As characters adventure around the realms they become more and more well-known as news of incredible feats done by great heroes travels fast and fame soon follows. Foul deeds done by the not-so-good also garners lots of attention and word spreads quickly to watch for the newest threat to the good people of the land.
Renown is gained exactly the same as Encounter Levels, however it is cumulative and does not reset as Encounter Levels do. GM’s may choose to assign titles to characters who achieve high levels of Renown, such as Lord, Master Thief, Grand Wizard, Priest, etc.
By Pilsnerquest from the ENWorld Microlite20 thread.