Level up and XP usage

[ZelieDad]

I'm running my first campaign using FGU and my first as a GM, and I can't seem to find the answer to my questions. My campaign started on Friday (OotA), and my players escaped Velkynvelve. At the end of the chapter, it mentions giving the players some bonus XP (150 divided equally), and that they should be at least level 2 at the end of the chapter. I gave all party members the XP and told them they can level up. Also, I have a test character that I'm using that isn't part of the party, that I'm using for testing purposes, and I was able to level that character regardless of the amount of XP they have. If these questions have already been answered, could someone point me in the right direction.

Questions:

Should I give them all the required XP to level up (300 XP is required to level up to level 2), and just add it to their total or add the additional XP required to get them to 300 XP?
Should the amount of XP a character has accumulated affect the ability to use the level-up functionality or should that feature be locked until the required XP has been gained?
Should the required amount of XP needed to level-up be used and subtracted from the character's XP total, or is it a running total?
Do I need to manually add the required XP to each character's sheet to level up?


TIA

[Zacchaeus]

There are (at least) two methods of levelling up; the first uses XP to determine when the characters level up and the other is what is termed milestone. The latter simply means that you (as DM) decide when the characters level up - usually at certain story points in the campaign - irrespective of how much XP they have earned.

Specific answers
1. XP is generally added after each encounter that the players have. Drag the encounter into the XP tab of the party sheet and you can then distribute the XP from there automatically. More on the party sheet here. https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/996641997/5E+Party+Sheet
2. FG doesn't lock anything on the character sheet - so players can level up no matter how much (or how little) XP they have
3. XP is a running total
4. No, you don't need to add any XP at all if you are using the milestone method. I'd refer you again to the party sheet for the easiest method of awarding XP. And as I said above players can level up at any time.

Note: In addition to encounters you can drag quests into the XP box in the party sheet to distribute XP earned from quests