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<blockquote data-quote="bento" data-source="post: 3578693" data-attributes="member: 36597">The point the OP makes, players gain power through defeating (most probably &quot;killing&quot;) foes, led me to look at other systems and how they reward players.In my search True20 had the greatest appeal because players level up when the GM (DM) tells them to.&nbsp; The guideline for GMs is this levelling up taking place after the completion of an &quot;adventure.&quot;&nbsp; So the emphasis for the GM to throw monsters/humanoids at the players to kill, for me at least, is greatly diminished.&nbsp; When I used True20 to run an Asian-flavored adventure, the players were much more likely to take prisoners or incapacitate enemies without the coup de tat.&nbsp; Their focus was re-oriented from &quot;killing and taking stuff&quot; to resolving the situation.&nbsp; There were times they used force to defeat baddies, but during conflicts where the antagonists were &quot;gray&quot; rather than evil, the players always chose non-violence.&nbsp; There are other rules in True20 to get players to seek alternatives to violence - greater &quot;lethality&quot; during combat and fewer access to magical healing, but I think taking the need for killing to gain XP off the table helped&nbsp; focus them on the story.A DM can always institute this &quot;no levelling until I say so&quot; rule, without playing with True20 rules.&nbsp; The players will probably grumble at first, but as long as you follow up with fewer meaningless slaughter encounters, and more story-based rewards, they may come to like it more.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="bento, post: 3578693, member: 36597"] The point the OP makes, players gain power through defeating (most probably "killing") foes, led me to look at other systems and how they reward players. In my search True20 had the greatest appeal because players level up when the GM (DM) tells them to. The guideline for GMs is this levelling up taking place after the completion of an "adventure." So the emphasis for the GM to throw monsters/humanoids at the players to kill, for me at least, is greatly diminished. When I used True20 to run an Asian-flavored adventure, the players were much more likely to take prisoners or incapacitate enemies without the coup de tat. Their focus was re-oriented from "killing and taking stuff" to resolving the situation. There were times they used force to defeat baddies, but during conflicts where the antagonists were "gray" rather than evil, the players always chose non-violence. There are other rules in True20 to get players to seek alternatives to violence - greater "lethality" during combat and fewer access to magical healing, but I think taking the need for killing to gain XP off the table helped focus them on the story. A DM can always institute this "no levelling until I say so" rule, without playing with True20 rules. The players will probably grumble at first, but as long as you follow up with fewer meaningless slaughter encounters, and more story-based rewards, they may come to like it more. [/QUOTE]

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