Leveling and Advancement
XP is a bank per fighter — earned from specific deeds, spent to buy advancement rolls. There are no levels and no thresholds. If you have the XP, you can spend it (usually at the end of this step, between battles).
Earning XP
Track Experience on the fighter card as a running total. Unspent XP carries forward.
Award XP during Step 8: Experience & Advancement in three passes — battle, scenario, then post-game — so casualty, Captured, and Doom awards stay separate from in-battle deeds.
A fighter removed as Slain still receives battle and scenario Experience from that battle — for example, a fighter who puts an enemy Out of Action and is later Slain on the Casualty Table keeps the Out of Action XP. Slain fighters do not receive the Did not go Out of Action award, Hardy, Miraculous, or other post-game Experience.
Battle Experience
Award to individual fighters for deeds during the battle:
| Source | XP |
|---|---|
| Did not go Out of Action | +1 |
| Put an enemy fighter Out of Action by a direct action you resolved | +1 (once per enemy fighter) |
| Put the enemy Leader Out of Action by a direct action you resolved | +2 |
Did not go Out of Action: The fighter never went Out of Action during the battle.
Direct action: The fighter who resolves the attack, shot, or ability that causes the Out of Action earns the XP. Do not award Out of Action XP for indirect effects — for example, when a spell or terrain effect such as The Void removes an enemy without your fighter resolving the final action.
Leader: The +2 award is for taking the enemy Leader Out of Action; do not also add +1 for the same Out of Action.
Scenario Experience
Each scenario states which fighters earn XP and how much. Scenario awards are per fighter — never retinue-wide unless the scenario names a specific fighter (for example, the fighter who escaped with the Horn token).
Post-Game Experience
Award after the Casualty Table and Doom Table, separate from battle and scenario awards:
| Source | XP |
|---|---|
| Hardy (Casualty Table d6) | +1 |
| Miraculous (Doom Table 2d6) | +2 |
Some Survival Roll or scenario results also grant +1 Experience to one named or selected surviving fighter. Apply those in this pass.
Spending XP — Advancement
Spend XP from a fighter's bank to buy one advancement below. Pay the cost immediately; deduct it from the fighter's XP bank before applying the advancement. You may buy multiple advancements on the same fighter in one post-game if they can afford them.
| Advancement | XP cost |
|---|---|
| Feat | 3 |
| Wi or Sa +1 | 6 |
| Mt or Sk +1 | 7 |
| W +1 | 8 |
| Caster | 9 |
| M +1 | 10 |
| Df +1 | 11 |
| CC or RC +1 | 12 |
| Feat (outside Archetype or Domain) | 15 |
Fighters with the Vampire keyword must pay 2 XP more than the listed cost for any advancement on this table. This adds to the XP price only; it does not change what the advancement grants.
Feat
Select any feat this fighter qualifies for from the Feats lists — Archetype, Domain, or Universal — under the same keyword and prerequisite rules as at recruitment.
Feat — Outside Archetype or Domain
Select any feat other than Proficiency from an Archetype feat list or Domain feat list this fighter's own keywords do not grant. The fighter must still meet any other prerequisite the feat itself lists, such as requiring the Caster keyword.
This does not grant the matching Archetype or Domain keyword — the fighter is borrowing training, not switching allegiance.
Attribute Advancement
Buying an attribute advancement raises the chosen attribute by +1, to a maximum of 6.
If this purchase would raise an attribute more than +1 above that fighter's ancestry baseline for it — not the value after recruitment bonuses, feats, or prior advancement — select a different attribute on this fighter and reduce it by 1, to a minimum of 1, for each point beyond that first +1.
Caster
A fighter may buy Caster only if they have Wi 4 or higher, or Sa 4 or higher — whichever attribute governs their Domain's casting roll. Buying Caster grants the Cast action and 1 spell from the fighter's Domain list, chosen at purchase.
The recruitment restrictions on Caster still apply: only 1 fighter in the retinue may have the Caster keyword, and no fighter may buy Caster if any fighter in the retinue has the Mortal keyword.