---

Congratulations for making it to level 24.

Health, Mana, and Stamina increase. 

You may choose a feat (Every third level).

Because you have an ideology feat and a master level profession that typically aligns in opposition, you may earn the {In Plain Sight (H)} feat.  

Because of your dedication to learning, you gain +1 Knowledge.

---

I was shocked to see I’d gained an ability point. It was rare to gain a single ability point at a level up. Normally they happened intermittently throughout life, just like skills but far slower, or through feats.

I glanced at Justin, wondering if this was somehow his doing, beyond being the reason I was hunting rats in the sewer. I didn’t ask yet, but added it to my list of questions. That ‘Questions tab’ in my notes screen was very long.

I selected the option to review {In Plain Sight (H)} first, because I’d never heard of it before. 

---

{In Plain Sight (H)}

You gain +1 skill ranks in Deceive and Focus. Those that press you directly regarding your true motives receive a passive Hidden reduction in Discernment by two skill ranks. You may lose this feat if you change your profession or no longer meet the minimum Ideological requirements. This is a Hidden feat and may not be Inspected by others.

Do you accept this feat? 

(Yes)  (No)

—

I accepted the feat and went to check on what feats I could choose.

---

You have the following feats available to you.

{Skulker}

{Acolyte of Dreams}

{Stronger, Harder, Faster}

{Internally Motivated} (New)

{Thoughtful Targeting} (new)

—

Feats were fickle things. Some people believed the gods controlled progress and only the strong had the chance to access some feats. Others were more or less willing to chalk it up to being random. 

I had suspected, along with a few other friendly cohorts back when I served the God of Knowledge’s clergy, that there were specific factors that revealed feats as you leveled, just as there are baseline requirements necessary for earned feats to appear. 

New feats unlocked were more likely to show up at the next level, and the feats that did appear tended to be related to what activities were most reflective of one’s action in the recent past. 

I opened up the two new feats information screens to see what they did.

---

{Thoughtful Targeting}

The longer you remain in combat, the more likely you are to identify weakpoints in your opponents defenses and strike critical hits. You need to remain focused on one enemy for this cumulative effect to work but do not need to be their target. This can be used to study an opponent that is not in combat and does not aware of your presence.

{Internally Motivated}

Your Perspective is now factored into your Stamina. This is retroactive in your stamina calculation. You may use non-combat stamina effects in combat without penalty.

---

I already remember what the other feats were for. {Skulker} would let me hide in crowded areas better and increase skill levels, but my {Innocuous} was already good for the same effect without giving me feats that could be presented as incriminating. I already told the Dream God’s speakers I wasn’t interested in being another’s servant so Acolyte was out. I considered the +1 to Muscle, Agility, and Brawn of {Stronger, Harder, Faster} which was no small increase. 

“Justin, do you have any general principles regarding the selection of feats?”

“Um… Typically getting new powers and effects is more useful than skills or ability score increases, because you get those in fighting or non-combat grinding. That’s how I got my Dex up. Weird utility feats are definitely the way to go because most of them aren’t earned.”

I nodded. “Not a particular focus on combat only?” This was a common theory, but mostly espoused by those who liked to watch the gladiatorial games.

“No, because if you do a combat run, you can kill rats until you are level 100, but gain no new skills and only the physical abilities.”

I nodded, and said, “Thanks. We should have a longer discussion regarding my advancement in the future, but I believe you have done much to make my life easier already.” I turned back to my pale yellow menus and selected [Internally Motivated]. 

I reviewed my Guidance Stat Panel in full for the first time in a while. 

---

Name: Scaleen Fortuna

Race: Kobold

Class and Occupation: Scout Level 24, Scribe: Master.

