Talents

Talents are the core passive bonuses and minor abilities that make up the bulk of your character and their individual role in combat. They are all a part of "The Grid."

Talent Points
Your character gains a number of talent points every level that can be spent on talents in the Grid. Each “node” costs 1 talent point to unlock. For nodes with multiple ranks, each rank costs 1 additional talent point.

Talents With Multiple Ranks
Some talents, represented by smaller nodes on the Grid, can be leveled multiple times. A node must only have 1 point spent within it before it can be traveled through. These additional ranks are optional (though often powerful) and cost 1 talent point each. The bonuses provided by talents with multiple ranks provide the highest bonus listed, they do not add to one another. Example, a talent that provides a 1/2/3 bonus provides a bonus of +3 at max rank. A talent that provides a +2/4/6 bonus does not offer a +12, it offers a +6 bonus.

Traveling Through the Grid
Talents must be taken in a path. You can always select the first talent of any solid color without any prerequisite talents. Talents beyond these, and the first rung of half colors, must be traveled to via a connecting path or talent. Consult the illustrated Grid on the following page.

Tiers
Talents are separated into 3 distinct tiers. Talents within tier 2 or 3 cannot be taken until a certain character level is reached. Consult the character progression chart in the beginning of this book to determine your character’s tier.

Trees
The talents are arranged by color into logically divided "trees" based on the type of bonuses those talents provide. For instance, the Yellow tree grants bonuses to defense, and health, and grants minor abilities that boost stats for multiple fighting styles while the Blue tree grants bonuses to mana, and healing, and provides minor abilities that manipulate karma points. While there are no classes in APress, it is easy to mimic the role of a standard RPG character archetype by taking talents from one or two trees rather than spreading out your your points.

Class Archetypes by Tree Color
 * Yellow (Y) Fighter, Barbarian, Knight.
 * Purple (P) Ranger, Duelist, Swashbuckler.
 * Green (G) Monk, Grappler, Wrestler.
 * Blue (B) Cleric, Oracle, Priest.
 * Red (R) Mage, Wizard, Sorcerer.
 * White (W) Bard, Thaumaturge, Arcanist.
 * Black (K) Thief, Rogue, Scoundrel.

Branches
Talents are further divided into hybrid color "branches" that further specialize a character for specific tasks. If your a character that wants to have the best of both worlds in stealth, damage, and magic, you'll want to spend points in Black/Red, while a character that wants to inspire others and provide tactical movement bonuses can invest in Green/Purple.

Class Archetypes by Branch Colors
 * Black/Red (K/R) Magus, Spellthief, Spellblade.
 * Red/White (R/W) Plague Doctor, Warlock, Necromancer.
 * White/Blue (W/B) Sage, Druid, Shaman.
 * Blue/Yellow (B/Y) Paladin, Inquisitor, Avenger.
 * Yellow/Green (Y/G) Kensei, Samurai, Weapon Master.
 * Green/Purple (G/P) Warlord, Cavalier, Tactician.
 * Purple/Black (P/K) Assassin, Bounty Hunter, Slayer.

Yellow Talents
The yellow tree of the talent grid is called the “path of earth” and is dedicated to characters who want to be the peak of physical perfection. Within the yellow tree are talents to increase your weapon damage, increase your health, counter attack enemies, and improve your combat stats. A character who focuses on yellow talents hits hard while being hard to take down.

Blue Talents
The blue tree of the talent grid is called the “path of water” and is dedicated to characters who want to heal their allies and manipulate fate. Within the blue section of the grid are talents for healing, buffs, curing maladies, healing stat damage, sharing karma, and more. A character who focuses on blue is the ultimate ally.

White Talents
The white tree of the talent grid is called the “path of light” and is dedicated to the player who wants a little of everything. Within the white talent section you will find buffs, debuffs, passive boosts to the number of spell choices you have, as well as talents to make wielding magic and steel together much more efficient. The white section of the grid will make your character very balanced in many aspects, though it is mainly focused on magic.

