• Build Points no longer exist.

Skill Points

• Characters receive 10 Skill Points at level 1. More Skill Points are awarded as the PCs complete challenges (in the same manner as BP).
  • For each 10 more Skill Points received, level increases by 1.
  • All characters gain 40 bonus Skill Points at level 1, representing their background and pre-adventurer training.
• Skill Points are used to increase the modifier of a skill, exactly as in d20/3.5. In other words, each 1 SP adds +1 to a skill modifier.
  • From 0-4 skill points, a skill is considered Rank 0.
  • From 5-9 skill points, a skill is considered Rank 1.
  • From 10-14 skill points, a skill is considered Rank 2. etc...
• The maximum number of skill points invested in any one skill is equal to your level plus 5.
  • Thus, at level 1, the maximum is 6 skill points. At level 5, it is 10. At level 10, 15. Etc.
  • At maximum investment, a skill's rank will correspond to previous notions of level-based rank.

Ability Scores

• New characters receive 10 ability score points to spend as desired. No score may be increased beyond 5 with these points.
• For each 10 SP earned, characters gain 1 ability score point.
  • Thus, characters at level 1 have 11 ability score points. At level 10, they have 20 points. Etc.
• There are no longer any "Hero bonuses". Skill Points cannot increase ability scores.
• Races affect ability scores.
• Some Feats may affect ability scores.

Feats

• Characters receive 1 Feat for each 10 SP they earn.
  • At level 1, they gain 4 bonus Feats representing their Background.
  • Total feats at level 1: 5. At level 2, 6. Etc.
• Feats may have requirements; each Feat will indicate these. For example, a Feat might require a Str of 3, or 5 ranks of Agility.

• All skills now have a list of Paths.
• When you train in any skill, you must select one Path. This choice is permanent.
• Thereafter, you gain the abilities listed for that Path, as well as any listed under General for that skill.
• As soon as you have the requisite amount of Skill Points invested in a skill, you gain all abilities listed for your Path. The requisite amount is 5 for rank 1, 10 for rank 2, etc.
• You may spend Feats to gain access to other Paths. For example:
  • You have 10 ranks of Fire, granting access to ranks 0-2 in "General". You chose the path Firestarter, gaining ranks 0-2 of that path.
  • You spend 1 feat to gain rank 1 access to an alternate path: "Flameborn".
  • You spend 1 more feat to gain rank 2 access to Flameborn.
  • At this point, you cannot spend feats to gain rank 3 access to Flameborn, because you do not yet have rank 3 access to the Fire skill itself.

• Damage Threshold no longer exists.
• Whenever you suffer Wound Points, you may immediately cash them in for Injuries of the appropriate type.
  • The purpose of this is to trade the unpleasant effects of Wounds (i.e. disablement, death) for less-debilitating but longer-term effects (e.g. broken leg, missing hand, etc).
  • Simply select an Injury of your choice, as long as its description makes sense (i.e. third-degree burns don't make sense when stabbed by a rapier). You immediately gain the Injury, and lose the corresponding amount of Wound Points listed in that injury.
  • You may select an Injury that removes more Wound Points than you currently have. This does not give you "positive Wound Points", it simply resets them to 0.
  • Even if your WP are reduced to 0, you suffer from Bleeding Out and must stabilize as normal.
• The ability to select Injuries is typically allowed only to PCs and important NPCs, not ordinary monsters.

• As Damage Threshold no longer exists, DR values for Armor will increase.
• Armor is now able to add bonuses to Block, stacking with those from shields.

• Block is now an attribute derived from the Fortitude skill and equipment-based bonuses. It is no longer a Skill that can be rolled directly.
  • Instead, Block is now calculated as (Fortitude modifier, including SP and Con bonus) + (equipment bonuses) + (circumstance bonuses).
  • When you use the Block reaction, you apply your Block modifier as DR against an incoming attack in your forward arc (requiring awareness). You must expend 1 Stamina.
  • You may expend more than 1 Stamina, gaining +100% Block Rating to that specific attack for each extra point. This requires no feats or training.
  • If you reserve a hand for blocking, you gain +10 to Block Rating, and the first Stamina point cost is removed.

• Dodge is now a use of the Agility skill. It is used in the same manner as before, but it is no longer its own skill.
• Parry is now a use of the Melee skill. It is used in the same manner as before, but it is no longer its own skill.