How should I progress mythic levels?

[WarKitty]

So the plot of my game involves the PC's ultimately slaying a god and becoming gods themselves. To mimic the rise into demigods I added mythic levels. Currently they have 1 mythic level and 10 regular levels. What I'm not sure about is how to keep progressing these mythic levels. Do I just hand them out, do I make them tie in with regular progression, or what?

[Echch]

I don't really play PF, but as far as I'm aware Mythic levels come with plot achievements.
So yeah, I believe the right way is handing them out as soon as someone does something fun.

[elonin]

Again the blind leading the blind here, so take this with a gain of salt. My understanding is that the mythic levels are just tacked onto standard levels with the mythic added. And that the challenge is just increased. My impression is this makes for overpowered play, especially if my understanding is accurate.

[WarKitty]

Again the blind leading the blind here, so take this with a gain of salt. My understanding is that the mythic levels are just tacked onto standard levels with the mythic added. And that the challenge is just increased. My impression is this makes for overpowered play, especially if my understanding is accurate.

That's pretty much the idea, yes. The thing is that, unlike regular levels, there's no standard way you progress in mythic levels. There's no "get 5000 mythic xp and you progress to mythic level 2" or anything. So it's up to me as the DM to decide how that progress works.

[Powerdork]

Mythic Adventures, the book, has this to say.

Mythic tiers are similar to levels in a class or prestige class in that the powers gained at each tier are added to all those that came before, but tiers are gained in a different manner from levels. A character gains a new mythic tier by completing a number of trials that occur during play. A trial is a difficult task that adds to the legend and story of your character. Achieving a new mythic tier occurs independently of experience point progression (though you will also gain experience points for the various encounters you complete as you progress through your trials).
Trials are moments in the story when you must rise above the deeds of lesser heroes. These moments become critical junctures in your legend. The GM decides what qualifies as a trial, and it’s up to you to complete it as you would other adventures. You might not even know you are attempting a trial until it is completed and the GM informs you to note it on your mythic character sheet (see page 248), though you’ll likely get an inkling when you find yourself facing a particularly challenging foe or attempting something that most would find impossible.
The number of trials required to attain each new tier appears on Table 1–2: Mythic Trials per Tier [1 for 2nd tier, two each for 3rd and 4th tiers, three each for 5th and 6th tiers, four each for 7th and 8th tiers, five each for 9th and 10th tiers]. For example, suppose a 5th-level fighter discovers her mythic heritage and becomes a 1st-tier champion. Over a number of sessions, she earns enough experience points to gain her 6th level of fighter. During this time, she doesn’t complete a trial, so she doesn’t advance to the next tier of the champion path. During the next session, however, she engages in a climactic battle against a mythic troll that has plagued the town for years; by defeating the troll, she completes her trial, allowing her to become a 2nd-tier champion. To reach 3rd tier, she will need to accomplish two more trials. A mythic character can’t gain more than 10 tiers.
Note that the number of trials needed to achieve the next tier might vary from the number listed on Table 1–2. The GM can reduce or increase this number as needed to suit the campaign—refer to the Mythic Trials section in Chapter 4 for more guidance (see page 129).