Specialization Points
How Specialization Points (SP) are earned each session and what everything costs to buy and improve.
Specialization Points, or SP, are the single currency of character advancement in ØMEN: After Dragons. Everything you buy - attribute bonuses, skills, spell schools and individual spells, weapon and armor training, languages, talents, and specialization picks - is paid for in SP. You earn SP every session, and you spend it from a starting pool of 30 at character creation and from your session earnings thereafter. Knowing how SP flows in and out is the heart of building and growing a character.
Earning SP
You earn SP at the end of every session. The standard rate starts at 7 SP per session and climbs by +1 every 2 sessions as a player-reward curve - so 7 SP for your first two sessions, 8 for the next two, 9 for the two after that, and onward.
Your table can tune that pace. Every pace still starts at 7 SP per session; only the rate of increase changes:
| Pace | Increase | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| Slow | +1 every 3 sessions | Advancement is hard-won; power creeps in slowly. |
| Standard | +1 every 2 sessions | The default curve. |
| Fast | +1 every session | Characters grow and specialize quickly. |
At the standard pace, a 52-session campaign (roughly a year of weekly play) yields about 1,014 SP total; a 104-session campaign yields roughly 3,380 SP.
The Initial 30 SP
After your race, attributes, class, and background are set, you spend 30 SP at character creation using standard costs (the core-attribute discount already applies). Typical initial spends include:
- One to three starting abilities or spells (5–16 SP each).
- A skill rank or two (5–11 SP each).
- A bonus bump on a weak, non-core attribute.
- Shoring up a weapon or armor training tier beyond what the innate discount covers.
Spellcasters tend to spend more of the 30 SP on initial spells than martial classes do. Silents spend comparably to casters, because their thematic training ramps up slowly.
What SP Buys
| Category | Cost Rule | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Level-up | L2: 15, L3: 20, L4: 25, L5: 30, L6: 35, L7: 40, L8: 45, L9: 50, L10: 60 (320 SP total for L2–10) | Mandatory; gates specialization access |
| Attribute bonus (non-core) | Cost = current bonus | Raising +5 → +6 costs 5 SP |
| Attribute bonus (core) | Cost = current bonus − 5 (minimum 1) | Two cores per class |
| Basic Skill (non-innate) | 5 + current level per rank; first rank = 5 SP | Max level 10 |
| Basic Skill (innate) | Free at rank 1; then current level per rank (minimum 1) | Max level 10 |
| Special Skill (non-innate) | 5 + current level per rank | Max level 5 |
| Special Skill (innate) | Free at rank 1; then current level per rank (minimum 1) | Max level 5 |
| Spell school level (non-innate) | 5 + current level per rank | Max 10; gated by Magicka |
| Spell school level (innate) | Current level per rank (minimum 1) | Max 10; ignores the Magicka cap |
| Individual spell | Varies (7–55 SP, listed on each spell) | Separate from school level |
| Weapon/Armor/Shield training (non-innate) | 10 / 13 / 16 / 19 / 22 SP per tier | 80 SP to max one category |
| Weapon/Armor/Shield training (innate) | 5 / 8 / 11 / 14 / 17 SP per tier | 55 SP to max one category |
| Language (per tier) | 5 / +5 / +10 SP (Basic / Conversational / Fluent) | 20 SP to Fluent |
| Talent | Varies (10–30 SP, listed on each) | Capped at half your level |
| Combat Style | 40 SP (switching costs old + new combined) | One at a time; outside the Talent cap |
| Specialization pick | Varies (7–50 SP; Pinnacles 50 SP) | Class-specific |
| Profession (after creation) | 30 SP flat | One per character |
Skill Costs in Detail
A skill's level is its bonus: a Basic Skill at level 5 grants +5 when rolled. Basic Skills cap at level 10; Special Skills cap at level 5.
| Type | Non-Innate | Innate |
|---|---|---|
| Basic or Special (any rank) | 5 + current level SP | current level SP (minimum 1) |
The first rank (0 → 1) costs 5 SP for non-innate skills, and is free for innate skills (the skill is granted at level 1 automatically when declared innate).
Worked totals:
- Maxing one Basic Skill (0 → 10): 95 SP non-innate; 45 SP innate.
- Maxing one Special Skill (0 → 5): 35 SP non-innate; 10 SP innate.
Spell School and Spell Costs
Spell school levels use the same cost structure as skills (5 + current level non-innate; current level innate, minimum 1) and cap at level 10. Combined non-innate spell school levels can never exceed your Magicka level; innate schools do not count toward this cap.
Each individual spell also has its own SP acquisition cost, listed on the spell, scaling roughly by level:
| Spell Level | Acquisition Cost |
|---|---|
| L1 | 7–16 SP |
| L2 | 14–18 SP |
| L3 | 16–22 SP |
| L4 | 22–40 SP |
| L5 | 28–36 SP |
| L6 | 30–40 SP |
| L7 | 38–44 SP |
| L8 | 38–50 SP |
| L9 | 44–55 SP |
| L10 (capstones) | 55 SP |
Spells also have WP costs to cast, which are separate from their SP acquisition cost.
Training Costs in Detail
Weapon, armor, and shield training share one universal cost ladder of five tiers:
| Level | Tier | Non-Innate Cost | Innate Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trained | 10 SP | 5 SP |
| 2 | Veteran | 13 SP | 8 SP |
| 3 | Elite | 16 SP | 11 SP |
| 4 | Master | 19 SP | 14 SP |
| 5 | Grandmaster | 22 SP | 17 SP |
Maxing one category costs 80 SP non-innate or 55 SP innate. Any weapon, armor, or shield type you pick up as starting equipment becomes an innate training choice, costing 5 SP less per tier.
How a Budget Tends to Break Down
As a rough heuristic from session-rate analysis:
- 50–60% of total SP goes to mandatory progression - level-ups and the core-bonus gates that level prerequisites require.
- The remaining 40–50% is discretionary: specialization picks, extra skills, spells, talents, languages, and crafting investments.