Wait, is that it? We won’t level up?...
There’s no experience points or the like in this game. But that’s not to say that there’s no kind of level advancement.
To improve your character(s) and feel them develop, aside from getting their teeth right into the thick of whatever’s thrown your way, one idea is to survive, to grab as much cash and loot as you can get your hands on, to spend that on better gear, hittin’ tools, and whack blunters, or to hunt down or trade or downright pilfer whatever you can, and if you like, to find a way to enhance your max health through training, drugs, or wacky arcane shenanigans, until one day you realise that you’re a bit less brittle than you were the day before, that you can face pretty much anything!
...but where’s the sense of achievement?
Yep, good question. If your character(s) do survive and manage to progress like this, for you as a player that might not be enough. And that’s ok. But wait, for your character(s) to get to that stage of progression, they'll have gone and scraped through a myriad of brutal, exciting, and unforgettable scenarios & moments, every facet of your character(s) having been challenged and poked and prodded until they’ve emerged bruised, bloodied, but very much fleshed out, toughened up, and enlightened by the experience. Yeah, you won’t be able to say they’re level this or level that, but getting to feel every win, every hard-fought achievement, every ounce of sweat & struggle to get them to where they are now with an awesome tale to tell, that right there, that’s what it’s all about, right?
Still not enough?...
Hey, that’s A-OK. It’s your game now. If everyone’s in agreement, GM included, that you’d all prefer to see some level progression in your character(s), go for it. So every time your new level 1 character(s) encounter anything in the game and manage to get through it, let’s say they get, what, 10 experience points (xp). Hit 100xp, they level up from 1 to 2. Hit another 200, they get to level 3. And so on.
You can always increase the amount of xp needed to get to the next levels as they get higher, and can throw them a boon or two at every level if you like, like a ±1 or ±2 to something. Or hey, feel free instead to slot in the level advancement rules for any other game systems you like.
At its core though, this game ain’t balanced in terms of characters and levels and creatures and the like. It’s not like it gets easier or harder the more your character(s) progress. They’ll face what they face. If what squares up to them, if what’s around the next corner, is too big or too complex to handle, look for the exit, sure, but work out how to come back juiced up and ready the next time.
...ok ok, so what’s next then?
Well, your GM will start leading you into your first scenario, the very first encounter for your character(s) to work out what the heck’s going on & what to do about it. Listen carefully, set your objectives, ask as many questions as you can until you’ve got a fair idea about how you’d like to overcome whatever conflicts are thrown at you, share space respectfully with those around you, and more than anything else, aim at every turn to have total fun!
anywhere else I can go?
That should be you all set. Hopefully you've got your character(s) ready to roll. If you'd like to go over things again, you can return to the beginning of the character creation section.
...or if you might want to check out the rules of the chaos intro
Remember, though, that you can navigate anywhere on the site using the menus on each page, and if you ever get lost, roll 1d6 and we'll see what perils you encounter!