Debt - Revision history

AlienOvan: /* XP Boost */ Made XP boost amount consistent across articles

2026-01-23T13:15:33Z

XP Boost: Made XP boost amount consistent across articles

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:15, 23 January 2026
Line 54:		Line 54:
	The reverse principle of Debt is an '''XP Boost'''. Instead of requiring the player character to pay off a point of Debt before receiving a point of experience, XP Boosting causes the player character to gain an '''extra point of experience''' for every one gained, until the Boost is completely used up.		The reverse principle of Debt is an '''XP Boost'''. Instead of requiring the player character to pay off a point of Debt before receiving a point of experience, XP Boosting causes the player character to gain an '''extra point of experience''' for every one gained, until the Boost is completely used up.

	''"Yuvo, a Tiny-sized alien character, is deemed to have enough of a handicap due to their [[size]] that they start with an XP Boost of 20 points. For each experience point gained, Yuvo gains an additional point of XP and their Boost is lowered by one as well. When their XP Boost is all used up, they gain experience at the normal rate."''		''"Yuvo, a Tiny-sized alien character, is deemed to have enough of a handicap due to their [[size]] that they start with an XP Boost of 30 points. For each experience point gained, Yuvo gains an additional point of XP and their Boost is lowered by one as well. When their XP Boost is all used up, they gain experience at the normal rate."''

	For the purpose of recovering [[Meta Point]]s, a character does '''not''' regain MP for any XP created from the boost. So if a character gets 3 XP (6 after it gets boosted), they still only recover 3 MP even though they gained 6 XP.		For the purpose of recovering [[Meta Point]]s, a character does '''not''' regain MP for any XP created from the boost. So if a character gets 3 XP (6 after it gets boosted), they still only recover 3 MP even though they gained 6 XP.

AlienOvan: /* XP Boost Mechanic */ Simplified header for pipe-link purposes

2026-01-23T13:14:46Z

XP Boost Mechanic: Simplified header for pipe-link purposes

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:14, 23 January 2026
Line 51:		Line 51:
	Cost: Determine how severe the affliction is and assign a value of '''20 and above'''. Player rolls an appropriate check to reduce the Debt before it is applied may roll to reduce Debt further once at the beginning.		Cost: Determine how severe the affliction is and assign a value of '''20 and above'''. Player rolls an appropriate check to reduce the Debt before it is applied may roll to reduce Debt further once at the beginning.

	==XP Boost ~~Mechanic~~==		==XP Boost==
	The reverse principle of Debt is an '''XP Boost'''. Instead of requiring the player character to pay off a point of Debt before receiving a point of experience, XP Boosting causes the player character to gain an '''extra point of experience''' for every one gained, until the Boost is completely used up.		The reverse principle of Debt is an '''XP Boost'''. Instead of requiring the player character to pay off a point of Debt before receiving a point of experience, XP Boosting causes the player character to gain an '''extra point of experience''' for every one gained, until the Boost is completely used up.

AlienOvan: Made Debt an actual threat, finished rewrite.

2026-01-23T01:35:58Z

Made Debt an actual threat, finished rewrite.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:35, 22 January 2026
Line 3:		Line 3:

	==Handling Debt==		==Handling Debt==
	Whenever the character gains experience, 1 point of ~~that XP~~ must be paid to the Debt~~, and paid to the debt '''first'''~~. In order to prevent Debt from consuming all of a character's experience, the '''total amount''' gained in a '''session''' can be calculated instead of each time it is rewarded.		Whenever the character gains experience, '''all but 1''' point of experience must be paid to help clear the Debt. In order to prevent Debt from consuming all of a character's experience, the '''total amount''' gained in a '''session''' can be calculated instead of each time it is rewarded.

