On pg 93 of the EoE CRB, under Acquiring Talents...

"Characters may only purchase talents for which they are eligible. Characters are eligible to purchase any talents in the first, topmost row, plus any talents that are connected via one of the aforementioned links to a talent the character has already acquired." Talents, plural.

1- Does this mean that a PC is allowed to choose all of the talents in the topmost row, or that the PC must choose only one from among those talents in the topmost row as a starting point on the talent tree?

If the PC were allowed to choose all of the talents in the topmost row, it seems then the point of the links would be mute, but I'm just making sure I understand the intent of the talent trees correctly. See further...

Using the Bodyguard Talent Tree (pg 77):

2- If the PC is allowed to choose only one from among the topmost row of talents as the starting point on that talent tree, could the PC (assuming enough earned XP) follow the tree in this pattern:

Durable

Barrage

Defensive Stance

Defensive Stance

Toughened

Barrage

Side Step

Side Step

Hard Headed

Body Guard

Body Guard

Enduring

3- Is "backtracking" along the talent tree forbidden? In other words, if a PC purchases talents into a dead end on the talent tree, has that talent tree effectively been completed? Or is this an instance where being allowed to choose from among all the topmost talents makes sense- the PC chooses another starting point on the same talent tree?

I know the rules are touted as being clear and concise, but as a writer I find there to be enough ambiguity in the verbiage of Acquiring Talents to raise my questions.

If my post is better ignored when definitively explaining the initial choice(s) and progression on the talent trees, then I understand. I would be very appreciative of assistance.

Thank you.

It's my understanding that you can choose any of the talents on the first row; of course, doing so will cost you a lot more XP in the long run, but that's about the only thing stopping you from getting them all.

1 - First row will always only have talents you can purchase without any requirements. What you listed in 2 is correct. 3 - There is no real backtracking, you can skip around as you like. So using the Bodyguard tree as an example, you could go:

Barrage (5xp) -> Hard Headed (10xp) -> Bodyguard (10xp) -> Durable (5xp) -> Side Step (15xp) -> Bodyguard (15xp) - etc.

It's less that you're trying to make a path where you don't dead-end, it's more of just grabbing whatever talent you want as long as you meet the requirement (xp to take it and having a talent that connects to it).

Brother Orpheo, it might help if you can to get OggDude's Character Generator program.

It's got Talent trees where you can click on each Talent, and see the Talents which are available as a result of each Talent you purchase. A visual example might help you understand it better.

I'm not even really clear on what the confusion is.

Before you buy any Talents in a specialization, you are eligible to buy any of the four Talents on the top row.

Once you've bought one of those Talents, new Talents become eligible--whichever Talents are connected by a line to the Talents you own are now eligible to be purchased.

If you want, you're welcome to buy all four of the Talents on the top row, provided you have the XP to do so. You can do that at one time or you can buy one Talent this session, another Talent the next session, and so on. They're all 5xp so it's not a huge cost.

Then new Talents become eligible for purchase once you've bought those, by following the lines connecting Talents.

Thanks much for the clarification.