Character Points
Character points are the "currency" of character creation. Anything that improves your abilities costs character points: you must spend points equal to the listed price of an ability to add that ability to your character sheet and use it in play. Anything that reduces your capabilities has a negative cost – that is, it gives you back some points. For instance, if you start with 125 points, buy 75 points of advantages, and take -15 points of disadvantages, you have 125 - 75 + 15 = 65 points remaining.
Starting Points
The GM decides how many character points the player characters (PCs) – the heroes – start with. This depends on how capable he wants them to be, and can range from under 25 points (small children) to 1,000 points or more (godlike beings), with 100-200 points being typical for career adventurers.
This beginning point level is sometimes referred to as the power level of the campaign (see Power Level). This is not the same as the "stakes" of the campaign! Heroes with abilities that let them overcome even the toughest opposition in an optimistic fantasy campaign might face mortal danger in a dark horror scenario.
In most campaigns, all the PCs start at the same power level. This is simple and fair. However, not all people are equally capable in real life, and it is common in fiction for one character to be obviously superior. If everyone agrees, some players might play “lead protagonists, worth more points than the other PCs, or "sidekicks," worth fewer points.
Disadvantage Limit
A disadvantage is anything with a negative cost, including low attributes, reduced social status, and all the specific disabilities. In theory, you could keep adding disadvantages until you had enough points to buy whatever advantages and skills you wanted. In practice, most GMs will want to set a limit on the disadvantage points a PC may have.
The purpose of a disadvantage limit is to keep the game from becoming a circus, with the PCs' troubles stealing the spotlight from the setting, the adventure, and everything else the GM has created. Most GMs find it difficult to run an engaging game if the PCs are completely dysfunctional – e.g., clumsy, one-eyed, alcoholic outlaws who are afraid of the dark.
A disadvantage cap serves another purpose as well: it restricts the abilities available to starting characters, allowing the GM to set an upper limit on the capabilities of the PCs. A good rule of thumb is to hold disadvantages to 50% of starting points – for instance, -75 points in a 150-point game – although this is entirely up to the GM.
However, if the GM rules that all PCs must have certain disadvantages (e.g., all the PCs are spies, with a Duty to their agency), these "campaign disadvantages” should not count against the disadvantage limit. Disadvantages that are part of your racial makeup (your "racial template"; see Character Templates) are also exempt.
Character Points in Play
Your character's starting point total is only relevant when he first enters play. Shortly thereafter, he will start to change. The GM will sometimes reward you with extra points to spend, or even new abilities ... but you might lose capabilities, too. All of these things will change your point total.
Eventually, your PC will be worth more or fewer points than those of your companions, even though you all started out equal. Don't worry about it! Develop the habit of regarding your point total as a useful measure of your capability at this time – not as a gauge of overall campaign power level, or of your personal success or importance relative to the other players or PCs. For more on character evolution, see Character Development.