Version 2.0 (Updated 06/22/2026)
Advancement Classes
Characters progress through a series of Advancement Classes representing their growing experience and capability.
| Advancement Class | Levels |
| Novice | +1 to +5 |
| Experienced | +1 to +5 |
| Accomplished | +1 to +5 |
| Veteran | +1 to +5 |
| Hero | +1 to +5 |
| Elite | +1 to +5 |
| Legend | Final Rank |
Level Advancement occurs when a character advances within an Advancement Class. For example, advancing from Novice +2 to Novice +3. When a character gains a Level Advancement, select any two of the following options. Each option may only be selected once per advancement.
- Increase three Skills by 1 Rank each.
- Spend 3 pips or 1D on Attributes
- Learn your allotment of new Powers.
- Gain an Additional 1-point Talent Trait
Increase Skills: Advancements may be used to learn new Skills or improve existing ones. When gaining Skill Rank increases, the character may distribute those Ranks among multiple Skills or apply them all to a single Skill. Skill increases may be applied to Existing Skills or New Skills the character has not previously possessed
A Skill Rank cannot be raised above the Die Code of its associated Attribute. Ex. Ranged Weapons is under a 3D Agility, and cannot be raised above 3 Ranks until the Attribute Die Code is raised.
Specializations: Specializations improve a character’s expertise in a specific area or more Focused area of a Skill, like Range Weapons (Blasters) or Melee Weapons (Sword). Specializations are improved at the following rate: 1 Skill Rank Increase = 3 Specialization Ranks
These Specialization Ranks may be assigned to one or more existing or new Specializations. If the advancement grants a Class Skill increase, any Specialization Ranks gained from that increase must also be applied to Specializations governed by the character’s Class Attribute.
A character does not need the governing skill to get a specialization in it. However, if he does have one, getting a specialization in it acts as a bonus to the base skill when taking actions of that type, but it does not also improve all uses of the base skill. Specialization improves when the base skill improves.
A character may improve a skill or any of its specializations but not both. In other words, a character may improve as many specializations as he desires at the same time, though he cannot improve them at the same time as he’s improving the governing skill. Skills and specializations may only be improved by one pip each in between each adventure.
All Skills have a Maximum Rank of 10.
Improving Attributes: With each Advancement, characters may choose to gain 2 Attributes 1 pip or a single Attribute 2 pips. If the Attribute’s pips are raised to 3 pips, this converts to 1D and 0 pips.
Additional Powers: ??
Gaining Traits: As players take their characters through adventures and develop them, they may decide that the Traits the characters started with don’t fit the current concept. To be flexible, there are ways you can accommodate your players’ desire to grow their characters. The easiest way to do this is through development of the character and the story of the campaign. For example, an enemy might eventually be killed, a character might be able to negotiate a way out of Debt, or an Advantage Flaw might be repaired. Getting rid of and gaining Traits should only happen after the character has been used during several adventures and has had a chance to come up with reasons for character alteration.
These game mechanics for gaining Traits apply only to individuals who seek to have them. Because of an adventure or series of adventures, the members of a group may each acquire the same new Traits. In this case, each hero does not pay the cost or receive any Character Point benefits outlined here. The new Advantage can be considered a reward for participating in the team and the scenario, while the new Disadvantage would be a penalty.
As an Advancement, a character can gain a 1-point Talent. Character Points can be used here to increase this to up to a 5-point Talent (GM’s approval), 1 Character point per Talent Point. Optionally, the character can choose an equivalent Drawback to balance things out.
Some Talents should not be considered for this option, however, because they are more applicable to Character Generation than Advancement. It’s up to the GM to limit this. The player must come up with a well-crafted story for getting the new Traits that’s backed by actual experiences in one or more adventures. The story, and its related Trait, must be approved by the GM.
Generally, a player may not remove a Trait from a character, but it might be lost in the course of roleplaying due to player negligence (that is, continuously bad roleplaying or ignoring Trait) or some tragic game-world mishap (such as a Patron’s city being destroyed). If the loss occurred through no fault of the character, the GM may give the player a consolation gift of three Character Points per Point in the Trait, or may substitute an equally valuable Trait.
Removing Drawbacks: There are two methods for permanently overcoming a Disadvantage:
- The player pays 5 times the Point value of the Disadvantage Trait, in Character Points.
- The player loses an equal number of Advantages and pays a number of Character Points equal to the Point Value of the Disadvantage.
As with Advantages, the player must have a good tale and adequate adventuring experience before the gamemaster should approve the loss of any Disadvantage.
Other Advancements & Increases
Improving Strength Damage: As a character’s Strength: Athletics (Lifting) goes up or is altered by Traits, refigure the Strength Damage die code: take the character’s new Strength: Athletics (Lifting) (including any modifiers from Traits) and drop the pips. Divide by 2, and round up. This is the Strength Damage die code.
Improving Toughness: Like the other Derived Attributes, Strength has to increase to change Toughness. When the character increases Strength, Toughness can be recalculated.