Reference: Improving your Character (Spending XP and what Insight Rank Means)

[Vutall]

Improving your Character
A character may increase a Trait by paying a number of Experience Points equal to four times the next rank. For example, increasing a character’s Reflxes from 2 to 3 would cost 12 Experience Points. Remember to check and see if your Ring increases when you purchase additional ranks in your Traits. You must pay for each increase and can not skip a rank (So you couldn't go from rank 2 to 5 without paying for 2 to 3, 3 to 4, and then 4 to 5)

Because it has no Traits, the Void Ring may be increased on its own. This is more expensive, however, because the Void Ring contributes
directly to a character’s Insight Rank (see below). Increasing a character’s Void Ring costs a number of points equal to six times the new rank. For example, increasing a character’s Void Ring from 2 to 3 would cost 18 Experience Points. You must pay for each increase and can not skip a rank (So you couldn't go from rank 2 to 5 without paying for 2 to 3, 3 to 4, and then 4 to 5)

Skills may be purchased for a number of Experience Points equal to the next rank in the Skill. To purchase a Skill the character does not already possess costs 1 Experience Point to gain that Skill at rank 1. Increasing a Skill from 2 to 3 would cost 3 Experience Points. An Emphasis may be purchased for a Skill by spending 2 Experience Points. You must pay for each increase and can not skip a rank (So you couldn't go from rank 2 to 5 without paying for 2 to 3, 3 to 4, and then 4 to 5)

Advantages and Disadvantages may be purchased for the cost listed in their description. An Advantage that specifies it costs 3 points, for example, requires 3 Experience Points to add to your character. Disadvantages function similarly, except that characters gain additional Experience Points for taking them, up to a maximum of 10 extra points. For example, a character with 40 Experience Points who takes a Disadvantage worth 4 points now has 44 Experience Points to spend on improvements. (Note: After Character Creation, Advantages cost +2xp)

Spell Memorization: A skilled shugenja, however, can memorize the incantations by spending a number of Experience Points equal to the Mastery Level of the spell. This allows the spell to be cast without a scroll.

A bushi character can purchase a Kata if the character’s School is listed as one of those that can utilize the Kata, and if the character’s relevant Ring is equal to or higher than the listed Mastery Level. Purchasing a Kata costs a number of Experience Points equal to its Mastery Level. For example, the Breath of Wind Style Kata is available only to students of the Bayushi Bushi School and the Kakita Bushi School, who may purchase it for 3 Experience Points if they have an Air Ring of 3 or higher (because the Kata’s Mastery Level is Air 3) (Note: characters who are from the same clan as one listed under the kata but not the school may purchase for +1xp. Characters who do not have a clan or school on the list may purchase for +1xp and by gaining the 3 Point Obligation to one of the clans and schools listed.)

A monk character may purchase additional Kiho by spending a number of Experience Points equal to the Kiho’s Mastery Level. These are essentially ‘bonus Kiho,’ and a character may never know more of these (Kiho your school grants do not count toward this limit) than his cumulative School Rank in all Monk Schools (Note: With the Friend of the Brotherhood advantage, this is limited by your schools rank)
All schools that have the [Monk] and [Shinobi] tag may purchase Kiho, using the following as guidance:
Brotherhood: Price as listed, School Rank + Ring for Mastery Level able to purchase
Friend of the Brotherhood: Price as listed, School +Ring for Mastery Level able to purchase
Non-Brotherhood: 1.5 price as listed, School +Ring for Mastery Level able to purchase
Shinobi: 2x price as listed, Ring for Mastery Level able to purchase

Characters can purchase Bonds with another player character, or increase an existing bond rank.
If two or more PCs are forging or advancing a bond, each PC must individually spend the full amount of XP for the bond at the same time (as they all gain its benefits). Bonds must start at Rank 1, and can be increased by each character in the bond paying the full amount of XP for the new rank, in order (So a 1 could go to 2, but a 1 could not go to a 3)






Insight Rank is measured by adding all of a character’s Rings together and multiplying them by ten, then adding the total of all their Skill Ranks together and adding it to the total from the Rings. For example, a character with all five Rings at 2 and with a total of 20 ranks in different Skills would have an Insight Rank of 120. Insight Rank is measured in increments of 25 as follows:
Insight 1-149 . . . . . . . . . . . . RANK 1
Insight 150-174 . . . . . . . . . . RANK 2
Insight 175-199 . . . . . . . . . . RANK 3
Insight 200-224 . . . . . . . . . . RANK 4
Insight 225-249 . . . . . . . . . . RANK 5
Insight 250-274 . . . . . . . . . . RANK 6
Insight 275-299 . . . . . . . . . . RANK 7
Insight 300-324 . . . . . . . . . . RANK 8
+25 points of Insight . . . . . . +1 RANK

Unlocking a new insight rank allows you to learn another school rank, so Insight Rank 3 would be School Rank 3 (For the purposes of the New Winds campaign, this is not true. Each game will tell you what School Rank you can be)

When a Shugenja increases their shugenja school rank, they gain the following:
The shugenja’s School Rank increases the number of dice rolled on a Spell Casting Roll.

The new School Rank determines what Mastery Level of spells they can cast.

They learn 3 new spells, each of which must be of a Mastery Level he can cast at their new Rank.