[ Experience & Leveling Up ]

The number of experience points needed to gain another level is listed beside the level, so it takes 150 experience to get to level 2.
Earning experience points is relatively easy. You gain one experience point every time you use one of your Runes successfully.  This can range from things as simple as doing an energy scan, to things as complex as splitting an atom with the radiation rune.  Leveling up is much more complicated than just getting experience.  I don't feel that a straight up experience point system works correctly, especially when experience is only based on fighting, or negotiations.
Dreadnoughts don't level up till they've mastered all the runes, or abilities, that they get when they go up a level.  For example, Raim is trying to be a Waves of Flame.  He's still first level, so he only has the energy rune.  When he became a Dreadnought, he got the energy rune, just like everyone else.  To get to second level, he must earn all 5 levels of the energy Rune, and meet the experience requirement.  On those same lines, to get to third level, he must get all 5 levels in the Fire rune, and all 5 levels in the Water rune.  At lower levels just the act of mastering a rune should be sufficient to boost your level, i.e., the experience gained from learning the runes should meet or excede the amount you need to level up.
I feel that this system works much better in the long run, and developes better usage of a characters powers.  Since you're actually forced to work on just one or two things at once, you're more likely to remember what you've learned.
I'm sure you'll notice that once you've passed the lower levels, it starts taking more and more experience to go up another level.  This is due to the fact that once you've mastered your class runes, as well as your secondary, and tertiary runes, your mind and body require more and more time to learn new skills.  This limits not only how fast you can learn the new powers, but also how long it takes for you to go up in level.  Obviously, it should be harder to reach 50th level, than to reach level 5.
 

[ Energy Point Gaining ]

Ok, this is real simple once you get used to it, and probably really simple before you even read this for reference.
According to the chart you start off with 20 energy points at level 1.  Unless, of course, you've taken the Lineage trait, in which case you would add that total to your base before continuing.  For each level after that, up to level 25, you add on 5 more energy points for every new level you get. So at level 2 you'd have 25 energy points, at level 3 you'd have 30, at level 4 you'd have 35 energy points, etc...
Now, once you hit level 26, you start getting 10 energy points per level you go up, so, at level 25 you'd have a base of 140 energy points (not counting those gained from the energy runes), and at level 26, you'd have 150. Real simple.
Ok, so far so good, after level 50 you start gaining 50 energy points per level you go up, Ill let you calculate that one for yourself.
After level 75 you gain 100 energy points per level.
 

[ Stat and Rune Level Maximums ]

For the sake of fairness, and for the sake of the people we roleplay with on a daily basis, I have lowered the stat maximums, and the rune levels. Some of you may remember them as having no limit before, forget about that, it's changed.
If you'll look at the chart below you will see that for starting Dreadnoughts, all the way up to level 25, the natural maximum for a stat is 5. At level 26 the highest rating a Dreadnought is allowed to have is 6. At level 30 it's 7, and so on, and so on.
This is not altered by the runes, or by weapons with special powers. Any rune which adds to a stat is considered a bonus when it's keyed, and has no affect on your stats when it not keyed. A Dreadnought with a 5 in strength, and the strength rune at 5, does not have a strength of 10. They have a strength of 5 with 5 extra automatic successes on all strength rolls. Runes like the Mental and Physical Mastery ones, do however add to your stats while they're keyed.  this bonus actually does mean that while it's in affect, you have a strength of 10 or possibly higher.
One other thing we need to cover here is increased stat abilities.  Normal beings stats only go up to 5, and unfortunately, that's what most of the limits are based on, and that's what most abilities are based on.  Dreadnoughts, obviously, transcend the normal limitations, and are capable of much, much more than your average human.  When stats go beyond the normal maximum, so do the characters abilities.  Beings with higher than normal dexterity, for example, get extra attacks per round, or bonuses to their normal actions.  See the Stats section for more information.
 

[ Complete List of Runes ]
 

Power Level 1	Power Level 2	Power Level 3	Power Level 4
Air	Electricity	Vacuum	Space
Physical Alteration	Mental Alteration	Spiritual Alteration	Balance
Anti-Energy	Anti-Energy Manipulation	Anti-Energy Absorb	Anti-Energy Control
Appearance	Acting	Intimidation	Presence
Aura	Aura Manipulation	Spirit Control	Spirit Absorb
Awareness	Seraph	Reconstruction	Creation
Charisma	Empathy	Emotion	Control
Darkness	Evil	Death	Chaos
Detoxification	Cleansing	Purification	Refinement
Earth	Crystal	Magnetics	Gravity
Elemental Insight	Elemental Charge	Elemental Combinations	Elemental Summoning
Energy	Energy Manipulation	Energy Absorption	Energy Control
Fire	Laser	Plasma	Radiation
Healing	Regeneration	Regrowth	Resurrection
Illusion	Shield	Reflection	Null
Light	Good	Life	Order
Manipulation	Stealth	Security	Subterfuge
Mechanics	Biomechanics	Body Alteration	DNA
Mental	Telekinesis	Teleportation	Planar Teleportation
Mental Focus	Mental Acuity	Mental Blade	Mental Mastery
Physical Multiplication	Mental Multiplication	Energy Multiplication	Runic Multiplication
Nature	Summoning	Growth	Clone
Necromancy	Undeath	Destruction	Annihilation
Physical Focus	Physical Fitness	Physical Machine	Physical Mastery
Poison	Toxin	Acid	Plague
Defensive Psionics	Internal Psionics	External Psionics	Offensive Psionics
Sensory	Sensory Alteration	Sensory Shifting	Awakening
Sleep	Dreams	Hypnotism	Subconscious
Speed	Attack	Reflex	Blitz
Stamina	Armor	Shapechanging	Survival
Strength	Project	Deadlift	Kinetic Magnification
Vampirism	Mimic	Power Absorb	Assassins
Water	Ice	Liquification	Time

[ Balanced List of Runes ]

These runes must be raised at the same speed as the ones they are paired with.
 

