Instruction & Study

Finding a Teacher

This is the easiest way to learn. The teacher must be at least two levels higher than the character in the desired skill. In other words, a PC with a skill level of 5 in Swords must find a teacher with a Swords skill of at least 7.

There comes a point in studying where no more education will suffice, and one must simply practice, practice, practice, and do, do, do. This is why the level difference is required; at extremely high levels of skill (9 or higher) one cannot find more skilled teachers; one must become one's own master. In game terms, the character continues to study as normal, but he uses his INT alone to determine the length of study/training time required to improve a level.

A teacher must also have the time to teach and the student the time to learn, and even the most knowledgeable teachers may not be any good at transferring their knowledge. That's where the Instruction skill comes in. The teacher averages his score of the skill to be taught with his Instruction skill (skill being taught + Instruction, divided by 2); he may then teach the student up to that level of skill.

Study Hindrances

The simple gaining of ability (indicated by an increased skill level) from study is not automatic. There are several things that may make studying more difficult and may hinder the PC's ability to advance. Some of the hindrances are listed here, but the GM and players will have to decide what other matters might affect study. The problems are cumulative.

• Student undertakes other duties or activities, including studying other skills, in the period of study: required training time is multiplied by 1 plus 1 point per other activity (e.g., studying two skills takes three times as long to advance in each)
• Student is recovering from injuries or is ill: study of any physical skill is either totally impossible or his required training time is doubled (or even tripled; GM's discretion, based on the nature of the wounds or illness)
• Student is forced to interrupt his study (e.g., to perform some duty for his lord or undertake a mission): student resumes study from the point he left off with an effective loss of (10 - INT) weeks of study due to the interruption.
• Student has the Slow Learner complication: student's effective INT is halved (round up).

Study Benefits

There are a few issues that may bring benefits to study. Like hindrances, they are cumulative. The student gains the indicated bonus for that circumstance when calculating the required training time:

• Teacher has a score of 10 or greater in skill being taught
• Student studies at an institution devoted to teaching that skill (e.g., a dôjô or temple): +1 to student's effective INT
• Skill being studied is common for the character or is one of the skills in the profession template for that character (e.g., Swords for a samurai, or Buddhism for a Buddhist priest): +1 to student's effective INT
• Student is the only one for the teacher for the duration of study: +5 to teacher's effective TL
• Student has the Fast Learner advantage, add +2 to his effective INT for calculating training time
• If the student has the Natural advantage for the skill being taught: double student's effective INT for calculating the required training time.

Study Time

Consult the chart below to determine the number of weeks of study needed to increase the character's skill level (SL). Cross reference the desired skill level (the horizontal, bold numbers) and the student's INT + the teacher's Instruction Level (abbreviated "IL"; the vertical numbers). The resulting number is the number of weeks required for the student to gain 1 level in the skill. The teacher's IL is equal to the average of his Instruction skill score and the score in the skill being taught.

The required time must be spent by the student or no increase in the skill is gained. In other words, time must be spent as well as Experience Points in order for characters to improve a skill. The formula for determining how long a student must study in order to achieve a new skill level is:

Time in weeks = ((2 x DL) + 10) - (INT + IL)

In other words, the time in weeks it takes to achieve a new level equals two times the desired skill level (DL) plus 10, minus the sum of the student's INT plus the teacher's TL. For example, a student with an INT of 5 desiring to achieve a skill level of 6 in Driving by studying with a teacher who has a Instruction Level of 8 would be: (12 + 10) - (5 +8) = 9 weeks.

If there is no teacher available, then use 0 for TL in the formula.

Required Time to Improve SL