Experience Points
Narrative Beats and Where to Find Them
Experience Points are divided into four denominations: Beats, Strings, Milestones, and Zeniths.
Beats are the smallest Experience Point, and can be earned just by rolling Tests. When a Test's overall result is a success level of Mixed, Failure, or Miff, the player gains a Beat. These are most commonly used for Volatility Perks1.
Strings are the next smallest Experience Point. Oftentimes Strings are accumulated when the party levels up using the Loom2 system. Strings are used for purchasing minor character features and abilities.
Milestones and Zeniths represent major and concluding steps in a hero's arc or progression. These are used to gain powerful abilities that define a character's archetype.
Character Goals
Some Experience Points can only be achieved through narrative action. When choosing a character's archetype, a player will need to establish a list of goals that will grant either a String, a Milestone, or a Zenith upon completion.
Goal Distinction
Character Goals can represent the same character and their values in many different ways, but should not mechanically be defined in a way that satisfies more than one Goals with one action. These Goals should be kept distinct so that they define separate areas or magnitudes of a character's wants or desires. For example, a Flaw should not be designed in a way that makes the action of resolving it also satisfy the resolution of a Major or Heroic Goal. If a Minor Goal happens to be interpreted as similar to the resolution of a grander Goal, the grander Goal takes precedence.
Minor Goals are often repeatable, and grant a String upon completion. This should be something within the lines of saving a certain type of community, conducting a sacrificial ritual on a foe that killed someone you know, or discover ancient knowledge from the Drakonic Age.
Flaws are an essential part of an interesting character, and should be rewarded appropriately. Leaning into a Flaw in a way that hinders your character earns a String. Leaning into the Flaw in any other way earns a Flavor Token. Flaws should be chosen in such a way that they could impact a character's daily life, but also has the potential to be grown out of or abandoned through character development. If a character ever does resolve a Flaw, the GM may choose to grant a Zenith. Resolution can only come through a combination of roleplay, interaction with other players, and addressing the character's past. Some useful tools for this would be the Bond, Listen, and Pry Flavor Actions. Resolving a Flaw removes it from a character's Stats.
Major Goals are often specific to a character, and can only be completed once. These goals grant a Milestone, and should be worthy of one by assigning tasks such as slaying the wizard who killed your parents, making amends with someone you betrayed and have long since abandoned, or undergo an enchantment to absorb the power of a primordial artifact. After a player has completed a Major Goal, they may spend 5 Strings to create a single new Major Goal.
Heroic Goals are often game-changing scenarios, a character would be lucky to complete more than one on their hero's journey. These goals grant a Zenith, the highest level of Experience Point. Oftentimes heroic goals represent the ending of a chapter of a campaign's arc, and can consist of eradicating the influence of a risen-again lich king, banishing an eldritch entity from the Material Plane, or awakening a dead god.
