Character Advancement

NOTE: This method of advancement is still under discussion; this may not be the final version.

(Also referred to as +lteach).

As we do not track experience points on Echoes of Thunder MUX, the method for statistical character advancement (this includes attributes, abilities, charms, backgrounds etc.) requires an application to staff (via a +job entitled LEARN: (thing that is being learned) or TEACH: (etc.)) that briefly details the following:

In your +job application, please include:


 * What statistic the character intends on raising/gaining.


 * Why this is appropriate for the character. (i.e., what have they been doing or want to do that would justify this increase/gain)


 * How the character intends to study/train to manage this advancement.

In essence, the application must justify why this advancement is both reasonable and realistic for a given character. Upon reviewing an application, staff may ask for clarification, and reserves the right to an outright refusal (though this is rare). While further explanation is not unwelcome, please respect staff's final decision.

Should the application appear plausible and sensible (honestly, a short paragraph is enough justification, usually), a learn period will be assigned in which the character should be actively role-playing learning/training for this advancement. At the end of the stated learn period, a player should then report to their application wizard and briefly describe what their character has been doing; logs are certainly a plus, but not necessary. Staff simply want to see that RP was done, and that the learn wasn't just an excuse to power game. Honestly, the intent here is to reward people for being active and manage game balance, not to be arbitrarily punitive.

Provided everything appears to be in order, staff will approve the advancement and edit the character's sheet (or give permission for the player to do so). If the wizard feels that a character has still not adequately prepared for an advancement during the learn period (there was clearly no RP, or they were on an OOC hiatus for the bulk of the advancement period, etc.), they will usually be offered a grace period to try harder, but grace periods are subject to wizard discretion. If a character still does not manage an adequate amount of RP (or the wizard is disagreeable for some other, fair reason), the advancement attempt fails, and the character will have to try again. That particular Advancement Slot remains locked, however. (See Advancement Slots, below).

Advancement Slots
Every character has a number of Advancement Slots equal to their Intelligence +1. This number represents how many Learns and Teaches a character may have active before their mind is too saturated with information, or body too fatigued to meaningfully internalize or explain any further lessons. For example, a character with 2 Intelligence may have any combination of 3 learns or teaches active at a given time provided no slots are locked (see below).


 * Note: A character may never Learn or Teach more than they have advancement slots.

Learning (+learn)
Once a slot is filled with a Learn, it becomes locked and remains inaccessible to further Learning until unlocked. A slot may be unlocked in the following ways:


 * 1) By Teaching (+teach; see below): It is ultimately up to staff to decide how much teaching must be done to unlock a slot. Generally, you must teach for the same amount of time a previous learn took in order to unlock that particular slot. Let staff know which teach is applying to which learn, or staff will make these assignments for you. These may not be changed after staff approval.
 * 2) By Waiting: Assuming all your Advancement Slots are locked, and if you have neither learned nor taught anything within a week of your most recent Learn's conclusion, your oldest locked slot is free to be reopened (talk to staff).
 * 3) By Reward: Wizards are free to unlock slots as a reward for those players who go out of their way to run plots, events, etc., gain community kudos, or generally make the MUX a better place in some other way.

Teaching (+teach)
Teaching works similar to Learns in that they take up an Advancement Slot as normal. However, a character may assign a Teach to an Advancement Slot even if it is locked; that Teach is then attributed towards unlocking that particular Slot.

Concurrent Advancement
A character may +learn one item from each of the below categories at the same time before Concurrent Advancement Penalties are applied:


 * Attributes
 * Abilities
 * Traits and Backgrounds
 * Advantages: Any appropriate (everything else).


 * Note: Outside of character generation, additional ranks in Essence or Void may be gained only through roleplay. Please speak with staff if you're interested in raising your Essence or Void; this is usually done through stories, the length of which is entirely dependent on the level of essence you're requesting. (Essence 2-3 might just be a handful of weeks, whereas Essence 6+ may be a several-month affair.)
 * After learning Essence or Void, there will be a cool-down time before it can be learned again. Usually in 1-2 months.

