Advancement Point Value of Monstrous Creatures

0. General principles Consolidated

The Advancement Point value of a creature arises from the base value of its Core Potency and is modified by characteristics, resistances, capabilities, and vulnerabilities. Except for the special formulas expressly indicated, every line uses the same scheme.

• AP_Core is the base value in Advancement Points corresponding to the creature's Core Potency, not the number of Core Potency points.
• SELECT normally equals 1; it may be a count or a fraction when the rule expressly provides for it.
• Percentage modifiers are always calculated on the base value AP_Core, except Combos and Weapon Protection, which have formulas of their own.

Macro order of the calculation

1. Determine AP_Core. For creatures affected by Epic Deficiency and/or Restricted Epic Access, determine AP_Core through the expert calculation in Section 1A before applying any other modifier.
2. Apply all ordinary and special modifiers.
3. Calculate Weapon Protection and any Material Exposures.
4. Calculate the positive Accumulation and the vulnerability Accumulation separately.
5. Sum them to obtain the Semi-Total.
6. Apply the Combos on the Semi-Total.
7. Apply last the final size multipliers, where relevant (Massive ×1.20; Colossal ×1.50), and round.

1. Base value by Core Potency Core

1A. Expert calculation: Epic Power adjustment to AP_Core Expert

The AP_Core values shown in Section 1 already incorporate the standard value attributed to the Epic Powers normally granted by Core Potency. This adjustment is deliberately incorporated into AP_Core itself rather than calculated as a separate Special Power line. Consequently, once the adjusted AP_Core has been determined, that value is used as the baseline for all subsequent percentage-based calculations in this framework.

1A.1 Pre-Epic Core reference values

The following table shows the underlying Core value before the Epic Power adjustment. The ordinary AP_Core appearing in Section 1 is obtained by applying the standard Epic adjustment to this value.

1A.2 Epic Deficiency and Restricted Epic Access

Some creatures do not receive the full Epic Power entitlement incorporated into the normal AP_Core value. These limitations modify the Epic adjustment to the pre-Epic Core value directly. They are not ordinary Special Vulnerabilities and must not be priced again under Section 11.

EPIC DEFICIENCY reduces the normal Epic adjustment by 1.25 percentage points for each Epic Power lost: 1 percentage point removes the baseline value normally attributed to that Epic Power, while the additional 0.25 percentage points represent the developmental deficiency arising from failing to acquire a power normally expected at that degree of Core Potency. RESTRICTED EPIC ACCESS reduces the normal Epic adjustment by 0.5 percentage points for each Epic Power slot that remains available but must be generated exclusively from the General Epic Powers list.

1A.3 Worked examples

2. Defense Rating Converted

The Defense Rating measures basic defensive sturdiness. It begins at the Base Miss Value of 50 and rises with the creature's Armor, Deviation, Distortion, Divine Protection, Evasion, Shield, and Size Modifier. Choose exactly one row.

3. Creature Size

Resilience Test modifiers due to size

4. Aether Refusal

5. Supplementary Life Points

Only additional Life Points beyond those already deriving from size are counted. For each bonus Life Point:

With N Supplementary Life Points: ROUND(N×2 + AP_Core×0.0075×N).

6. Base Strike Value, ordinary attacks, damage, and mighty attacks

Base Strike Value

The fixed component of the creature's Strike Rating, set by the band that expresses how far its form is given over to landing a blow. Choose exactly one row.

Attacks and damage

7. Intelligence and Combat Points

Calculating Combat Points

Creatures with Intelligence of at least 5 obtain 1 Combat Point per Core Potency point, plus the fixed bonus of their Intelligence band and the following threshold bonuses, which are cumulative:

8. Movement

Primary movement

Alternative modes

* For an aquatic creature, swimming is the primary movement and does not receive the alternative-mode cost; what is evaluated instead is any capability of moving on land.

9. Audacity

The modifier does not apply to Forsaken and Artificials when behavior devoid of morale is already included in the creature's typical package.

10. Typical traits, resistances, absorption, and regeneration

Special kinds

Absorption of all physical damage

Physical absorption is a flat reduction applied to every qualifying physical hit, and it remains fully relevant regardless of the weapon's magical grade.

