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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 5815355" data-attributes="member: 386">I'd call those reward systems (or cycles) as well.  It's the same basic premise: do what you find fun (get the treasure without dying), get XP, level up, go out and do more of what you find fun.I think the way that the setting changes (that is, character + situation) based on the reward system is one of the most important parts of the game.  It's not enough that you get XP, or even that you level up; the changes made to your character need to be reflected in what you do when you play.I've been playing the original version of X-COM lately, and this is how that game does it: the "fun stuff" is the combat against the alien menace.  When you do that, two things change: your soldiers get better (or die trying) and you gain access to alien tech.  Better soldiers + better alien tech means that you can do things you couldn't before: you can fly around the battlefield, use mind-control, defeat more dangerous aliens, etc.  This makes the "fun stuff" even more fun.Of course, since it's a challenging game, you need to get to that fun stuff sooner rather than later, since the aliens will eventually win.  In response to the fun stuff, you get things like alien bases (more fun), alien attacks on your bases (fun stuff), and eventually going to Mars (fun).(It occurs to me that this is similar to the reward system for WotC-D&D, except for the "eventually the aliens win" part.)In my 4E hack this is what I tried to do: Get the players to set goals for themselves, see if they can achieve those goals, and how the setting changes in response.This is how it works: PCs get XP for accomplishing goals.  Accomplishing goals requires adventure.  Adventure means that the PCs will gain GP, but lose other resources.  In order to replenish those resources, the PCs have to head back to town for a day and spend GP.  How they interact with the town while replenishing lost resources changes how the town reacts to the PCs.This leads to a bigger cycle: When the PCs get enough XP to level up, they have to go back to town to "train".  This requires more GP and more time.  GP spent in town will increase the size of the town, kind of like XP for towns.  Bigger towns have more resources that the PCs can access (as long as they aren't hated and have some influence).  Bigger towns also require more connections to other parts of the map.While all this is going on, NPC organizations with goals of their own are growing and expanding.  These organizations are the biggest threat to the PCs, as their growth will make it harder for PCs to achieve their goals.In other words: Fun stuff = player-driven adventures.  Do fun stuff, characters change + situation changes = setting changes.  Choices made on player-driven adventures - fun stuff - carry more and more weight; the changes made to the setting are bigger.</blockquote>

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