Character Progression
Table of contents
Tokens of Heroism represent the increasing legend of a Hero.
Tokens might take the form of mementos from your adventures, Spirit Orbs given to you by ancient sages, words of gratitude from thankful villagers, or the experience of doing something noteworthy and heroic.
When trying to determine if something is worthy of granting Tokens of Heroism, consider: would a future teller of tales weave its story into the Hero’s own legend, or does it add to the Hero’s legacy in some way? If not, it likely should not award any Tokens.
Earning Tokens of Heroism
Heroes earn Tokens of Heroism from performing heroic deeds. As Heroes, they should strive to tame the wild, encourage unity and peace between different groups, improve the lot of the common populace, and end threats to small villages, large cities, or the entire world.
Slaying monsters wantonly is not, in-and-of itself, heroic – merely bloodthirsty. Rather, Heroes should seek foes, tasks, and quests that add to their legend, that challenge them, and that force them to grow – not only as warriors, but as symbols of civilization and the better angels of our nature.
Typically, Heroes should earn one Token each when they complete some small task or mission: defending a group of passers-by from a sudden monster ambush, defeating a worthy foe in a fair match, or helping out a villager with their strenuous day-to-day work.
Heroes might also earn a Token for solving a puzzle, clearing a portion of a dungeon, or otherwise advancing their goals a solid step. They might also earn a Token for having a deep conversation with an ally, learning an important piece of lore, or for coming up with a unique solution to a problem.
They may also find single Tokens of Heroism in places that reward exploration, such as within treasure chests, hidden in hidey-holes about the land, or for solving ancient puzzles and riddles. (Of course, Heroes only earn that Tokens of Heroism if the task was challenging – nothing comes for free.)
Of course, Heroes might earn a single Token of Heroism simply for good roleplay, cool moments, making everyone laugh, or just having fun.
Heroes typically earn 2 Tokens of Heroism for completing small quests or a short string of challenges: rescuing a lost child from a Moblin camp, finding multiple herbs that an alchemist needed to cure their sick spouse, or exploring a trapped bandit cave, would all serve as examples.
Heroes typically earn 4 Tokens of Heroism for completing major quests: defeating the dreaded guardian of a sprawling ancient tomb, foiling a villain’s master plan to take over a city, defending a keep through the entirety of a week-long onslaught of foes. Often, these adventures are capped off by defeating a massively powerful foe – a worthy notch in any Hero’s belt. These adventures might also feature moments where Heroes have accomplished other, lesser feats along the way, earning Tokens all the while.
For truly epic finales, wherein Heroes defeat the root of a number of evils, save entire kingdoms, or defend the entirety of existence from threats beyond the understanding of mortal beings, awards of even more Tokens might be called for. Such instances will likely be rare, happening no more than once or twice in a full campaign.
GMs might award Tokens of Heroism immediately, when Heroes do the heroic actions or find legend-enhancing treasures; or, they may award them by fiat, at the end of a session of play. Some GMs may use both of these methods, as suits their style or the situation.
Whenever Tokens of Heroism are awarded, each Hero at the table should obtain the same amount – they are not split or shared.
As a rough guideline, GMs should expect to award 2-4 Tokens per session of gameplay. More laid-back sessions might earn fewer, and more industrious players might garner more; but when in doubt, “about three” is a good number of Tokens to give your players for an evening of enjoyable adventure.
Spending Tokens of Heroism
Tokens spent after character creation are spent in much the same fashion as during character creation, with one exception: After character creation, you only have one pool of Tokens, which may be spent on Feats, Spells, Techniques, or Traits – or anything else that requires them.
Raising a Trait costs a number of Tokens equal to the number the Trait is rising to. For instance, raising your Combat from 4 to 5 costs 5 Tokens.
Feats, Spells, and Techniques cost their listed amount. You must meet their Requirements (without the aid of Food, Elixirs, Enchantments, or anything else) in order to be able to purchase them.
Tokens of Heroism may be spent during any Short or Extended Rest. You may also save them up for as long as you like – Tokens never expire, and there is no limit to how many Tokens you may have.
Spending a Token of Heroism is simply an expression. If you received a Bokoblin-tooth necklace as a Token of Heroism, and you spend the Token to improve your character, you do not lose possession of the necklace – you may still wear it, show it to others, or even give it to someone else. The necklace simply holds no more power, and cannot advance your legend (or your power) any further.
Likewise, if you give that Bokoblin-tooth necklace away, or even destroy it, before spending the Token of Heroism, you do not lose the Token. Once a Token is received, it is yours no matter what, until you spend it to improve your character.
Earning Feats, Spells, and Techniques
In some cases, a GM might choose to award Heroes with Feats, Spells, or Techniques, instead of Tokens of Heroism.
In these cases, the Feat, Spell, or Technique is awarded instead of the Tokens, but at a more generous rate:
Any time the Heroes perform a deed worth 2 Tokens of Heroism, the GM can choose to offer a Feat, Spell, or Technique worth 3 Tokens.
Similarly, any time the Heroes perform a deed worth 4 Tokens of Heroism, the GM can choose instead to offer a Feat, Spell, or Technique worth 6 Tokens or more.
Whenever Heroes are offered this choice, they may always decline the offered Feat, Spell, or Technique, and choose to take the Tokens instead. (Though the Tokens offered might be slightly fewer than the Feat, Spell, or Technique’s purchase price, this is made up for by the freedom to spend the Tokens however the Hero wishes.)
If a Hero changes their mind later, they can go back and buy the offered Feat, Spell, or Technique at the ‘discount’ cost… assuming that its source is still around and available.