If your character lacks Magery as a trained skill, Nanite Control as a trained skill, Psionics as a trained skill, and also lack the Force Control Implants feat, then you gain access to the Mundane Character Progression rule. Basically, if you are totally mundane, you gain access to the rule. Should you ever gain Magery, Nanite Control, or Psionics as a trained skill, or the Force Control Implants feat, then you lose immediately access to this rule and gain the corresponding character advancement for whatever non-mundane thing you have obtained. However, if you obtain such a thing in the course of resolving a Story Feat, you do not lose access to this rule.
| Character Level | Bonus Feats | Bonus Talents | Bonus Combat Techniques Readied | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st-2nd | 1 | 0 | 1 | Combat Method, Specialization |
| 3rd-4th | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5th-6th | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7th-8th | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 9th-10th | 3 | 2 | 2 | Improved Specialization |
| 11th-12th | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 13th-14th | 4 | 3 | 3 | |
| 15th-16th | 4 | 4 | 3 | |
| 17th-18th | 5 | 4 | 3 | Greater Specialization |
| 19th-20th | 5 | 5 | 4 |
Bonus Combat Techniques Readied: Increase the amount of combat techniques you can ready by this amount.
Combat Method: At level 1, choose your character’s combat method from the list below. This represents the overall ‘feel’ of your unique style of fighting rather than a combat school.
• Grace, Tact, and Wit – Rather than focusing on force of arms or fists, you have instead honed your razor wit and personality into a useful weapon and defense in combat. At level 1 you gain the Noble Fencing Style talent as a bonus talent (Expert class, Fencing talent tree), and you can use this talent with any one-handed melee weapon you are proficient with instead of just light weapons. You add the Fencing talent tree to the list of talent trees that you can spend your Mundane Character Progression bonus talents on (see below). At level 3 and every 3 levels thereafter you gain a bonus feat that you meet the prerequisites for from the following list of feats.
- Banter
- Brilliant Defense
- Combat Trickery
- Demoralizing Strike
- Disturbing Presence
- Fan Service
- Fight Through Pain
- Force of Personality
- Humiliate
- Indomitable Personality
- Intimidator
- Mark
- Poise [Martial Arts]
- Predictive Defense
- Silver Tongue
- Undermine
• Iterative Attacks: You have learned to get off more attacks in a shorter period of time. These additional attacks can only be used when making a Full Attack or when making a regular attack with a ranged weapon set to semiautomatic fire (in which case you cannot use the rules for semiautomatic fire that allow you to take a penalty to attack to do extra dice of damage). At level 6 you gain your first additional attack, which is made at a -5 penalty. Every five levels after that, you gain another additional attack, and the penalty for each additional attack increases by 5 each time (second additional attack is at -10, third is at -15, etc). When making the extra attacks as a regular attack (with a semiautomatic ranged weapon), you can ONLY use that weapon to make them. When making a Full Attack, you can use any weapon you are actively armed with (including natural weapons and unarmed attacks) to make the attacks, in any combination you choose.
• Marksmanship: You have spent much time on the shooting range or practicing with target dummies (or live targets if you’re sadistic), honing your abilities to hit specific weak points. When making a called shot, you reduce the penalty by 2. This penalty reduction increases to 3 at level 6, and by an additional 1 at every 5 levels after that (4 at level 11, 5 at level 16, and so on).
• Perpetual Tinker – You are always tinkering with your equipment, focusing on that art rather than your actual combat skills. Relying on this ‘enhanced’ equipment means you’re rather dependent on it, but the improvements you’ve made to your equipment mean you can hold your own with it. At level 1 you gain the Personalized Modifications talent as a bonus talent (Expert and Scoundrel classes, Outlaw Tech tree) and you can use this on any weapon instead of only powered weapons, however using it requires 4 hours of work instead of a standard action. When you use the Personalized Modifications talent the changes are permanent instead of only lasting until the end of the encounter. You add the Outlaw Tech talent tree to the list of talent trees that you can spend your Mundane Character Progression bonus talents on (see below). You can still use the talent as a Standard Action as normal but if you do the benefits only last until the end of the encounter and you can only use it in this fashion on powered weapons. At level 3 and every 3 levels thereafter you gain a bonus feat that you meet the prerequisites for from the following list of feats.
