will have its EXP revoked and the person who claimed it will receive a strike.
  • Bases are not allowed for gaining EXP or activity rolls more than once in the group. This means any re-used lines or slightly modified images will not be accepted for processing after initial turn-in. Bases that are available for purchase by multiple people cannot be used.
  • You may use tutorials for backgrounds, as long as the end result is clearly your own work. You may use photomanipulation for your backgrounds, as long as the end result is a transformative piece of art. In both cases, any credit required by the photographers/tutorial crafters must be included.
  • If the art has more than one contributing artist, it must be marked as a collaboration.
  • Headshots, portraits, and busts receive 1/2 EXP and do not receive any bonuses. Images must show more than 60% of the body to count as fullbody. If you are unsure of how much 60% of a dragon is, you can go to their profile and click on their body type (in example: Wyrm Body). These will have graphics that show the ranges needed for EXP.
  • If a character does not have enough recognizable traits, it will not count for rolls or exp.
  • At least 25% of the character must be visible to gain any kind of EXP (no dramatic eye zooms for EXP).
  • Characters must actively participate throughout writing to gain EXP. If they are active in the first 600 words but they do not appear for the next 2000 words, then they only get exp for 600 words.
  • If you create mature content, you must tag it with potential trigger subjects. You must also use deviantART mature rating on the deviation itself. As long as it meets those conditions, it will still be processed normally in art turn-in.
  • Simple animations (tail wagging, hair blowing, blinking, bouncing) do not receive extra EXP.
  • Images on the same file must have clear borders and still meet image minimums to be processed (this applies to comics and AR compilations in particular). Backgrounds should be unique enough to distinguish the images
  • Role plays with more than four collaborators have their own criteria to make things fair for solo players and reward participants based on their personal effort. While role plays receive a collaboration bonus, they still use individual word counts to determine EXP. Only people who have contributed more than 300 words to a role play will receive EXP. These role plays do not have an established setting bonus.
  • If EXP would end in .5, then it is rounded up to a whole number