Professions
A profession is the core of what your character can do — the trained discipline, calling, or specialization that defines their role in a party. Every profession belongs to one of three groups: Warriors, Knaves, or Scholars (see /professions/warriors/, /professions/knaves/, /professions/scholars/), and grants a Hit Die, a Trained Defensive Rating, a starting skill count, and its own Profession Resource and feature line. This page covers the progression framework shared by every profession; see each profession’s own overview.md for what it actually grants at each level.
Progression
Every character advances through the same 12-level framework, regardless of profession:
- 5 levels grant a Profession Feature.
- 4 levels grant a Path Feature — see
/paths/. - 3 levels grant a Perk — see
/perks/.
Whenever you could learn a Path Feature, you may choose a Perk from the general list instead.
If a profession has spellcasting, its spell progression follows Prowess rather than a separate spellcasting stat — see Magic’s Caster Progression for the Spell Tier / Spells Known / Mana table.
Basic Class Progression
| Level | Prowess | Feature | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Profession Features (2–3) | Perk (from Background) |
| 2 | 1 | Path Feature | |
| 3 | 2 | Perk | Stat Bonus |
| 4 | 2 | Profession Feature | |
| 5 | 2 | Path Feature | |
| 6 | 3 | Perk | Stat Bonus |
| 7 | 3 | Profession Feature | Extra Mastery |
| 8 | 3 | Path Feature | |
| 9 | 4 | Perk | |
| 10 | 4 | Profession Feature | |
| 11 | 4 | Path Feature | Stat Bonus |
| 12 | 4 | Profession Feature |
See Prowess for the exact bonus granted at each level.
Note: none of the six migrated profession tables (Drenkai, Harrower, Lux, Arcanist, Powderjack, Marshal) repeat Extra Mastery at level 12 — that slot’s “Other” column is blank across all six, since level 12 is always each profession’s Capstone feature instead. This table reflects that pattern rather than the older source text, which listed Extra Mastery at both 7 and 12.
Stat Bonus (Levels 3, 6, 11)
At each Stat Bonus level, increase one attribute by 2, or two different attributes by 1 each. You may not exceed 18 in an attribute score before a special feature or effect is applied — see Attributes.
Extra Mastery (Level 7)
At level 7, gain a Mastery for free — in a skill, weapon, or perk you’re already trained in — without spending the usual perk-system opportunity cost (see Training and Mastery, and Perks’ Perk Mastery). Extra Mastery never applies to spells: spells earn Mastery through their own trade-off, forgoing a new spell to master one you already know, instead (see Magic’s Caster Progression).
Advancement Cost
Untold Epoch uses XP-based leveling, tracked against the table below.
| Level | XP Required | Cumulative XP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 300 | 300 |
| 3 | 900 | 1,200 |
| 4 | 2,700 | 3,900 |
| 5 | 6,500 | 10,400 |
| 6 | 12,500 | 22,900 |
| 7 | 21,000 | 43,900 |
| 8 | 32,000 | 75,900 |
| 9 | 45,000 | 120,900 |
| 10 | 61,000 | 181,900 |
| 11 | 80,000 | 261,900 |
| 12 | 100,000 | 361,900 |
Don’t just award XP for kills. Encourage diverse play:
- Combat encounters: 50–70% of total XP
- Story milestones: 20–30% of total XP
- Creative solutions: 5–10% of total XP
- Roleplay/character moments: 5–10% of total XP
See /design/math-targets.md for the balance rationale behind these numbers.