This guide gives an intro to the Lords of the League game mode. It covers basic strategy and considerations for new players. Note: This document does not cover basic dynasty league information. If someone is also new to dynasty, they should read the following articles and/or podcasts:

• Player Profiler - Dynasty 101
• The Fantasy Footballers - Dynasty 101
• Dynasty Nerds - Playing Dynasty Football 101
• Football Guys - Dynasty 101 (Podcast episode)

Introduction

Lords of the League offers a challenging twist on traditional fantasy football, infusing the excitement of competitive fantasy sports with the captivating character-building elements of Role-Playing Games (RPGs). Whether you're a fan of classic high fantasy RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons or an enthusiast of First-Person Shooter (FPS) games like Call of Duty, you’ve undoubtedly come to expect some level of character customization. You’re already building a team, so adding a hero is a natural evolution that makes Lords of the League a truly unique fantasy sports endeavor.

Creating a Hero

Aside from finding a league to join, your first step is to create a hero. The key components of your hero are Race, Path, Class, and Equipment. Combined, these give you a unique hero that will lead your team to battle every week. Whether it’s the righteous Human Paladin, the grumpy Dwarf Barbarian, or the conniving Goblin Rogue, players can customize their characters to their individual tastes. Although any race can be any class, some combinations complement each other better than others.

Races

Your race is the foundation of your hero. Lords of the League offers 9 unique races to choose from. Each race has different starting stats that will influence your fantasy scoring and a passive skill, offering bonuses such as extra fantasy points, extra Ability Points (AP), or even extra draft picks. All races are balanced and competitive in their own way, so focus your choice on a race that fits your personality and play style.

Tip❗: Racial passives range from raw point bonuses to stat penalties for your opponent to utilities such as extra draft picks. Although there may seem like an obvious choice, all of the abilities are balanced. Pick the one that fits your play style and strengths.

Paths

Once you’ve picked a race, you need a job. Unfortunately, you’re not good enough to do most jobs yet, so you’ll start with the basics: an Apprenticeship Path. You will choose one of 6 Paths, each leading to 4 class choices. Additionally, each Path has a unique skill (all Path Skills cost 1 AP) and gives +1 to a unique stat upon reaching level 1. Each class can only be accessed via two Paths, so if you already know what class you want to be, make sure you pick the Path that makes the most sense for your hero.

Tip❗: Focus on the Path that leads to the class(es) you’re interested in picking. Once you’ve determined that, lean towards the Path that gives the stat bonus that aligns with your build. Although you’ll still have access to the Path skill, it won’t be used as much once you can access your class skills.

Classes

Once you’ve completed your Path apprenticeship, either by completing a season or gaining 5XP (whichever event happens first), you can choose one of four classes tied to that specific Path. Lords of the League offers 12 unique classes, including a Bard, Druid, Shadow Knight, and more. Like the races, all of the classes are balanced in their own way, so pick one that suits your interest. This is also a great opportunity to roleplay!

Tip❗: Although any race can be any class, some class skills are based on stats. Most stats can be customized to your liking with equipment and potions, but you should give consideration to the class you choose based on the stats and players you’re expecting to prioritize. For example, the Mentalist has a skill that scales with high Intellect. If you’re playing as a troll with low racial Intellect, a Mentalist may not be the best idea.

Stats

Your hero’s stats separate the mighty from the weak and are the true differentiator between a standard fantasy league and Lords of the League. Each of the six stats (Athletics, Dexterity, Intellect, Shiftiness, Vigor, and Willpower) gives bonuses (or penalties) to specific fantasy stats.

Your hero’s stats have two aspects: the raw value, a number between 0-30, and a mod value, which ranges from -5 to +10. Raw values are the sum of your stats based on your race, stat boosts from gaining experience levels, equipment, skills, and temporary buffs. Mods are a calculated value based on your raw values and are what impact your fantasy scoring.

A raw value of 10 or 11 is considered neutral and does not give a bonus or a penalty. Starting at a raw value of 12, your mod will increase by +1 for every even number 12 or above (e.g. 12-13 is +1, 14-15 is +2, etc). Inversely, your mod will decrease every odd number 9 or below (e.g. 9-8 is a -1 modifier, 7-6 is -2, etc).

Mods are used to calculate the bonuses. For example, each Athletics mod gives a bonus of 0.009 per receiving yard. If you find yourself with a +3 Athletics mod, you’re gaining an additional .027 points per receiving yard—a bonus of over 25%! With a mod like this, you should focus on receivers and running backs who catch a lot of passes. On the flip side, if you’re a Troll with an Intellect mod of -1, you’ll lose 0.008 points per passing yard. This might lead you to a strategy that deemphasizes quarterbacks.

Tip❗: Try to avoid odd-numbered raw stats. Getting a shiny new helmet that gives +1 Vigor is all well and good, but if it only takes you from a raw Vigor stat of 10 to 11, you aren’t actually gaining a bonus. Form an overall strategy with your equipment and stat bonuses and plan accordingly to minimize odd-numbered raw stats.

