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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 3290372" data-attributes="member: 3192">It does sound like you'd prefer a different system.  In any case, here's my pitch on why level systems work.1. It's the original D&D method.  As I understand it, levels work as wargaming training levels and signify combat roles.  So untrained militia were the standard 0-level warriors.  Veterans or Ftr1 was the elite fighter who did nothing else but practice fighting all day.  Higher levels came to signify levels of improvement from Veteran to Hero to Superhero.  You could become the best in the land and it had wargaming relevance.2. Back in college a friend told me levels were more reflective of actual ability.  I'm not sure all will agree, but I do see how practice can go from uneffective to degrees of effectiveness.  For example, a gymnast learns certain tricks until they become competent to perform them in competition.  Further proficiency in more difficult tricks shows greater ability.  Partial learning does not count as a partial flip dismount still results in landing prone.  Only true proficiency can be trusted (a new level). 3. Having levels sets goals for the characters.  One of the players' metagame goals is to gain in power.  If it power were simple to gain by receiving points to spend on abilities after every session, the goal becomes too easy to achieve.  Success is relegated to happening every session regardless.  By putting off rewards now for larger rewards later the success is sweeter.  Having to work for this success focuses players' goals to achieve success (exp. pts.) ASAP.4. The big reason: The Payoff.  Working hard to gain that level means you get a payoff with greater abilities.  I believe this was one of the main incentives that really drove D&D's early success.  By learning how to kill very powerful creatures while still at low level, greater exp. pts. and higher levels could be achieved more quickly.  It's a mark of very experienced players to be able to achieve the character level they are proficient at quickly instead of languishing at the early levels again.</blockquote>

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