2e:Progression Systems

=Character Creation= The player characters in a campaign of Maiesta RPG are generally assumed to some minor experience with their power, and most games will begin with characters having 200 XP to spend on their class abilities however they like. Depending on the specifics of an individual campaign, a GM may set a higher or lower bar for entry.

Birthing Gravs
As much as they are known for their fantastic powers, a maiesta's true role is ultimately that of a mother to spirits, not merely a vessel for their powers. During their adventures, it is the responsibility of a maiesta to raise her gravs as best she can - sharing her experiences with them, satisfying their cravings, and doing all she can to ensure that they are ready to enter the world at their Birthing. This is an esoteric and unpredictable process, and even experienced maiesta can never be entirely certain how long any given grav will take to mature.

When the GM feels it is appropriate (on average, roughly once per session is encouraged, though longer or shorter campaigns may often be suited to different timings), they may grant the party XP (usually 100 XP at a time), allowing characters to purchase new abilities and progress.

For every 100 XP a maiesta gains, she can give birth to one of her gravs, so long as she has satisfied its craving. Each grav birthed in this manner requires roughly half an hour to an hour of labor, during which a maiesta is effectively helpless. The ritual can be halted at any time after the birth of a grav, but once labor commences, a maiesta is unable to voluntarily halt it. Most maiesta are keenly aware of their vulnerability while Birthing, and ensure that they do so only when safe or protected by their allies.

While all variations of the Birthing ritual are similarly exhausting, its exact manifestation varies from maiesta to maiesta. For some maiesta, Birthing is a graceful ritual of summoning. For others, a profound meditation, or passionate release. And in many cases, the ritual takes the form of a birth in the literal sense, with a maiesta laboring to free the young spirits from her body, or pass eggs from which they will be released. Some gravs will linger after being birthed, staying for a time to comfort their mother or express gratitude for the life she has given them, but all gravs are inexorably called to their place in the world not long after birth.

Satisfying Cravings
In addition to simply carrying gravs, many maiesta make an effort to nurture them further, satisfying the spirits' cravings and helping them to unlock their full potential. The desires of spirits are strange and difficult to predict, and satisfying every craving is an implausible undertaking even for dedicated maiesta, but making a point of it from time to time can be the key to unlocking one's maiesta powers to their fullest extent.

Gravs are fickle, and their mothers know what they want (and more importantly, what they need) better than anyone else. Whenever you gain a new grav, your GM can choose a craving for it, or you can suggest one to them. Satisfying a craving should require substantial effort, or involve taking an otherwise less than desirable action. A young grav will learn nothing from a maiesta who simply does what is most convenient! The following cravings are not an exhaustive list, but should serve and an inspiration and starting point for determining the wants and needs of your gravs.

Ardent gravs crave emotion and attention. Some of the following may be appropriate:
 * Destroy something that took at least three days to craft. Smash it to pieces, and let yourself get carried away. It's just stuff, after all, and the catharsis and perspective can be valuable to gravs.
 * Let yourself be swept up completely in emotion - sometimes its worth putting reason aside to let your heart make decisions. It's an important lesson, especially for an ardent grav.
 * Issue a challenge where you're at a distinct disadvantage. Confidence is everything, and even if you lose, your grav should learn that the attempt itself is worth something precious.
 * Craft something - put real effort into it. You don't need to be skilled in the art of your choice, but you need to give it your all, and use the best supplies available to bring your vision to life. Creativity can enlighten gravs in a way little else can.
 * Find a way to show off, and draw as much attention to yourself as possible in the process. Sometimes, what your grav needs more than anything else is a little help overcoming its shy nature!

Astral gravs crave purpose and belief. Some:
 * Let yourself by bound by a serious oath - to uphold a code, or complete some perilous task for honor. It is worth teaching gravs that some things are worth pledging yourself to.
 * Put your faith in a higher power, be it the gods, the law, or something else entirely - take an action that places utter trust in your entity of choice. Even if your faith yields aught in results, your grav is certain to be touched by the gesture.
 * Go out of your way to come to another's aid, with no expectation of reward beyond the knowledge that to do so is just. Your grav could stand to learn the value of doing the right thing for its own sake.
 * Study the faith of another, and reconcile it with your own. True belief grows stronger when confronted, while rote or uncertain tenets can be pushed aside to make room for future convictions - either way, you stand to teach your grav a lesson in the importance of the faiths of others.
 * Sacrifice something meaningful for another, and go without so they do not need to. It is not enough to give away something you have no use for - that which you sacrifice must be of genuine use or value to you, and not something you can trivially replace. Some gravs have the tendency to be rather self-centered, and could do well to learn the meaning of compassion and altruism.

