Dynasty football, but your manager is a hero with stats, gear, and spells. An in depth introduction to the LoTL platform that fuses traditional dynasty with tabletop RPG mechanics. No prior experience assumed. You don't even need to be a DnD fan or have ever played it to enjoy this.
Your dynasty roster is still doing most of the work each week. LotL bolts a second layer on top: a hero you build and grow, gear you shop for, and abilities you cast during a matchup that can swing close games either way.
Yards and touchdowns from the players you drafted are still where the bulk of your score comes from. The hero layer never replaces that. It rides on top of the lineup decisions you already make.
You also build a hero with a race, a class, six stats, and six gear slots. Each week you pick one ability to cast. Done well, the hero adds 5 to 15 points to your line. Done lazily, you give that swing to your opponent.
Gold is your waiver budget AND your shopping money. You earn it from wins and quests, then spend it on gear that shifts your stats. There's no FAAB reset, so what you stockpile is what you have.
Here's how a regular-season matchup actually shakes out. It looks like any normal fantasy game with a handful of extra numbers stacked on at the end.
Alzaar takes this one. Before any hero math, the bases were Jon 142.3 and Alzaar 148.7. After stats, gear, and abilities ran, the final was 153.9 to 158.0. Alzaar's Troll/Barbarian build padded an already healthy lead. Jon's Stun Trap landed on Alzaar's QB but didn't fire hard enough to close the gap.
Alzaar walks away with 1 XP and some gold scaled to the margin. Jon picks up a Bone (consolation quest item) but no XP for the loss. Both heroes roll into Week 9.
What stays the same, what changes, and the few places things actually feel different week to week.
A Hero is built from four components: Race, Path, Class, and Equipment. You pick Race and Path up front. Class unlocks later, at Level 1.
| Starting Resources | 10 gold, 0 XP, 0 AP. Every new hero begins the same. |
| Race (1 of 9) | Sets your six base stats and gives a permanent passive racial skill. Cannot be changed easily. |
| Path (1 of 6) | Your apprenticeship. Each path has a usable 1-AP skill and gates which 4 classes you can choose later. |
| Class (1 of 12) | Unlocked at Level 1 (5 XP or after your first full season, whichever comes first). Adds new skills at levels 1, 3, and 5. |
| Equipment (6 slots) | Head, Chest, Finger, Neck, Main Hand, Off Hand. Buy from the Armory. Trade with other managers. Sell back for 25%. |
| Six Stats | Athletics, Dexterity, Intellect, Shiftiness, Vigor, Willpower. Each affects specific fantasy categories via a modifier. |
Stats shown as raw value (mod). Raw 10 or 11 is neutral. Mods are what actually impact your score.
Highly intelligent and clairvoyant avians with a propensity for magicks.
Avaricious and obsessive hoarders. Dragonkin extract every last coin from their dealings.
Strong, sturdy folk born of the mountains. They never forget a grudge.
Rabid, crafty, and dumb. They live in large clans and never fight fair.
Homely, kind, and curious, but they always find a way into trouble.
The common race of the Free Folk. No weaknesses, no standout strengths.
Proud, faithful, and quick to anger. Drags opponents into the maze.
Lumbering, smelly, and insanely strong. Not known for brains.
Terrifying, but dignified. They drink more than blood.
Agile and nature-loving denizens of the deep forest.
Your Path is your apprenticeship. Each gives a cheap 1-AP skill you can use right away and unlocks 4 potential classes at Level 1. Pick the Path whose classes you actually want.
Drawn to libraries, scriptwork, and pursuits of the mind.
Success by any means possible. Gold saved is gold earned, unless you need it now.
Guided by darkness. Sinister, brooding, and unafraid of the Dark Arts.
Scholars who turned practical. They fill the air with magic and sorcery.
The bond between body, mind, and soul. Hours of meditation and self-discipline.
Physical punishment and weapon skills pushed to the limit.
Classes unlock at Level 1 and gain new skills at Levels 1, 3, and 5. Click any class to expand its skill list. AP costs and passive/active flags are shown for each.
Brewer of potions. Failures are inevitable but skill improves with practice.
Chaotic rage replaces judgment. A split skull beats a good defense.
Wields music instead of steel. Six melodies, each giving +1 to a different stat.
Divine healer and smiter. Only class allowed to use IR slots.
Attuned to nature. Draws from the land and its creatures.