	<small>''"The super-powered alien of the group was given a 25 point XP Debt to account for their powerful abilities in comparison to everyone else in the game. At the end of the first session everyone gets 3 XP. The superpowered alien however had to pay 1 of those points to their Debt. So they keep 2 and have 24 Debt remaining. Once all debt is paid, they earn XP at the same rate as everyone else."''</small>		<small>''"The super-powered alien of the group was given a 25 point XP Debt to account for their powerful abilities in comparison to everyone else in the game. At the end of the first session everyone gets '''3 XP'''. The superpowered alien however had to pay '''2''' of those points to their Debt. So they '''keep 1 and have 23 Debt remaining'''. Once all debt is paid, they earn XP at the same rate as everyone else."''</small>

	~~The player can choose~~ to ~~pay~~ '''~~more~~''' ~~of their XP Debt in order to clear the debt faster. Points paid to the Debt do not~~ count towards gaining [[Level]] points needed to level up.		Points paid to the Debt '''do not''' count towards gaining [[Level]] points needed to level up.

	===Uses of Debt===		===Uses of Debt===
	As a Game-Master, you may want to impose XP Debt onto player-characters as either a '''~~balancing~~''' ~~approach~~, or as a '''penalty''' due to actions or events that took place.		As a Game-Master, you may want to impose XP Debt onto player-characters either to '''balance''' a powerful character, or as a '''penalty''' due to actions or events that took place.

	====As Balance====		====As Balance====
	~~You~~ may decide that, at a player's request, ~~you~~ allow them to play as, or use ~~Metaphors~~/powers that go beyond the baseline for player characters for a game~~. Things such as having magic or powers when characters shouldn't have them, allowing them to play as a Giant or Monster with abilities exceeding that of normal humanoids~~. When a Game-master allows ~~a player-character to be much stronger than normal~~, they can set an amount of XP debt ~~in exchange~~.		The Game-Master may decide that, at a player's request, allow them to play as a powerful [[race]] something powerful, or use [[Metaphor]]s/powers that go beyond the baseline for player characters for a game. When the Game-master allows this, they can set an amount of '''XP debt''' on their character at creation.

	A reason to do this is to allow the powerful character to retain the power they should, but give the others an edge when it comes to improving their characters at an ~~accelerate speed compared to the one who received their power early~~. It limits the strong character's progress so that the others may eventually catch up.		A reason to do this is to allow the powerful character to retain the power they should, but give the others an edge when it comes to improving their characters at an accelerated rate. It limits the strong character's progress so that the others may eventually catch up.

	''"You run a fantasy game, and one of the players says they want to play as a '''Rune Giant''' adventurer~~, this~~ Rune giant is likely to be about Size 8 and also have a bunch of rune-based powers based on their species. Despite the immense gap in power compared to ~~a regular humanoid,~~ you allow this, but state that this Rune Giant character of theirs has a Debt of 70 ~~due~~ to ~~their species~~. When their character has paid off their debt, they can start earning experience like a normal character."''		''"You run a fantasy game, and one of the players says they want to play as a '''Rune Giant''' adventurer. This Rune giant is likely to be about [[Size]] 8 (Gargantuan) and also have a bunch of rune-based powers based on their species. Despite the immense gap in power compared to the rest of their party you allow this, but state that this Rune Giant character of theirs has a '''Debt of 70''' to make up for all the advantages. When their character has paid off their debt, they can start earning experience like a normal character."''

	====As Penalty====		====As Penalty====
	Occasionally, a character might get into serious trouble, or even get cursed or killed. While the [[~~Status~~]] ~~magnitude~~ mechanic can definitely fill most gaps regarding injuries and ailments, one option is to have a character suffer XP debt instead. A character could suffer a traumatic injury that needs time to heal, physically and mentally, and this injury could affect their ability to gain experience rather than ~~outright debuff~~ their capabilities or powers.		Occasionally, a character might get into serious trouble, or even get cursed or killed. While the Status [[magnitude]] mechanic can definitely fill most gaps regarding injuries and ailments, one option is to have a character suffer '''XP debt''' instead. A character could suffer a traumatic injury that needs time to heal, physically and mentally, and this injury could affect their ability to gain experience rather than, or including, debuffing their capabilities or powers.

