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Progression Talents are a system that helps the DM of written Forum Progressions understand what a Character should excel at in Progressions, while also keeping a fair balance. The Proficiency system is well balanced for live-server rp, but it doesn't work for intangible Forum progressions. Inversely, Proficiencies that add Progression benefits would become a point tax that is required to participate, which leads to bad Character design. As such, Progression Talents don't cost anything, and everyone has access to the same options. There are still some associated rules however, which are fully explained on this page. The ethos behind this system is that in an ideal world, every Progression requires at least 5 Characters, who all fulfill a specific function that adds value to their team as a whole. Each Character would excel at one thing, and maybe be okay at one other thing, so that a more complex network of need arises between players, putting different Talents in demand for different missions. While it is not mandatory, you can cross-reference Talents with List of Major Academies to incorporate formal schooling into your Character’s backstory.

Progression Talents Basics

As a core concept, Progression Talents allow all Characters to have exactly 3 Talent Points to spend, and a large list of Talents to choose from, each of which serves some kind of function. Each Talent has 3 "Levels", which dictate the skill of the Character in that particular Talent. Because 3 Talent Points are given, they can be spent in whatever way the player likes. For example, the player may put all 3 Talent Points into a single Talent. They may alternatively spend 2 Points in one Talent, and 1 Point in another. The only thing that is not permitted is spreading 3 Talent Points over 3 Talents, to get 3 Level 1 Talents. Additionally, some Talents are locked in by a Character’s Proficiencies or Special Permissions. For example, Combat Points are used for ingame CRP, but they also force investment in the "Warrior" Talent. This means, for example, that if a Character has at least 5 or more total Proficiency Points invested into Combat Proficiencies, then they are forced to take Warrior Level 1 as a Talent. This extends to some other Proficiencies such as Medical Training and also Point-Buy systems like Sorcery and Alchemy. The guide below will tackle the concept of Forced Talents, followed by an explanation of all the Talents that can otherwise be chosen from.

Forced Talents

As explained above, certain Proficiency allocations may force a Character to have specific Talents. This is to ensure that Characters don't become overstocked with skills and become a Mary Sue, but also so that on-server skills and Proficiencies have some bearing on Progressions. Some Special Permissions force certain Talents as well. However, only 2 Talent Levels can be forced, the 3rd is always left free. If only 1 Talent has been forced, then the 3rd can go anywhere, but if 2 different Talents have been forced, then it can only go into one of them. Each case of Forced Talents is explained below:

• Proficiency based Forced Talents
  • Combat Proficiencies totaled force the Warrior Talent. This is 5 or more Proficiency Points for Level 1,and 10 or more for Level 2.
  • Medical Training + Alchemy totaled forces the Support Talent. This is 5 or more Proficiency Points for Level 1, and 10 or more for Level 2.
  • Roguery Proficiency Points invested force the Rogue Talent. This is 5 or more Proficiency Points for Level 1, and 10 or more for Level 2.
  • Sorcery Proficiency Points invested force the Sorcerer Talent. This is 5 or more Proficiency Points for Level 1, and 10 or more for Level 2.
  • Engineering Proficiency Points invested force the Engineer Talent. This is 5 or more Proficiency Points for Level 1,and 10 or more for Level 2.
• Special Permission based Forced Talents
  • Mage Permissions force Level 2 in the Mage Talent, but can be optionally increased to 3.
  • Faith Manifest or Priest/Cleric Permissions forces Level 1 in the Faith Talent, but can be optionally increased to 3.
  • Knight Characters automatically force 1 Level for every rank of Knighthood up to Level 3 for Paladin.

Due to the sheer amount of Proficiency Points that can be spent, most Characters may already have Forced Talents that exceed the maximum of 3. Even when forced into them, all Characters may only ever have 3 Levels of Talent Points to spend. There are additional rules that determine the seniority of Forced Talents. Permissions take precedence. Even if a Mage Permission holder is forced to adopt Warrior Level 2 due to Combat Proficiencies, they must prioritize the Mage Talent, and assign 2 Talent Points to Mage instead. In any other cases, the highest amount of Proficiency Points invested always dictates Talent allocation. For example, even if a Character has 15 Points invested in Combat forcing Level 2 Warrior, and 12 Points invested in Rogue Packs forcing Level 2 Rogue, only 2 Levels can be forced. In this case, since 15 Points is more than 12, the Combat Proficiency is prioritized, thus the Character becomes Warrior Level 2 and is left with 1 Level free that can be put into either Warrior or Rogue. Some Players may have Special Permissions that feel like they should force multiple Talents, for example, some Villiers should be Faith and Knight, even though Knight has the potential to occupy all Talent Levels. In those cases where players cannot figure out what they should use, it is recommended to make a Ticket on the RP Community Discord to discuss with Lore Staff what the correct spread should be.

Talent List

• Warrior: Warriors are the bread and butter of protection and weapons in Progressions. They do all the fighting and are usually required for protection.
• Support: Support are the foundation for most missions involving Warriors, as they preserve them, but can also provide more unique utilitarian functions in a bind.
• Sorcerer: Sorcerers can solve and deal with more magically inclined situations, such as understanding and unbinding enchantments and use Magic in combat.
• Rogue: Rogues can perform any action of subterfuge from theft, sabotage, counterfeiting, abduction, and even assassination of foreign entities.
• Diplomat: Diplomats can speak the language of diffusion and international court, extracting more information and having contacts far and wide.
• Admiral: Admirals lead fleets or individual ships as battle captains, dictating their skill at determining outcomes at sea.
• General: Generals lead armies or smaller battalions as commanders, dictating their skill at determining outcomes at land.
• Sage: Sages are the intellectuals who just know a lot about the non-Magic world, whether it be ruins or history, to gain an edge in foreign lands.
• Engineer: Engineers bring contraptions and machines and hacky solutions to problems in the field through the use of technology, with limited combat uses.

The following Talents exist, but cannot be invested in, because they rely on Special Permissions. They also have special rules that are defined in the Forced Talents above.

• Mage: Mages are an upgraded form of Sorcerers that can tackle larger and more dangerous Magical situations while also using considerable Magical power.
• Knight: Knights are an upgraded form of Warrior, that includes a small amount of Diplomat and can appeal to some Knight resources and contacts.
• Faith: Faith are the clergy, clerics and priests, who can decipher religious lore and usually appeal to their faith for answers and help in Progressions.

On a closing note, it is important to mention that the Progression System has "Seasons". A Season is usually a 10-15 week period during which data is kept consistent. This means that if you submit a Progression participation somewhere in the middle of the Season and then a few weeks later decide to completely overhaul your Character with new Talents, that future orders will not consider these changes canon until the start of a new Season, and even then Talent changes may be rejected. When deciding on Talents, most of the cases, you are stuck with that decision for that character forever. There is room to talk to Lore Staff for exceptional circumstances, but generally speaking Characters should stick to one particular Talent spread indefinitely.