The teaching bonus
A tutor’s teaching quality comes from veterancy (0.7 at level 0 up to 1.3 at level 20) times Leadership (0.75 at 0 up to 1.25 at 20), scaled by stage of life. Exacting multiplies that by 1.18. The pupil’s training boost is then half the quality minus 0.1, capped at +60%, and class fit multiplies the whole thing (same class ×1.3, same role ×1, another role ×0.55).
If a hero carries both Exacting and Born Mentor (×1.2), the game checks Exacting first and applies 1.18. The two never stack.
| Tutor trait | Teaching quality | Side effect on the pupil |
|---|---|---|
| None | ×1.0 | none |
| Exacting | ×1.18 | +4 stress per step of progress |
| Born Mentor | ×1.2 | none |
The extra quality also counts toward the tutor’s star band, which sets how many pupils they can take each cycle (one at bands 1–2, two at band 3, three at bands 4–5). A tutor at 1.0 quality teaches two pupils; Exacting lifts them to 1.18, band 4 and three pupils.
The cost
When a Train or Mentor session under an Exacting tutor actually moves the pupil’s ability, the pupil gains 4 stress for each unit of training time that elapsed, up to the cap of 100. Settlements run on a six-day cycle, so a full cycle adds about 3.4 (4 × 6/7). A session that makes no progress adds nothing.
That stress is real. It builds toward the line around 72 where a hero stops counting as fit, and it only comes off with rest days in the hall (see hero state). Stack a few cycles under an Exacting tutor on top of a hard delve schedule and a pupil can find themselves flagged worn on fixture day.
Hone sessions use a separate calculation and are not affected.
When an Exacting tutor is the right call
- Pupils with room to grow and time to recover, such as young heroes who are not yet in the regular delve rotation.
- Tutors with middling Leadership, where the 18% pushes them into the next star band and a third pupil seat.
- Not on pupils who are already stressed, or who need to be fit for the next delve.
Check the pupil’s stress after each cycle. Better instruction is never free with this trait.
In the field
Exacting makes a hero a slightly stronger leader. A party leader’s aura gets +0.02 for each point of a small trait table, and Exacting scores 1 point, the same as Ambitious, Cool-Headed, Methodical and Steady (Charismatic scores 2). It gives no lean at a dungeon fork; as leader they use the default odds.
Small hooks
On pair duty the hero speaks with the “exacting” voice shared with Methodical, Professional, Diligent, Consistent and Traditional. The hero card links Exacting to Discipline and Leadership; that link is descriptive and does not raise either attribute.
Conflicts and rarity
Exacting can never appear with Humble.
- Rarity: uncommon, neutral · draw weight 45 of 6,365 · about 1 recruit in 57
- Founding draft: any card.
- In the wiki’s archive: first present in the 2.0.1 build (absent from 1.9.8).
Recruiting
A modest positive on a hero with decent Leadership who will spend time in the Training Yard. A Born Mentor is the better teacher, so value Exacting as the next-best option when that is what the market offers. See the training guide for benches, passive growth and the six-day cycle.