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Progression

Abilities grow the way skills do: through practice, study, battle and story. Progress is counted in qualifying threads, recorded by staff when a thread is graded in #thread-inbox, and claimed by you in your #upgrade-ledger.

Qualifying threads

A finished thread qualifies when it meaningfully uses or develops an ability:

  • Training: study, drills, sparring with a purpose. "My rival beat me again, so I build a counter" qualifies. Punching a dummy a hundred times does not.
  • Battle: a real fight where the ability mattered.
  • Story: threads with weight: missions, sagas, court intrigue, consequences.

Each graded thread credits one ability; a saga thread credits two. Chatting over tea credits nothing, however long it runs.

Costs

Raising an ability from one tier to the next takes as many threads as the new tier's number:

  • Beginner → Novice: 2 threads
  • Novice → Intermediate: 3
  • Intermediate → Adept: 4
  • Adept → High Adept: 5
  • High Adept → Substantial Mastery: 6
  • Substantial Mastery → Mastery: 7
  • Mastery → Grand Mastery: 8

New abilities cost 3 threads for each ability you already hold and must happen on-screen. Awakening a dormant bloodline counts as unlocking. Holding six or more abilities adds one thread to every advancement: spread thin, grow slowly.

Limits

  • 5 solo training threads per character per week count toward progress (weeks reset Sunday 00:00 UTC).
  • 2 of them may be boosted.
  • No ability may exceed your rank's cap (see Ranks): Tier 1 Adept, Tier 2 High Adept, Tier 3 Mastery, Tiers 4 and 5 Grand Mastery.
  • In-character time runs at twice real time. Nobody masters a bloodline in a season.

Boosts

Market items and properties multiply a training thread's credit (see Market).

  • Declare the boost in the thread's first post. Undeclared boosts do not count.
  • One boost per thread. Boosts never stack.
  • Examples: Illyrian weights ×1.25 to ×1.75; a training circle ×1.75 or ×2; training at your own residence ×1.1 to ×1.5.
  • Partial credit adds up: two ×1.5 threads equal three threads.

Secret and forbidden arts

  • House arts must be taught by a member of the house.
  • Court secret arts need the ruler's leave, unless you are Inner Circle or the ruler.
  • Forbidden magic needs an approved special claim and a completed quest (see Claims).
  • All three are unlocked and advanced on-screen only.

The Upgrade Ledger

Every approved character keeps one post in #upgrade-ledger. Use the pinned templates:

  • RANK UP: an ability's new tier, with the threads that paid for it.
  • I HAVE LEARNED: a new ability, with the on-screen thread where it happened.
  • PROFILE ADJUSTMENT: changes to appearance, personality or history.

A @Lorekeeper confirms each entry. Then update your profile.

Enforcement

This is mostly an honor system. If you advance faster than your threads support:

  1. A grace warning, and help finding your footing.
  2. Repeat offences: the advancement is voided.
  3. Deliberate abuse: progress frozen for a week.
  4. Beyond that: progress frozen for a month.