Erudite gravs crave intellectual stimulation and consideration. Some of the following may be appropriate:
 * Seek answers for the unexplained. Dive into a mystery and unearth the truth where no-one else seems willing to do so. Erudites are curious sorts, and that curiosity is worth nurturing.
 * Spend time in deep study, away from the chaos of battle, until you learn something new. While there is value in heroic deeds, it can be important to teach a lesson about serenity and self-improvement at times as well.
 * Engage in a measured, reasoned debate over a topic, whether it be with a friend or foe. True argumentation is not a manner of winning or losing, but of bringing both parties closer to an understanding of the truth. Your grav, somewhat overly pushy with its ideas, could do well to learn this.
 * Isolate your senses, leaving yourself alone with your thoughts - most commonly by closing your eyes, and diving deep into water. Though intimidating to some, you think your grav might be comforted by the calm and purity of the moment.
 * Record your last adventure in full, for the sake of posterity. While the accumulation of knowledge is a worthy pursuit, it's important to teach your grav that it is equally important to leave a legacy for those that come after.

Mordant gravs crave change and closure. Some of the following may be appropriate:
 * Raise a memorial to the fallen. Even monsters deserve to be remembered, and your grav should be reminded that a final death only comes when one is truly forgotten to the world.
 * Connect with someone you care about, writing a letter, going to visit them, or something similar. While those we love might be far away, it's important to teach that they are never truly beyond our grasp if we make the effort to reach out.
 * Meditate, and look inwards. True introspection is frightening, but without it, we do not grow. This is an important lesson, even for gravs.
 * Make a difficult decision with finality and weight. While contemplation is good, mordant gravs have a habit of falling into lethargy - it is important to remind them that one must eventually make a choice.
 * Change something in your day to day life. Dress differently, take up a new hobby, or make some new friends. While it's easy to fall into a daily routine, evolution comes through variance, and your grav deserves an example, however uncomfortable it might be.

Savage gravs crave physical satisfaction and power. Some of the following may be appropriate:
 * Gorge yourself utterly. Eat until you feel you can't keep down another bite, and then eat some more. The grav should be satisfied if you can just keep it all down.
 * Push yourself to your absolute physical limits. Work yourself out as hard as you possibly can, until your muscles burn and you're ready to collapse from fatigue. With luck, your grav will learn something about effort from the experience.
 * Relax your powers, and let yourself experience a 'natural' birth when bringing this grav into the world - not quite the real thing, but close enough. This grav could use some perspective on the struggle mortals go through to keep on living, you think.
 * Go a day without relying on anything you did not make yourself, completely from scratch - whether that be clothes, tools, or cooked food. A lesson in self-sufficiency and independence could do this grav good.
 * Face the full fury of nature - brace yourself, and let yourself be battered by the fury of a great storm, mighty waterfall, or other such occurrence. Even the most self-centered grav can be humbled by such an experience.

Spending XP
Experience, or XP, can be spent during any long rest to purchase Advances. These upgrades can do anything from improving a maiesta's core attributes, to unlocking potent new abilities, to altering the functionality of her class's central powers. The advances available to a maiesta are determined by her class, but all are formatted in one of the following two ways.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: GOTTA REFORMAT THIS TO FIT THE WIKI'S FORMATTING. UNTIL THEN PLEASE LOOK AT THE PROGRESSION SYSTEM DOC HERE)

Keywords
(TBA)

Attribute Advances
Not all abilities are bound to a maiesta's class: over the course of her travels, a maiesta is likely to hone her basic health and fitness in a variety of ways as well. Every class has access to the same set of attribute advances, which can be purchased in a manner identical to any other form of advance, up to a specific limited number of purchases. Additionally, at certain thresholds of experience spent on advances - 200 XP, 500 XP, 1000 XP, and 2000 XP - a maiesta can select one attribute to advance for free, without spending any experience points. These free advances do not count towards a maiesta's total XP expenditures, but they do count towards her limit on the number of times specific attribute advances can be purchased each level.

Specializations
Within a single class lie many disciplines, many of which have their own histories and cultural significance. A character can choose a specialization from those available to her class at character creation. Doing so will permanently exchange two of her Basic abilities for new ones unique to that specialization, and bar access to certain Novice abilities in exchange for access to a small list of specialization-only options. A character may have only one specialization, and a Heritor may never have a specialization.

Retraining
As a maiesta comes into her power, her abilities are certain to grow and change with time and experience. For every 200 XP a maiesta earns, she gains one Retraining Point, which she can spend during any long rest to refund up to 100 XP worth of purchases, losing the purchased ability or abilities in the process. You cannot retrain away any ability which is currently being used as the pre-requisite for any other ability, or for a veteran class. At the GM's discretion, certain in-character activities, such as seeking out a dedicated academy for training, or magic to alter one's memories, may grant additional Retraining Points, or even allow for a total rebuilding of the character.

Experience Tiers
Not all abilities are within the reach of a neophyte maiesta. At the beginning of her career, a maiesta is in the Novice experience tier. She is limited to purchasing advances from the Basic and Novice pools for her class.

Once a maiesta has purchased 1,000 XP worth of advances, she progresses to the Veteran experience tier. She may now take on a Veteran class. In order to take a Veteran class, a maiesta must purchase that class's Core advance, which can be either an active or passive ability. She must possess any abilities listed as prerequisites for the veteran class in order to purchase this ability. Once she purchases the Core ability from a given veteran class, she cannot purchase abilities from any other veteran class. She can purchase the rest of her chosen class's abilities at her leisure, or even ignore them if she wishes.