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Chapter 16: Advancement
Initial Advancement Points
Once created, most characters do not begin
with 0 Advancement Points (AP), because most
characters begin with an occupational level greater
than 1. For example, the average beginning age of a
human character is 20, and human characters begin
their occupations at age 10, so they have accumulated
AP for 10 years.
If a character begins with years of experience
in their occupation, then the Aedile must determine
their occupational level. As a general rule,
the occupational level of a character is the square
root of the number of years of experience in the
occupation. Therefore, a character with 18 years of
experience is most likely to have achieved the 4 th
occupational level.
Rate of Advancement
While the appropriate rate of advancement
may differ somewhat among gaming groups, a few
guidelines are recommended. First, assuming that
each gaming session is at least 6 hours in duration, a
character should not be allowed to advance at a rate
faster than 1 occupational level per game session.
If they have earned more than enough AP to advance
2 levels, for instance, then their AP should be
truncated just below this 2 nd level. Usually, even this
rate is far too fast, as most adventures organized
around a plot take multiple gaming sessions to accomplish.
What, then, is not too fast a rate of advancement
Generally, a level should at least require 1-2
adventures, therefore several gaming sessions, before
advancement occurs.
Conversely, if the rate of advancement is
too slow, then the gaming sessions probably lack
enough adventuring tasks to be exciting, though this
is not always the case. It is probably worse to err in
the direction of slow rather than fast advancement,
and this is a dynamic that each Aedile will have to
tailor to the gaming group and their style.
Advancing a Level
Upon advancing an occupational level, many
aspects of a character may need to be updated. As
characters advance in occupational level, they usually
improve in skills related to their occupation. Because
each character is unique, a player should review
the entire character if time permits.
Otherwise, the most important elements of
increasing a character level are as follows:
• Training (see the occupation)
• SP
• MP
• Spell Level
Advancement and Skills
As explained in Chapter 8: Skills, when a character
advances in occupational level, the character
acquires 1d10 Skill Points (SP) to be applied to their
occupational skills, if applicable. For example, a
gladiator gains 1d10 SP, the player rolls a 6, and
chooses to invest 3 SP in Weapon (Specific) and 3
SP in Disarm. The Aedile may role-play the acquisition
of new, or enhancement of old, skills. If occupational
skills do not exist, such as for a laborer,
then the character who advances does not receive
1d10 SP.
SP gained from age, however, may be invested
in any skill desired by the player. However,
the Aedile should encourage the player to invest SP
in skills that were used in the previous year, not in
skills the player hopes to develop in the future. SP
reflect practice and training.
For example, if a merchant’s caravan is attacked
by bandits, and he survives, returning to town
after a year of adventures, then the merchant should
invest SP in fighting and adventuring skills, not Haggling.
After a player invests SP in skills that were
used, then it is reasonable to invest the remainder in
desired skills. The chosen skills should be approved
by the Aedile, who must consider the appropriateness
of the skill in terms of its availability and practice.
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