step 7: curriculum and mastery ability
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Developing a curriculum can seem a little daunting at first, but if you break it down into its component parts, the process is actually fairly simple (for a refresher on how curriculums function, see pages 97–98 of the core rulebook).
Building a Curriculum
Ranks 1–5 of every curriculum table follow the same format, as shown in Table 2–9: Morgan’s Rank 1 Sample Curriculum. Each rank includes seven advances: one skill group, three skills, one technique group, and two techniques (one of which is usually presented earlier than it would normally be available). These are the advances that players can choose to receive full experience points toward increasing their school ranks. A school can deviate from this formula if it is appropriate (for instance, having one fewer technique and one more technique group at a given rank, or having one fewer skill and one extra technique), but this should generally be used sparingly for the sake of simplicity.
Skill Groups and Skills
When selecting a skill group and three skills for ranks 1–5, there is only one real restriction: skills selected should not be from the skill group selected for that rank (so after giving a school Martial Skills as the skill group for rank 1, do not give any of the Martial Arts skills, Fitness, Meditation, or Tactics as the individual skills for that rank). A player can give the same skill group and skills across multiple ranks, though some variation should be included that both matches the flavor of the school and gives players an opportunity to build a more balanced character if they so choose. Remember, the options given in the curriculum do not keep players from selecting other options; they just provide guidance and a bit of an extra boost during play.
Technique Groups and Techniques
When choosing a technique group for ranks 1–5, you have an opportunity to give a school access to techniques to which its members otherwise would not have access (remember selecting technique access in Step 6). For example, if you give a school rituals (), invo-cations (), and shūji () as open access techniques (meaning they can purchase any techniques from those categories if they meet the prerequisites), you could give the school a few kata () techniques in the curriculum as choices or include a limited number of ranks of kata (as they cannot normally purchase kata). For example, you could say that at school rank 2, members of your school gain access to rank 1–3 kata, but they never gain kata anywhere else in the curriculum. By doing this, you give the school early access to rank 3 kata, but you also limit access overall. Techniques in a curriculum are also an opportunity to give school members early or unique access to certain techniques. Commonly, a curriculum might give access to a technique one rank early, or it might give access to special techniques like ninjutsu.
Rank 6: Mastery Ability
Rank 6 is different from the first five school ranks in that all it contains is a mastery ability for the school. A mastery ability should be powerful and awe-inspiring, giving members of the school something to aspire to. A player should feel cool when using it! This ability should be particularly efficient, potent, splashy, or exciting in a narrative context.
Some mastery abilities are purely narrative in their effects: revealing that the enemy’s sword was replaced with an illusion while it was sitting on a rack, slaying numerous enemies in a flurry of shuriken and silent strikes, or calling one’s loyal steed across any distance are simply not effects for which one can provide a template. For such a mastery ability, it is generally advisable to limit the effect to one time per game session, have it tied to a check with a TN of between 3 and 6, or both. It’s okay for a mastery ability to generally be able to solve one sort of problem reliably, but if the mastery ability can solve every problem, it’s probably too open-ended and needs a narrower use case, or more limitations, such as costs or setup, to use.
For more mechanically oriented mastery abilities, however, Table 2–10 presents a number of templates that the designer of a school can use (or use as inspiration for developing a new ability of a similar potency). See Table 2–10: Generic Mastery Ability Templates, on page 83 for some example starting points.
Finally, remember that each mastery ability needs a name. Mastery ability names should reflect their near-mythical nature, so feel free to make the name a little bit over the top.
Table 2–9: Morgan’s Rank 1 Sample Curriculum
ADVANCE | TYPE
RANK 1
Artisan Skills | Skl. Grp.
Courtesy | Skill
Theology | Skill
Martial Arts [Melee] | Skill
Rank 1 Shūji | Tech. Grp.
Civility Foremost | Technique
Snapping Branch Style | Technique
Table 2–10: Generic Mastery Abilities
ROLE | ABILITY TEMPLATE
Any | Increase your endurance by your ranks in Fitness.
Any | Increase your composure by your ranks in Meditation.
Any
Choose one technique category the school does not already have available (kata, kihō, invocations, shūji, etc.) when you gain this mastery ability. That technique type becomes available to you.
Any | If your school ability can be used a limited number of times per scene, you may spend 1 Void point to use it one additional time per scene.
Any
If your school ability requires you to choose something from a list (a skill, a skill group, a technique category, etc.), choose one additional entry from that list when you create this mastery ability. Your school ability applies to both chosen entries.
Any
Choose one skill when you create this mastery ability. Once per game session when you make a check using that skill, you may reroll all of your dice. If you do not succeed after rerolling, gain 1 Void point.
Monk, Sage, Shugenja
When you defend against damage, you may treat your physical resistance and supernatural resistance as equal to your ranks in Theology.
Monk, Sage, Shugenja
Choose one ring when you create this mastery ability. You may train that ring to rank 6 (paying 18 XP).
Artisan, Bushi, Courtier, Shinobi
Choose one skill group when you choose this mastery ability. You may train skills in that group to rank 6 (paying 12 XP per skill raised from rank 5 to rank 6 this way).
Artisan, Bushi, Courtier, Shinobi
Choose one technique on the curriculum that requires a check to activate when you create this mastery ability. You treat the TN of this check as reduced by your ranks in the skill to activate it (to a minimum of TN 1).
Artisan, Bushi, Courtier, Shinobi
Choose one technique on the curriculum that requires spending one or more to activate when you create this mastery ability. When you spend at least the minimum amount of to activate that technique, you count as spending that amount of plus instead.
