Advancement
Finally, we come to the end of the loop, and the last piece of the LUMEN puzzle. These characters are powerful, but they want to be even MORE powerful! Character advancement in LUMEN games comes in two flavors: the characters, and the loot.
Character advancement is when the characters themselves become more powerful. There are a few ways that you can do this.
Increase an Attribute score
Increase Health or the Resource
Beyond that, the Powers themselves are a source of advancement opportunity. In NOVA, each Power has 2 advances that can be taken, improving the Power. These can be straight forward, such as providing +1 Harm, or allow the Power to be used in ways it couldn’t be before.
In addition, you could allow for the PCs to gain access to new Powers through advancement. If you do this, I recommend requiring them to replace an existing Power, rather than adding on more and more options. Or, having them “equip” their 3-5 Powers at the start of a mission. Remember, the name of the game is speed, and having a list of 10 Powers to choose from on your turn slows the game down.
Loot advancement is all about making the weapons in the game more interesting. This form of advancement is best served in games where the weapons hold a prominent place in how the PCs are dealing with their fights. There are a lot of ways to handle loot advancement, and you need to choose a path that best fits your game:
Generate a new weapon at the end of each mission
Gain favor with weapon makers, allowing you to “buy” new weapons
Swap out tags of weapons after successful missions
Get access to legendary weapons!
Not all LUMEN games need a robust loot system, or one at all. In LIGHT, loot generation at the end of Strikes is super important, and so I made sure to include plenty of rules about creating random loot, loot tables, and working for the gunsmith. In NOVA, the classes are more important, and loot takes a backseat, so I don’t have as many rules for acquiring new weapons.