Red Talents
The red tree of the talent grid is called the “path of fire” and is dedicated to the quintessential magic user. Within red you will find damaging spells, alternative ways to regenerate mana, the ability to use combat maneuvers with your magic, and much more. Red talents will make you the best at magic that hurts enemies.

Black Talents
The black tree of the talent grid is called the “path of darkness” and is dedicated to stealth, and trickery. Within the black section of the talent grid you will find talents that decrease the cost of dodging and other maneuvers, heartily increase your damage when catching your enemies off guard, and strike fear into the hearts of your enemies.

Purple Talents
The purple tree of the talent grid is called the “path of lightning” dedicated to speed, accuracy, and movement. Within the purple section of the grid you will find talents that decrease the amount of AP it takes to perform actions like attacking, increase your speed in combat with an initiative bonus, and make your weapon attacks more accurate. Characters who focus on the purple section of the grid will outrun and outmaneuver their opponents.

Green Talents
The green tree of the talent grid is called the “path of wind” and is dedicated to players who want to take control of the battlefield with their bare hands. Within the green section of the grid are talents to decrease the cost of combat maneuvers, improve the function of combat maneuvers, hit enemies with effects to reduce their combat efficiency, and grant yourself kinetic damage reduction. A character focused in the green section of the grid will be able to push everyone around quite literally.

Yellow/Green Talents
The hybrid yellow/green branch of the talent grid is called the “path of dust” and is dedicated to characters who wield mana as a weapon and a shield. Within the yellow/green section of the talent grid you will find talents that allow you to retrieve your weapon if you are disarmed, rid yourself of debuffs, wield heavier weapons, and shield yourself from critical hits. Those who focus on the yellow/green section of the talent grid are mighty weapon masters who have transcended the physical.

Blue/Yellow Talents
The hybrid blue/yellow branch of the talent grid is called the “path of steel” and is dedicated to characters who want to strength of body and mind. Within the blue/yellow section of the talent grid you will find talents that let you utilize strength and acumen more effectively, grant you extra defenses, and more. Those who focus on the blue/yellow section of the talent grid will become beacons of power that will cost enemies dearly to ignore.

White/Blue Talents
The hybrid white/blue branch of the talent grid is called the “path of mana” and is dedicated to characters who wish to harness the power of mana in various ways from support to damage. Within the white/blue section of the talent grid you will find talents that give powerful enhancements to your allies, increase the range of your auras, help control the depletion of your party's mana, and empower your weapons with expended mana. Those who focus on the white/blue section of the talent grid will bend mana to their will and empower their allies like no other can.

Red/White Talents
The hybrid red/white branch of the talent grid is called the “path of fog” and is dedicated to characters who wish to wield the power of maladies and completely cripple their enemies. Within the red/white section of the talent grid you will find talents to improve the maladies you inflict on your enemies, become resistant to maladies, increase the potency of your duration spells, and grant you extra mana regeneration. Those who focus on the red/white section of the talent grid will be the scourge of the battlefield and cause their enemies untold pain.

Black/Red Talents
The hybrid black/red branch of the talent grid is called the “path of smoke” and is dedicated to characters who want the power of deception through cunning and magic. Within the black/red section of the grid you will find talents that let you create duplicates, shield your health with mana, and deal magic damage with shroud from black. Those who focus on the black/red section of the talent grid will not only be able to be everywhere at once, but they will be able to strike from every direction as well.

Purple/Black Talents
The hybrid purple/black branch of the talent grid is called the “path of shadow” and is dedicated to characters who enjoy the thrill of the hunt. Within the black/purple section of the talent grid you will find talents that let you see hidden enemies, deal more damage from a vantage point, take trophies from your kills, deal more damage while cornered, and more easily combat large enemies. Those who focus on the purple/black section of the talent grid will be ready to hunt any and all opponents.

Green/Purple Talents
The hybrid green/purple branch of the talent grid is called the “path of storms” and is dedicated to characters who wish to command the battlefield in a literal sense. Within the green/purple section of the talent grid you will find talents that grant you extra cover from ranged attacks, help you recover the mistakes of allies, and empower your allies with your mere presence. Those who focus on the green/purple section of the talent grid will turn their allies into an army.