Regeneration

11. Special powers and atypical special vulnerabilities

The categories are Least, Lesser, Moderate, Superior, Powerful, Extraordinary. All except Least use the sub-grades Low, Medium, High; Extraordinary too is formally divided into Low/Medium/High.

12. Resilience Test bonuses and penalties

13. Senses Updated

Each sense possessed is a separate line, unless the description expressly declares that one sense replaces or subsumes the other.

The hearing factor applied to Sonic Damage (ARELIA Elemental Damage Model, ARL-CM-08, Section 15) belongs to the creature's nature and is not priced: a sense is priced here once, and inability to hear is never priced as a resistance to Sonic damage.

14. Profile-based Weapon Protection New rule

The old scale "immunity to normal weapons / +1 / +2 / +3" is replaced by a protection profile. The protection is a single positive capability, but its AP value derives from the probabilistic sum of the different weapon tiers against which it remains effective.

14.1 Mechanical profile

• Each value is an integer from 0 to 10.
• Mandatory monotonic constraint: P0 ≥ P1 ≥ P2 ≥ P3 ≥ P4.
• A hit uses only the value of its own tier. Lower tiers do not add together.
• "Cumulative" concerns the AP calculation, not the effect on a single hit.
• An effect that attributes to an attack an equivalent magical grade uses the equivalent tier; absent such a rule, the weapon's actual grade is used.

14.2 Baseline: extended Physical Absorption

The protection is priced as a conditioned form of Physical Absorption. Lines 1-5 coincide with ordinary absorption; 6-10 continue the same progression solely for the Weapon Protection calculation.

14.3 Weapon tier frequencies by Core Potency

The frequencies represent the reference probability that a relevant weapon hit against a creature of that level belongs to the indicated tier. They are a pricing parameter, not a rule that limits the actual equipment of characters.

For creatures above 20 Core Potency, the row for 20 is used until an extension is adopted.

14.4 Direct value formula

For each tier t, first calculate the cost that a Physical Absorption equal to Pt would have:

Then weight that cost by the tier's frequency:

After any Material Exposures:

15. Material Exposure Integrated

Material Exposure is a special vulnerability tied exclusively to Weapon Protection. On each hit that lands and is based on the indicated material, there is a chance of completely ignoring the Weapon Protection that would otherwise apply to that hit.

15.1 Material frequencies

15.2 Grade of exposure

15.3 Formula

The overall factor is applied to the raw value of Weapon Protection before rounding.

Example: Moderate Bronze is Uncommon: f=0.33, b=0.33, therefore M=0.8911. Two exposures multiply; they do not add.

15.4 Notes on materials

16. Modifier for the amount of powers and vulnerabilities Clarified

The Accumulation does not re-price individual powers: it measures the increase in tactical density when several relevant capabilities coexist on the same creature. Positive powers and vulnerabilities are two separate systems.

16.1 K for special powers and vulnerabilities

The same K scale is used for the bare grade of the power or vulnerability; the sign is determined by the pool it enters. The Low, Medium, or High sub-grade is an integral part of the classification and must always be applied exactly. Using a generic or average K value of the main category is not permitted. For example, a Moderate - High power uses K 3.5 and not K 3; a Powerful - Low power uses K 6 and not K 7.

16.2 K of Weapon Protection

Weapon Protection is a single positive power for the 2+ threshold, whatever the number of non-zero tiers. Since it already receives a complete direct price, its contribution to the Accumulation is deliberately compressed: when K+ is active, it must generate about 20% of its own adjusted raw direct value.

K_WP is kept at decimal precision until the Accumulation is calculated. In this way, inside the following formula, the Weapon Protection share equals exactly 20% of its adjusted raw value.

16.3 Formula

For creatures of 1 Core Potency, each applicable Accumulation is worth 25% of the normal value; for creatures of 2 Core Potency, 50% of the normal value. The reduction is applied to the raw value of the relevant Accumulation before rounding.

