5 Character Development

After playing for some time a player may want the character to grow in abilities. At this point a developing character can exceed the initial GM-set level limits. Character development, or "experience", is handled as described below.

5.1 Subjective Character Development

When the player feels the character has accomplished enough to warrant improving in some trait (and he feels he's been roleplaying well), he petitions the GM for permission to raise it. A trait can only be raised one level at a time. A trait must be used more to raise it from Good to Great than Fair to Good, and so on. It should be easier to raise a Skill than an attribute.

Or the GM can simply award an improvement in a trait she feels deserves to be raised. In these cases, there is never a corresponding reduction of another trait - this is character development, not creation.

5.2 Objective Character Development

In the Objective Character Development system, the GM can award experience points (XP), which the player can trade in any way he wants at the following rates:

Raising a skill from: To: Costs:

Terrible Poor 1 XP

Poor Mediocre 1 XP

Mediocre Fair 1 XP

Fair Good 2 XP

Good Great 4 XP

Great Superb 8 XP

Superb Legendary 16 XP + GM permission

Legendary Legendary 2nd 30 XP + GM permission

Each additional level of Legendary Legendary + 50 XP + GM permission

· Raising an attribute: Triple the cost for skills of the same level.
· Adding a gift: 4 XP (or more) + GM approval.
· Adding a supernormal power: 8 XP (or more) + GM approval.
· Buying a Meta Point: 6 XP

A trait can only be raised one level at a time.

The GM may require that the player only raise traits that were used significantly during an adventure, or that the character find a skilled teacher who knows the skill and will agree to train the character. If a long campaign is planned, these MP costs could be doubled to allow room for character growth. Defining skills narrowly will also ensure characters don't become too powerful too quickly.

As a guideline, good roleplaying should be rewarded with one or two XP per gaming session, great with three XP, with an upper suggested limit of four XP for flawless roleplaying. Players may save XP as long as they wish.

The bomb that fell on Hiroshima fell on America too. It fell on no city, no munition plants, no docks. It erased no church, vaporized no public buildings, reduced no man to his atomic elements. But it fell, it fell.
-- Hermann Hagedorn