Advancement through the ranks in a Path is not required, but it is rewarded. Although each character can develop new powers according to their keywords without gaining a rank, advancement allows you to increase a character's Cinder pool and gain access to more keyword slots and abilities. For this, we have the advancement prompts.

The prompts are creative challenges. There is no one correct way to complete them, you find out how it would work for your character and use the dice to play it out. In order to fulfil a prompt, a character must utilize the Strike & Cinder system. This means that although ranking up and using the dice system is entirely optional, in order to gain ranks, you must use the dice system.

Requirement and Prompt Types[edit | edit source]

There are four different types of requirements: events, ability instances, encounters, and thread prompts. The first, ability instances, are uses of the dice system or Path abilities in a post. There can be multiples of these per thread and each one can be counted towards the requirements, although you can only use them once. You need to do new ones for the next rank.

The events and encounters are participation in admin or player-run events, or an encounter with a mod-requested monster. Success or victory is not required, just participation and engagement.

Thread prompts, are as the name implies - they are meant to be utilized in a thread, either as a starter or open or something that happens midway through a thread.

Prompts and ability instances can be planned or spontaneous, whichever works for your storytelling. The important thing is that your character has these experiences and the players have fun exploring their characters in these scenarios.

Using Threads for Advancement[edit | edit source]

For a thread to count towards a requirement, it must be at least 10 posts, with at least 5 posts dedicated to the requirement if it is a thread prompt. The prompts do not need to be fulfilled in the listed order, but once you use a thread for Advancement, you cannot use it again. Below is a list of when threads can or can't be used.

Event: Must be listed, but can be used again in Ability Instances and Encounters or Thread Prompts.
Ability Instance: Counts times any Path abilities are used in a thread. The thread can be used for other Advancements (Event and Encounter or Thread Prompts), but only once.
Encounter: A single Encounter thread. If a thread is used for this, it cannot be used for a thread prompt.
Thread Prompt: A single thread fulfilling a specified prompt. If a thread is used for this, it cannot be used for an Encounter.

When it comes to ranking up Mundane Skills, this works similarly to Path Advancement. There are some simple prompts and use instances, and threads used for the various prompts to gain Mundane skills can only be used once. However, if you have used it for a Path advancemnt, you can still use it for a mundane skill. The Strike instances across those threads can be collated together as well.

Framing Advancement In Game[edit | edit source]

Players are permitted and encouraged to frame ranking up in different ways since it is an OOC framework and ranks do not exist in-game. For the characters, their growth will seem gradual and not everyone will experience it the same way. So, while the default is discovering new powers as the character gains experience, some players may like to try a different approach for their character concept.

This can include the character possessing all the abilities they will eventually obtain, but narratively being blocked off from utilizing them. This could be a mental block, a magic block, or anything else you might want to use for your storytelling. Mechanically, these characters function the same way as a character who is discovering new powers as they advance. If you do not have the keyword, you cannot utilize the powers.

Important Notes[edit | edit source]

These are likely to change in playtesting and even have the potential to become more difficult as we work on balance. If a character has fulfilled previous requirements and ranked up, then they can expect to be grandfathered in. If they are two or fewer requirements away from ranking up, then they can also expect to be grandfathered in via previous requirements.

As always, feedback is welcome, as we're always looking to improve the fun and intrigue of the game. Thank you!

Basic Advancement Requirements[edit | edit source]

There's a series of basic advancement requirements that are the same across all the Paths, that only changes based on which rank you're advancing to. Below are the Universal Requirements.

These basic requirements below are universal for all Path advancement. Select the section relevant to your advancement and add it to your Development Thread along with the Path specific prompts. The Advancement template offers an easy to use template for this.

Remember: Events and Magic instances can be used for Encounters, Challenges, and Thread Prompts, but they can only be used once.

Note on the Challenge requirement: Examples of this could be a race, chase, a magical spar or fight with another character, pushing yourself with a powerset, or similar contests engaging magic and the dice.


