License Board

From Final Fantasy - Wiki on Neoseeker

Like most role-playing games, characters will level up each time they earn a number of experience points from defeating enemies, and when they reach the designated amount of Experience, the character will level up. Each level"gained increases the character's stats, which improving their performance in battle. Stats include hit points, the amount of damage a character can receive, strength, the power of the character's physical attacks, and magic, the potential of the character's magical spells.

In addition to leveling up, players may improve their characters via the License Board, and thus give the gamer an entitlement of enhancing the character however he/she likes such as by allowing different people to wear different armor to casting a different kind of spell. The License Board is an oddly shaped array of panels that contain "licenses" which allow a character to perform certain actions. The board is split into two parts, the upper part contains Magics, Technicks, Accessories, and Augments (stat-raising) licenses, and the bottom part is filled mostly with Weapon and Armor licenses.[ To use an ability or piece of equipment, the character must obtain its corresponding license by spending the required amount of LP (License Points) to permit its use. LP are earned in battle along with the experience points. To most gamers, it's like the Like Final Fantasy X Sphere Grid, all characters may obtain all licenses on the board; however, each Quickening and Esper license may only be activated by a single character.

The License board was yet another step in splitting Final Fantasy XII off from it's older, more turn-based history. With this addition, players improved upon their characters by feeding LP, or License Points, into different sections of the board that they found useful for that characters, from simple things like swords and shields to more arcane things, like magiks and teknicks.

Originally, your characters will each start up with a minutely different but for the most part sparse board to work with. As you work your way into adding more onto boards, you may come across spots that contain more than just your basic powers and skills, but things like Espers, magical beings which may be summoned at will, and quickenings, powerful attacks which can be chained to end with massive damage against a foe.

This provides a unique way to allow for character growth in desired sections, while providing some slower growth in sections that are not deemed as worthy of attention.