So an interesting line of questioning came up last game.

Non-Career advances specify buying non-career skills, talents that are not represented in career slots, and non-career stats.

It was obvious that you couldn't pick up spare fortune dice or stance markers, but I was surprised to note that action cards were not included there. Moreover, there is no actual rule on buying career skills out-of-career.

So I'll use my sigmarite priest for example:

There are a number of useful skills I need. Weapon Skill, Discipline, Invocation, Piety, Education etc. However, the Initiate only has 3 skill choices open (2 open, one required). If I wanted to get Weapon Skill, Discipline (now class skills as per SoF) and Invocation, Piety trained, I could get 3 purchased in class, and i'd try to pick one up out-of-career. now even though it's a career skill, I'm out of career slots, and the rules (RAW) don't mention anything about enabling players to pick up career skills as non-career.

So, does anyone see a problem with this math wise (as we were unsure how getting more skills than proscribed by your career sheet would affect things in terms of long-term game balance), and how do you play at your games.

Tricky followup question - would it then count for skills purchased in-career at dedication (we said No)?

I see no mathematical problem with this option.

Assume a career has three skill advances available. The player chooses the three open, and one fixed advance for a total of four skills(all on the career card). Then he picks up a skill that is out of career and spends those advances as non-career advances. He has picked up five skills despite the career only allowing four.

Seems to me that it should not matter if he picked up a skill that is on his career card or a skill that is not on his career card. Either way the character has picked up an "extra" skill. Choosing a career skill in this fashion would still be a non-career advance; Specialization would not apply, advances thus spent would not count toward career completion, skill training would still be limited to one expertise die per rank, and the skills would cost just as much as non-career skill advances for skills not on the career card.

-Thorvid