Epic Universal Progression (Rules)

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Upon reaching level 20, characters cease to advance in the fashion they have up to this point. At 21st level and beyond, staple numeric advancements such as base attack bonus and saving throws no longer improve automatically based on character class. Instead, they begin to gain an epic bonus to these class features.

~~**Experience**: Characters continue to gain experience as they adventure. The precise XP requirements for leveling up in Pathfinder are determined by an algorithm which requires a PC to overcome 5 encounters of a Challenge Rating (CR) equal to their current level. In Fenar, after level 20, you no longer gain XP, you simply gain +1 level (or more) after sessions.~~

Epic level characters only gain levels from sessions that reward "+1 Level"

**Hit Die (HD)**: All character classes continue to increase in HD at the same rate as they did as non-epic characters. A character's Hit Die type never increases or decreases as a result of achieving epic levels.

**Epic Attack Bonus (Su)**: Rather than continuing to gain an additional base attack bonus at a rate based on their class, characters of 21st level and higher gain an epic bonus to their attack rolls, CMB, and CMD. This bonus is +1 at level 22 and increases by an additional +1 for every 4 levels. This bonus stacks with all other bonuses to attack, CMB, and CMD and is included as part of your base attack bonus when calculating the effects of abilities that rely on your BAB or for the purposes of qualifying for feats. Despite this, you never gain additional attacks from an epic attack bonus and it does not stack with other epic bonuses to attack received from other sources.

**Skill Points**: Every time an epic character increases in level, they gain a number of skill points equal to the number they would have gained upon increasing a non-epic level, including any bonuses from their Intelligence modifier.

**Max Skill Ranks**: The maximum number of ranks that can be invested in a skill remains equal to your character level, even at epic levels.

**Epic Saving Throw Bonus (Su)**: As with attack bonuses, characters of 21st level and higher gain an epic bonus to all three of their saving throws: Fortitude, Reflex, and Will. This bonus is +1 at level 22 and increases by an additional +1 for every 3 levels. This bonus stacks with all other bonuses to saving throws but not with other epic bonuses.

**Ability Score Increase**: Your ability scores continue to increase just as they did at non-epic levels. You gain a +1 to one ability score of your choice at 24th level and every four levels thereafter.

**Bonus Character Feats**: You continue to gain bonus character feats every odd-numbered level. However, starting at 21st level you can select epic feats. Unlike the bonus feats gained from your class, character feats gained from leveling up can be used to select any epic feat for which you qualify. They can also be used to select non-epic feats you qualify for if you wish. A complete list of epic feats can be found in Chapter 5.

**Prowess (Ex)**: All epic characters gain increased combat prowess as they advance. Depending on a character's class, they will gain a +1 bonus to one attack every level, every 2 levels, or every 4 levels. These attack bonuses are different from the epic attack bonuses gained at 22nd level and every 4 levels; they apply only when the character makes a full attack action and to only one attack. Every time a character gains a level that provides this feature, they choose one of their iterative attacks in a full attack action and add this bonus to that attack's base attack bonus with a few caveats:

* It cannot be added to your primary attack
* It can only increase an attack bonus that is not already equal to your primary attack
* It can never grant you an additional attack

For example, at 20th level, a fighter's base attack bonus is +20/+15/+10/+5. At 21st level, they gain a +1 bonus, which they choose to add to their second attack, now giving them a BAB of +20/+15/+10/+6. At 22nd level, they now have a total of +2 and decide to add their new +1 to their third attack, giving them a BAB of +20/+15/+11/+6.

As a second example, at 20th level, a wizard's base attack bonus is +10/+5. At 21st level, they gain a +1 bonus, which they choose to add to their fourth attack, now giving them a BAB of +10/+6. At 28th level, they now have a total of +2 and decide to add their new +1 to their first attack, giving them a BAB of +11/+6. No matter how much prowess a wizard gains, it will **never** allow him to gain a third iterative attack.

Eventually, every class will find that all their attacks in a full attack action are at the same bonus as their primary attack. At this point, characters no longer gain a prowess bonus.