Each character gains training in several Philosophies which represent their ability to harness the training and abilities granted by that power source. Most creatures gain access to the Physical and Mental Philosophies form their Race, which represents training of the body and mind respectively. Each Class grants access to an additional philosophy, which serves as the source of their abilities and defines the type of training they've acquired. From within these Philosophies, a character gains their Powers.

A character's Powers are what largely sets adventurers apart from the common folk. The extreme dedication and study that adventurers lend to their craft allows them to learn complicated Eldritch spells, precise Martial techniques, and devout Divine prayers. Adventurers gain unique abilities beyond that of the merchant or town guard. They learn to fight with astounding determination and endurance. They learn to create explosive balls of fire. They even learn to tap into their deity's influence to empower their allies.

Powers can vary greatly in their effects. Some are quite simple and enhance a character's natural talents and abilities. Other powers enhance a character's skills, allowing them to use them in unique or advanced ways. Other powers grant special abilities, such as flight or the ability to see magical auras. Still other powers increase the intensity of a weapon's blow or allow a character to deflect an incoming weapon attack. Magical powers allow a character to shoot lightning bolts, paralyze his foes, and conjure images of his enemies' worst fears.

Philosophies

Your Character will gain ranks in at least three Philosophies: Mental, Physical, and another specific to his class (i.e. Divine, Eldritch, or Martial). While it is possible to gain access to additional philosophies in other ways, your character will typically start out with just the three philosophies.

Philosophy Ranks serve as prerequisites to powers, determining which powers your character can choose at any particular level. Philosophy Ranks range from 1 to 10, where Rank 1 represents just an introductory knowledge and training in the Philosophy and Rank 10 represents an in-depth mastery of the Philosophy. There is a maximum rank imposed on Philosophies, based on character level. Your first level character has a maximum Philosophy Rank of 3.

Physical Philosophy

All characters have the Physical Philosophy, which represents a creature's physical training, fitness, and endurance.

Brawn

The Brawn score represents a character's physical prowess. A Brawn roll is used to complete tasks of pure physical might and endurance, such as lifting a heavy object, busting down a door, or holding up a collapsing ceiling. The Brawn score is dependent on a combination of Strength, Constitution, and Physical Rank, with a modifier based on creature size.

A creature's size modifies it's Brawn Score, according to the table to the right.

Mental Philosophy

The Mental Philosophy represents a character mental acuity and problem solving skills.

Wits

Wits represent a character's mental grace and problem solving. A wits rolls may be made if your character is trying to make an elaborate plan or solve a puzzle. The Wits score is dependent on a combination of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Mental Rank.

Determine your Starting Philosophy Ranks

Your character's race grants at least one rank in both the Mental and Physical philosophies, plus an additional rank in one or the other. For some races, you are allowed to choose where this third rank is placed while other races have it predetermined. Determine the philosophy ranks granted by your race, listed as "Philosophy Ranks" in the Racial Characteristics box on the right of each Race page.

Your character's class grants two ranks in the class's philosophy, and then grants you an additional rank to place in any of the three philosophies (i.e. Mental, Physical, or your class philosophy). Most players choose to add this additional rank to their class's philosophy, granting them access to stronger class powers, but some choose to increase one of the other philosophies instead (in order to qualify for a power or feat for which they need a higher Mental or Physical rank, for example). Determine the philosophy ranks granted by your class, listed as "Philosophy Training" in the Class Traits box on the right of each Class page.

Between your character's race and class you are granted a total of 6 philosophy ranks. Once you have determined your rank in each philosophy, making decisions where necessary, record your Philosophies and current rank in the Philosophies section of the character sheet. Also, check the "Primary" (PRI) box next to your class philosophy (indicating that it is a Primary Philosophy for you). Information on obtaining and utilizing non-primary philosophies can be found in the Non-Primary Philosophies section.

Disciplines

The Class Philosophies (i.e. those other than Physical and Mental) are further broken up into Disciplines, which are different styles of training within the philosophy. For example, the Brute Discipline (in the Martial Philosophy) focuses on using brute strength attacks that deal increased damage to enemies, whereas the Guardian Discipline focuses on defense and making attacks that grant boons to allies. Likewise, the Conjuration discipline (in the Eldritch Philosophy) focuses on creating objects or effects from nothing, while the Illusion discipline focuses on creating images to confuse or cloud the minds of enemies.

Your class grants you access to a selection of disciplines within your class philosophy. For some classes you get to choose from a selection of disciplines, and for other classes your disciplines are predetermined. Typically, you are limited to choosing powers from within your Discipline (see Powers Outside your Chosen Disciplines for information on using powers outside your discipline). Record your granted disciplines in the "Philosophies" section of the character sheet.

Powers

Powers represent special abilities your character has learned, the effects of which are vast and varied. Powers come in two varieties: General Powers that depend on your Mental and Physical philosophies and Class Powers that depend on you class philosophy. Your character will begin with only a few powers, but with training and experience he'll learn new powers and improve his existing powers.

