Character Leveling
Character levels in Sunder are a fluid concept, considering Abilities are purchased using the Experience Market. A character with no levels in a specific Archetype could have just as much adventuring capability as a 5th-level adventurer, as long as they have developed their abilities in a diverse array. However, Archetype leveling is one of the most cost-efficient ways of upgrading a character's Stats, including the only way to increase their Mark pool.
Creating a New Character
Generally, at the beginning of an adventure a character is given 1 Milestone. Players have the option to purchase a level in a certain Archetype, which costs exactly 1 Milestone. Having a level in an Archetype gives players a more advanced selection of Abilities whose prerequisites are assigned to specific Archetypes.
Starting Features
Aside from the 1 Milestone granted at the beginning of an adventurer's journey, they also need to choose Origin features, as well as starting scores in their Potentials. Starting Potential scores are decided by rolling 3D4 and dropping the highest. If all three D4 values result in a 1, the overall Potential value is a 1.
Gaining a level in an Archetype gives a player the following benefits
- Choose 1 Knack or 1 Perk.
- Choose to increase one Potential* or your Mark pool by 1.
- 9 special Strings that can only be spent on Abilities with the relevant Archetype as a prerequisite.
* Individual Potentials can only be increased once per Tier.
1st-Level Stats
When you choose your first archetype level as a new adventurer, you gain the following benefits instead of the usual level-up benefits:
- Starting Marks determined in Archetypes
- 1 Domain
- 2 Skills
- 1 Heroic Goal
Character Tiers
Characters reach different Tiers of gameplay when they accumulate a certain amount of total Archetype levels. Every Tier is 4 levels apart, and increasing your Tier may effect certain Abilities that use a character's Tier as a modifier.
| Character Level | Tier |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | I |
| 5-8 | II |
| 9-12 | III |
| 13-16 | IV |
| 17-20 | V |
Commoner-level Characters
Players without a level in any Archetype start with 1 Mark, which is replaced when gaining an archetype. Their Tier is considered 0.
