Experience Points represent the currency that Players can use to improve their characters to progress their Levels and Metaphors. Experience (EXP, XP) is earned through play, as determined by the Game-Master and the guidelines written in this article. While most games should give and use Experience, the Game-Master may choose a different way of handling character progression, so keep this mind when joining games.
Using Experience
There are typically three ways to spend Experience to progress a character:
Leveling up, Creating/Improving a Metaphor, and Improving an Attribute.
Level Up
To Level a character up with Experience, observe the XP to Lv value on the character sheet, spending this many experience points increments the character's Level / Limit by 1 and may grant a number of Attributes along with them. The cost to level up again may increase depending on the character's EXP to Level Increment parameter.
Metaphor Management
If permitted, a player may create a Metaphor for a character at +1 for 1 experience point. To improve a Metaphor to it's next value, spend an amount of experience equal to the Metaphor's current value plus 1.
ex. A Metaphor at +3 costs 4 experience to improve it to +4.
Improve Attribute
Providing the character has at least one Attribute-UP opportunity (Points Remaining (Left)), the player can spend an amount of experience points next to the Attribute they wish to improve as indicate on the sheet. (Manual calculation is identical to improving Metaphors, only using the Attribute's current modifier).
Do note, you can't improve an Attribute modifier to be higher than the character's current level. So an Attribute at 3 when the character is Level 2, can't be improved at this time.
Experience Point Reward Guide
Typically, characters would get experience points based on these events and conditions. But remember the Game-Master decides what experience to give and by how much, only take this guide as the potential ways to obtain experience.
Experience Reward examples
• 1 XP for every hour played in a session, you may choose to round up to the next hour if necessary.
• 1 XP for each ‘story beat’ completed. Like a scene, an important conversation, entering a new area…etc
• 1 to 5 XP for combat encounters based on difficulty, Trivial fights should give 1, then 5 for epic and dangerous fights.
• Small amount of XP for outstanding roleplay and exploring additional content. Could also be used to incentivize taking risks.
• Moderate amount of experience for completing a chapter, quest, scenario…etc.