This document defines how levels, ranks, and skills work in Starting my own Guild. The intent is Grimgar-like growth: characters become dangerous through technique, teamwork, and refined use, not explosive stat scaling.

1. Adventurer Card (what it is, who can read it)

1.1 Issuance

• Adventurer Cards are issued and bound by the Guardians of the Tower Guild. - The card is soul-linked (cannot be freely stolen/used) and updates when the Guardian’s system recognises change (level-up, skill breakthrough, certification).

1.2 Visibility rules

• Owner: can view full details. - People with Analyse-type skills: can view partial or full details depending on their Analyse rank. - Everyone else: sees only public fields (typically Name, Guild ID, Rank/Level, sometimes Class).

Writer note: this creates social tension and information economy. “Show me your card” is meaningful, but not always possible.

1. Card Layout (standard fields)

2.1 Identity

• Name - Class (starting class is a “direction”, not a cage) - Race - Guild ID

2.2 Core Attributes (universal, not class-locked)

These are not “build points”. They are measures the Tower/Guild uses to describe capability. 1. Strength (STR)

Physical power: lifting, grappling, striking force, weapon draw strength. 2. Agility (AGI)

Coordination + reaction: balance, footwork, fine hand control, timing. 3. Endurance (END)

Stamina + bodily resilience: fatigue threshold, recovery, sustained exertion. 4. Mana (MNA)

Mana capacity + output potential: how much you can fuel skills/spells/tools. 5. Insight (INS)

Perception + pattern-reading: noticing danger, reading intent, “seeing” openings, learning from observation. 6. Resonance (RSN)

Soul–mana harmonisation: how well the person interfaces with the Tower’s mana.

Resonance (RSN) affects: - Tower Pressure tolerance: resistance to mana-sickness and thick mana zones. - Recovery “stickiness”: fewer lingering debuffs/aftereffects after heavy Tower exposure.

1. Levels & Ranks (Growth Tracker)

3.1 Structure

• Each adventurer has: - Rank (starts at Rank Z) - Level (1–10 within each Rank) - Progress toward next level (a bar/percentage on the card)

3.2 What leveling represents

Level = general adaptation to danger and Tower conditions (conditioning, reflex integration, mana circulation, survival competence). - Level-ups give small, believable gains (slight improvements to attributes and recovery). - The big gains come from skills ranking up, synergy, tactics, and gear.

3.3 How progress is earned (anti-grind, discovery-based)

Progress comes primarily from novel, meaningful experiences, not repeating safe kills: - First-time defeat of a monster variant / elite / Warden contribution - Survival of lethal situations (ambush, collapse, curse event) - Breakthrough moments (saving a party member, executing a new technique under pressure) - Deep exploration (Deeper mana zones affects the body and gains exp)

Writer note: This prevents “farm rats until godhood”. Growth has a narrative shape.

3.4 Ranking up (Level 10 → next Rank)

To go from Level 10 to the next Rank, the character must achieve a Rank Breakthrough.

A Breakthrough requires two parts: 1. Capacity (enough Growth progress at L10) 2. Promotion Ritual: This ritual is done in The Saint Guild and costs mana stones. This ritual forces the body into a breackthroug to keep growing, the bigger the rank the bigger the cost

The Guardian system then records: - Rank increases (Z → Y → X → … → A → S … as far as your setting needs) - Minor attribute adjustment (still modest) - Sometimes: a new slot for skill integration (see Skill Load below)

1. Skill System (the heart of power)

4.1 What a “Skill” is in-world

A Skill is a repeatable pattern of body + mana + intent that the Tower/Guild system can recognise and record.

Skills are hard to gain because: - you need correct motion, timing, breath/mana control, and situational understanding - many people can attempt techniques, but few form a stable, repeatable “pattern” that becomes a Skill

Most adventurers end up with 1–3 core skills and refine them deeply.

4.2 Skill categories (card display)

Every skill is listed as one of the following: - Active Skills: executed techniques (strikes, steps, blocks, feints, bursts, casts) - Passive Skills: always-on traits/patterns (night vision-like senses, steady breathing, pain filtering, mana flow stability) - Craft/Trade Skills: forging, cooking, alchemy prep, cleaning, carpentry, trapmaking, appraisal (these can be extremely valuable in Versa) - Support/Utility Skills: scouting methods, rope work patterns, field medicine routines, ward-setting, torch-control, party signalling

Writer note: non-combat skills matter because Versa is an industrial dungeon economy.

