Like many reading a new system for the first time, there are parts that just dont click the first, second, or even third time through. Its never the complicated questions though. Its almost always something as simple as "Do you put pants or underware on first?". So please excuse this simple question if it seem obvious.

During character creation for a Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, or Force and Destiny, what is the rule for acquiring new specializations.

Now this is what I understand.

During character creation, you chose a profession, then pick a specialzation, then a talent tree. For new characters the first talent tree is free.

But acording to the rules on acquiring new specializations, pg 93 of the SW EotE core book, it says purchasing aditional specializations within a career cost 10 times the number od specializations you are purchasing. For outside careers you add 5 points to the cost.

Now my question and the part that confuses me a bit is what is the specialization?

Now I am sure I either read or heard through one of the several character creation videos, something like the following stated, and this is what confuses me.

"When you acquire a specialization, the talents cost 5 exp for the first level, 10 exp for the second, then 15 exp, then 20 exp, and finally 25 exp for the last level. "

So, is it the specialization Hired Gun, or the talent tree Bodyguard?

Then would the cost of x10 or x10+5 be on gaining Hired Gun or Bodyguard?

I figure its the talent tree you are buying, but when you have mutiple names for the same thing it becomes confusing. If specialization is the same as a talent tree then say so.

Please help clairify this.

Thank you.

Hired gun is the class, bodyguard is the specialization. You can’t buy a class past the starting one, but you can buy the specs of any class.

So, trying to stick with your example as much as possible, there are three levels at play here.

The first is your character's Career. Career is the big one: you only have one Career, ever, and there is no way (currently) to change it. Once you pick your Career, that's the one you'll have the whole game.

Hired Gun is a Career, as is Bounty Hunter, Colonist, Explorer, Smuggler, and Technician.

The next level down is Specializations. "Specialization" is the fancy, official word for a talent tree. You can have as many specializations as you want, but you only have access to the ones you buy. The first one's free, but after that, they cost you! So Mercenary Soldier is a Specialization. Specializations are all tied to Careers. Mercenary Soldier, for instance, is tied to the Hired Gun Career - if a Hired Gun wants to have access to the Mercenary Soldier talent tree, he has to pay for it (unless it was his first tree), but he pays less. 10 xp less, specifically. If a member of any other Career, let's say a Bounty Hunter, wanted to have access to the Mercenary Soldier Specialization, he can get it, it's just more expensive.

The final level down are individual Talents. Talents are the actual abilities or powers that you can buy once you own a Specialization. So, continuing with our Hired Gun > Mercenary Soldier example, abilities like Command, Second Wind, Point Blank, and Side Step are Talents. Talents get more expensive as they get lower in the Specialization, but they're the thing that give you actual new abilities.

So, to recap! A character has a single Career chosen at character creation, which determines what Specializations (talent trees) they can start with and expand out to cheaper, and each Specialization contains a number of Talents that grant new abilities. Make sense? Any additional clarification needed?

8 minutes ago, Eoen said:

Hired gun is the class, bodyguard is the specialization. You can’t buy a class past the starting one, but you can buy the specs of any class.

For clarity,Hired Gun is the career , and bodyguard is one of the specializations in this career.

As stated, Career is chosen once at character creation, never changes, and you never have more than one career.

On 5/1/2018 at 2:15 AM, R0bperry said:

For outside careers you add 5 points to the cost. 

10 xp extra outside your career, not 5 xp.

Access to the talent tree is part of the specialization but not the entirety of it: specializations also add several skills to your career skill list (if they weren't already on it) when chosen/bought.

On 5/3/2018 at 7:29 PM, Garran said:

Access to the talent tree is part of the specialization but not the entirety of it: specializations also add several skills to your career skill list (if they weren't already on it) when chosen/bought.

Not asked, but I feel obligated to add one more point of information that sometimes confuses new players:

If you purchase a non-career specialization, only the bonus career skills become career skills for your character. For example, a non-Bounty Hunter PC adds Gadgeteer as a 2nd (and non-career) specialization. The PC now marks Brawl, Coercion, Mechanics, and Ranged (Light) as career skills, but not Athletics, Perception, Piloting (Planetary), Piloting (Space), Ranged (Heavy), Resilience, or Vigilance.