Health, Mana, and Stamina: 114/164, 49/49, 144/187

Natural Armor Rating: 89

MSL  AGL  BWN  KNW  PER  POI 

  8        14         11         15       20      12

Skills:

[Observation (9/15), [Discern (10/15)], [Gymnastics (4/15)], [Deceive (8/10)], [Flex (2/15)], [Focus (7/15), [Ingenuity (3/10)], [Charm (4/10)], [Arcanics (2/10)], [Hand-to-hand (4/20)], [Finesse Weapons (9/20)], [Technical Weapons (2/20)], [First Aid (3/10)], [Clandestine (6/15)], [Nimbleness(5/10)], [Flair (1/10)], [Mentorship (4/5)]

Feats: 

{Internally Motivated}, {In Plain Sight (H)}, {Anarchist (H)}, {Master Bureaucrat}, {Expanded Notes}, {Multitasker}, {Clandestine Organization (H)}, {Smooth Talker}, {Ritualist}, {Thirst for Knowledge}, {D’hatka’s Favor}, {Quick Hands}, {Short-Term Recall}, {Lucid Dreaming}, {Intuitive Thinking}, {Deceptive}, {Lean Pickings}, {Team Player}, {Innocuous}

Memorized Spells: Mending

---

I wondered at the three feats in fewer days. Serendipity, maybe, but it was still very quick for non-profession related feats. Class and Profession features showed up on another page, but this was the extent to which anyone ever would judge me by, if they had Inspect. The Class and profession features were common knowledge. 

I was incredibly pleased by the change in my stamina. Even though it was mostly fighters or athletes that had stamina that far exceeded their health, I had always felt I had been missing something or had been left behind by peers. 

I didn’t have an extended family to ask these questions of, and since I didn’t enter the clergy proper, the feats I was privy to were primarily related to mind abilities and generic boosts. Clericy would have more likely benefited Justin than myself. 

After fiddling with the settings of my Guidance, I turned them off and told Justin, “Alright, feel free to do yours. I will keep watch while you rest and level up.”

“Ah sure. What did you-” My skull buzzed and my head snapped to him with a glare, “pi- eep! Sorry!” His pitch went up when my dagger was pressed against his sturnum

“Justin, I will bite you if you do that to me again. No more warnings. It. Hurts.”

“You got it, Scaleen. I- I’m sorry. I am just- eight years ago, when this was a game, I could just see my companions status at any time in the expanded menus. Now- and, like, no one in Sanctum liked me anyway, and in the game it just annoys people, but there are no consequences for Inspecting... so.”

“Well, it annoys me greatly, because it happens to me more often than not, people looking to see if I have been cursed with indentureship. Don’t. Do it. Again.” 

“I won’t. Promise.”

I nodded seeing his fear , “I selected the {Internally Motivated} feat.”

“Oh nice, the max Perspective one. You can try to tumble or hide in fights and the stamina boost is good.”

“Among other things. What spell did you happen to use on that shambler?”

“Oh, I used Suppress Magic. If I had known it was a shambler, I wouldn’t have wasted so much mana on grease and fire. I thought it might be a nest of scorpi-rats.”

“And using the Inspect skill would have caused it to attack us, correct?”

“I- yeah. Sorry again. I promise I won’t do it again. You aren’t a threat. I should stop treating you like one.”

“I am not trying to belabor the point, I want to explain myself. People do it to me all the time because I’m a ‘servant’ race or a potential threat. People wealthy enough to develop their Inspect skill see me as either a slave or a thief. No matter my profession or appearance. It is… demeaning. I will happily write down my feats and scores for you to examine and provide suggestions on in the future, as I am sure you will have some excellent insight.” 

He nodded, seeming assuaged and bothered all the same. I nodded back, gesturing to him. “Take your level, I will keep watch.”

Hadassah

I rather like systems with feats, or titles, or whatever you call it when a feature modifies how basic stats can function, rather than just give buffs or minor abilities. I'm not going to be giving anyone some feat that secretly allows them to blow through and dominate the entire system the game is built on, but like in any video game, there's often some broken skills that make the playthrough easier to manage.

Obviously, Justin's going to grab any of them that are within his wheelhouse, but there are also some unexpected things that can be done that only make sense inside the universe of the game itself.