There is one thing about RPGs, mostly MMOPRGs, that I have always disliked: The characters you play get better by playing often and not playing smartly. The thing I like least about this is powerplaying. There are some people out there who just have time aplenty and do nothing but try to gain level after level. In games today this is a valid approach, because they (the character in game) really get better. But I would like to have something, where by playing more you unlock more abilities (or soemthing equal) but do not get better a them. Imagine this: There is experience in the game, but it only tells you which things you can do with your char. (This is not to overwhelm new players with possibilities) A new player could be as effective in using the sword as an old one. But the old one has more moves he could use to outsmart the enemy. This ist just a thought, so in no way a complete system. But what I like about it is that a (smart) player who does not play that often could defeat a powerplayer, who doesn''t really know what he is playing. This would lead to something more like real life - the player learns, not the character. What do you think about this?

My favorite topic returns!

I favor a zero-sum stats, logarithmic skills system. What this means:

-Stat points are distributed among basic statistics such as strength, willpower, agility etc. The distribution can change but the total number of points NEVER increases, so once all points have been shifted to a stat, that stat cannot increase further. A newbie with strength maxed is just as physically strong as an experienced player with strength maxed.

-Skills are learned through practice, but take twice as long to improve by each increment. Learning to pick up and swing a sword is easy, but mastery takes ages. Further, skill unlocks abilities and techniques, as per your idea; but none of these render a character invincible or ungodly. Five men with sticks will most likely beat a sword master.

-Further, a Strength maxed character will be socially crippled. How this works, and why it matters, requires explanation of several other ideas I have, which interlock in a rather complex framework to prevent or decrease powerplaying, but unfortunately "this margin is slightly too small for the proof".

I''d love to discuss more, but this is really not the place. I''m working on a full description of my Project With A Capital P and I''ll be happy to discuss any part with anyone, but not until the rough draft is done...

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-SpittingTrashcan

You can''t have "civilization" without "civil".

This sounds like something I have been thinking about too - I use a skill web, where some skills are positively related(if the one is trained the other goes up slightly too) and some are negatively related(they decrease if the other skill is trained).

An example would be agility and strength. If one is trained then the other decreases slightly (you are stronger but can''t move that fast). On the other hand, if you train agility your sword ability might go up, with strength the axe ability. Or something like that...

One of the nice features would be that the character could ''forget'' things... If he trains in swords he could loose some axe skill points and forget a mighty axe skill.

I also agree to the logarithmic improvement of skills. But I''m wondering how it would be to really have a zero sum system. This is not how reality is, is it? I could imagine that there would be a best distribution of points, which would make the system kind of static. There would probably only be jack-of-all-trades chars, none too specialized. It would be a real challenge to make an excellently balanced skill web, where both is possible, masters in one skill and average chars, and both be playable...

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