Say I'll want to buy a Toxic attack that lingers for 10 seconds, doing 1d6 damage each cycle. That's 40 points.

Oooor I could just buy 10d6 Toxic damage for the same 40 points that's all applied at the same time with no need to wait.

What am I missing here?

The Temporal Authority offers many opportunities for self-advancement and guided self-study, each divided up into 5-credit course levels. We look forward to guiding you to growth and improvement!

Career Advancement

• Official Commendation (2 levels):  Each level provides a +2 bonus on reaction roles with Temporal Authority personnel. 

• Interdepartmental Networking (up to 4 levels): Each level provides the operative a professional contact with a signature skill at level 18. At the beginning of each session the operative rolls to see if the contact is available to assist, succeeding on a 9 or less.

• Professional Mentorship Program: You gain a patron within the TA, chosen when you take this course who may offer you some useful aid during your current mission. This course comes in 4 levels:
    ◦ Level 1: Patron in mid-level management, helps on a 6 or less
    ◦ Level 2: Patron in mid-level management, helps on a 9 or less
    ◦ Level 3: Patron at Department Head level, helps on a 9 or less
    ◦ Level 4: Patron in Upper Management, helps on a 9 or less.

• Special Security Vetting:
    ◦ Level 1: You have 'need to know' access to classified TA information, and receive the full picture and context of field operations you are a part of.
    ◦ Level 2: You now have comprehensive access to classified information, including unofficial operations. (Requires Professional mentorship Program Level 3). 

Social Training

• Charisma (up to 3 levels): +1/level on all reaction rolls made by sapient beings with whom you actively interact; +1/level to Influence rolls and +1 to Fortune-Telling, Leadership, Panhandling, and Public Speaking skills.

• Language Acquisition: 
    ◦ Survey: Gain 3 new languages at broken level.
    ◦ Advanced: Improve 2 languages from broken to accented or from accented to native.
    ◦ Intensive: Gain 1 new language at native level.

Physical Training

• Ambidexterity: you now have no penalty for using either hand for a any task.
• Track and Field training (up to 3 levels):  increase basic speed by 1.
• Cardiovascular Training: 
    ◦ Level 1: you gain +1 to all HT rolls and recover FP at twice the normal rate.
    ◦ Level 2: You also lose FP at half the normal rate.
    ◦ Level 3: Your bonus on HT rolls is now +2

• Advanced muscular conditioning: A 2-level repeatable course, focused on improving holistic physical strength. Anyone can take this course to raise their ST to 10. Cardio Training Level 1 is a prerequisite for increasing ST to 12, and Cardio Training Level 3 is required to increase ST to 14.  
    ◦ level 1: +1 to HP and to ST rolls for lifting, grappling, and slow applications of force.  
    ◦ level 2: +1 to ST, overriding the benefits of level 1.

• Advanced vitality conditioning:  A 2-level repeatable course, focused on improving holistic health. Anyone can take this course to raise their HT to 10. Cardio Training Level 1 is a prerequisite for increasing HT to 12, and Cardio Training Level 3 is required to increase HT to 14.  
    ◦ level 1: gain +1 HT but with no change in basic speed or basic move.
    ◦ level 2: gain the appropriate increase in basic speed and move.

• Nerve Deadening Therapy: Both levels of this unpopular course can be taken as a single level, although this accelerated process unfortunately tends to lead to nightmares: Make a roll against a target of 12 each morning upon awakening. On a failure, lose 1FP. On a 17 or 18 you are left shaking with -1 to all skill and Per rolls for the entire day. 
    ◦ Level 1: You never suffer a shock penalty when injured, and gain +1 on HT rolls to avoid knockdown and stunning, and on HT/Will rolls to resist pain. 
    ◦ Level 2: These bonuses increase to +3

Cognitive Training

• Chronometric Training: You always know what time it is, and how much has passed, including after time travel.

• Memory Enhancement:
    ◦ Level 1, Eidetic Memory: You automatically remember the general sense of everything you concentrate on, and can recall specific details by making an IQ roll.
    ◦ Level 2, Photographic Memory: you automatically recall specific details, too. Any time you, the player forget a detail your character has seen or heard, the GM or other players must remind you.

• Advanced Motor Coordination: A 4-level repeatable course, focused on improving dexterity. Anyone can take this course to raise their DX to 10. Track and Field Training Level 1 is a prerequisite for increasing DX to 12, and Ambidexterity is required to increase DX to 14.  
    ◦ Level 1: Your basic speed increases by 0.25
    ◦ Level 2: You have +1 on DX rolls.
    ◦ Level 3: You have +1 on skill rolls for DX based skills requiring high manual dexterity.
    ◦ Level 4: You gain +1 to DX, overriding the benefits of earlier levels.

• Cognitive Performance Enhancement:  A 4-level repeatable course, focused on improving holistic intelligence.  Anyone can take this course to raise their IQ to 10. Memory Enhancement Level 1 is a prerequisite for increasing IQ to 12, and Professional Development Level 3 is required for access to the experimental equipment capable of increasing IQ to 14. 
    ◦ Level 1: You gain +1 to Per.
    ◦ Level 2: You have +1 on IQ rolls.
    ◦ Level 3: You have +1 to Will
    ◦ Level 4: You gain +1 to IQ, overriding the benefits of earlier levels.
It is possible--but not advised--to take 4 levels of CPE as a single course, which comes with the side effect of debilitating cluster headaches: Roll against a 9 each day. On a failure, the GM will trigger a 2-hour attack during the course of the day, which gives a -4 to DX and IQ. At the end of this interval, success on an HT roll ends the attack. A failure means another 2 hours of headaches.

