Pathfinder 2e is a crunchy, tactical system with tight encounter math, and that shapes how you run it as West Marches. It scales to level 20, and its fights are tuned to your exact party. The setup works for a few friends or a big multi-GM game online. For world prep, scheduling, and session flow, see the companion guide on running West Marches.
Pathfinder 2e levels up at a flat 1,000 XP. When a character hits 1,000 they gain a level and subtract 1,000, so they're always working toward the next thousand. XP is keyed to difficulty relative to your level, not raw power: an even encounter is worth the same whether you're level 2 or 12, and the whole group shares the award. Characters climb from level 1 to 20.
WestMarches.games keeps one running total that doesn't reset, so you enter the cumulative version under Community Settings → Experience Ladder. Below are two options: the standard by-the-book ladder, and an alternative curve some communities prefer.
| Level | Standard total | Alternative total |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Level 2 | 1,000 | 500 |
| Level 3 | 2,000 | 1,000 |
| Level 4 | 3,000 | 1,500 |
| Level 5 | 4,000 | 2,500 |
| Level 6 | 5,000 | 3,500 |
| Level 7 | 6,000 | 4,500 |
| Level 8 | 7,000 | 5,500 |
| Level 9 | 8,000 | 6,750 |
| Level 10 | 9,000 | 8,000 |
| Level 11 | 10,000 | 9,250 |
| Level 12 | 11,000 | 10,500 |
| Level 13 | 12,000 | 11,750 |
| Level 14 | 13,000 | 13,000 |
| Level 15 | 14,000 | 14,750 |
| Level 16 | 15,000 | 16,500 |
| Level 17 | 16,000 | 18,250 |
| Level 18 | 17,000 | 20,000 |
| Level 19 | 18,000 | 21,750 |
| Level 20 | 19,000 | 23,500 |
A flat thousand a level works, but you might want a curve, for the same reason as the Daggerheart guide. Cheap early levels let a new character catch up to the active level ranges quickly, and steeper high levels stop a few players from racing to 20 and running out of people to adventure with. The alternative column is one such curve: faster than the book up to about level 14, then slower. It uses the same standard Pathfinder 2e XP awards and only changes when levels land. To start new characters at level 2, set “starting XP” to 500, which is the level 2 mark on this ladder.
Whichever ladder you pick, write quests for a level range rather than a single level. Communities tend to run bands like 2-4 or 4-6 so players can group up without everyone being the exact same level, which is what keeps scheduling easy. Build each encounter around the middle of the range. Widen the band as levels climb: the high end of the campaign has far fewer characters, so a broader range is often the only way to field a full party up there.
Pathfinder 2e assumes characters have gear that matches their level, so the rules hand out a set amount of treasure per level. With several GMs giving out loot, keep the totals near that expected curve so nobody's equipment outpaces the encounter math. WestMarches.games tracks gold with XP, and the community marketplace is where it goes back out, logged in each character's Rewards Log.