	''"A character was captured by horrific ghosts and spectres, while they were saved in time by allies, the trauma persisted. The Game-master asks the character to roll a Charisma check against a magnitude 20 Experience-Debt condition. The player character rolls a d12 and a md6 (for +2 Charisma) and got a 7 and a 2. With a total of 9, the GM rules that the character has 11 points of XP debt. When the character finally pays the debt, they come to terms with what happened and are able to move on."		''"A character was captured by horrific ghosts and spectres, while they were saved in time by allies, the trauma persisted. The Game-master asks the character to roll a Charisma check against a magnitude '''20 Experience-Debt condition'''. The player character rolls a d12 and a md6 (for +2 Charisma) and got a 7 and a 2. With a total of 9, the GM rules that the character has 11 points of XP debt. When the character finally pays the debt, they come to terms with what happened and are able to move on."

	==XP Debt Guidelines==		==XP Debt Guidelines==
	Here are some example values you can use to justify XP Debt.		Here are some example values you can use to justify XP Debt.

	'''Extra ~~Metaphor~~'''		'''Extra Metaphors'''
	"Player requests an extra Metaphor for their character beyond the ones they get for free at creation."		"Player requests an extra Metaphor for their character beyond the ones they get for free at creation."
	Cost: 5 Debt per Metaphor created at +1, add 10 Debt for value above +1 for that extra Metaphor (+2 costs 15, +3 costs 25...etc).		Cost: '''5 Debt''' per Metaphor created at +1, '''add 10''' Debt for value above +1 for that extra Metaphor (+2 costs 15, +3 costs 25...etc).

	'''Extra Trait'''		'''Extra Trait'''
	"Player requests a functional trait that enhances/modifies their character."		"Player requests a functional trait that enhances/modifies their character."
	Cost: Determine how effective this trait is and assign debt value between 1 and 50.		Cost: Determine how effective this trait is and assign debt value between '''1 and 50'''.

	'''Increased Size'''		'''Increased Size'''
	"Player requests to enlarge their character to a size bigger than their species allows."		"Player requests to enlarge their character to a size bigger than their species allows"
	Cost: 25 Debt for each Size rating bigger than 1. Lower to 10 Debt if the character's species is Size 2 or bigger normally.		Cost: '''25 Debt''' for each Size rating bigger than 1. Lower to '''10 Debt''' if the character's species is Size 2 or bigger normally.

	'''Raise Base HP'''		'''Raise Base HP'''
	"Player wants to have higher base HP (HP die)~~, such as going from a base-6 to a base-8 (starting HP 8 + 4 per Body/Lv)~~"		"Player wants to have higher base HP or HPLV (HP die)."
	Cost: ~~10 Debt for each increase to base HP, up to the GM~~'~~s limit.~~		Cost: '''10 Debt''' to double base HP, and '''10 Debt''' for each +1 to their base HPLV.

	''~~'Gain Superior Qualities in Attributes~~'''
	~~"Player wants~~ to ~~improve certain attributes to gain <abbr title="Can always roll Attribute dice on checks">'''Auto-die'''</abbr>~~ and~~/or <abbr title="Add level to all checks of this type">~~'''~~Level-Boost~~'''~~</abbr> qualities and their respective +1s."~~
	~~Cost: 15 Debt~~ for each ~~quality added~~ to ~~an attribute (30 for both on one attribute)~~.

	'''Revival/Survival'''		'''Revival/Survival'''
	"Player's character has 'died' but they still want them to still live"		"Player's character has 'died' and is unable to convert the tragedy with [[Meta Power]]s, but they still want them to still live"
	Cost: 10 Debt to retcon character's death into something less deadly. Increase cost by 10 each time this occurs.		Cost: '''10 Debt''' to retcon character's death into something less deadly. Increase cost by 10 each time this occurs.

	'''Drained'''		'''Drained'''
	"Player character suffered significant loss to their powers and/or ability, like being drained or enervated."		"Player character suffered significant loss to their powers and/or ability, like being drained or enervated."
	Cost: Determine how severe the affliction is and assign a value ~~between 15~~ and 30. Player may roll to reduce Debt further once at the beginning.		Cost: Determine how severe the affliction is and assign a value of '''20 and above'''. Player rolls an appropriate check to reduce the Debt before it is applied may roll to reduce Debt further once at the beginning.

