Eliminating the 1/2 level bonus

[DanmarLOK]

I do like the idea. It's one I've touted in MMOG's since EQ in that as characters level they get broader not taller. i.e. their repertoire gets vaster rather than their numbers get bigger. When you boil it down a fight at level 1 and a fight at level 30 the fight length is pretty similar. WHy? Because ALL the numbers go up on both sides fairly equally. The +to hit/damage/defenses/hit points is matched on both sides.

So I can definitely understand the draw.

There's the relevance of content as well, each bit is good for a small level range. With a flatter growth pattern it remains available for use for a much longer time frame.

ON the flip side, users/players are used to seeing the numbers go up. Even though it's numerically the same fight, they're using bigger numbers and that makes the fight seem more 'epic'. It 'feels' cooler to say, "I hit that guy for 102 damage!" than "I hit that guy for 12 damage!". FOr many (most?) that's what they're looking for.

Personally I think it would be pretty intriguing to see a workable system that's 'flatter'. Where several level 1's could conceivably take down a level 10. Rather than it simply being impossible other than through plot device.

 

[Starfox]

I think the "why" is very interesting. For a game where I was trying to escape the "lab milieu" of regular DnD and run more of a sandbox game, I think something like this could work well.

I'd stay simple - just remove the 1/2 level bonuses from DCs, defenses, skills, and attacks. It would be possible to remove the enchantment bonuses of magic items at the same time, but I feel that is pretty much a separate issue. Enchantment bonuses should be removed if you don't want players to go trough magic items like dirty underwear, which might fit or not in a Sandbix game.