In One Last Fire, every player character is a baseline human with minimal magic capabilities. Every PC has a Quality which relates to their previous occupation, cherished library, or general outlook on life. A Quality will determine what Skills you can take, and thus, what Skills you can level up throughout the game.
At game start, you receive 5 Skill Points (5 SP) to spend on Skills relating to your Quality, or General Skills. Each Skill tier must be purchased in turn: you cannot skip to level 2 or 3 of a Skill.
As stated in the Skills page, each tier of a Skill costs the same number of SP as its level: level one costs 1 SP, level two costs 2 SP and level three costs 3 SP.
There are also several Quirks you can take to increase or decrease the SP you start with, as well as change the scope of Skills you can take. These are designed to cater to slightly different gameplay experiences, but do not make any player significantly more or less powerful.
Every week you will be given 3 additional SP to upgrade whichever Skills you like, so long as they are within your Quality, or are General Skills.
Every week in your turnsheet, there will be a section to let us know which Skills you would like to purchase or level up. This will occur in addition to any actions you have that turn and will not affect them. Both levelling up and purchasing a new Skill is represented by the serpent presenting you with perfectly ripe, freshly picked pears, which you should consume immediately to gain more knowledge in your chosen disciplines. All Skill purchases and upgrades take place at the end of Downtime.
In your turnsheet during Downtime is the only time in which Skill purchasing and levelling up can take place.
Every week (including at character creation) you may save unused SP. This will be recorded in your character profile by your GM. You can save up to 6 SP at most. Because of this, when you have saved up 6 SP, you cannot gain more until you spend some on Skills.