- Advanced Device
- Expert Scavenger
- Hasty Modification
- Scavenger
- Signature Device
- Skill Focus (Mechanics)
- Skill Training (Mechanics)
- Starship Designer
- Superior Tech
- Tech Specialist
- Technophile
- Urgent Modification
• Unarmed Combat: Rather than focusing on a method of attack, you have instead focused on making sure that you are just as dangerous when unarmed as others are when armed. You gain Martial Arts I as a bonus feat. At level 3 you gain Martial Arts II as a bonus feat. At level 6 you gain Martial Arts III as a bonus feat. At levels 9, 12, 15, and 18 you gain any [Martial Arts] feat as a bonus feat.
Specialization: At level 1, choose your character’s specialization from the list below. This specialization determines the effects of other features of Mundane Character Progression, as well as providing a bonus of its own.
• Celebrity: You are automatically trained in the Knowledge (Culture [<Your species or the primary species you cater to>]) and Persuasion skills.
• Combat: You are automatically trained in the Endurance and Treat Injury.
• Diverse Skills: You are automatically trained in two skills of your choice – these cannot be Magery, Nanite Control, or Psionics.
• Diplomacy: You are automatically trained in the Deception and Persuasion skills.
• Hacking: You are automatically trained in the Hackcraft and Use Computer skills.
• Military: You are automatically trained in the Knowledge (Civics) and Profession (Military) skills. If you are already trained in Profession (Military) by way of your Species or Training, you are instead automatically trained in the Endurance skill.
• Vehicles: You are automatically trained in the Pilot and Ride skills.
Bonus Feats: You gain bonus feats as you level, the list you draw these bonus feats from is dependent on your Specialization.
• Celebrity: You choose your bonus feats from the following list: Banter, Battle Anthem, Card Shark, Composer, Disturbing Presence, Famous, Fan Service, Force of Personality, Friends in Low Places, Gorgeous, Jet Setter, Little Black Book, Musician, Natural Leader, Simply Irresistible, Solo Flourish, Skill Focus (Knowledge [Culture (<species>]), Skill Focus (Persuasion), Studio Musician, Superstar, The Look
• Combat: Your bonus feats are selected from the following list: any [Martial Arts] feat, Careful Shot, Conditioning, Coolness Under Fire, Improved Defenses, Improvised Weapon Mastery, Medical Team, Melee Defense, Never Surrender, Pistoleer, Riflemaster, Skill Focus (Endurance), Skill Focus (Treat Injury), Sport Hunter, Tireless Squad, Weapon Focus, Weapon Proficiency
• Diplomacy: You choose your bonus feats from the following list: Academic Contacts, Banter, Card Shark, Cut the Red Tape, Experienced Linguist, Expert Briber, Force of Personality, Linguist, Natural Leader, Perfected Attitude, Rapport, Scholarly, Silver Tongue, Skill Focus (Deception), Skill Focus (Persuasion), The Pen Is Mightier, Undermine
• Diverse Skills: Your bonus feats are chosen from the following list: any [Team] feat, Academic Contacts, Adaptable Talent, Brilliant Defense, Fascinating Information, Mission Specialist, Natural Leader, Quick Skill, Recall, Scholarly, Skill Focus (the two skills you selected for Specialization), Skill Training
• Hacking: You choose your bonus feats from the following list: any [Hacking] feats, Skill Focus (Hackcraft), Skill Focus (Use Computer), Slicer Team
• Military: Your bonus feats are selected from the following list: any [Team] feat, By The Book, Careful Shot, Conditioning, Coolness Under Fire, Coordinated Attack, Coordinated Barrage, Decorated Veteran, Keep Your Head Down, Linguist, Military Man, Mudfoot, Mustang, Pistoleer, Promotion, Rapport, Riflemaster, Skill Focus (Endurance), Skill Focus (Knowledge [Civics]), Skill Focus (Profession [Military]), Squared Away, Top Kick, Unconventional, Warrant
• Vehicles: You choose your bonus feats from the following list: any [Vehicle] feats, Advanced Device (must be a vehicle), Destructive Force, Drone Operations, Hasty Modification, Heavy Hitter, Hold Together, Momentum Strike, Mounted Combat, Mounted Defense, Mounted Regiment, Moving Target, Signature Device (must be a vehicle), Skill Focus (Pilot), Skill Focus (Ride), Starship Designer, Superior Tech, Tech Specialist, Weapon Focus (Heavy Weapons), Weapon Proficiency (Heavy Weapons)
Bonus Talents: You gain bonus talents as you level, the talent trees you draw these bonus talents from are dependent on your Specialization. You may always use a bonus talent to gain a talent from a talent tree on the heroic talents page.
