Levels

Leveling is a mechanic that allows a fundamental progression of a creature.

## Overview

Passage has no built in system for tracking experience points of any kind. Instead, levels are simply determined by the GM given the right narrative environment. In the context of the world, a level represents an event where a character was pushed beyond its natural limits, forcing it to become stronger through a great enough need to overcome the challenge. They're designed to be simple enough to perform mid-combat, allowing them to be used whenever the GM sees fit.

Multiple levels can be awarded at a time, however this mechanic will usually be implemented to increase the difficulty of a situation, rather than to reward players, as granting levels too readily can be harmful to the value of them and the power-level of the players.

The higher the level of a creature, the harder it becomes for that creature to level up, as the harder it must be pushed to reach its limits. A creature should not be allowed to level past level 15 without good reason.

## Effects

Levels effect both Stats and Attributes. Levels work on a cyclic basis, where every 3 levels the effect of leveling again will loop, up to level 15.

If a creature doesn't desire an effect granted by a level, it may store any of the desired changes to either perform at a later level or not at all, but the stored effects should be marked for future reference.

Every level, a creature may also allocate an Attribute Point. This effect cannot be stored for later levels. Once allocated, an Attribute point may still be un-allocated if so desired.

1. Gain one Attribute point and allocate an additional Attribute point.
2. Gain 1 Recovery
3. Add or change one Weight in a Flux category and gain a point in *either* HP or EP.

## Ascension

Given the right situation, a creature ***may*** be allowed to ascend to the next tier, in a form of prestige. Doing so reverts a character's Attributes, HP, EP, level and recovery to their base level, but grants the creature the inherent benefits of the tier above while retaining its possessions, proficiencies and traits. Base Attribute Points may be allocated again as if creating a new character. Additionally, this will change qualities of the species of the creature, either by augmenting it, or if augmentation isn't possible then changing the species itself. This is considered to be a second/third etc. life in its own right, and so the creature is considered to be 0 years old.

The act of ascending itself is extremely difficult, and requires the death of a creature in the next tier in order to take its place. Raising a tier is no mean feat, even for a creature at the top of its tier.

## De-Leveling

Certain rare events may De-Level a creature, such as an unreasonably large amount of time (100s of years at its tier's perspective) or incredibly powerful Hexes. To De-Level a creature, simply reverse the effects of the previous level, except for allocation-based effects. For example, if a creature recently leveled up on a 1st category level and allocated that Attribute Point to +Spirit, if that creature is De-Leveled it may remove *any* attribute point that it has, allocated or not. If that creature once again levels up, it will regain that Attribute Point.

This effect may also cause a creature to Descend by diminishing its current species. This effect will almost never happen, even to a creature that is level 0. In certain situations, a creature's death will cause it to Descend instead of truly dying. As decending is more or less the opposite of ascension, a creature's age is seen to be increased by this, and will appear to be unknowably old unless decension changed its species (e.g. Undone). It will still retain its former possessions, but it may lose any stats, attributes, proficiencies or traits as the GM sees fit. Its age is simply marked as 0 again, and the creature will gain 9 levels from the base of its new diminished form.