Each year is divided in five seasons and a special two weeks period known as Sacred Time at the end of the year. Each season there will be one or more adventures. At the end of each season, adventurers get to make experience checks, POW gain rolls, and other improvement rolls.
When they aren't in an adventure, the players' characters will be using their time to fullfill their roles in their community, according to their occupation. Also they may decide to Train with a master or Research by themselves (usually thanks to some scrolls or papyrus that explain new techniques or lore).
At the end of each season, an adventurer can select up to four occupational skills and cult skills to get an experience check. The player decides which four skills will receive this checks (if a skill already has a check, it cannot receive another). Even skills with no experience box can receive this check.
The player will make Experience Rolls for each check:
If the roll is successful, the skill will be incremented in 5% chance.
The players can also declare that their characters have been Training some skill with an instructor or Researching by themselves during this season.
An instructor must normally be paid in some fashion, or they do not teach. Payment can be in money, goods, or favors from the adventurer or their patrons. The cost of training depends on the current value of the skill to be trained and the type of skill. The gamemaster can restrict the available instructors depending on the activities of the players during this season.
A player can Train or Research, but not both.
Training or Researching is the only way to increase those Skills in the character's sheet without an Experience Box.
Those skills with an Experience Box cannot be increased by Training or Research above 75%. Only experience can increase these skills above that value.
The skill that has been trained will be incremented in 5% automatically. The skill that has been researched will be incremented only if the player pass a Skill Experience Roll.
Skills that are specially useful:
POW is one of the most important characteristics for an adventurer. To be a Rune Priest, an initiate needs at least POW 18; the number of Magic Points increase with POW, together with the probability to cast Spirit Magic (POW×5); most skill modifiers increase with POW; and the adventurer will be able to resist spells better.
It can only be increased by a form of experience, by Workship rituals, or through Training.
To see if POW is increased, the player must make a POW gain roll. (Max POW - Current POW)×5% or less on a 1D100 to be successful. If successful, increase the adventurer's POW by 1 point. If the roll is a special, increase POW by 2 points.
The POW experience box can be checked if an adventurer obtains a success either attacking or parrying during spirit combat, or with a successful POW vs. POW resistance roll. Spells that have a 95% chance of success against an enemy do not provide sufficient stress to allow a POW gain roll.
For an initiate, participation in rituals held on the High Holy Day of the cult allows for a POW gain roll if they succeed with a Workship skill roll.
For Rune Masters (God-talkers, Rune Priests, Rune Lords, and Rune Lord-Priests), participation in rituals held on any Holy Day of the cult allows for a POW gain roll if they succeed in their Workship skill roll.
Consult the Glorantha calender to see if this season there is any Holy Day for your cult. Usually there is one High Holy Day per year and one Holy Day per season.
POW can be increased through Training (but not Research), the same way as Skills, with the following differences:
These characteristics can be increased through Training or Research, in the same way as Skills (and with the same duration, two seasons). No characteristic can be increased above 21.
If done by training, the player must pay 500L. At the end of the second season, the player adds 1 point to the characteristic.
If done by research, at the end of the second season the player must succeed a Characteristic gain roll (identical to the POW gain roll described above) to add 1 point to the characteristic.
CHA can also be increased (or decreased) at the gamemaster's discretion due to some adventure events.
POW and CHA are important for Rune Masters: to be a God-talker or Priest, the adventurer must have a POW of 18 or higher. To be a Rune Lord (the military priests of the cult), the adventurer must have a CHA of 18 or higher. To be a Rune Lord-Priest, the adventurer must have both CHA and POW of 18 or higher. CHA also measures: the maximum number of Rune Points that an adventurer can have with a single cult; the maximum number of points in spirit magic spells; the maximum number of bound spirits into enchantements; and several skill modifiers.
All characteristics affect several attributes, like Hit Points, Magic Points, Damage modifiers, Skill modifiers, etc. The player should consult with the gamemaster before deciding which characteristic to train or research.
Runes may be improved by experience, Training, and Research, in the same way as skills, using the rules above. In the case of opposed Runes, whenever a Rune increases by 5%, the opposed Rune's value must be decreased accordingly by 5%. The maximum value for opposed Runes is 99% and the minimum is 1%.
A player can Train or Research a Rune or a Skill, but not both at the same time, and he cannot select a Rune as one of the four experience checks received due to occupational duties.
Passions can only be improved by experience. They may be acquired by roleplaying at the gamemaster's discretion.