Studies every technique in the league. Turns opponents' own weapons against them.
Obsessed with flame. Sheds beauty for destruction.
Manipulates minds and perception. INT-heavy caster.
Dark magic bound to the dead. Feeds on the dropped and cut.
Holy warrior. Tough armor and divine retribution.
Outcast hunter. Sets traps and thrives in solitude.
Stalks the shadows for purses and necks alike.
Anti-Paladin. Heavy armor fused with dark magic.
Each of the six stats has a raw value (0 to 30) and a mod (-5 to +10). The mod is what actually impacts your score. Raw 10 or 11 is neutral.
+0.009 per receiving yard+0.150 per IDP assist tackle+0.110 per reception+1.750 per forced fumble+1.750 per fumble recovery+4.000 per defensive TD+0.008 per passing yard+1.500 per IDP interception+0.600 per pass defended+0.012 per rushing yard+1.500 per 2-point conversion (any type)+0.120 per IDP assist tackle+0.200 per tackle for loss and pass defended+0.120 per rushing first down+0.120 per receiving first down+0.100 per IDP solo tackle+0.600 per receiving TD and rushing TD+0.500 per passing TD+0.400 per IDP tackle for loss+0.600 per IDP sack0.1 x starters
to your final score, so a +5 Renown item is worth half a point per starter every week. Most higher-tier gear gives +5 or +10. Flat, predictable, no math.
Gold is the only currency in LotL. It's your waiver budget, your shopping money, and trade bait all in one. Every waiver pickup costs at least 1 gold, so it carries real weight even when you're not buying gear.
| Starting Gold | 10 gold per manager |
| Gold from Wins |
Formula: 3 + ((1+Y) d X) where Y is the level difference
and X is the margin of victory rounded down to the nearest 5 (capped at 10).
Ties award no gold.
|
| Gold from Quests | Variable. Some quests pay directly in gold, others in items that can be sold back. |
| Waivers | All pickups run through waivers at a $1 gold minimum bid. No free claims. |
| Equipment Slots | Head, Chest, Finger, Neck, Main Hand, Off Hand. You can own unequipped items but only one copy of each. |
| Equipping Deadline | Gear must be equipped BEFORE the first game of the week to count. |
| Sell-Back Rate | 25% of marked price (rounded down to nearest 5g). Buyer's remorse is expensive. |
| Trading | Gold, equipment (unless marked "No Trade"), and consumables can all be included in trades. Quest items cannot. |
XP comes from regular season wins. Max level is 5. Beating a higher-level opponent grants bonus XP, so the gap between you and the rest of the league closes faster than you'd expect once you start winning.
| Level | XP Required | What You Gain | Max AP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice (0) | 0 | Path skill (1 AP), +0 stat | 5 |
| Level 1 | 5 XP or 1 full season | Class unlock + path apprenticeship stat bonus + class Lvl 1 skill | 10 |
| Level 2 | 15 XP | +1 to any stat of your choice | 15 |
| Level 3 | 28 XP | New class skill | 20 |
| Level 4 | 45 XP | +1 to any stat of your choice | 25 |
| Level 5 | 70 XP | Final class skill. Max hero. | 30 |
1 + (their level - your level), so picking off a Lvl 4 when you're a Lvl 2 pays 3 XP. Losses give zero XP, but you do walk away with a Bone for a consolation quest item.
AP is what you spend to cast skills. You bank 1 per week during the regular season and lock in your spend before the first NFL game kicks off.
| Starting AP | 0 AP at character creation |
| Weekly Gain | 1 AP per week during regular season. Capped at your level's max. |
| One Skill per Week | Default rule. Bards and level 3+ Alchemists are exceptions. |
| Declaration Deadline | Before the first game of the week kicks off. After that, locked. |
| AP Cap Matters | Extra AP is wasted if you hit the cap. Spend to avoid waste. |
Quests are side-goals tied to your roster's counting stats. Your lineup generates quest items automatically as the yards, tackles, and TDs add up. Turn them in at the Town for rewards.
Certain counting stats track across the season, and every time your roster crosses a threshold you pick up a quest item. For example, every 80 passing yards earns you 1 Arrowhead.
Quest Givers post in the Town, items sit in your Hero Inventory, and completed quests log to your Hero Journal. Each quest can only be turned in once.
