Character Level (Class Level)

Learn how Experience Points (XP) work in Pathfinder: Kingmaker, how Character Level and Class Level affect your stats, and when you gain crucial Feats and abilities.

Alright, let's talk about leveling up in Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Basically, you get Experience Points (XP) from doing all sorts of adventuring stuff – beating up monsters, finishing quests, and even succeeding at some skill checks. Once you rack up enough XP, you'll level up!

When you level up, you get to increase your Class Level. Your total Class Levels combined make up your Character Level. Think of your Character Level as a general gauge of how experienced, skilled, and powerful your character has become.

As your Character Level goes up, you'll get more Hit Dice and Hit Points. Plus, depending on both your Character Level and Class Level, you might snag new Feats, improve your Saving Throws, boost your Base Attack Bonus, and unlock new class abilities.

Feats are gained at specific Character Levels: you get one at level 1, and then at every odd level after that (3rd, 5th, 7th, and so on). But here's where classes get interesting: some classes give you bonus feats on top of that. For example, a Fighter gets a bonus feat at levels 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, and so on. These are separate from the feats you get just for your overall Character Level.

Most other benefits you get from leveling up really depend on your Class Level and are usually added directly. You'll always get Hit Points when you level up, but your Class Level dictates your Hit Dice. Your Saving Throws and Base Attack Bonuses are calculated by summing up the bonuses from all your Class Levels. For instance, a 5th level Fighter will have a +5 Base Attack Bonus and +4 Fortitude, +1 Reflex, and +1 Will saves. Meanwhile, a 5th level Wizard will have a +2 Base Attack Bonus, +1 Fortitude, +1 Reflex, and +4 Will saves. So, if you have a 10th level character who's a 5th level Fighter and a 5th level Wizard, they'd have a +7 Base Attack Bonus, +5 Fortitude, +2 Reflex, and +5 Will saves. Oh, and they'd also have ten Hit Dice in total (5d10 from the Fighter levels and 5d6 from the Wizard levels).