NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 7718426" data-attributes="member: 22779">But, by the same token, being a general doesn't make you a marksman.  That private very well might be a much better shot than that general.  And, by and large, that private is going to be a quite a bit better shape than that general (simply because he's twenty years younger if nothing else).  But, level systems don't really work like that.  In a level system, that general is going to be a better shot, have more HP and higher overall stats than that private.  OTOH, framing this as a realism issue doesn't really address the point.  It's not really a realism issue, but, more, an issue with what the games are about.  In a d20 game, because d20 is based heavily on D&D, you are really focused on a sort of Campbellian cycle of zero to hero.  It's hero's journey stuff.  And, let's be honest, it's popular because the Hero's Journey stuff works really, really well.  It hits all the right buttons in play - reward for play, stuff to look forward to, all that.  There's a reason that many MMO's use this model.  It's a really good model.But, it doesn't work for everything.  Take First Person Shooter games.  It doesn't matter how many nasty ghouls I mow down as Gordon Freeman in Half Life.  My character doesn't change at all from the first time I sit down to the point where I complete the game.  Play isn't about advancing my character, but rather challenging me, the player.  It's simply a different style of game.  And a level system wouldn't really make much sense in games like that.  Imagine playing Half Life or some other multiplayer FPS where head shotting your opponent doesn't really do anything because he's been grinding levels for the past month and he has so many HP that he can eat a head shot from your sniper rifle and giggle.  It would not be a very fun experience.The same applies to RPG's.  The d20 model of zero to hero works for certain kinds of games and not so well for others.  I don't think d20 is particularly suited to super hero games, for example.  Now, I understand why you would hesitate to play Hero.  Fair enough.  I have zero interest in a character sheet that's more complicated than figuring out my income taxes.  Totally get that.  But, you don't have to go that route.  You can go simple as well.  FATE, for example, is a pretty rules light (or at least light ish) game where leveling is meaningless.  Spy genre games also don't work well with the d20 model.  We don't play some rookie straight out of Spy Camp.  We want to play 007.  And, if we're going to play 00 level agents, it doesn't make much sense if we're first level.  So, the old 007 game was skill based and didn't have levels at all.</blockquote>

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