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It's not only through the accumulation of experience that characters can get better at Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells. They can learn new things if they put an effort in the game.
If they work with the Overlord to create opportunities to learn new amazing abilities, they will be able to embark on adventures to acquire them through the game itself, instead of relying on artificial acquisition through the expenditure of points.
Learning New Abilities
Even though characters can learn a lot and improve many of their capabilities when leveling up, some things they just learn the hard way, through their own efforts in adventures!
To acquire new abilities, special powers, new skills not provided by their Archetypes, player characters will have to accomplish daring feats to earn them during play. There isn’t a set in stone formula for this however. The suggested procedure is to have the player inform the Overlord of what it is that his character would like to learn how to do. Then, he and the Overlord will come up with how this ability will work in game terms, with the Overlord holding the final word. After that, the Overlord will start offering hooks and rumors regarding a way in which the character can accomplish some deed to learn the Special Ability in play. He will probably have to go into a crazy adventure to do that, and that’s part of the fun!
Below we present a few example of abilities and daring deeds character would have to accompany to obtain them.
Innate Astral Sense: It is said that the Order of a Thousand Suns had Cosmic Sentinels with such a strong bond with the Cosmos that they could feel the astral energy streams that crisscross the whole universe. They could instinctively know where they were in the Universe and how they could quickly go to any other planet or system. To learn this ability, the character must find a lost temple of this ancient order and learn how to access their holoarchives. Then, watching the teachings of an old master and succeeding in a Difficulty 5 Intellect test, the character learns this Special Ability. In game terms, he will become able to make astro navigation tests without the necessary equipment at no penalty. Additionally, using the proper equipment, he will halve the value of any Difficulty assigned for the test.
Berserker Fury: During the Cleansing Wars, the Barbarian Legion of the Outer Regions had an infamous group of warriors known as the Berserkers of Orion. These warriors were capable of harnessing all their rage to enter into a state of combat frenzy, improving their combat prowess in exchange for a temporary lack of more rational reasoning. To learn to do this, a character must survive the ritual of passage of their clan in the distant planets of the outer region. This consists of ingesting an infusion made of a bluish root, native to the Orion sector, and going for a hunt for the ten clawed reptile called Razzink. This intelligent predator will instigate the hunter, driving him to an uncontrollable rage that will either lead him to his death if he doesn’t control it, or to the defeat of the Razzink, if the hunter manages to focus his fury. In game terms, once the character learns this Special Ability, he can enter into a frenzied state that gives him the ability to increase the Difficulty of his stacks for any amount he wishes to to add the same value to the damage inflicted with melee attacks. Additionally, all his melee attacks are made with a Positive Die, but attacks against him also receive a Positive Die. This lasts for 2d6 rounds, in which the character has to make an attack or other violent action, no matter what. He can resist this with a Willpower test, however.
Danger Awareness: The savage culture of Ghurs produces some of the best Bounty Hunters in the Universe. That’s mainly because almost all of them have this extraordinary ability to detect danger before it manifests itself. Their brutal and jungle covered planet has hundreds of predatory capable of shredding them to pieces if they are not careful. This made them develop this almost supernatural awareness, allows them to avoid attacks and other harmed effects as if they knew it was coming. To acquire this Special Ability, the character must travel to the jungles of the Ghurs and survive for at least a full year on his own. After this period, the tribes of hunters will consider teaching the outsider how to attune to his surroundings. To prove his worth, the character will have to perform a quest in the dark side of the planet, where the worst predators live. Once acquired, this capability will give the following benefits in game terms: The character makes all perceptions checks with a Positive Die and can negate any situation in which he is considered surprised with a Luck Roll.
Iconic Starship: The character has such a strong connection to his starship, it’s like it’s his trusty companion. In moments of dire need, he can count on his starship to go an extra light year for him, as his ship can count on him to do the same. To gain this Special Ability the character must have sacrificed something to save his starship in a game session and his starship must have done the same in some way. In game terms, the character can share his Vitality point with his starship’s Hull points in a 1 per 1 basis. He also enjoys a Positive Die with all tests regarding his starship. However, he may never abandon his trusty companion completely, or he will lose this benefit.
Dark Matter Cloak: Half of everything that exists in the Universe is composed of Dark Matter, and almost no one in the current era can detect it. However, there was a sect within the Order of a Thousand Suns that could. Not only that, they could tap into the Cosmos and use it to cover themselves with Dark Matter, becoming invisible. To learn this Special Ability, the character must find a Dark Sentinel and convince him of teaching this ability. This won’t be easy, as it’s believed that there aren’t any Dark Sentinels left in the Universe. In game terms, if he learns this ability, a character can become invisible for a number of turns equal to his Level per adventure.
Having almost died to get her ship back in that desolate planet, and her starship having saved her life several times when she needed to escape her enemies, the Overlord judges that Kaylia has accomplished the necessary requirements to acquire the Iconic Starship ability. Now, Kayla and her starship, which is named Crimson Nebula, share a special bond.
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