The point-buy system of Earthdawn at least so far as starting talents goes in 1st edition is somewhat flawed. I'd known this, but I hadn't run the math so I didn't realize how bad it was.
Yesterday I was reviewing my point expenditures on my current, and 2 year old character when I noticed that after the first adventure I had spent the points to raise all of my first circle talents from rank one to rank two.
It probably sounds reasonable to anyone unfamiliar with the system. The problem is that during character creation you are given 8 points to distribute among 6 talents. I hadn't distributed 2 of those ranks. I had shorted myself 400 experience off of every other character.
If I had been paying more attention at the start I could have saved myself another 500 experience over that even.
The rules specifically mention a maximum of 3 of those ranks can be put into any one talent, but there is no minimum. As it turns out, if you can do without a couple of those starting talents for that first adventure you can save yourself a bit by assigning 3 ranks to two talents and 2 ranks to a third talent.
The cost to reach second circle is 600 xp both routes, but the cost to reach 3rd is 500 less if you assign those ranks off the start.
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