To clarify, it’s not a typical class and level advancement system. You can earn experience points in many different ways (exploring a city, finding legendary treasure, solving a quest, etc).
Irrelevant; Palladium, AD&D, Rolemaster/Spacemaster, and many others allow a wide variety of sources
When you gain a level, your max ‘hit points’ don’t increase and you are free to choose several of your skills and increase its rank. (Skills are also freely chosen from a large list during character creation)
Barely relevant - Some, most notably but not exclusively, Rolemaster/Spacemaster/MERP, allow increases but do not automatically increase; a few do not increase combat capability.
You also have traits, powers and magic that you can gain and are completely free to choose which, so they aren’t gained in any set ‘order’. Plus, you can choose which of the traits, powers or magic you already have you’d like to improve.
Irrelevant - the same is true of several D20 system games.
Rolemaster (and its derivatives, Spacemaster, MERP, HARP, Cyberspace) and its recent pseudoclones (they're not actually the same, but are very clearly aimed at fans of RM) don't even class restrict ANY abilities... the class just sets the costs. Alternity is close to that as well; its classes are also 99% just setting advancement costs.
As you can see there’s a lot of freedom of choice here, and it’s radically different from how level advancement works in 5e (to name an example).
You're comparing one, very visible, form of C&L, while appearing grossly ignorant of the other big name C&L games, let alone the many heartbreakers inspired by D&D, T&T, Palladium, Rolemaster, Alternity.... Just because it's not D&D like doesn't make it not Class and Level. It just makes it more complex class and level.
You are however still an ‘Archetype’, one of eightteen available. Like the Barbarian ‘Nomad’, Druid ‘Kindred’ or Guardian ‘Vanguard’. Each Archetype (even those within the same Class) is wholly unique though.
Archetype and Class are nearly synonymous. If one's archetype includes abilities denied to others, it's a class. If it determines the range of abilities one can get. it's a class. If it sets a protected niche, it's a class.
It need not be all three...
Levels: Savage Worlds is a leveled game, but lacks classes. Every 5 XP, it triggers and advance. Every 4th advance, new options arise.
And what about the culture names is so funky according to you? Ethennia, Ishta, Roshan, Evandyr… You’re the first to call them funky so I’m curious what you think is wrong with them. Imo they embody very well the cultures they represent in the setting.
I said my issue already: They don't clue me into what they're drawn from, so they're just random noises.
By comparison, the Warhammer Old World has very clear hooks. Tilea is clearly derived from Italia, Bretonia is derived from Brittany; Kislev is a bit more corrupt, but is derived from Kiev, as in the Kievan Rus.
I hope the above at least clarifies a thing or two!
How quaint... Denying the obvious is clarification...
Just moved it from probably won't get a full read to definitely won't, because there's literally no indication of new ground being covered...