	==XP Boost Mechanic==		==XP Boost Mechanic==
	The reverse principle of Debt is an '''XP Boost'''. Instead of requiring the player character to pay off a point of Debt before receiving a point of experience, XP Boosting causes the player character to gain an extra point of experience for every one gained, until the Boost is completely used up.		The reverse principle of Debt is an '''XP Boost'''. Instead of requiring the player character to pay off a point of Debt before receiving a point of experience, XP Boosting causes the player character to gain an '''extra point of experience''' for every one gained, until the Boost is completely used up.

	''"Yuvo, ~~who is~~ a Tiny-sized alien character, is deemed to have enough of a handicap due to their [[size]] that they start with an XP Boost of 20 points. For each experience point gained, Yuvo gains an additional point of XP and their Boost is lowered by one as well. When their XP Boost is all used up, they gain experience at the normal rate."''		''"Yuvo, a Tiny-sized alien character, is deemed to have enough of a handicap due to their [[size]] that they start with an XP Boost of 20 points. For each experience point gained, Yuvo gains an additional point of XP and their Boost is lowered by one as well. When their XP Boost is all used up, they gain experience at the normal rate."''

	~~The standard rules for regaining~~ [[Meta Point]]s ~~via XP Boost is that you~~ '''do not''' regain MP from the ~~extra points generated by the~~ XP ~~Boost effect. Your Game-Master may rule otherwise~~.		For the purpose of recovering [[Meta Point]]s, a character does '''not''' regain MP for any XP created from the boost. So if a character gets 3 XP (6 after it gets boosted), they still only recover 3 MP even though they gained 6 XP.
	</center>		</center>

	[[Category:Mechanics]]		[[Category:Mechanics]]

AlienOvan: Incomplete rewrite, removed old formatting

2026-01-16T04:06:04Z

Incomplete rewrite, removed old formatting

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:06, 15 January 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{\|		<center>
	~~\| style="padding:1em; vertical-align:top; align:center;" \|~~		'''Experience Debt''', or XP Debt. Is a mechanic that '''slows''' a character's ability to gain [[Experience]] points. Characters can receive debt in a number of ways including balancing for powerful characters, or as penalties inflicted by in-game events and effects.
	~~__TOC__~~
	\|
	<~~div style="max-width:75em; align:~~center~~; margin:auto;"~~>
	'''Experience Debt''', or XP Debt. Is a mechanic that slows a character's ability to gain [[~~experience~~]] points ~~for creating and improving [[Metaphor]]s or obtaining Attribute Training Points (ATP)~~. Characters can receive debt in a number of ways including balancing for powerful characters, ~~as well~~ as penalties ~~due to~~ in-game events.

	==Debt ~~Mechanic~~==		==Handling Debt==
	~~XP Debt is a value~~ the ~~player-~~character must ~~track before adding any experience points~~ to ~~their sheet. They can sacrifice any amount of gained experience in any amount~~ to ~~clear~~ the debt ~~faster~~. ~~Each instance~~ of ~~debt should be noted and tracked~~, ~~so if~~ a ~~character has 10 points~~ of ~~Debt, remember 10~~.		Whenever the character gains experience, 1 point of that XP must be paid to the Debt, and paid to the debt '''first'''. In order to prevent Debt from consuming all of a character's experience, the '''total amount''' gained in a '''session''' can be calculated instead of each time it is rewarded.

	~~Whenever~~ a ~~character gains experience, the first~~ point ~~of experience must be paid towards~~ the ~~debt~~. ~~For each point paid,~~ the ~~debt is reduced by one~~. ~~For each point~~ of ~~debt paid out of a sum of experience, one point can be kept by the player-character as experience~~. Once ~~the~~ debt is paid ~~in full~~, the ~~character can gain experience normally. If a character only gains a single point of experience, it automatically goes to paying off the XP debt first~~.		<small>''"The super-powered alien of the group was given a 25 point XP Debt to account for their powerful abilities in comparison to everyone else in the game. At the end of the first session everyone gets 3 XP. The superpowered alien however had to pay 1 of those points to their Debt. So they keep 2 and have 24 Debt remaining. Once all debt is paid, they earn XP at the same rate as everyone else."''</small>

	''"Zanku, a playable wish-granting Djinni, has 100 points of experience debt (due to being a powerful extraplanar with Wish-granting abilities). When they gain 3 XP from some event, they had to pay off 2 points of debt before banking the remaining 1. Later they gained 4 XP, and paid off 2 points of debt to keep 2 XP for themselves. The one time they got a single point of experience, it was spent automatically to pay off the debt. After enough play to pay off all 100 points of debt, Zanku was free to gain experience points normally for all other rewards!"''		The player can choose to pay '''more''' of their XP Debt in order to clear the debt faster. Points paid to the Debt do not count towards gaining [[Level]] points needed to level up.