4.3 Skill Rank vs Level (two different ladders)

• Level/Rank = overall adaptation and baseline growth - Skill Rank = technique quality and depth

A skill has: - Proficiency Rank (recommended ladder): F → E → D → C → B → A → S - Optional sub-detail for writers: a Mastery % that creeps slowly until a breakthrough occurs.

4.4 How skills improve (the “Grimgar rule”)

Skills rank up through use + understanding, not mere repetition.

A skill ranks up when the character gains at least one of: - Technical refinement (cleaner form, fewer wasted movements, better timing) - Situational understanding (when to use it, against whom, in what terrain) - Resource control (mana/stamina efficiency; RSN often helps here) - Pressure proof (executed correctly while exhausted, injured, terrified, or under Tower distortion)

Repetition alone raises consistency, but Rank Up requires a “click” moment: a lesson paid for in danger, mentorship, or hard practice.

1. Acquiring new Skills (why it’s rare)

A character can acquire a Skill via:

5.1 Mentorship (schools, guild instructors)

• Most reliable method. - Requires money, reputation, time, and often oaths/contracts (information is a commodity in Versa).

5.2 Self-earned emergence (experience)

• A character repeatedly solves a problem under stress (e.g., dodging in tight corridors) until the pattern stabilises into a recognised Skill. - This is slow, gritty, and story-rich.

5.3 Repetition + structured practice (drills)

• Works best for craft/utility skills. - Combat skills still usually need real pressure to “lock in”.

5.4 Skill Books (instant knowledge, imperfect results)

Skill Books are magical tools that imprint conceptual and procedural knowledge.

Rules to keep them from breaking the story: - They grant understanding, not automatically clean execution. - After using a book, the character often gains: - the Skill at low rank (F/E), or - a Blueprint (card lists it as “Unstable” until proven in real use) - Skill Books are expensive, regulated, and often faked.

Writer note: “Pay-to-win” exists, but books don’t replace danger. They buy a head start, not mastery.

1. Skill Load (soft limiter that preserves uniqueness)

To prevent people from collecting endless skills, use a simple rule: - Each person has a limited Skill Load: the number of Skills their soul can stably hold at meaningful ranks. - Increasing Rank (Z→Y→X…) can raise this capacity slightly, but it remains limited.

Practical effect: - Most people choose a small core kit and build synergy. - “Wide” builds exist but tend to be shallow and unreliable under pressure.

1. Mages, Spells, and “Saved Patterns”

7.1 Skills vs Spells

• Mage Skills are the underlying controls (e.g., Mana Threading, Heat Shaping, Arc Control). - A Spell is a stored pattern: a repeatable combination of skills shaped into a stable cast.

7.2 Spell recording limitation (your rule)

Only characters with the Passive Mana Gifted can reliably save spell patterns as Spells. - Without Mana Gifted, a person can still do magic-like effects through tools, rituals, or raw skills, but they cannot “lock” them into dependable spell slots. - Spells are limited in number (slots), but highly useful and fast under pressure.

Writer note: this keeps mage power clever, not infinite. They win by preparation and pattern choice.

1. Example: Adventurer Card (template)

Adventurer Card — Guardian Record - Name: ________ - Class: ________ - Race: ________ - Guild ID: ________

Core Attributes - STR: __ - AGI: __ - END: __ - MNA: __ - INS: __ - RSN: __

Growth Tracker - Rank: Z - Level: 3 / 10 - Progress: ██▌_____ (35%)

Skills - Active: - Quickstep — Rank E: Short burst footwork; reduces commitment time when repositioning. - Low Cut — Rank F: Simple opening strike; reliable on distracted targets. - Passive: - Tower Breath — Rank F: Improved recovery under ambient mana pressure. - Utility: - Rope Handling — Rank E: Secure knots under stress; faster line setup.

Notes (Analyse-only) - RSN above average: unusually stable near distortion zones. - Skill Load: nearing limit for Rank Z.

1. Writer “Do / Don’t” (tone control)

Do

• Show growth as cleaner execution, fewer wasted motions, better timing, smarter choices. - Let new skills feel earned: months of drills, one lethal fight, a mentor’s correction, a scar. - Make Skill Books powerful but not a replacement for competence. - Use RSN to make the Tower feel physically real (pressure, distortion, attunement problems).

Don’t

• Don’t let characters gain 10+ skills quickly unless it’s a plot-grade anomaly. - Don’t use levels as the primary power jump; keep level-ups modest. - Don’t make INS “IQ”. Treat it like perception, pattern sense, reading intent, learning by seeing.

If you tell me your intended Rank ladder (how far beyond Z you want the story to go), I can formalise the exact naming (Z→Y→X… or Z→A→S…) and give recommended level-up deltas so writers stay consistent when describing “how much stronger” someone feels.