Tip❗: Try to synergize your stats. Athletics gives a bonus to receiving yards, and Dexterity gives a bonus to receptions. These work well together and can amplify your points via receiving and receptions. Something to avoid is having a mix of positive and negative mods on complimentary stats. If you have a positive Athletics mod and a negative Dexterity mod, the reception penalty will likely negate any bonus you get for receiving yards.

Equipment

Equipment is the primary (but not the only) way of modifying your raw stats. You have six equipment slots: Main Hand, Off Hand, Head, Chest, Finger, and Neck. Some items have positive and negative stats, so plan accordingly when deciding what equipment to buy!

Tip❗: There is a wide variety of equipment with various powers and costs. Buying weaker equipment earlier may give you a boost to win more games earlier, but it will cost you more gold to have the best equipment. You will need to weigh the tradeoffs of this.

Tip❗: Some classes gain equipment as part of leveling up. Consider this when deciding what to purchase.

Building a Team

As mentioned in the stats section, building a team around your stats (or vice versa) is imperative, particularly as people start leveling up and gaining more stats. If you have a high shiftiness (rushing yards) but aren’t focused on starting running backs, rushing QBs, and receivers involved in the run game, you will be putting yourself at a severe disadvantage.

Tip❗: Build your team/starters around your strengths and weaknesses. You usually have to start every position, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use that to your advantage. For example, suppose you have low Intellect and either high Shiftiness or Vigor. In that case, you will want to focus on rushing QBs to minimize the negative points from passing yards and maximize the bonuses for rushing yards and rushing first downs. Similarly, if you have high Athletics or Dexterity, you’ll want to ensure you have RBs catching passes. Your flex spots should also play to your strengths. Don’t start 5 WRs if most of your bonuses come from Shiftiness (rushing yards). This gets particularly interesting with the SuperFlex spot. With high non Intellect bonuses, there is a case to be made for starting a skill player in this spot, despite the higher base score that a QB typically provides.

Resources

Ability Points/Skills

In addition to the path skill, each class gets a skill at level 1, 3, and 5. Some of these are passive skills or equipment, but most are activated skills that require Ability Points (AP). Each hero will gain 1 AP at the start of the week, with some races and classes having abilities to gain extra AP. Skills range from 1 AP (path skills) all the way to 16 AP for certain level 5 skills. You will need to ration your AP and pick the right spots to unleash a fury on your opponent.

Tip❗: Understand your AP gain and know when you’ll be using your skills. With a few exceptions, you’ll want to be able to use skills in must-win games (such as the playoffs) or when there is an incentive to win (you’re playing someone higher level and have a realistic shot at beating them).

Tip❗: There is a maximum AP based on your level. You can't gain anymore if you’re at the max, so use skills to avoid wasting this precious resource. Some races/classes get bonuses to AP, so consider this in your planning. For example, Humans get their AP filled when they level up, so they want to be pretty close to 0 AP when they level up to maximize this resource.

Experience/Leveling Up

Lords of the League has a max level of 5, which requires 70 XP to reach. With very few exceptions, you gain XP by defeating opponents in the regular season. By default, you gain 1 XP per win, however, if you defeat someone higher level than you, you will gain additional XP depending on the level difference.

Tip❗: Although higher-level heroes will be harder to beat, this is an opportunity to pull out all the stops and go for the win.

Gold

Gold plays a unique role in Lords of the League. Not only is it used to buy new equipment, but it also doubles as your Free Agent Auction Budget (FAAB). With all free agent pickups costing a minimum of 1 gold/FAAB, you must carefully balance picking up players to help your team and buying equipment to increase the points you score in a game. The upshot is that gold/FAAB has much more trade value than in a typical fantasy league, so use this to your advantage!

Tip❗: Most free agents will only go for a few gold, especially in newer leagues where gold is scarce. Don’t spend your life’s savings on a backup RB who may only start a game or two.

Tip❗: Because free agents cost at least 1 gold to pick up, late-round draft picks are ALWAYS worth at least 1 gold.

Quests

Another unique aspect of Lords of the League is quests. Each week, your hero will gain quest items based on their team's performance. For example, for every 80 passing yards your team accumulates, you will gain 1 Arrowhead. These quest items can be used for various rewards, such as gold, potions, equipment, and more!

Tip❗: Some quest items may be harder to come by, depending on the construction of your team. While winning a game usually takes priority, starting suboptimal players to get that last quest item to complete a quest may make sense.

Tip❗: When you lose a matchup, you will be given a Bone (and Grave Moss if you're an Alchemist). These can be traded in for 10 of a Tier 1 quest item of your choice. Some quest items will be harder to acquire than others based on your team's makeup. For example, a team without strong passing quarterbacks will struggle to gain Arrowheads. Prioritize using the Bones on these harder to acquire quest items.