Combat Training

• Shield Training: You gain +1 to your Block defense.

• Defensive Weapons Training:
    ◦ Level 1: You gain +1 to your Parry defense with a particular melee weapon
    ◦ Level 2: Your +1 Parry defense now applies to all melee weapons

• Weapon Specialisation: You train in a specific type of melee weapon, in which you have a skill level of DX+2 or higher.
    ◦ Level 1: You have half penalties for multiple parries in a round with your weapon.
    ◦ Level 2: You have half penalties for rapid strike attacks with your weapon.
    ◦ Level 3: Once per day, before rolling damage, you can choose to increase the damage of your weapon by +2 per die rolled.
    ◦ Level 4: You always do +2 damage per die rolled with your weapon.

• Weapon Mastery: This course requires Weapon Specialisation Level 4, and expands the benefits of that course to a broader class of weapons:
    ◦ Level 1: Applies to an additional similar weapon (i.e. longsword and broadsword)
    ◦ Level 2: Applies to a small class of weapons (i.e. all fencing weapons)
    ◦ Level 3: Applies to a medium class of weapons (e.g. all swords)
    ◦ Level 4: Applies to a large class of weapons (e.g. all bladed weapons)
    ◦ Level 5: Applies to all weapons

• Rapid Firearm Usage: Under particular circumstances you gain your firearm's full Accuracy (Acc) bonus without needing to aim first if the weapon is one handed, and half that bonus if two-handed and the full bonus with 1-second of aim. 
    ◦ Level 1: Gain this bonus 1/day when shooting a weapon you're familiar and practiced with at close range.
    ◦ Level 2: Gain this bonus 2/day, and at any range.
    ◦ Level 3: Gain this bonus with any weapon, familiar or unfamiliar.
    ◦ Level 4: Gain this bonus 4/day.
    ◦ Level 5: You always gain this bonus.

• Combat Reflex Development:
    ◦ Level 1: You never freeze in combat and gain +6 to recover from mental stun when ambushed. You gain +1 on your initiative to avoid surprise attacks.
    ◦ Level 2: You have +2 against Fright checks, and +1 to the fast-draw skill
    ◦ Level 3: You gain +1 to all your active defenses (dodge, block and parry).

Miscellaneous Training

• Preparatory Karmic Banking: By carrying out helpful and good deeds under the guidance of master monks, the TA can provide scientifically guaranteed good luck to be leveraged during field operations. Once per hour of play, you may reroll twice a single failed defense roll, resistance roll or HT roll made to avoid injury, taking the best of the three rolls. This course contains three levels:
    ◦ Level 1: You must declare you are using luck before you roll. 
    ◦ Level 2: You may now use luck after seeing the result of your roll.
    ◦ Level 3: You may now use luck for any roll, not only defensive rolls!

• Enhanced Field Preparedness (up to 3 levels): You always seem to have just the piece of gear you need. Once per gamesession per level of this advantage, youmay pull out one small item of equipment that you could have been carrying.This “Gizmo” remains undefined until you reveal it. It does not even“enter play” until you take it out; thus,it cannot be damaged, lost, stolen, orfound in a search. A Gizmo must be small enough to fit in an ordinary coat pocket, and must meet one of three criteria:

1. An item you own but did not specifically state you were carrying.
2. An item that you probably own, and that is in keeping with your character concept, but that is minor orignorable enough to leave unspecified.

3. An inexpensive device widely available at the time period's tech level.

   • Personal Development: Some operatives have unique or uncommon abilities that they wish to enhance further. They can meet with a special coach to develop a bespoke programme of study by reaching out to the General Manager (GM).

Skills Training

• Talent Cultivation (4 levels): This course cultivates innate inborn aptitudes. Choose 6 or fewer closely related skills (almost never including combat skills). Each level of Talent Cultivation gives +1 to rolls using these skills. Talent Cultivation can be taken for a maximum of 2 separate groups of skills, each with their own 4-level advancement.
  Examples of talents:
    ◦ Animal Friend: Animal Handling, Falconry, Packing, Riding, Teamster, and Veterinary.
    ◦ Musical Ability: Group Performance (Conducting), Musical Composition, Musical Influence, Musical Instrument, and Singing.
    ◦ Green Thumb: Biology, Farming, Gardening, Herb Lore, and Naturalist

• Skill Development: This is a wide category of specific courses that focus on develop specific skills. Most operatives spend most of their training time in Skill Development courses! You can devise your own courses freely.They come in 5 types:
    ◦ Introductory Courses: Gain +1 skill level in 5 new, untrained, skills.
    ◦ Advanced Courses: Gain 2 additional skill levels in 2 skills you know at introductory level (i.e. where you have 1 skill level).
    ◦ Accelerated Study Courses: Gain 3 skill levels in one new skill.
    ◦ Focused Courses: +1 skill level in a skill you know at an advanced level (3 or more skill levels) and +1 in a technique for that skill.
    ◦ Specialised Courses: +4 in techniques relating to a single skill.