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<blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 5452962" data-attributes="member: 386">I agree with that.&nbsp; I'm not sure I understand Ron Edward's use of the term &quot;reward system&quot;, but I think what he means is something really basic: a cycle of play that changes (and deepens the complexity of) the decisions that players make.Expending Healing Surges and Daily Powers are a reward system in the way that I understand it.In terms of &quot;rewards&quot; like an award for good or smart play, no, I don't think that XP work that way.&nbsp; XP change the characters based on play, thus changing the decisions players make.&nbsp; (I would personally prefer changes more closely tied to actual play - getting rid of builds.&nbsp; I do like the fact that you can retrain powers and feats, so if you know that you're facing Orcus cultists, you want to deal with necrotic damage and undead.)(I recall hoping that each roll of the d20 would grant PCs some XP, way back in '08.&nbsp; That would highlight that what you do in the game should be important and each action would add up to change the PC.)I think you're bang-on when you say that real rewards have to come from somewhere else - the story.&nbsp; That's why I think they should have pushed more for Quests to become a central aspect of play.&nbsp; Since 4E characters don't really need magic items, they could tie Quests to specific bonuses.&nbsp; &quot;Once per day, as a free action, you can change the type of damage you deal to Radiant.&quot; - a Quest Reward after having a Skill Challenge with an altar of the Raven Queen.I guess what I'm saying is that - in my opinion - they should have tied each swing of the sword, each Perception check to find secret doors, each skill challenge, to the &quot;story&quot; of the game that they were aiming for.&nbsp; Everything you do changes your character's relationship to whatever the game is about (probably heroic derring-do).&nbsp; That's what I've tried to do in my hack: create a cycle of play where actions that take only a heartbeat trickle up all the way to the end result, which is seeing if the player has what it takes to achieve his (personally-authored) Goal.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="LostSoul, post: 5452962, member: 386"] I agree with that. I'm not sure I understand Ron Edward's use of the term "reward system", but I think what he means is something really basic: a cycle of play that changes (and deepens the complexity of) the decisions that players make. Expending Healing Surges and Daily Powers are a reward system in the way that I understand it. In terms of "rewards" like an award for good or smart play, no, I don't think that XP work that way. XP change the characters based on play, thus changing the decisions players make. (I would personally prefer changes more closely tied to actual play - getting rid of builds. I do like the fact that you can retrain powers and feats, so if you know that you're facing Orcus cultists, you want to deal with necrotic damage and undead.) (I recall hoping that each roll of the d20 would grant PCs some XP, way back in '08. That would highlight that what you do in the game should be important and each action would add up to change the PC.) I think you're bang-on when you say that real rewards have to come from somewhere else - the story. That's why I think they should have pushed more for Quests to become a central aspect of play. Since 4E characters don't really need magic items, they could tie Quests to specific bonuses. "Once per day, as a free action, you can change the type of damage you deal to Radiant." - a Quest Reward after having a Skill Challenge with an altar of the Raven Queen. I guess what I'm saying is that - in my opinion - they should have tied each swing of the sword, each Perception check to find secret doors, each skill challenge, to the "story" of the game that they were aiming for. Everything you do changes your character's relationship to whatever the game is about (probably heroic derring-do). That's what I've tried to do in my hack: create a cycle of play where actions that take only a heartbeat trickle up all the way to the end result, which is seeing if the player has what it takes to achieve his (personally-authored) Goal. [/QUOTE]

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