[ Experience for Runes ]

I realize that the way this was worded before was kind of hard to understand.  So, I've rewritten the explanation to make it easier to read and understand.
In some roleplaying systems, all that is required to go up levels is to hack and slash your opponent's to death, at which point you gain a certain amount of experience, which somehow allows you to go up levels, and learn new abilities and powers that aren't even related to fighting.  Or they allow you to gain experience by political maneuvering and remaining in character, which gives you the ability to raise your stats and powers to new levels.  I don't think that either way is at all realistic, or that it helps anyone build up a character into a living, breathing, extension of them self.  Don't get me wrong, hack and slash has it's place, as does negotiation and maneuvering, but neither one will help you gain any understanding of your characters other abilities.
And so, we come to the method of raising a Dreadnought's runes to higher levels.  The only way to raise a Runes level is through practice.  Each time you use a rune you're learning a little more about it, and familiarizing yourself with that runes abilities.  The more you use a rune, the stronger it will grow, and the stronger you will grow in your ability to control it.  As you go up levels in each rune, you will notice that it takes longer and longer to get more powerful results from it.  You will also note that the runes will eventually stop getting stronger no matter how many times you use them.  Normally when this happens you will also notice that you can now access another rune, or a different power level of that same rune series.  To start a brand new rune series, you must get some kind of outside help.  Such as a tutor, a mentor, or some books and information from the Dreadnought Library.
As shown below, the runes must be used a set number of times before they will grow in strength.  Beside each level, and under each power level, is a number.  This number represents the number of times that the rune must be used before it will gain in strength.  Therefore, a brand new Dreadnought who just got the energy transfer will have to use his first level Energy Rune 10 times before it will go up to level 2.  Once he reaches level 2 with the energy rune, he will then have to use it 20 more times before it will go up to level 3.  After which he will have to use it 30 times to get it up to level 4, and so on, and so on...
After the Dreadnought has gained enough levels, they will be able to access the 2nd power level of a rune series.  For example, the Fire Rune series includes: Fire Rune, Laser Rune, Plasma Rune, and Radiation Rune.  At first only the Fire Rune will be usable from this series, but after a while, and a number of levels, you will gain the ability to use the Laser Rune.  There is one stipulation, however, before you may use the Laser rune, or any 2nd power level rune, you must first use the Fire Rune, or the appropriate first level rune of the series, 20 times after you gain access to the new rune.  All uses of the first power level rune, after you get it to level 5 and before you gain access to the 2nd power level rune, do not count towards the new total.  For example:  Raim is a Waves of Flame, he's just finished getting his Fire Rune to level 5, and now has to choose his next group of runes.  Between the time he reached level 5 with his fire rune, and the time he gains access to his Laser Rune, he used the fire rune a total of 352 times.  Unfortunately, all of those uses don't matter.  He still has to use it 20 more times, after he gains access to the 2nd power level rune, before he can use the first level of the Laser rune.
 

[ Energy Point Usage ]

As you probably already know, each rune has four power levels, for this I will use the energy rune, as it is the most common one used. Each time you use a power you must key a rune, and then pay the energy cost for the particular level you wish to use, as is evidenced in the chart above. Referring to the chart above, it says, in the second column on from the left, that to use any first power level rune, at level 1, it requires 1 energy point. Easy huh? So, to use the Energy Control rune, a power level 4 rune, at level 1, would require 4 energy points to be spent.
Now for the second part of using a rune. Keying the rune. For a rune to be used it must be keyed. Keying a rune is like prepping it for use, kind of like heating up the oven prior to baking, or loading a gun before firing it. Keying is actually a very simple process, and only has 2 steps, which may be done in the same round.
Step 1. Concentrate for a second, and think about what you wish to accomplish by using the rune, get the picture of the rune in your mind, and a picture of what you want to happen when you use it.
Step 2. Spend a number of energy points equal to the runes power level to prime it for usage. If you were going to use the energy control rune, it would require 4 energy points to be spent on Keying the rune.
That's all there is to it. It should become second nature once you've done it a few times.
 

[ Rune Levels & Limitations ]

When you become a Dreadnought, you get access to the Energy Rune.  Demons of Light get the Anti-Energy Rune as well.  Once the Energy Rune has been mastered, the Dreadnought can move up to second level, and get their chosen class runes.  Depending on the chosen class, the Dreadnought may have two or three class runes that must be mastered before they can advance another level.  Once they've mastered their class runes, they get to chose another set of runes that balance each other out.  Sets of runes may contain two, or three different runes in them.  The chart below shows how many runes a Dreadnought can have at each level, and at which levels they gain higher power level runes. The numbers on the chart are not cummulative, they are the base number of runes that you can get at each level.
Using the chart below, we find that you can have either two, or possibly three runes at most levels.  Whenever you take a series that has three runes in it, it requires 1.5 times as much experience to go up in the corresponding levels.