Level Advancement (SNS)

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As player characters advance in level, they may soon outstrip the NPC specialists that they consult. After all, these NPCs rarely go on incredible adventures or travel to far-off lands and perform incredible feats of bravery. They are mostly homebodies.
Their are two ways that a Dungeon Master can measure an NPC's level advancement. These methods are dependant on whether the specialist in question is a standard NPC, or whether he is attached to a specific adventurer or group.
==Standard NPCs==
Although standard NPCs do not usually gain experience through fantastic adventures, this does not mean that they sit around and do nothing while they wait for the adventurers to return. Rather, these professionals accrue experience by working in their respective fields. While the heroes are off on an adventure, ignoring their friends back home, these specialists go about their business, working for other people and even themselves. A Dungeon Master can decide a standard NPC's experience level advancement as he likes. Most often, the specialist keeps pace with the player﻿ characters. Simply make the specialist's level equal to the average level of the party, or a level or two less. Rarely should the specialist's level exceed that of the most experienced party member.
==Attached Specialists==
An attached specialist's level of experience is entirely dependent upon the way the character to which he is attached treats him. If the specialist is ignored by the adventurer, he will stagnate, unable to
proceed much further without the patronage of a promising hero.
However, if the adventurer takes a personal interest in the specialist's career, he can ensure that the specialist prospers throughout the years, keeping pace with the hero's own advancement.
For an attached specialist to advance a ﻿ level at the same time that the player character does, he must receive something out of the ordinary from that character. The exact nature of this extraordinary action can vary a great deal depending on the hero and the specialist.
The easiest way for a hero to contribute to a specialist's welfare is to hire the specialist on a regular basis. To cause the specialist to gain a level at the same time as the hero, the adventurer must consult with the specialist in some fashion and reimburse him for his trouble. This consultation must be something that would normally earn the specialist at least 200 XP per the specialist's current level.
For example, a 4th-level healer would have to earn 800 XP due to his contact with the adventurer. If this was fulfilled, the healer would progress to 5th level when the hero gained another level.
Heroes can substitute certain items in lieu of consultation with a specialist. Donating magical items to a specialist is acceptable, as long as these items would help the specialist in his work or, at the very least, be of some use to the specialist. The experience point value of the item must be equal to or greater than the number of experience points the specialist would normally require in order to advance from a consultation.
A potion of extra-healing, for instance, is worth 400 XP. The adventurer would have to give two of these to the 4th-level healer described above to permit him to advance to the 5th level.
These two methods can be combined in any fashion. The healer might receive a single potion of extra-healing (400 XP) and then use his skills to heal 40 hit points (at 10 XP each, that's 400 XP) for the hero or a friend of the hero.
If the specialist actually accompanies the﻿ party on an adventure, he should then gain experience normally. In this case, the specialist could advance independently of his patron hero.