Concurrent Advancement Penalties
Simply, if you are Learning two or more Attributes, Abilities, or Advantages at the same time, the length of all appropriate/similar Learns are immediately multiplied by 1.5, and the finish Dates revised accordingly. This penalty applies even if you had been working on an affected Learn for some time already.

Standard Learn Periods
The following are the standard learn times associated with particular advancements when no teacher is involved. Learn times may fluctuate greatly in practice, so keep in mind that these are merely baselines. All time increments mentioned here are in real-world time; not game time.

Yes, we realize these are very, very slow. These learn times can be greatly reduced below the standard by having an NPC or PC teacher; see the next section. The intent here is to prevent players from becoming extremely powerful in a vacuum. The more active one is in the community, the more one can reduce these numbers significantly, by half or more. We really aren't unreasonable.


 * Attributes: Take upwards of twice the rank number you're learning in months to advance.
 * Abilities: Take upwards of twice the rank number you're learning in weeks to advance.
 * Specialties: Two weeks per dot.


 * Advantages:
 * Virtues: Take upwards of twice the rank number you're learning in weeks to advance.
 * Charms: Take upwards of twice the ability or essence rank in weeks to learn, whichever is higher.
 * Traits and Backgrounds: Variable. To be worked out with staff.

Accelerated Instruction
Unless stated otherwise, one is assumed to be teaching oneself. Standard learn times are then applied, and may be increased depending upon the complexity and context of the Learn. If you would like to accelerate your Learn, however (and we really, really suggest you do this), see below:


 * Learning from an NPC (such as an Ally, or Story NPC, a particular Kami, etc.) always guarantees a Learn will not exceed the standard learn time, and will usually drop below it (often with supernatural aid, or through the events of a story). These situations require more justification than normal Learns, but are a way to reward those with particular backgrounds or who have been involved with stories/RP enough that an NPC is amicable enough to teach them.
 * The point here is to reward players for participating in the setting and stories.
 * Learning from another PC can reduce the time below the minimum (sometimes by a considerable amount). The teaching PC in question must have the statistic in order to teach it. (So if you want Strength 3, your teacher must have Strength 3 or higher; if you want a particular charm, your teacher must have that charm.) Time reduction is subject to staff discretion (but staff normally begins by halving the time), and staff reserves the right to adjust learn times higher if they feel there is no teaching RP occurring.
 * The point here is to reward players for RPing their advancement so it flows with the game rather than feeling like sudden, arbitrary upgrades.
 * Staff kudos. At any time staff reserves the right to reduce a learn time as thanks to players for running plots, fixing up the wiki, being solid RPers or community leaders, and so on.

Code
When applying for character advancement, send a +job with the title Teach: (thing being taught) or LEARN: (thing being learned); staff will then help you hammer out any details. Once everything's squared away, please make sure the following is on your character's page under an appropriate section heading and fill it out as is appropriate to the teach/learn.


 * Raw Outline version:


 * SLOT 1 (+learn or +teach)
 * Name: Of Learn/Teach.
 * To/From: Learner/Teacher.
 * Approved By: Wizard for Date.
 * Slot Status: Open (if no Learn) or Locked as of above Date.
 * Explanation for Learn/Teach goes here. This includes Wizard notes for Teaching attributes to unlock the slot.


 * SLOT 2 (+learn or +teach)
 * Name: Of Learn/Teach.
 * To/From: Learner/Teacher.
 * Approved By: Wizard for Date.
 * Slot Status: Open (if no Learn) or Locked (as of above Date).
 * Explanation for Learn/Teach goes here. This includes Wizard notes for Teaching attributes to unlock the slot.


 * Advancement History:
 * Name of +lteach: Date Finished. To/From X. Slot #. Approval Wizard.


 * Tables version:

Advancement History
See also: Template:Advancement Slot