Martial Traditions

Martial traditions are broken up into different categories ranging from different weapon types to specific traditions based on a faction’s fighting style. All traditions have a maximum of 11 different levels of benefits, with each level offering a passive or active benefit to choose from.

Active Benefits: These benefits cost Stamina to activate and provide a variety of temporary benefits or even unique actions. Unless otherwise noted spending Stamina to activate these abilities is a Free Action.
Passive Benefits: These benefits provide passive situational bonuses that are not easily available from other sources. Some of these may even scale with an appropriate Martial skill.

When you would gain a martial tradition at character creation, you either have a Partial or Full Tradition, as described in Character Creation. If you possess a Partial Tradition, you receive a level 1 and 2 tradition benefit, choosing the active or passive abilities as you wish. If you possess a Full Tradition, you receive 4 tradition abilities, one for each level.

When you would achieve a new Highest Martial Rank bonus, you may spend a number of Downtime Actions equal to the abilities Tradition Level to gain the next Level of Martial Tradition, choosing a new ability from the traditions available. The new level of the Tradition is determined by the starting Tradition and the available Traditions are determined by your training in the Traditions skill.

For example, a Partial Tradition could take a 5^th level ability at Master rank in the skill while a Full Tradition would have access to the same ability at Journeyman. This means that only a character with a full tradition and reaches Grandmaster+/++/+++ can achieve levels 9-11 of their Tradition. Some talents and abilities may alter this scaling.

When choosing your Tradition benefits, you may choose from any Tradition that you are Trained in and that you qualify for; with the base Weapon Traditions requiring Training in that weapons skill.

For example, a character choosing 4 benefits at creation may choose from any general or faction trees that they have access to, in any combination.

You can take a lower level Tradition Ability in place of a higher level ability. If you want a Tradition benefit from a Tradition, that you do not have access to, you must receive training in game from someone with that tradition.