	The player can choose to pay more of their XP Debt ~~(in lieu of gaining experience)~~ in order to clear the debt faster. Points paid to the Debt do not count towards ~~regaining Meta-Points as~~ gaining ~~experience does~~.

	===Uses of Debt===		===Uses of Debt===
Line 67:		Line 61:

	The standard rules for regaining [[Meta Point]]s via XP Boost is that you '''do not''' regain MP from the extra points generated by the XP Boost effect. Your Game-Master may rule otherwise.		The standard rules for regaining [[Meta Point]]s via XP Boost is that you '''do not''' regain MP from the extra points generated by the XP Boost effect. Your Game-Master may rule otherwise.
	</~~div~~>		</center>
	\|}
			[[Category:Mechanics]]

AlienOvan: /* Debt Mechanic */

2025-05-16T17:49:33Z

Debt Mechanic

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:49, 16 May 2025
Line 12:		Line 12:

	''"Zanku, a playable wish-granting Djinni, has 100 points of experience debt (due to being a powerful extraplanar with Wish-granting abilities). When they gain 3 XP from some event, they had to pay off 2 points of debt before banking the remaining 1. Later they gained 4 XP, and paid off 2 points of debt to keep 2 XP for themselves. The one time they got a single point of experience, it was spent automatically to pay off the debt. After enough play to pay off all 100 points of debt, Zanku was free to gain experience points normally for all other rewards!"''		''"Zanku, a playable wish-granting Djinni, has 100 points of experience debt (due to being a powerful extraplanar with Wish-granting abilities). When they gain 3 XP from some event, they had to pay off 2 points of debt before banking the remaining 1. Later they gained 4 XP, and paid off 2 points of debt to keep 2 XP for themselves. The one time they got a single point of experience, it was spent automatically to pay off the debt. After enough play to pay off all 100 points of debt, Zanku was free to gain experience points normally for all other rewards!"''

			The player can choose to pay more of their XP Debt (in lieu of gaining experience) in order to clear the debt faster. Points paid to the Debt do not count towards regaining Meta-Points as gaining experience does.

	===Uses of Debt===		===Uses of Debt===

AlienOvan at 17:43, 16 May 2025

2025-05-16T17:43:04Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:43, 16 May 2025
Line 9:		Line 9:
	XP Debt is a value the player-character must track before adding any experience points to their sheet. They can sacrifice any amount of gained experience in any amount to clear the debt faster. Each instance of debt should be noted and tracked, so if a character has 10 points of Debt, remember 10.		XP Debt is a value the player-character must track before adding any experience points to their sheet. They can sacrifice any amount of gained experience in any amount to clear the debt faster. Each instance of debt should be noted and tracked, so if a character has 10 points of Debt, remember 10.

	Whenever a character gains experience, ~~they~~ must ~~first choose how much~~ debt ~~they want to pay off~~. ~~Only~~ by ~~having~~ paid ~~at least 1~~ point can ~~they choose to bank an equal amount for normal uses of~~ experience. Once the debt is paid in full, the character can gain experience normally. If a character only gains a single point of experience, it automatically goes to paying off the XP debt first.		Whenever a character gains experience, the first point of experience must be paid towards the debt. For each point paid, the debt is reduced by one. For each point of debt paid out of a sum of experience, one point can be kept by the player-character as experience. Once the debt is paid in full, the character can gain experience normally. If a character only gains a single point of experience, it automatically goes to paying off the XP debt first.

