Character generation is only the start. Your character will go on some runs, pick up some Karma and nuyen, and then look for ways to get better at what he does. Character advancement rules tell you how to build your runner from a street novice to a big, bad, fire-breathing street legend. (Gamemasters: for information on awarding Karma, see Gamemaster Advice, p. 332).
Karma advancement works similar to the way you spent Karma at the end of character creation to customize the character, improve skills and attributes, and purchase things like bound spirits and registered sprites, but with one fundamental difference. When you create your character, it’s assumed your character has taken the time needed to develop and improve whatever skills he possesses. Once roleplaying starts, though, he’s going to need time to get better at his skills. He cannot, for example, simply rise from a Blades skill of 5 to Blades 6 overnight. He must train, possibly under the instruction of a master, and practice, practice, practice to improve his skill. This training and practice normally takes place during the runner’s downtime.
The time it takes to improve an attribute or skill is meant to reflect the in-world time a character must invest in improving his abilities and is measured in days, weeks, or months. The higher the rating in a skill or attribute, the more difficult and time-consuming it is to advance to the next level. Some qualities, such as Dependents, extend this timeframe. This training time can be interrupted by going out on runs or doing other activities, but the character must resume his interrupted training as quickly as possible. Waiting too long before getting back into training can result in losing the benefits of previous sessions and having to start from the beginning again. Karma for the new or improved rating of an attribute or skill does not need to be paid until the character has fully completed their training period. For the duration of training required per attribute or skill rating, refer to the Training Rate Table. This time can be reduced with the help of an instructor (see Using Instruction, p. 141).
The time it takes to improve attributes cannot be decreased. Building muscle for Body or Strength, or improving cognitive functions, always takes a serious investment of time. Note that you can’t improve Physical skills or Mental attributes during the same downtime period when you receive implants or augmentations that improve those same attributes. That downtime is used solely for recovery from the augmentation implanting process and for getting used to their body’s new modifications. The character will have to wait to the next downtime to begin training for another improvement. A character may only train to improve one Mental and one Physical attribute, or one attribute and one skill, in a single downtime period.
Skills can be taught for improvement purposes. If the player is able to find an instructor to train him and help him perfect his techniques, the time it takes improve his skill is reduced by 25 percent (round down). If the character chooses to focus on improving only skills during a downtime, the character may choose to learn or improve a number of skills up to their Logic rating divided by 2 (round up). Specializations for skills take 1 month of dedicated training to learn and cannot be learned at the same time as anything else. Skill groups are improved at a rate of [new Rating] x 1 month. A character in the process of training to improve a skill group cannot learn or improve any other attributes or skills at the same time. Improving a skill group is considered time consuming and focus intensive.
Edge is a unique quality. Because it reflects the character’s luck, it requires no special amount of time to raise. Edge can be raised anytime the character has the Karma to do so.
The cost to improve an attribute is new Rating x 5 Karma. The calculations for these improvements have already been made in the Karma Advancement Table. To use the table, first find your current Rating in the Starting Rating column on the left, then move to the right until you are in the column whose header matches your desired new rating. For example, if you are raising an Attribute from 4 to 5, find 4 in the Starting Rating column, and move to the right along the row until you find the desired Rating (column 5, in this case). In this case the entry is 25, which means you need to pay 25 Karma for the attribute rating increase (which is equal to Rating 5 x 5 Karma). If you wanted to go from 4 to 6, you’d move one column further to the right and see that you needed a total of 55 Karma to make this increase.
The maximum number of ratings you can increase a single Attribute by in any given period of downtime during a campaign is 2. If you wish to raise the Attribute any further, you will have to wait for more downtime.
The skill table works on a similar principle, though Active Skill ratings costs are computed at new Rating x 2. If you are purchasing a brand new skill, find the desired rating on the table and pay that cumulative amount. For example, if you are purchasing the running skill for the first time, and are buying it up to Rating 3, you will pay 12 Karma. To go from 7 to 8 in a skill, you will pay 16 Karma (rating 8 x 2 Karma). To calculate the cost of jumping more than one level, subtract the number in the column with your current Rating from the number in the column with your desired higher Rating. Knowledge and Language skills work in a similar manner, though their cost is only new Rating x 1. A character may raise the Rating of their Active, Knowledge, or Language skills up by a maximum of 3 rating points per any one downtime. To raise the skill(s) any further, they have to wait for another period of downtime.
Active Skill Groups cost new Rating x 5 to raise and can only be raised by 1 rating per downtime.
To gain access to a new complex form, a technomancer must spend 4 Karma. Details on learning complex forms can be found in the Resonance Library section (p. 252).
Aspected magicians, magicians, and mystic adepts may purchase new spells, rituals, or preparations to use (see Magic, p. 276). The magic user must spend 5 Karma to learn the spell, ritual, or preparation. For details on how to learn magic, see p. 299.
There are two ways for a character to pick up new qualities. First, they can be assigned by the gamemaster as a result of events or actions in the course of a campaign. Positive qualities may be assigned as reward for good roleplaying, while Negative qualities may be assigned if something traumatic or significant happens or the character does something for which the Negative quality is a reasonable consequence (“reasonable” is defined by the gamemaster). A player may also purchase Positive qualities for his character at any time during game play. The cost for purchasing a Positive quality during game play is the listed Karma cost x 2. Similarly, if a character wishes to get rid of a Negative quality, has met any stipulated requirements, and the gamemaster has given the player permission, the player may do so at a rate of listed Karma x 2.