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<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 5765783" data-attributes="member: 2067">I'm not so sure.I think the &quot;always something interesting to do/get/earn!&quot; idea is a good one. Games are primarily about success and failure, punishment and reward, about feedback for your actions, and both good things and bad things should come in a pretty rapid-fire manner, IMO. I think a way to improve on the &quot;dead levels&quot; problem, without having class powers bursting at the seams, is to transpose a lot of what would be &quot;class powers&quot; in 3e or 4e onto treasure. So your wizard starts off with Magic Missile. Nearly every other spell your wizard learns is received through adventuring directly: he finds the spells as treasure. You are not assumed to be able to choose Charm Person or Fireball, only the correct scroll will give you access to it.So your fighter starts off with a longsword and their basic attack. Nearly every other ability your fighter gained is received through adventuring directly: she finds them as treasure, perhaps locked in magic swords and armor. You are not assumed to be able to choose Come and Get It, or Tide of Iron, only the correct magical equipment will give you access to it. So the game is balanced on a very simple axis at the basic level, with a limited selection of powers. Vertical power increases with XP (your magic missiles and basic attacks do get more accurate, deal more damage, etc.). Horizontal power increases as you find treasure (you learn new abilities and gain new powers because they are magical things locked in your equipment, not housed in you). Of course, SOME horizontal power needs to come with levels, too, but the bulk of it being through treasure keeps feeling like there is a &quot;reward&quot; for success, without making reliable class abilities that are so easily twink-able. Gotta get your hands on the right items to pull that off, and that's in the DM's control.It's just a theoretical idea, of course, no idea how it might go down if implemented, but I admit, I'm enamored of the concept of making treasure something directly powerful, rather than icing on your class-cake.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 5765783, member: 2067"] I'm not so sure. I think the "always something interesting to do/get/earn!" idea is a good one. Games are primarily about success and failure, punishment and reward, about feedback for your actions, and both good things and bad things should come in a pretty rapid-fire manner, IMO. I think a way to improve on the "dead levels" problem, without having class powers bursting at the seams, is to transpose a lot of what would be "class powers" in 3e or 4e onto treasure. So your wizard starts off with [I]Magic Missile[/I]. Nearly every other spell your wizard learns is received through adventuring directly: he finds the spells as treasure. You are not assumed to be able to choose Charm Person or Fireball, only the correct scroll will give you access to it. So your fighter starts off with a longsword and their basic attack. Nearly every other ability your fighter gained is received through adventuring directly: she finds them as treasure, perhaps locked in magic swords and armor. You are not assumed to be able to choose Come and Get It, or Tide of Iron, only the correct magical equipment will give you access to it. So the game is balanced on a very simple axis at the basic level, with a limited selection of powers. Vertical power increases with XP (your magic missiles and basic attacks do get more accurate, deal more damage, etc.). Horizontal power increases as you find treasure (you learn new abilities and gain new powers because they are magical things locked in your equipment, not housed in you). Of course, SOME horizontal power needs to come with levels, too, but the bulk of it being through treasure keeps feeling like there is a "reward" for success, without making reliable class abilities that are so easily twink-able. Gotta get your hands on the right items to pull that off, and that's in the DM's control. It's just a theoretical idea, of course, no idea how it might go down if implemented, but I admit, I'm enamored of the concept of making treasure something directly powerful, rather than icing on your class-cake. [/QUOTE]

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