	''"Zanku, a playable wish-granting Djinni, has 100 points of experience debt (due to being a powerful extraplanar with Wish-granting abilities). When they gain 3 XP from some event, they had to pay off 2 points of debt before banking the remaining 1. Later they gained 4 XP, and paid off 2 points of debt to keep 2 XP for themselves. The one time they got a single point of experience, it was spent automatically to pay off the debt. After enough play to pay off all 100 points of debt, Zanku was free to gain experience points normally for all other rewards!"''		''"Zanku, a playable wish-granting Djinni, has 100 points of experience debt (due to being a powerful extraplanar with Wish-granting abilities). When they gain 3 XP from some event, they had to pay off 2 points of debt before banking the remaining 1. Later they gained 4 XP, and paid off 2 points of debt to keep 2 XP for themselves. The one time they got a single point of experience, it was spent automatically to pay off the debt. After enough play to pay off all 100 points of debt, Zanku was free to gain experience points normally for all other rewards!"''

AlienOvan: XP boost mechanic

2025-05-16T12:22:32Z

XP boost mechanic

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:22, 16 May 2025
Line 50:		Line 50:
	"Player wants to improve certain attributes to gain <abbr title="Can always roll Attribute dice on checks">'''Auto-die'''</abbr> and/or <abbr title="Add level to all checks of this type">'''Level-Boost'''</abbr> qualities and their respective +1s."		"Player wants to improve certain attributes to gain <abbr title="Can always roll Attribute dice on checks">'''Auto-die'''</abbr> and/or <abbr title="Add level to all checks of this type">'''Level-Boost'''</abbr> qualities and their respective +1s."
	Cost: 15 Debt for each quality added to an attribute (30 for both on one attribute).		Cost: 15 Debt for each quality added to an attribute (30 for both on one attribute).

	'''Revival/Survival'''		'''Revival/Survival'''
	"Player's character has 'died' but they still want them to still live"		"Player's character has 'died' but they still want them to still live"
Line 58:		Line 58:
	"Player character suffered significant loss to their powers and/or ability, like being drained or enervated."		"Player character suffered significant loss to their powers and/or ability, like being drained or enervated."
	Cost: Determine how severe the affliction is and assign a value between 15 and 30. Player may roll to reduce Debt further once at the beginning.		Cost: Determine how severe the affliction is and assign a value between 15 and 30. Player may roll to reduce Debt further once at the beginning.

			==XP Boost Mechanic==
			The reverse principle of Debt is an '''XP Boost'''. Instead of requiring the player character to pay off a point of Debt before receiving a point of experience, XP Boosting causes the player character to gain an extra point of experience for every one gained, until the Boost is completely used up.

			''"Yuvo, who is a Tiny-sized alien character, is deemed to have enough of a handicap due to their [[size]] that they start with an XP Boost of 20 points. For each experience point gained, Yuvo gains an additional point of XP and their Boost is lowered by one as well. When their XP Boost is all used up, they gain experience at the normal rate."''

			The standard rules for regaining [[Meta Point]]s via XP Boost is that you '''do not''' regain MP from the extra points generated by the XP Boost effect. Your Game-Master may rule otherwise.
	</div>		</div>
	\|}		\|}

AlienOvan: Initial draft

2025-05-14T13:46:15Z

Initial draft

New page

{|
| style="padding:1em; vertical-align:top; align:center;" |
__TOC__
|
<div style="max-width:75em; align:center; margin:auto;">
'''Experience Debt''', or XP Debt. Is a mechanic that slows a character's ability to gain [[experience]] points for creating and improving [[Metaphor]]s or obtaining Attribute Training Points (ATP). Characters can receive debt in a number of ways including balancing for powerful characters, as well as penalties due to in-game events.

==Debt Mechanic==
XP Debt is a value the player-character must track before adding any experience points to their sheet. They can sacrifice any amount of gained experience in any amount to clear the debt faster. Each instance of debt should be noted and tracked, so if a character has 10 points of Debt, remember 10.

Whenever a character gains experience, they must first choose how much debt they want to pay off. Only by having paid at least 1 point can they choose to bank an equal amount for normal uses of experience. Once the debt is paid in full, the character can gain experience normally. If a character only gains a single point of experience, it automatically goes to paying off the XP debt first.

