Mistworld

Character progression.

Characters start the game with 2d3 points of will. They also get (6-[starting will]) points to put into CON or POW at their choice.

Will can be spent to alter fate or to change reality.  Altering fate generally means changing dice roll outcomes.  The most common change in reality is to allow a character to learn from experience or from training.  All character progression comes from expending will.

Characters gain will from the progress of time in mortality or by overcoming challenges.  in game terms, characters gain will by surviving play sessions or adventures.  Depending how a group wants a campaign to go, characters will generally gain between two and six points of will per play session with bonuses for good play and penalties for bad play (both as your GM chooses to define it, with negative points possible).  Characters can lose will by adventuring.

After a session of play, players can apply will to improve skills used successfully or to train skills if training is available.  Usually a skill improves by 2d3% per point of will invested.

If the skill was not a starting skill, the skill improves by 6% points until it hits the level of base skill + bonus.

For example, Osterfall, an otter-kin decided to start without the swim skill.  Otter-kin have a base of 40 in swim and with his bonuses, his starting skill would have been 65.  He starts at 0, but he gains 6% points for each point of will until the skill is equal to or exceeds 65 (in his case, until 66, which is 11*6).  After that, his skill in swim will rise by 2d3% per point.

Usually a character can only put one point of will into a skill at a time.  However, for skills below base+bonus, a character can invest 2 points per session.  E.g. Osterfall could invest 2 points in swim per session until swim reached 65.

Characteristics can be raised the same as per BRP/RQ1, except each point raised requires a point of will as well as the other requirements (all changes require will).  The same is true for learning common magic ("spirit magic") spells.  Each point of spells learned requires spending a point of will.  (so, bladesharp 4 requires 4 points of will, a POW gain roll that results in a gain of 3 points would take 3 points of will).

Mysteries.

Points in a mystery require a point of POW and a point of will (e.g. they take two points of will, but they are limited by POW gain).

There is a separate runeskill, "Initiate" -- tied to the infinity rune.  Every 5% in Initiate raises max POW by 1 point and raises the chance to gain POW by the %tage.  The advantage is cumulative, so to speak (e.g. Osterfall with 3d6 POW would have a normal maximum POW of 21.  With 16% in Initiate his max POW would be 24 and any POW gain would be calculated against a base of 24, not 21, plus he would gain 16% on his chances to gain POW in addition to the benefit of having a base of 24).

Both Mistworld and Shattered Norns embrace the concepts of mysteries, mastery and transcendence.

I thought I would provide some examples of two brotherhoods.

Brothers of the Sword

Requires a five fold mastery (the base for all brotherhoods) to enter into the path, though membership is usually started before then (common membership vs. initiate membership).  Must have a sword skill and a sword or dagger parry at 95%, Dodge at 95%, Just 17+, Reliable 17+.  Bonuses for high DEX, CON and POW.

• Sword skills may rise above 100%
• Rune skill:  Defense (the RQ1 skill removed in later versions).  Every 2d3% gain in Defense takes a point of POW and a point of Will.
• Enhanced damage with sword (for every point in ED add 1 point to damage, maximum amount of damage = POW).
• Enhanced armor with sword parry (e.g. a sword that removed 6 points with a sword parry, with EA of 6 would block 12 points of damage).
• Initiate skill (allows POW to rise).
• Increased hit points (one point per point in skill).
• Increased Dexterity runeskill (Dex may be improved 1 point per 5% in skill).
• Common magic:  bladesharp, shimmer, repair, padding, protection.

Axe Wielders

Requires a five fold mastery (the base for all brotherhoods) to enter into the path, though membership is usually started before then (common membership vs. initiate membership).  Must have an axe skill and an axe or shield parry at 95%, Cruel 17+, Proud 17+.  Bonuses for thrown axe, high STR, CON or SIZ, and Grapple

• Axe, Grapple and shield skills may rise above 100%
• Rune skill:  Defense (the RQ1 skill removed in later versions).  Every 2d3% gain in Defense takes a point of POW and a point of Will.
• Enhanced damage with axe d3+1/2pts, costs one magic point per d3 each use.
• Resist damage (halve damage up to points in skill, so six points in skill, halve damage up to twelve points of damage being reduced to six points.  With six points in skill, 2 points of damage done would result in 1 point getting through.  Reduce damage by armor before resisting it).
• Regeneration, 1 point per ten melee rounds per point in skill.  Each point in skill takes a point of will and a point of POW.  Will not regrow lost limbs or bring back from death.
• Initiate skill (allows POW to rise).
• Increased CON (may raise one point per 5% in skill).
• Increased STR (may raise one point per 5% in skill).
• Increased Dexterity runeskill (Dex may be improved 1 point per 5% in skill).
• Common magic:  fireblade (the +2d6 version and the +3d6 version), repair, vigor, fanaticism, strike spirit (each blow wounds a spirit for 1 mp per point used).
• Special magic:  return, for each point, by expending magic points may cause an axe to come back a distance of 3 meters (so, with two points in skill, by expending 2 mp an axe that was 6 meters away would return to the hand of the axe wielder).