16.4 What counts toward the threshold

• Counts normally: positive/negative special powers, regeneration, explicit physical absorption, named resistances and immunities, named vulnerabilities, a special kind when it represents a real package of powers, Weapon Protection if it has a positive AP value.
• Does not count normally: Defense Rating, size, movement, Audacity, senses, Intelligence, bonus Life Points, base attacks and damage, ordinary Resilience Test modifiers.
• Do not duplicate: the same named capability cannot be counted twice.
• Elemental entries: count toward the threshold only as named entries that raise the protection profile (protocol rule 16); a carried share never counts. Once the Accumulation applies, elemental K is read from the profile, by type and delivery, not entry by entry.
• Material Exposure: does not count in the vulnerability pool, because it is already incorporated into the value of Weapon Protection.

17. Power Combos

A Combo exists when the interaction between powers produces an appreciable and not merely marginal increase: greater probability or frequency of activation, an increase in average impact, the removal of the principal tactical limit, or overall pressure greater than the simple sum.

Combos are calculated one at a time on the Semi-Total prior to the Combos; they normally concern powers, not chassis traits already priced. A base trait may enter a Combo only exceptionally, when it amplifies a special power to an extraordinary degree.

18. Quality of the weapons used

Applies only to creatures that actually fight with manufactured weapons of that quality. Natural attacks do not receive this modifier.

19. Final assembly and checklist

1. AP_Core, including the Section 1A Epic Power baseline adjustment where Epic Deficiency and/or Restricted Epic Access applies.
2. Defense Rating, Size, Aether Refusal, Supplementary Life Points.
3. Base Strike Value band, ordinary attacks, maximum damage, and mighty attacks.
4. Intelligence, movement, and Audacity.
5. Special kinds, resistances and vulnerabilities (elemental ones through the protection profile, protocol rule 16), absorption, and regeneration.
6. Special powers and vulnerabilities.
7. Resilience Tests and senses.
8. Weapon Protection: raw calculation → Material Exposure → direct AP.
9. Positive Accumulation and vulnerability Accumulation, kept separate.
10. Quality of the weapons.
11. Sum of all preceding items = Semi-Total.
12. Combos on the Semi-Total.
13. Apply last Massive ×1.20 or Colossal ×1.50, where pertinent.
14. Mathematical rounding of the final result.

20. Complete AP valuation of specimen configurations Generation profiles

20.1 Distinguish named Variants from individual Specimen Powers

A named Variant (for example, Standard, Mature, Alpha, or Elite) has its own universal combat and power baseline. Specimen Powers are optional persistent powers of individual specimens, selected from a defined eligible pool and not automatically possessed by the entire named Variant. Calculate the baseline of each named Variant separately; if its Specimen Powers differ, calculate every permitted configuration of that Variant separately. Specimen Vulnerabilities are likewise individual flaws, drawn from the Specimen Vulnerability Pool, and never part of a Variant baseline. The presence of a Specimen Power or Specimen Vulnerability does not itself establish another named Variant. Temporary Conditional States are not automatically new specimen configurations.

20.2 Which configurations must be valued?

Read the creature's current, approved Specimen Potential, Specimen Pool, and eligibility conditions (ARELIA Creature Powers Model, Part II, Sections 3 to 7; entry fields f-spec-potential, f-spec-pool, and f-spec-gen). The following adopted defaults indicate exactly how many Specimen Powers a generated specimen receives. These percentages are mutually exclusive, not cumulative.

For clarity, let A, B, C, D represent the actual Specimen Power names in the approved pool. In the unrestricted default case the distinct AP profiles are:

Count combinations, not draw orders: A + B and B + A require only one AP calculation. The same Specimen Power cannot be selected twice. No generated specimen receives more than two Specimen Powers. Incidence affects only which powers are drawn: Frequent = weight 3, Unusual = weight 2, Scarce = weight 1. Neither these weights nor the exact-count probabilities reduce, multiply, or average an AP value. A Scarce but powerful Specimen Power receives exactly the AP price of its actual mechanics when present.