All powers have an "Effect", which explains what the power does. Effects can include making an attack, granting a boon, using a skill in a unique way, imposing a condition that changes the environment, and much more. Powers have many other aspects, including specified ranges, costs to use, and augments that enhance your powers over time. It may become overwhelming if you attempt to examine all aspects of a power at this time, so try to limit yourself to examining the few aspects described below. While detailed information about reading, understanding and using powers will be discussed in detail in the How to Play section, you can refer to the How to Read a Power section for a more detailed look at the anatomy of powers.

• Effect: This will tell you what the power does and is arguably the most important aspect of a power. You want to examine the Effect section of powers first to see if the power sounds interesting or aligns with your character concept.
• Prerequisites: This will indicate any Philosophy Rank or other requirements for the power. You cannot choose a power if you do not meet the prerequisites. Generally speaking, the higher the prerequisite Philosophy Rank of the power, the stronger and more powerful it is.
• Disciplines: This indicates which Discipline a power belongs to. Typically, you want to only choose powers within your granted Disciplines. Sometimes a power will belong to multiple Disciplines, in which case you only need to have access to one of the listed Disciplines in order to choose the power. In a limited number of cases, a power may require both Disciplines, which would be indicated in the prerequisites section of the power.
• Requirements: This section indicates requirements necessary to utilize the power. This sometimes includes certain equipment requirements, such as using a shield or a particular type of weapon. While you will choose your character's equipment later in this tutorial, it is important to keep your proficiencies and planned equipment in mind when choosing powers.

General Powers

General Powers enhance a character's skills or mental and physical capabilities. While a few General Powers have class specific requirements, most can be used by anyone who meets the prerequisites. Mental Methods can allow a character to make detailed observations of his surroundings, inspire his allies, and improve his mental saving throws. Physical Maneuvers can improve weapon and physical attacks, knock opponents off-guard, and improve physical saving throws. General Powers can also improve skills by allowing a character to use them in new ways, granting bonuses to a skill in certain situations or applications, or utilizing skills to enhance attacks and defenses.

Your first level character gains one General Power (plus any additional powers that may be granted as Racial or Class features). As always, when choosing your character's general power, keep in mind the character concept you've developed. If your character has a particular knack for sneaking up on people, perhaps you'll choose a power that augments the stealth skill. If your character is supposed to be strong and burly and overcome most physical maladies, perhaps you'll choose a power to augment physical saving throws. Or if your character is a strong leader and role-model, perhaps he would like to inspire his allies with a Morale affecting power.

Once you have chosen your general power, you can record its name and notes about it in the General Powers section of the character sheet.

Class Powers

Class Powers are chosen from your character's Class Philosophy. These powers are unique to each class philosophy and represent the training and specialization of that class. All class philosophies break powers down into one of four tiers, known as Calibers: Basic, Advanced, Legendary and Ultimate. These Calibers represent the relative strength of one power towards another, with Basic powers being the weakest and Ultimate powers being the strongest.

At first level, your character gains one Mastered Basic Power for which he qualifies (see Mastered vs. Memorized Powers below). Your character may gain additional Basic Powers through Racial or Class features. As your character gains experience and increases in level, he will gain more Basic Powers, as well as powers of higher Calibers. You can browse Basic Class Powers for each philosophy by following the first set of links to the right. You can alternatively browse powers by Discipline, by following the second set of links.

Choosing your character's first class power may seem a bit daunting at first, as you will likely have many to choose from. Consider limiting your search to a specific Discipline that most closely aligns with your character concept and what you want your character to be able to do. You can browse class powers by discipline by following the links to the right. Alternatively, you can use the Power Search utility to search for powers of a specific keyword, such as Cold or Healing. You will have many opportunities to diversify your character's abilities later, so try to think of a theme for your character's abilities and start there.

Mastered versus Memorized Powers

Most Powers your character receives are Mastered powers, allowing you full access to the power's capabilities and all of its augments (assuming you meet the prerequisites for those augments). While all characters gain Mastered powers, some classes also grant Power Memorizations as a class feature. While the number of powers a character can memorize and how they gain access to those powers varies by class, the general idea is that a character can change or trade out his memorized powers for other powers after each Extended Rest. Wizards, for example, may memorize any spells out of their Spell Book (up to their total number of Spell Memorizations per Caliber). Clerics, on the other hand, may memorize any spell within their granted Disciplines (no Spell Book necessary), but are limited to one per Caliber. See the Power Memorization page for a more detailed explanation.

While Memorized Powers are more versatile then Mastered Powers, they are also more restricted. A character using a power that is Memorized (and not Mastered) cannot use any Master Augments for that power. In other words, while a character with Power Memorizations has access to more powers, they are not able to use those powers with the same efficacy as a character who has mastered them. Additionally, as with all powers, a character must meet the prerequisites of a power before he can memorize it. Using powers (both Mastered and Memorized) and augments are explained in greater detail in the How to Play section.