Actually, the fast track to Hero is not through skills or weaponry,
but through magic, because of the lower training time for spells. To
train a pair of spells to Rank 8 costs 36 training days and 36 times
the cost multiplier, so with only 144 training days and 14400
experience points, a Namer could advance to that exalted level. That
is why every group I ever played with instituted a rule that a skill
had to have been used at least once between levels to advance. Let's
look at two extreme examples: a Namer and a combat specialist who
only trains weapons skills.
Fortnight 1: 1200 XP each.
Nathan spends 800 points and 4 days to advance 8 General Counterspells
to Rank 1. Fred spends 175 and 4 weeks to advance scimitar, main
gauche and dagger to rank 1. He also picks up cestus and unarmed
combat for 180. While Fred is completing his training, Nathan gains
360 points for non-adventuring experience. Balance: Fred: 3 skills
at Rank 1, 2 skills at Rank 0, 845 points left; Nathan: 8 skills at
Rank 1, 760 points.
Fortnight 2: 1200 XP each.
Nathan spends 1600 XP and 8 days training. Fred spends 690 and 8
weeks. Nathan harvests 720 xp waiting for Fred. Nathan now has 8
skills at Rank 2 and 1040 banked points. Fred has 3 weapons at Rank
2, 2 at Rank 1 and 1355 in the bank.
Fortnight 3: 1200 XP each.
With only 2240 XP, Nathan chooses to advance 6 spells to rank 3,
leaving him a temporary balance of 440. However, Fred is going to be
training for at least 14 weeks, so Nathan can take three days later in
his vacation and train two more spells to rank 3. He invests 12
training days during the 14 weeks Fred is training. Scimitar 3, main
gauche 3, dagger 3, cestus 2 and unarmed combat 2 costs Fred 1200
points, leaving his bank untouched until he chooses to add short bow
and whip to his arsenal for 250 points. Nathan now has eight skills at
Rank 3, and with 86 vacation days, 1150 points in the bank. Fred has
3 weapons at Rank 3, 2 at 2 and 2 at rank 0 with 1105 points left.
Fortnight 4: 1200 XP each
This is where things slow down a bit for both players. With 2350
points, Nathan advances 4 spells to Rank 4 in 8 days, vacations for 4
days and trains for four more. Fred needs 20 weeks, training Scimitar
and main gauche to Rank 4 in 8 weeks, dagger to rank 4 in the second 8
weeks and whip and short bow to Rank 1 in the last 4, while gaining
rank 3 with unarmed and cestus for a total cost of 2250. Nathan's
vacation provides 1860 points, so with 16 days spent training, he can
easily afford the 850 he was short to train up eight spells to Rank 4.
For simplicity of calculation, let's assume Nathan waits to finish
his training until Fred is also in the home stretch. Nathan is now an
Adventurer with 1010 points banked, while Fred has three weapons at 4,
2 at 3 and 2 at one, and a mere 55 in the bank.
Fortnight 5: Nathan 2400, Fred 1200
Nathan spends 15 days and 3000 points training six spells to Rank 5.
Fred spends 6 weeks training so that he now has five weapons at rank 4
and 2 at 1, for a cost of 1000 xp. He banks the remaining 255 while
Nathan harvests 660 vacation points, trains his other two spells to
Rank 5 and has 70 left.
Fortnight 6: Nathan 2400, Fred 1200
Nathan trains 4 spells to Rank 6 for 2400 points, leaving him 70 plus
480 vacation points. Fred spends 4 weeks training whip and short bow
to rank 2 at a cost of 700, leaving 755 banked.
Fortnight 7: Nathan 2400, Fred 1200.
Nathan now has 6 spells at rank 6 and 1720 points banked while Fred
has 5 weapons at rank 4 and two at rank 3 with 355 points left over.
Fortnight 8: Nathan 2400, Fred 1200
Desperate to catch up, but lacking points, Fred takes a break from
training and takes a 14 day vacation for 1975 in the bank, while
Nathan spends 14 days training 4 spells to Rank 7 at a cost of 2800,
leaving his bank at 1320.
Fortnight 9: Nathan 2400, Fred 1200
Spending 8 weeks, Fred trains his two weapons to rank 4 for 2100
points. He finally makes adventurer on the strength of two language
skills counting for half each, while Nathan spends two weeks training
four more spells up to Rank 7, again at a cost of 2800. With 2180
banked, Nathan could afford to train 2 spells to rank 8, but chooses
to wait. Fred now has 420 banked.
Fortnight 10: 2400 each
Poor Fred! Training two weapons to rank 5 requires 10 weeks and he
opts for unarmed and short bow, for 2400 points. Nathan trains 4
spells to rank 8 in 16 days and reaps another 1620 in vacation time,
leaving his bank at 2200 and Fred's at 420.
Fortnight 11: 2400 Each
With 4600 points going into training, Nathan makes Hero handily in 16
days, harvesting 2700 points for vacation time while Fred spends ten
weeks training his whip and dagger for 2400 points.
Admittedly, this is an extreme example, because very few colleges will
allow a mage to advance this far on only 14400 points and most
fighters will also be spending points on adventuring skills, reducing
their overall training time. However, this proves that it is possible
to reach Hero in only 22 weeks of real time, and in 92 weeks plus
adventuring time in the game. Even assuming a week on the road for
every week of training, this is less than four game years. Meanwhile,
Fred has to endure almost three solid years of training before he hits
Hero with some rather extreme point costs per level.
Zheb_54
> > > Assume that you play every week, and every two
> > weeks
> > > you complete an adventure. Even the Palace of
> > Ontocle,
> > > for example.
> > >
> > > Assume your characters aren't just good, they're
> > > brilliant. *Every* adventure they go on they
> > succeed.
> > >
> > > So every fortnight of play, you manager to raise
> > your
> > > characters by the maximum experience points.
> > >
> > > How many years of play do you think it would take
> > to
> > > get to Hero level? Even choosing the path of least
> > > resistance. Even assuming that Speak and R/W
> > Common
> > > and the local language at Rnk 8 counts?
> > >
> > >
> > >
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