PL Introduction

[Owen K.C. Stephens]

Hey all, it's time for the weekly update! rather than a rules teaser or discussion of scheduling, this time I'm going to share the (unedited, undeveloped, subject to change) introduction to the Progress Level chapter. Progress Levfels are going to help define what characters are familiar with what kinds of technology, as well as what sorts of topics their skills and backgrounds cover. Characters may gain proficiency in multiple PLs (though some campaigns may limit those options), allowing them to easily use different levels of technology and apply their skills to common issues of that level of civilization.

Progress Levels and Proficiencies

The world of Warlords of the Apocalypse is one where the most advanced weapons ever conceived by mortal minds may be found in use side-by-side with stone spears and wooden clubs. The few bunkers that survived the Endless Night and enclaves that continued advanced science occasionally have devices that can master lightning, create plasma, or even control gravity – while some cities are overrun by primitive tribes who barely remember how to make fire. Cultures run the gamut from Neolithic to Nuclear, and within those cultures characters have familiarity with different technologies, weapons, armor, and vehicles. These different levels of technological advancement are represented by Progress Levels (or PL), and range from PL 0 (Stone Age) to PL 8 (the far-futuristic Energy Age). Cultures, technology, and even skills and proficiencies are rated in PL, defining which characters are comfortable flint-napping, which know how to drive a stick-shift, and which recognize a gravity generator when they see one. Characters dealing with technology levels they are not familiar with (either above or below their own PL proficiency) suffer nonproficiency penalties, and sometimes must risk the Experimentations and Mishaps table (see Hazards for more information on PL, Experimentations and Mishaps).

Every character is assumed to be proficient with a single PL, representing the PL of their background experience. When a character gains simple weapons or martial weapons, check their PL to see what weapons are included in those categories at that PL. Additionally, basic  familiarity with all common armor, vehicles, and gear common at that PL is included with proficiency in the PL, and exactly what a skill covers can be influenced by PL. For example, a character with PL 5 proficiency understands the basic use of an information-age modern computer, but can’t even put on a full suit of plate mail without some trial-and-error or instruction. Conversely, a character from a tribal group of lake-vikings familiar with PL 3 technology can use a block and tackle, light a hooded lantern, and use thieves’ tools with no special instruction, but won’t immediately recognize the function of a modern lighter. Similarly, a mutant savage from a herd that has forgotten all technology above making fire knows how to read which wolf is the alpha male of a pack by making a Knowledge (royalty) check, while a scientist from an enclave that has been kept safe and taught advanced lore by computers and machines knows how to use Knowledge (royalty) to navigate the politics of a democracy or even a university administration.