	Untrained ⇒ Dabbler	Dabbler ⇒ Novice	Novice ⇒ Apprentice	Apprentice ⇒ Master	Master ⇒ Legendary
Events	None	Participate in 2 Player-Run or Site Events	Participate in 3 Player-Run or Site Events	Participate in 4 Player-Run or Site Events	Participate in 5 Player-Run or Site Events
Magic Ability Instances	Use a cantrip, boon, charm, or rank ability x10	Use a cantrip, boon, charm, or rank ability x10	Use a cantrip, boon, charm, or rank ability x10	Use a cantrip, boon, charm, or rank ability x15	Use a cantrip, boon, charm, or rank ability x20
Encounters and Challenges	Participate in one (1) Encounter thread	Participate in two (2) Encounter threads. One (1) thread involving a character challenging themselves or another person with their powerset.	Participate in three (3) Encounter threads. One (1) thread involving a character challenging themselves or another person with their powerset.	Participate in four (4) Encounter threads. One (1) thread involving a character challenging themselves or another person with their powerset.	Participate in five (5) Encounter threads. One (1) thread involving a character challenging themselves or another person with their powerset.

Path Advancement[edit | edit source]

The advancement prompts for each Path is unique to them, so it is important that you look up the requirements that are relevant to your chosen Path.

Mundane Advancement[edit | edit source]

All of the mundane advancement skills are based on the Mundane Keywords. Training these mundane skills is fairly straightforward. Pick the Brawler, Melee Weapons, or Ballistic skills and show us your character working on it with someone else (or against someone or something else!). The threads must make good use of the skill, so a happenstance use of a knife does not count towards melee weapons, for instance.

You are can rank these up alongside each other, rather than focusing on one at a time. The tracks repeat for all three Mundane Skills, while the Unranked Skills can only be earned once. Threads used from advancing along your Path can be reused for fulfilling the requirements for Mundane Skills, but you cannot repeat threads between Mundane advancements.


Untrained ⇒ Rank I	Rank I ⇒ Rank II	Rank II ⇒ Rank III	Rank III ⇒ Rank IV	Unranked Skills
1x thread training with desired skill 1x thread utilizing desired skill 1x thread utilizing desired skill in Encounter 10x rolling Strike utilizing desired skill	2x threads training with desired skill 2x threads utilizing Mundane Keyword 2x threads utilizing Mundane Keyword in Encounter 20x rolling Strike utilizing desired skill	3x threads training with desired skill 3x threads utilizing Mundane Keyword 3x threads utilizing Mundane Keyword in Encounter 30x rolling Strike utilizing desired skill	4x threads training with desired skill 4x threads utilizing Mundane Keyword 4x threads utilizing Mundane Keyword in Encounter 40x rolling Strike utilizing desired skill	Iron Will 5x threads encountering mind-affecting magic The Knack 5x Encounter threads with another member of the Exchange while being an active member of the Exchange

Guidebook Navigation[edit source]

General Information	Forum Guidelines ⁂ Discord Guidelines ⁂ At-a-Glance ⁂ FAQ ⁂ Style Guide ⁂ Custom Codes
Character Creation	Creation Guide ⁂ Paths ⁂ Mundanes ⁂ Arcanists ⁂ Cursed ⁂ Possessed ⁂ Half-Bloods ⁂ Shifters ⁂ Undying ⁂ Spirits ⁂ Face Claims ⁂ Character Census
Magic Information	Magic Summary ⁂ Archetypes ⁂ Wards and Protective Materials ⁂ Codes of Conduct ⁂ Rituals ⁂ Enchantments ⁂ Keywords
Setting Information	General Setting ⁂ Easthaven ⁂ City Map ⁂ Owning Locations ⁂ The Exchange ⁂ Existing Groups ⁂ Events Timeline ⁂ Beyond Easthaven
Game Mechanics	Strike & Cinder Dice ⁂ Dice Pool ⁂ Dice Mechanics ⁂ Difficulty Class ⁂ Success Range ⁂ Encounters ⁂ Advancement ⁂ Reputation
Site Information	Credits ⁂ Help:Archive ⁂ Help:Dice Tracking ⁂ Help:Dice Rolling ⁂ Help:Forum Templates