Game Mechanics Which Encourage Character Arc Progression

[Gradine]

I like to think I'm connoisseur of RPGs, but the truth is I know there are lots and lots and lots of different games and systems out there that I've never so much as heard of, let alone read. But the great thing about this giant nerdy melting pot is that collectively I've sure we've played just about everything under the sun. To whit, a question:

If I were looking for examples of game mechanics that help facilitate and encourage the progression of a player character's own character arc, where would you all point me to?

 

[darkbard]

4E D&D. The tiers of play definitely provide a sense of power progression. Themes, Paragon Paths, and Epic Destinies are specifically tailored to character identity. Player-authored Quests, granular build process, and the game's amenability towards player-facing mechanics and GM advice lend themselves well to the kind of things that shape the shared fiction around PCs and their professed interests.

 

[overgeeked]

If I were looking for examples of game mechanics that help facilitate and encourage the progression of a player character's own character arc, where would you all point me to?

My suggestion would be to check out Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine.

 

[innerdude]

Ironsworn's vow mechanic. You literally do not gain XP unless you are completing quests to which your character has staked his/her personal honor.

Core game PDF is completely free.

Ironsworn RPG - Downloads

Free downloads for the Ironsworn and Starforged tabletop roleplaying games.

www.ironswornrpg.com

 

[hawkeyefan]

My game of Spire led to a character arc unlike anything I've ever seen in any other RPG that I've played. This was due to a combination of in-game events and the fallout mechanics and the impact they had on the character. And, importantly, a player who was willing to go along with the results and being curious about his character.

Spire (and Heart) as games are designed to change the characters over the course of play. It's unavoidable. In Spire, the game is about the cost that the PCs' mission takes on them. How far will you go for your goals? Who will you ally with? Who will you betray? Who will suffer for your goals? These are the questions that the game asks... and the players don't know the answers when play begins.

 

[Darth Solo]

Any? You just tell the GM/group that your character wants to go with such-and-such directional arc and it happens. You don't need rules to do that. You can do it with Risus or D&D or A Song of Ice and Fire or whatever game you're using.

 

[Gradine]

Any? You just tell the GM/group that your character wants to go with such-and-such directional arc and it happens. You don't need rules to do that. You can do it with Risus or D&D or A Song of Ice and Fire or whatever game you're using.

Okay, but you don't need rules to do anything in a TTRPG. At all. That why I asked for examples of mechanics that specifically encourage the progression of character arcs.

 

[Deset Gled]

The first idea that comes to mind is high level class abilities that are both mechanically and narratively meaningful. The best specific example I can give is the 20th level monk ability from 3.5e:

Perfect Self
At 20th level, a monk becomes a magical creature. She is forevermore treated as an outsider rather than as a humanoid (or whatever the monk’s creature type was) for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Additionally, the monk gains damage reduction 10/magic, which allows her to ignore the first 10 points of damage from any attack made by a nonmagical weapon or by any natural attack made by a creature that doesn’t have similar damage reduction. Unlike other outsiders, the monk can still be brought back from the dead as if she were a member of her previous creature type.

That's a highly meaningful class ability that shows true change and progression for the character. By comparison, a 20th level 5e fighter gets an extra attack, and a 20th level wizard gets more spell slots. Yawn.

The second mechanic that comes to mind is damage reduction for monsters. This mechanic essentially sets an epoch where players switch from being at a disadvantage to having equal ground with their enemies. When you first get access to magic weapons (or silver or whatever material is needed) it helps tell the story that the character is now advanced enough to more easily face a threat that was once a major hurdle.

Two more examples from 3.Xe would be Prestige Classes and feat trees.

 

[GMMichael]

If I were looking for examples of game mechanics that help facilitate and encourage the progression of a player character's own character arc, where would you all point me to?

I'd point you to a pretty simple module:

• Each character has a Goal.
• Each character has a Flaw.
• PCs get rewards for preventing Goal progress by role-playing Flaws.
• Goals and Flaws can be changed, added, or removed. Removing an only Goal or Flaw requires replacing it with another.

The "character arc" is the progression of Goals and Flaws . . . I hope

 

[Deset Gled]

• PCs get rewards for preventing Goal progress by role-playing Flaws

Maybe I'm missing something here, but this sounds like the literal opposite of what the OP was asking for. That's a game mechanic that encourages the player to fail, not to progress.