• Celebrity: Disgrace (Expert), Inspiration (Expert)
• Combat: Brawler (Soldier), Healer (Expert/Soldier)
• Diplomacy: Influence (Expert), Provocateur (Expert)
• Diverse Skills: Superior Skills (Expert), Versatility (Scout)
• Hacking: Slicer (Scoundrel), Superior Skills (Expert)
• Military: Leadership (Expert), Veteran (Soldier)
• Vehicles: Deep Space Explorer (Scout), Spacer (Scoundrel)
Improved Specialization: You gain a new benefit based on your chosen specialization.
• Celebrity – Trend Setter: You receive Jet Setter as a bonus feat, if you already had the feat then you may instead take any other feat from the Entertainer bonus feat list that you qualify for in its place. The amount of times per day that you can use any given presence action is increased to two per day. Every 5 levels you gain beyond 9th level increases the amount of times you can use each presence action per day by 1. Additionally, you now add one-half your character level to all Presence checks, as if it was a skill.
• Combat – Favored Weapon: Choose one specific weapon you have. While you are wielding this specific weapon, you gain combat bonuses that increase with your level. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage with this weapon, which increases by 1 every 5 levels beyond 9th. Changing the weapon you have assigned to this requires spending 14 4-hour downtime periods training with the new weapon.
• Diplomacy – Right-Hand Man: You are either assigned or naturally attract a right-appendage sentient, who becomes your aide. You receive the Protégé feat as a bonus feat, except the character’s level begins at a level three-fourths of yours (round down) instead of one-half. This does not count as the Protégé feat.
• Diverse Skills – Jack of All Trades: You can now use any skill untrained, except for Magery, Nanite Control, and Psionics. When making a check with an untrained skill, you gain a +1 bonus to that skill. This increases to +2 at level 13, +3 at level 17, +4 at level 21, and +5 at level 25.
• Hacking – Favored Hardware: Choose one specific computer or neural interface you have. While you are using this computer or neural interface to hack, you gain bonuses that increase with your level. You gain a +2 bonus to all Hackcraft and Use Computer checks made with it, and a +1 bonus to your Surface Defense and (if applicable) your Core Defense when using it. These bonuses increases by 2 every 5 levels beyond 9th. Changing the item you have assigned to this requires spending 14 4-hour downtime periods training with the new one.
• Military – Subordinates: You gain a number of followers equal to your rank number minus 1. If you are a Warrant Officer, the resulting number is doubled. If you are an Officer, the resulting number is tripled. These followers are the same branch as you and have the corresponding training for that branch. When you receive this ability you gain a bonus talent chosen from Commanding Officer (Squad Leader heroic talent tree), Inspire Loyalty (Loyal Protector heroic talent tree), or Reconnaissance Team Leader (Reconnaissance heroic talent tree). All of your followers are created as if they were obtained via this talent. You can only have three of the followers you get from this ability with you at once, the others are off managing your affairs and keeping the team’s gear in peak condition. If your character is not currently engaging in active service these followers function the same, but are not assigned to you – they instead represent comrades-in-arms, fellow veterans, and so on.
