Karma Credit tier · 310–437 Credits
The Seedling tier
- Credit range
- 310 to 437
- On the coin scale
- 22 to 31
- Share of all births
- 13.2%
- Verses in this band
- 10
A hard soil. Growth is possible, but only through your own hands.
What a Seedling reading means
Roughly one birth in eight lands in the lightest band, and the older verses are blunt about it in a way the rest of the scale is not: this is hard soil, the portion is small, and what grows here is grown by hand. That is the traditional reading and it should be stated rather than softened, because softening it is how a reading like this becomes useless. What is worth adding is the shape of the arithmetic itself. The total is four numbers from a calendar added together, and there is no term in it for anything a person does — no effort, no choice, no circumstance after birth. It describes a starting portion and it has nothing at all to say about a ceiling. Every verse in this band that is any good says the same thing in older language: what was not given has to be built, and it can be.
Karma Credits are one of the four readings Bond Level 2 unlocks. All four pillars are needed for a total, so this is a reading that does not exist at all until an hour, day and month of birth are known.
How common this band is
13.2% of all valid birth combinations land in the Seedling band — counted by working through every one of the 259,200 possible pillar combinations rather than estimated. The five bands are equal in width and nothing like equal in population, so where a total sits on the scale says less than how many people sit there with it.
| Tier | Credits | Coins | Share of births |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sovereign | 873–1000 | 62–71 | 0.9% |
| Noble | 732–859 | 52–61 | 10.5% |
| Builder | 592–718 | 42–51 | 35.3% |
| Wanderer | 451–577 | 32–41 | 40.1% |
| Seedling | 310–437 | 22–31 | 13.2% |
Counted across 60 year pillars × 12 lunar months × 30 lunar days × 12 birth hours.
The ten Seedling verses
One verse for each coin total in the band, heaviest first. The verse is the reading rather than a decoration on it, so all ten are printed in full.
Tiller of the Stony Field437 Credits3 taels 1 coins
You work your living from the stony ground,
Where ancestral roofs are nowhere to be found.
But in the later years, the table's set,
A small but warm escape from every debt.
Keeper of the Weary Lamp423 Credits3 taels 0 coins
A life of labor, wearing to the bone,
You earn your coin by lifting heavy stone.
Your old age softens just a single edge,
The rest remains a hard and heavy pledge.
The Late Dropping Anchor408 Credits2 taels 9 coins
The early waters shake the little boat,
It takes till forty just to stay afloat.
You change your home and name to find release,
And every shift is one step toward peace.
The Wandering Shadow394 Credits2 taels 8 coins
Your projects scatter like a drifting dream,
The ancestral wealth is lost along the stream.
Unless you change your family or your name,
The wandering road will always stay the same.
Pilgrim on the Lone Road380 Credits2 taels 7 coins
You walk the lone road entirely by your strength,
And carry burdens for its total length.
No helpers come, no ancient merit saves,
And nothing is remembered in the graves.
Exile Beyond the Great Wall366 Credits2 taels 6 coins
Your fate is thin, you wrestle it alone,
And cross the borders far away from home.
The silver hairs might bring a little rest,
A distant peace to soothe your weary breast.
Tender of the Empty Hearth352 Credits2 taels 5 coins
The ancestral hearth is growing cold and weak,
It is a heavy task to find the peace you seek.
Your kin bring trouble, roads are never flat,
You tend the little fire where you sat.
The Homeless Cloud338 Credits2 taels 4 coins
No blessings linger in the family hall,
No steady craft will answer to your call.
You wander far to find your daily bread,
Without a home to rest your weary head.
Leaf on the Barren Bough324 Credits2 taels 3 coins
You strive and toil, but harvests never grow,
And brothers leave you walking in the snow.
The road will take you from the village square,
To seek out simple rice and clothing there.
Survivor of the Frozen Bone310 Credits2 taels 2 coins
The marrow freezes in the bitter cold,
The empty bowl is tragic to behold.
You walk with care to keep your steps aligned,
And shield the fading lamp from every wind.
The bands either side
- Wanderer sits directly above at 451–577 Credits, held by 40.1% of births. A drifting path. Fortune arrives in patches; the second half carries more weight than the first.
- The four pillar tables show exactly what each part of a birth contributes, including which of the ninety-six birth years carries which year pillar.
Frequently asked
- What does a Seedling Karma Credit reading mean?
- A hard soil. Growth is possible, but only through your own hands. Roughly one birth in eight lands in the lightest band, and the older verses are blunt about it in a way the rest of the scale is not: this is hard soil, the portion is small, and what grows here is grown by hand. That is the traditional reading and it should be stated rather than softened, because softening it is how a reading like this becomes useless. What is worth adding is the shape of the arithmetic itself. The total is four numbers from a calendar added together, and there is no term in it for anything a person does — no effort, no choice, no circumstance after birth. It describes a starting portion and it has nothing at all to say about a ceiling. Every verse in this band that is any good says the same thing in older language: what was not given has to be built, and it can be.
- What credit range is the Seedling tier?
- 310 to 437 Karma Credits, which is 22 to 31 coins on the older scale the reading is built from. 13.2% of all possible birth combinations land in this band — the five tiers are equal in width and nothing like equal in population.
- How is a Karma Credit total worked out?
- Four pillars, added: the year of birth, the lunar month, the lunar day and the hour. Each carries a weight, the sum is held inside the range the old verses interpret, and that total is rescaled so the traditional maximum reads as 1000 Credits. The weights are applied to a converted birth rather than a calendar date, which is why the board works the total out rather than leaving it to a lookup.
- Which verses belong to the Seedling tier?
- Ten, one for each coin total in the band — from Tiller of the Stony Field at 31 coins down to Survivor of the Frozen Bone at 22. Every one is printed in full on this page, because the verse is the reading and a summary of it would be a different thing.
A tier is the band. Your own total is four numbers added, and the board works it out from a birth date in one step.
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