20.3 Calculate the whole specimen, not isolated power surcharges

1. Identify the named Variant. Read its Core Potency, complete universal baseline, and any approved named-Variant differences. Do not use another Variant's AP_Core or power list.
2. Validate the eligible pool and legal configurations. Identify each approved Specimen Power's full mechanics and exact standardized classification, with any required Low, Medium, or High subgrade, named-Variant eligibility, and incompatibilities. Reject combinations that cannot be generated; do not include unselected powers. Incompatible pairs are resolved by the draw rule of the ARELIA Creature Powers Model, Section 6: an illegal pair has no configuration and is not priced. If another needed input is undefined, stop the requested complete matrix and seek clarification instead of inventing a substitution or probability procedure.
3. Run the complete Section 0–19 calculation once for each legal configuration. Reconstruct the actual specimen including only its selected Specimen Powers and its Specimen Vulnerability, if any. Recalculate every affected ordinary and special line with the normal values and rounding. Use adjusted AP_Core under Section 1A only when the resulting specimen's established mechanics require it.
4. Independently re-evaluate interactions in that configuration. Recalculate both direct AP and the qualifying Accumulation K values, separate Positive and Vulnerability Accumulation, Weapon Protection and Material Exposure where relevant, the pre-Combo Semi-Total, each real Combo, and the final Size multiplier. A Specimen Power may affect existing lines or become part of a Combo only in the configurations where its mechanics actually apply.
5. Audit and publish the matrix. Preserve a complete line-by-line AP workpaper for every legal configuration. Report its actual Final AP in the per-Variant matrix. Derive each configuration's Threat Level from its Final AP on the band table of the ARELIA Creature Powers Model, Part IV. Record the matrix in entry field f-spec-config (Creature Entry Content Model).

20.4 Required per-Variant output matrix

Produce, for each named Variant, one row per legally generatable power configuration, with the actual Specimen Power names, and one column for no Specimen Vulnerability and one for each entry of the Specimen Vulnerability Pool, by name. Each legal cell shows the Final AP and the Threat Level derived from it on the band table of the ARELIA Creature Powers Model, Part IV; a cell excluded by an incompatibility is marked illegal. The following is an output-format illustration for one named Variant, not a creature valuation:

Specimen Vulnerability axis: A specimen holds no Specimen Vulnerability or exactly one, drawn from a Specimen Vulnerability Pool of exactly two entries (ARELIA Creature Powers Model, Sections 9, 17, and 18; entry fields f-spec-frailty, f-spec-vpool, f-spec-gen, and f-spec-config). The matrix therefore has two axes: the rows above are the power configurations, and each row is valued in a column for no Specimen Vulnerability and in one column for each entry of the pool, by name. Each legal cell is a complete specimen, calculated independently under Sections 0–19. A cell pairing a Specimen Vulnerability with an incompatible Specimen Power is not generated; it is marked illegal and not priced. Without incompatibilities the default counts per named Variant become 9 (Modest), 21 (Considerable), and 33 (Formidable). A Specimen Vulnerability is graded once from its own mechanics (Section 11) and activates Vulnerability Accumulation only where the configured specimen holds at least two qualifying vulnerabilities (Section 16). A Material Exposure produces no AP reduction on a specimen without Weapon Protection (Section 15); a material weakness on such a specimen is a Material Sensitivity, classified as a normal vulnerability. Specimen Frailty probabilities, like Incidence, never enter the AP arithmetic.

Named-Variant exceptions: A stronger or special named Variant may, when explicitly established for that creature, have additional eligible Specimen Powers, different 0/1/2-power probabilities, a restricted Specimen Vulnerability Pool, or a different Specimen Frailty. There is no automatic Mature, Alpha, Elite, or Boss enhancement table. Re-enumerate its legal configurations and calculate each independently. A five-power pool with unrestricted pairs, for example, requires 16 separate power profiles, and 48 cells with the Specimen Vulnerability axis, still with no more than two Specimen Powers and one Specimen Vulnerability on one specimen. Incompatible or zero-probability profiles are not required merely to fill a numerical maximum.

Historical or incomplete entries: If the creature has no approved Specimen Pool, do not infer that it canonically has none, invent powers, or present a baseline-only result as a completed specimen matrix. A baseline-only AP evaluation may still be performed when specifically requested and otherwise fully computable; explicitly label the full specimen matrix as pending. A formally approved singular-creature exemption may remain baseline-only.