vaelora/Rules/Ability Trees/Ability Trees.md

What Are Ability Trees?

Ability Trees are how characters in Vaelora grow beyond raw attributes and skills. Each tree represents a specific heritage, culture, profession, or discipline and is structured in tiers, with each tier granting access to powerful abilities.

Key Concept:
Ability Trees are specializations. Skills determine what you can attempt. Ability Trees define what you excel at and how you bend the rules.

Types of Trees

There are several types of Ability Trees:

1. Species Trees – Reflect your lineage’s inherent traits. (e.g., Tul resilience, Myou sporecraft, Tlaxcal ferocity.)
2. Culture Trees – Represent the customs and training of the society you grew up in. (e.g., Mentralian Knightly Orders, Annwyn’s spirit wards, The Reaches’ frontier cunning.)
3. Profession Trees – Paths zf deliberate mastery, often requiring formal training or initiation. (e.g., Shayakar, Oathknights, Sworn Blades.)

Tree Structure

Each Ability Tree is divided into four tiers, increasing in both power and cost.

• Tier 1: Entry-level abilities; foundational for the tree’s theme.
• Tier 2: Intermediate powers or deeper specialization.
• Tier 3: Advanced abilities; characters who reach this tier are renowned in their field.
• Tier 4: Apex abilities; rare and narrative-defining.

At each tier, you typically choose one ability from the tree.

• Some trees (like Knightly Orders or Oathknights) also require a vow, geas, or code to maintain your abilities.
• Magical trees may require rituals, sacrifices, or spirit bindings to unlock their power.

How to Advance

• Advancing in an Ability Tree requires Marks.
• When you fail a skill check, you may record a Mark for that skill (once per session per skill).
• To raise a skill, you must spend Marks equal to the new rank.
• To unlock an ability in a tree, you must meet its skill rank requirement and spend Marks.

Costs: Abilities: cost = Tier × 3 Marks.

Marks spent on Abilities must come from the tree’s associated “leading skills.”

• Example: The Knightly Orders tree uses Marks from Melee, Tactics, or Etiquette.
• Some abilities may specify a single required skill.

Requirements & Branching

1. You must unlock Tier 1 of a tree before advancing to its later tiers.
2. Some trees branch: unlocking the Core Tree (e.g., Shayakar Core) allows you to branch into multiple cultural or specialized sub-trees (e.g., Knightly Orders, Sworn Blades, Oathknights).
3. You can progress in multiple trees, but your Marks are limited: each choice matters.

Ability Types

Abilities vary widely in function but generally fall into these categories:

• Passive bonuses (always on): +1 die to Spirit rolls when resisting fear.
• Conditional bonuses: +1 die to Melee when defending allies.
• Mark manipulations: grant or modify Marked Dice (Persistent, Risky, Cooperative, etc.).
• New actions: allow techniques or rituals not normally available.
• Narrative effects: allies rally to your banner, spirits whisper secrets, you may impose fear in enemies.

Maintaining Abilities

Some trees impose ongoing codes, geasa, or vows.

• Breaking them may disable abilities until you atone, accrue Corruption Dice, or cause permanent loss.
• Magical trees often require ongoing spirit pacts, resources, or rituals to sustain power.

Example: Advancing in a Tree

• Mara is a Tul Shayakar (Knightly Order: Verdant Chalice).
• She has 2 ranks in Melee and 1 in Spirit (Discipline).
• She wants to unlock a Tier 2 ability in Verdant Chalice.

1. She checks the requirement: Tier 2 needs one leading skill at Rank 2. ✅ (Melee 2)
2. She spends 6 Marks (Tier 2 × 3) from the leading skills (Melee, Tactics, or Spirit).
3. She chooses “Purifying Presence”: once per session, she can remove 1 Corruption die from a willing ally.

Mara now embodies her Order’s healing presence in play.

Why It Matters

Ability Trees define a character’s identity and legend. They are the difference between a competent warrior and a Verdant Chalice knight whose presence inspires hope in a corrupted battlefield.

[!info] Advice:
Players should plan their Ability Trees with both mechanics and story in mind.
GMs should use tree unlocks as milestones: trials, initiations, or spiritual awakenings give the abilities weight.