Every loss gives you a Bone, and one Bone trades in for 10 of any Tier 1 quest item. Alchemists also pick up Grave Moss for their recipes. It's a nice way to chip away at items you'd struggle to grind out otherwise.
Turn-ins lock at first kickoff each week, same as your skill choice. Item tracking only runs during the regular season. Quest items are bound to your hero and can't be traded.
All times in US Eastern (EDT during the NFL season). Most weeks come down to a Tuesday planning check-in and a Thursday morning reward sweep.
These are the LotL recommended scoring settings. Individual leagues will tweak from here, so check your specific settings before drafting.
| Category | Points |
|---|---|
| Passing TD | 4 |
| Passing Yards | 0.04 (1 per 25) |
| Passing INT | -2 |
| Fumble Lost | -2 |
| Rushing TD | 6 |
| Rushing Yards | 0.1 (1 per 10) |
| Rushing First Down | 0.5 |
| Receiving TD | 6 |
| Receiving Yards | 0.1 (1 per 10) |
| Receiving First Down | 0.5 |
| Reception | 0.5 (PPR) |
| TE Reception Premium | +0.5 |
| 2-Point Conversions (any) | 2 |
The questions that come up most when dynasty managers first hear about LotL.
Not at all. Races, Classes, AP, and Mods are flavor wrapped around basic arithmetic. If you've ever read a league's scoring settings, you'll be fine reading a hero sheet. Tabletop experience helps you recognize the words faster, but it doesn't make you better at the game.
Plan on 5 to 10 extra minutes on top of your normal lineup work. You'll log in, pick an ability, glance at quest progress, and occasionally shop the Armory. Most weeks the ability call takes about 30 seconds.
Hero mods usually swing 5 to 15 points per week on top of base scores in the 120 to 180 range. The NFL players you draft are still doing the heavy lifting. Heroes show up most in close matchups and across a full season's worth of small edges, not in week-to-week variance.
Same dynasty rules you already know, just applied to your hero too. XP, levels, gear, and gold all carry over. Commissioners can reset a hero if a team changes hands.
Race is the one that really sticks. Path and Class are more flexible than they look, and equipment plus level-up bonuses (+1 at Lvl 2 and Lvl 4) let you shift stats over time. There's no single correct build, and a sub-optimal one is still very playable.
Yes. LotL runs on its own platform. You can stand up a brand-new league on Sleeper, or convert an existing dynasty over with rosters and history intact. Plenty of leagues use LotL as their main home and still mirror to Sleeper if managers want the familiar lineup interface.
Heroes scale slowly. Hitting Lvl 5 takes multiple seasons, which means leagues tend to be welcoming to first-year managers. Drafting well still beats having a clever build, especially in year one. As the league matures, build knowledge becomes a bigger edge, but luck and roster moves still decide most weeks.
Check the LotL site for current pricing. The platform has both free and paid tiers, and individual commissioners usually set their own league fees on top. Some features may be tier-gated, so confirm what you'll have access to before signing up.
The reigning champ gets a King's Decree the following year. It lets them rewrite one regular-season matchup however they want. Use it to dodge a bad week, force a rival into a hard one, or save it for a playoff race. One per season.
Bones are the loss consolation item. You collect one every time you drop a matchup, and one Bone trades in for 10 of any Tier 1 quest item. They keep teams that are struggling in a category from falling completely behind on quest progress. Alchemists also pick up Grave Moss on losses for their recipe book.
Four steps to go from curious to rolling out Week 1 with a hero of your own.
Head to lordsoftheleague.com and sign up. Registration is free. Verify your email and set up your profile.
Join the Discord to find open leagues or ask more questions about league specifics/advice/etc. Lots of activity on the Discord.
Skim the Rules, Races, and Classes pages. This guide summarizes the basics. The official docs are the full reference.
Pick your Race and Path before Week 1. Your hero starts at Level 0 inside the Path until you hit 5 XP, then they level to 1 and that's when you choose your Class. Equip starting gear with your 10 gold or save up for something better.
This guide is the high-level pass. For the full, authoritative ruleset, go straight to the source.
lordsoftheleague.com - sign up, browse leagues, manage your hero.
The full, official LotL ruleset.
Official onboarding for new players.
Full descriptions of all 9 races.
Every class and path with full skill lists.
All purchasable gear, stats, effects, and costs.
Full mod table and per-stat scoring bonuses.
Track balance updates and new features as they ship.
Chat with other people in the league, ask questions, find leagues, etc.