''"Zanku, a playable wish-granting Djinni, has 100 points of experience debt (due to being a powerful extraplanar with Wish-granting abilities). When they gain 3 XP from some event, they had to pay off 2 points of debt before banking the remaining 1. Later they gained 4 XP, and paid off 2 points of debt to keep 2 XP for themselves. The one time they got a single point of experience, it was spent automatically to pay off the debt. After enough play to pay off all 100 points of debt, Zanku was free to gain experience points normally for all other rewards!"''

===Uses of Debt===
As a Game-Master, you may want to impose XP Debt onto player-characters as either a '''balancing''' approach, or as a '''penalty''' due to actions or events that took place.

====As Balance====
You may decide that, at a player's request, you allow them to play as, or use Metaphors/powers that go beyond the baseline for player characters for a game. Things such as having magic or powers when characters shouldn't have them, allowing them to play as a Giant or Monster with abilities exceeding that of normal humanoids. When a Game-master allows a player-character to be much stronger than normal, they can set an amount of XP debt in exchange.

A reason to do this is to allow the powerful character to retain the power they should, but give the others an edge when it comes to improving their characters at an accelerate speed compared to the one who received their power early. It limits the strong character's progress so that the others may eventually catch up.

''"You run a fantasy game, and one of the players says they want to play as a '''Rune Giant''' adventurer, this Rune giant is likely to be about Size 8 and also have a bunch of rune-based powers based on their species. Despite the immense gap in power compared to a regular humanoid, you allow this, but state that this Rune Giant character of theirs has a Debt of 70 due to their species. When their character has paid off their debt, they can start earning experience like a normal character."''

====As Penalty====
Occasionally, a character might get into serious trouble, or even get cursed or killed. While the [[Status]] magnitude mechanic can definitely fill most gaps regarding injuries and ailments, one option is to have a character suffer XP debt instead. A character could suffer a traumatic injury that needs time to heal, physically and mentally, and this injury could affect their ability to gain experience rather than outright debuff their capabilities or powers.

''"A character was captured by horrific ghosts and spectres, while they were saved in time by allies, the trauma persisted. The Game-master asks the character to roll a Charisma check against a magnitude 20 Experience-Debt condition. The player character rolls a d12 and a md6 (for +2 Charisma) and got a 7 and a 2. With a total of 9, the GM rules that the character has 11 points of XP debt. When the character finally pays the debt, they come to terms with what happened and are able to move on."

==XP Debt Guidelines==
Here are some example values you can use to justify XP Debt.

'''Extra Metaphor'''
"Player requests an extra Metaphor for their character beyond the ones they get for free at creation."
Cost: 5 Debt per Metaphor created at +1, add 10 Debt for value above +1 for that extra Metaphor (+2 costs 15, +3 costs 25...etc).

'''Extra Trait'''
"Player requests a functional trait that enhances/modifies their character."
Cost: Determine how effective this trait is and assign debt value between 1 and 50.

'''Increased Size'''
"Player requests to enlarge their character to a size bigger than their species allows."
Cost: 25 Debt for each Size rating bigger than 1. Lower to 10 Debt if the character's species is Size 2 or bigger normally.

'''Raise Base HP'''
"Player wants to have higher base HP (HP die), such as going from a base-6 to a base-8 (starting HP 8 + 4 per Body/Lv)"
Cost: 10 Debt for each increase to base HP, up to the GM's limit.

'''Gain Superior Qualities in Attributes'''
"Player wants to improve certain attributes to gain <abbr title="Can always roll Attribute dice on checks">'''Auto-die'''</abbr> and/or <abbr title="Add level to all checks of this type">'''Level-Boost'''</abbr> qualities and their respective +1s."
Cost: 15 Debt for each quality added to an attribute (30 for both on one attribute).

'''Revival/Survival'''
"Player's character has 'died' but they still want them to still live"
Cost: 10 Debt to retcon character's death into something less deadly. Increase cost by 10 each time this occurs.

'''Drained'''
"Player character suffered significant loss to their powers and/or ability, like being drained or enervated."
Cost: Determine how severe the affliction is and assign a value between 15 and 30. Player may roll to reduce Debt further once at the beginning.
</div>
|}