CofD Exp Scale (original; edited for clarity)

While biking to/from workouts, I devised a system in WoD for characters of unusually high/low starting pools. It had the side effect of rewarding all "standard" characters a single exp at character creation. [GAME NOTE: You can spend this on 1 of 4 things: A single merit dot, a transformed skill point, a single dot charm within your 3 major groups, or an update to any charm you already possess.]  "Normal" characters are limited to the single merit dot, who may choose to leave it unspent to save for later. Standard downtime rules for spending exp will apply, where it can only be spent during "downtime" in excess of 1 week. [GAME NOTE: The free merit dot or saved exp applies to our B-Team as well.]

  *Rank 0: Average
    These are people who have never been in a life or death situation, or don't tend to stand above their peers. They have strengths and weaknesses but don't generally do very well in more then one area.
      Notes: 2/3/4 Attributes; +1 to an extra attribute of their choice. 3/6/9 Skill points; 1 Specialty; 5 Merit dots; 7 Integrity)
  *Rank 1: Above Average [Standard PC]
    These characters are not exceptional either, but they tend to be more "fit" then the general populous and thus may  do well in an additional area or two, or just be generally healthier.
      Notes: 3/4/5 Attributes; 4/7/11 Skill points; 3 Specialties; 7 Merit dots; 7 Integrity; 1 Bonus EXP)
  *Rank 2: Experienced
    These are people who stand out "just a bit more" and are usually exceptional in one field, if not great in a few. Some may be a bit shaken if pushed particularly hard.
      Notes: 3/4/5 Attributes; 4/7/11 Skill points; 3 Specialties; 7 Merit dots; 6 Integrity; 8 Bonus EXP, spending no more than 4 in a single Group.
  *Rank 3: Heroic
    These are people who've been in the news. Professional Athletes, PhD graduates, Mayors, or even just the fireman who braved a collapsing building to save a whole family. They're often in very good shape, though not necessarily physically. They're still well within the realm of humanity, some didn't get there without a few questionable choices, but not all.
      Notes: 3/4/5 Attributes; 4/7/11 Skill points; 3 Specialties; 7 Merit dots; 5 Integrity; 27 Bonus EXP, spending no more than 9 in a single Group.
  *Rank 4: Exceptional
    Many people never meet such people as these in person, though they definitely exist from time to time. Olympic medalists, Revolutionary Renaissance polylinguals, and world leaders all may be of this caliber. While some are exceptional paragons of humanity, others have only become this capable after many hard trials. People vary in their inner peace as greatly as they're exceptional here.
      Notes: 3/4/5 Attributes; 4/7/11 Skill points; 3 Specialties; 7 Merit dots; 4 Integrity; 64 Bonus EXP, spending no more than 16 in a single Group.
  *Rank 5: Legendary
    While sometimes people like this may exist, this pushes the limits of the human body in a single lifetime. Single man armies, zen masters of many secrets, and world shakers fall here. While they might have entirely mortal limits, their shear breadth of capability leaves them rarely with weakness. Some are saintly, others the most unstable of villains, regardless if people like this exist they're the ones who survive in legends for hundreds if not thousands of years. Often stories embellishing their heights ever greater, but sometimes even the stories fall short of their ability.
      Notes: 3/4/5 Attributes; 4/7/11 Skill points; 3 Specialties; 7 Merit dots; 3 Integrity; 125 Bonus EXP, spending no more than 25 in a single Group.

  *Rank 6+: Beyond Humanity
    Anything of this caliber during character generation should belong to a supernatural template, and even then they'll be rivaling even elder vampires from the start.

*Groups: [Attributes], [Skills], [Merits], [Integrity]. In the case of [Attributes]/[Skills]/[Merits], you may spend no more then 1 Group limit in a single area (Physical, Mental, Social, (Supernatural)), or 2 Group limits across the entire Group. Integrity is it's own Group. Integrity often 'starts' lower for higher ranks to denote the possibility of the harshness of growth to have pushed too hard, but can be bought back up to 7(or higher!) within the limit of your EXP allotment per Group at normal cost. You may have up to 1 Group's worth unspent going in to the game. (Your character's unlocked but unapplied potential)

WELL THAT WAS FUN TO WRITE.

Rank 0-1 are "normal" in the rules, save for the 1 extra EXP. Rank 2-5 are just "Lower integrity by 1, give (Rank^3) EXP, max (Rank^2) per 'Group'. So for a physical exemplar, you could get Rank 3, and get 2 extra physical attributes (8 exp), 4 extra physical skills (8 exp), 9 extra physical merits (9 exp), then dump the other 2 exp in something else.

This also gives a nice guideline of how your character compares to other people after a few stories. Most PC's are Rank 2 after a one-shot story arc of 1~5 sessions, were after a few story arcs most PC's are Rank 3. After a while they may even reach Rank 4 or 5.

Rank 1 is "just a bit above average," which is generally the minimum for a supernatural to take interest in converting your character (or for your character to learn their real power) while Rank 2 is basically just someone who's seen enough shit to have actually -tested- their ability and get an extra attribute or ~2-3 skills out of it. Maybe 2-4 if they didn't buy back their integrity up to 7. [GAME NOTE: And this is where I ramble with numbers only John will probably enjoy. ^>.>^] Rank 3 and above is where you start getting people who've been doing things a while, like most experienced NPCs and the like who're meant to be above player level but not by much, where 4 are just plain exceptional people. 5 are still realistically possible and honestly probably only 1 in 5 actually go down in legends, but, you know, flavor text. At Rank 6+ it gets really hard (at Rank 8+, outright impossible) to not have exp go to waste without having a supernatural template to spend it on as well. Which is good, considering Rank 6+ is fantasy world-rending tier; hell, Rank 9 and up is "You're a demigod, enjoy" grade! Rank 10 could buy... 50 Attributes, 100 Skills, 200 Merit dots, 12 Integrity, 9 Power Levels, 33 "In-house" powers, 25 "Extra" powers, 100 dots in "Focused" powers, with 20 Unspendable 'saved' exp left over. That's a goddamn demigod, if not divine figure. ...Thankfully, Attributes/Skills cap at 10 instead of 5 at that bloody level of power. @.@

[SIDE NOTE: For PtH, 100 dots in "primary" charms, 100 exp in "other" charms, 100 exp in Invocations, meaning you likely have almost every if not every invocation and more then a handful at 5.]
[SIDE NOTE: Did some research. "Colored" exp does indeed exist in all 2nd edition nWoD books, like "Luminous Beats/EXP" does in PtH.]