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Path of Waves – The Essential Guide to Rōnin · Chapter 2: Creating a Character › Building a School › Step 7: Curriculum and Mastery Ability · p. 76 p. 81 p. 82 p. 83
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Developing a curriculum can seem a little daunting at first, but if you break it down into its component parts, the process is actually fairly simple (for a refresher on how curriculums function, see pages 97–98 of the core rulebook).
Building a Curriculum
Ranks 1–5 of every curriculum table follow the same format, as shown in Table 2–9: Morgan’s Rank 1 Sample Curriculum. Each rank includes seven advances: one skill group, three skills, one technique group, and two techniques (one of which is usually presented earlier than it would normally be available). These are the advances that players can choose to receive full experience points toward increasing their school ranks. A school can deviate from this formula if it is appropriate (for instance, having one fewer technique and one more technique group at a given rank, or having one fewer skill and one extra technique), but this should generally be used sparingly for the sake of simplicity.
Skill Groups and Skills
When selecting a skill group and three skills for ranks 1–5, there is only one real restriction: skills selected should not be from the skill group selected for that rank (so after giving a school Martial Skills as the skill group for rank 1, do not give any of the Martial Arts skills, Fitness, Meditation, or Tactics as the individual skills for that rank). A player can give the same skill group and skills across multiple ranks, though some variation should be included that both matches the flavor of the school and gives players an opportunity to build a more balanced character if they so choose. Remember, the options given in the curriculum do not keep players from selecting other options; they just provide guidance and a bit of an extra boost during play.
Technique Groups and Techniques
When choosing a technique group for ranks 1–5, you have an opportunity to give a school access to techniques to which its members otherwise would not have access (remember selecting technique access in Step 6). For example, if you give a school rituals (), invo-cations (), and shūji () as open access techniques (meaning they can purchase any techniques from those categories if they meet the prerequisites), you could give the school a few kata () techniques in the curriculum as choices or include a limited number of ranks of kata (as they cannot normally purchase kata). For example, you could say that at school rank 2, members of your school gain access to rank 1–3 kata, but they never gain kata anywhere else in the curriculum. By doing this, you give the school early access to rank 3 kata, but you also limit access overall. Techniques in a curriculum are also an opportunity to give school members early or unique access to certain techniques. Commonly, a curriculum might give access to a technique one rank early, or it might give access to special techniques like ninjutsu.
Rank 6: Mastery Ability
Rank 6 is different from the first five school ranks in that all it contains is a mastery ability for the school. A mastery ability should be powerful and awe-inspiring, giving members of the school something to aspire to. A player should feel cool when using it! This ability should be particularly efficient, potent, splashy, or exciting in a narrative context.
Some mastery abilities are purely narrative in their effects: revealing that the enemy’s sword was replaced with an illusion while it was sitting on a rack, slaying numerous enemies in a flurry of shuriken and silent strikes, or calling one’s loyal steed across any distance are simply not effects for which one can provide a template. For such a mastery ability, it is generally advisable to limit the effect to one time per game session, have it tied to a check with a TN of between 3 and 6, or both. It’s okay for a mastery ability to generally be able to solve one sort of problem reliably, but if the mastery ability can solve every problem, it’s probably too open-ended and needs a narrower use case, or more limitations, such as costs or setup, to use.
For more mechanically oriented mastery abilities, however, Table 2–10 presents a number of templates that the designer of a school can use (or use as inspiration for developing a new ability of a similar potency). See Table 2–10: Generic Mastery Ability Templates, on page 83 for some example starting points.
Finally, remember that each mastery ability needs a name. Mastery ability names should reflect their near-mythical nature, so feel free to make the name a little bit over the top.
Table 2–9: Morgan’s Rank 1 Sample Curriculum
ADVANCE | TYPE
RANK 1
Artisan Skills | Skl. Grp.
Courtesy | Skill
Theology | Skill
Martial Arts [Melee] | Skill
Rank 1 Shūji | Tech. Grp.
Civility Foremost | Technique
Snapping Branch Style | Technique
Table 2–10: Generic Mastery Abilities
ROLE | ABILITY TEMPLATE
Any | Increase your endurance by your ranks in Fitness.
Any | Increase your composure by your ranks in Meditation.
Any
Choose one technique category the school does not already have available (kata, kihō, invocations, shūji, etc.) when you gain this mastery ability. That technique type becomes available to you.
Any | If your school ability can be used a limited number of times per scene, you may spend 1 Void point to use it one additional time per scene.
Any
If your school ability requires you to choose something from a list (a skill, a skill group, a technique category, etc.), choose one additional entry from that list when you create this mastery ability. Your school ability applies to both chosen entries.
Any
Choose one skill when you create this mastery ability. Once per game session when you make a check using that skill, you may reroll all of your dice. If you do not succeed after rerolling, gain 1 Void point.
Monk, Sage, Shugenja
When you defend against damage, you may treat your physical resistance and supernatural resistance as equal to your ranks in Theology.
Monk, Sage, Shugenja
Choose one ring when you create this mastery ability. You may train that ring to rank 6 (paying 18 XP).
Artisan, Bushi, Courtier, Shinobi
Choose one skill group when you choose this mastery ability. You may train skills in that group to rank 6 (paying 12 XP per skill raised from rank 5 to rank 6 this way).
Artisan, Bushi, Courtier, Shinobi
Choose one technique on the curriculum that requires a check to activate when you create this mastery ability. You treat the TN of this check as reduced by your ranks in the skill to activate it (to a minimum of TN 1).
Artisan, Bushi, Courtier, Shinobi
Choose one technique on the curriculum that requires spending one or more to activate when you create this mastery ability. When you spend at least the minimum amount of to activate that technique, you count as spending that amount of plus instead.