The Old World: Grim and Perilous

Specializations are not strictly limited to a
specific career. In the course of the game
you may purchase additional specializations
from other careers (but it's pricey!).
For most of the time one of your purchased
specializations will be your Primary Specialization
representing what is your character's
focus at a given time. Other specializations
will be Secondary.
• Profession - represents your progression
within a specialization or sometimes defines
a path you may choose for a particular
specialization. For example a Squire is the
starting profession for the Knight specialization,
and later may progress to Knight
and Knight Commander.
Selecting the first
specialization
The first specialization can be selected from
among those tied to the chosen career for free.
For example, a Rogue may choose from among
Assassin, Charlatan, Fence, Racketeer, Spy and
Thief specializations. Skills from the chosen
career and specialization are now called career
skills for the character and you may now
choose one rank in four different career skills.
Additionally, at the beginning of Step : Invest
Experience Points players can spend experience
points (XP) to select one additional
specialization. This does not count as a regular
specialization (it also does not count when
calculating the cost of purchasing additional
specializations), but may represent the character's
background or a special training and, if the
Game Master allows, does not need to be tied
to the character's career. The character gains
only the talent tree from this additional specialization,
not career skills or gear! The character
cannot advance their profession in this specialization
and if at any point you decide to change
your character's Primary Specialization to this
additional specialization, apply normal rules
for purchasing new specializations.
Purchasing additional
specializations
Once chosen, your character's career cannot
change. Their development is expressed by
22 The Old World: Grim and Perilous
progressing within a chosen specialization
(by purchasing talents, skills and advancing
their profession), and by purchasing new
specializations.
At the GM's discretion, additional specializations
may be selected from various careers or
even those not normally available to your character's
species.
Primary and Secondary
Specializations
When purchasing a new specialization you
should determine which one of them is the Primary
Specialization - representing what is your
character's focus in the narrative, and which
ones stay as a Secondary Specializations - representing
their previous job, supplementary
role or the past they had to leave behind.
EXAMPLE : Previous job
Your character's career is Rogue and starting
specialization is Thief. You decide to purchase
an additional specialization - Fence, and along
with your GM, you decide that your character's
Primary Specialization from now on is Fence,
but narratively, your character may still progress
in the Thief specialization which now becomes
Secondary.
EXAMPLE : Supplementary role
Your character's career is Scholar and starting
specialization is Celestial Wizard. After some
time wandering around the Old World the narrative
promotes your Wizard to a Master Vigilant
to hunt rebels and heretics. Since there is
no separate specialization for this job, you may
purchase the Witch Hunter specialization. Although
it is connected to the Warrior career,
it supplements your Wizard specialization to
fit that new role. In this case, Celestial Wizard
is still your Primary Specialization and Witch
Hunter becomes Secondary.
EXAMPLE : A fresh start
Your character's starting career is Wanderer
and specialization is Rat Catcher. After a heroic
rescue of a certain baron, they are nobilitated
and the GM grants you the possibility to purchase
the Knight specialization. From now on,
your character is a Knight (while remaining a
Wanderer), but this new specialization does
not go well with the previous one, so the GM decides
that you will no longer be able to progress