• Vehicles – Favored Vehicle: Choose one specific vehicle you have or that is assigned to you. While you are serving as a crewmember on this vehicle, you gain bonuses that increase with your level. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage withthe vehicle’s weapons and a +1 bonus to all skill checks relating to the vehicle., These bonuses increase by 1 every 5 levels beyond 9th. Changing the vehicle you have assigned to this requires spending 28 4-hour downtime periods training with the new vehicle.
Greater Specialization: You gain a new benefit based on your chosen specialization.
• Celebrity – Flunkies: You find yourself surrounded by people constantly seeking your attention, willing to do almost anything you ask of them. These are heroic characters one-quarter your level, and you receive a number of them equal to three times your Charisma modifier. You can only one-half your Charisma modifier of them present at any given time.
• Combat – School of Hard Knocks: You’ve been around the block long enough to pick up more than a few tricks. Choose one combat school that you do not already have. You receive the benefits as if you qualified for the 3rd degree mastery of this school (including the effects of the 1st and 2nd degrees) even if you do not meet the prerequisites for it. This combat school does not count against the limit of schools that you can benefit from that you might have due to your Martial Arts feats.
• Diplomacy – Left-Hand Man: You are either assigned or naturally attract another right-appendage sentient, who becomes your second aide. You receive the Protégé feat as a bonus feat, except the character’s level begins at a level three-fourths of yours (round down) instead of one-half. This does not count as the Protégé feat.You can only have one aide present at any given time between this ability and Right-Hand Man. The other aide is assumed to be off managing your affairs when not present.
• Diverse Skills – Diverse Focus: You gain Skill Focus as a bonus feat, but do not have to select a skill for it on a permanent basis. Instead, you may change the skill that this Skill Focus feat is assigned to by spending 2 4-hour downtime periods in study.
• Hacking – Subroutines: You’ve written enough automation scripts to automate your hacking tools and memory use. When using your Favored Hardware, you have access to a second pool of readied hacks. The size of this pool is equal to that of your first pool.
• Military – Competent Subordinates: Your subordinates are now considered nonheroic characters of a level equal to yours. They still receive all the bonus feats and trained skills that they would get for being followers, and still are considered followers for any talents you have.
• Vehicles – We’ve Been Through A Lot Together: While serving as a crewmember on your Favored Vehicle you can perform seemiingly impossible feats. As a free action a number of times equal to your character level you can perform one of the things listed below. Once used, a use of this ability is gone for good – you get one additional use per character level, can ‘bank’ them from level to level, but there is no way to get additional uses besides levelling. A vehicle can only be affected by one of these abilities once per turn.
"Incoming Fire!" – Automatically cause an attack rolled against your vehicle to miss, even once the attack is resolved. (Commanding officer, copilot, executive officer, pilot, or second officer only )
"Watch Out!" – Automatically succeed on any Pilot or Ride check, including any check to avoid a hazard or obstacle, getting the best possible outcome on the check. (Pilot or copilot only)
"Do It Now!" – Allow your vehicle to act out of turn, thus changing your position in the initiative order. (Commander, executive officer, operations officer, pilot, second officer, or system operator only)
"Right Full Rudder!" – Cause any damage rolled against your vehicle to instead affect any other vehicle within three squares. (Commander, executive officer, operations officer, pilot, second officer, or system operator only)
"Patch That Breach!" – Repair your vehicle, restoring a number of hit points equal to its damage threshold. (Engineer only)
"Reverse The Polarity!" – Restore your vehicle’s shields to full SR. (Engineer, operations officer, or system operator only)
"Execute Attack Pattern Alpha" – Regain all uses of your vehicle maneuvers. (Commander, gunner, or pilot only)