Ok, lets say you are a Fighter. So, what do you have to do to earn your living? Lets say that the answer to this is connected to the answer of who trained you and why -the answer of your origins. Now, lets say that Mordor and Isengard are two different locations that interact with your origin location. You are threatened because if you rest too much evil will get you in the end: so you have to act and fight it or face it. The ways you have to face it are supported by the rules. You can now make your choice about what to do.
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leveling vs "locationing"
- Thread starter xechnao
- Start date
Ok, lets say you are a Fighter. So, what do you have to do to earn your living? Lets say that the answer to this is connected to the answer of who trained you and why -the answer of your origins. Now, lets say that Mordor and Isengard are two different locations that interact with your origin location. You are threatened because if you rest too much evil will get you in the end: so you have to act and fight it or face it. The ways you have to face it are supported by the rules. You can now make your choice about what to do.
Tequila Sunrise
Adventurer
I don't think there will ever be a large group of gamers who would want to advance solely through locationing -- leveling is too ingrained, and frankly, too much fun.
But I do think that locationing guidelines, or even rules, would help a good many GMs. I myself often get lost in pacing plot and in-world advancement.
But I do think that locationing guidelines, or even rules, would help a good many GMs. I myself often get lost in pacing plot and in-world advancement.
I'm confused. At first I thought you were talking along the lines of zones being tied to levels. Essentially, the Dark Swamp is for level 2 encounters. The town you are in are for level 1 encounters, the Spikey Mountains are where you face level 3 encounters and so on. Is that what you are tying to get across? If that is what you are saying, then you want location tied to encounter level as opposed to encounter levels always tied to party level.
Let me know if I have that straight...
Let me know if I have that straight...
Personally, i always enjoyed the very naturalistic approach early Judges' Guild products had...they really took the "Sandbox" model pretty seriously.
Just like any other setting, there were all kinds of regions and so forth with this critter or that. However, there was no artificial boundary that would prevent you from getting your butt kicked by something you couldn't handle on your best day.
Troll Island just offshore? Its called that because the place is crawling with freakin' trolls: your party of 1st level characters go there and they will be snacks!
You play enough JG stuff and you learn that "Run Awaaaaaay!" isn't just a good line from a Monty Python movie.
Just like any other setting, there were all kinds of regions and so forth with this critter or that. However, there was no artificial boundary that would prevent you from getting your butt kicked by something you couldn't handle on your best day.
Troll Island just offshore? Its called that because the place is crawling with freakin' trolls: your party of 1st level characters go there and they will be snacks!
You play enough JG stuff and you learn that "Run Awaaaaaay!" isn't just a good line from a Monty Python movie.
*puts hand up* "Me! Me!"
How about Classic Traveller? No character advancement, the game is centred around the star map with its network of Jump routes, which impose particular 'plot' routes as the PC's ship journeys through space.
But recall that other feature of Classic Traveller: non-balanced PCs: A party could consist of a bunch of n00bs and general incompetents...and a retired Major with some impressive skills with weapons and zero-g combat!
In a sense, the majority of your PC's "leveling" was done before you ever went on an adventure.
Heck, as you well know, your PC could even DIE during PC gen- I count myself among the unlucky (and greedy) few to whom this happened. One too many tours of duty...*sigh*
I still don't get it. What are you talking about?
(considering the Paizo-turns-into-WotC thread maybe I'm too 'Emo' to get your meaning...)
Silvercat Moonpaw
Adventurer
I think I may have a fix on what's going on here:
In video games that feature area exploration certain areas are at the beginning locked off behind a barrier that is at that point in the game impassible. To pass the barrier you need to find an item or complete a quest that will trigger a cut scene that removes the barrier. Removing the barrier has nothing to do with the statistical level of your character.
But why that usually isn't used in Pen&Paper RPGs is because while in a video game the obstacle is just impossible to pass without the item or cut scene do to not having completely free locomotion the case is not so in P&P. If you can't climb without an item in a video game you can't scale a wall, but nothing prevents you from doing that in P&P if the wall is of a supposedly scalable type (or the players come up with a crazy scheme to make the wall scalable). Video games can restrict the characters by denying them keys until the right moment, but P&P tends to give characters all possible keys except for a few special ones. Therefore I can't see how you'd make P&P like video games without creating arbitrary restrictions.
In video games that feature area exploration certain areas are at the beginning locked off behind a barrier that is at that point in the game impassible. To pass the barrier you need to find an item or complete a quest that will trigger a cut scene that removes the barrier. Removing the barrier has nothing to do with the statistical level of your character.
But why that usually isn't used in Pen&Paper RPGs is because while in a video game the obstacle is just impossible to pass without the item or cut scene do to not having completely free locomotion the case is not so in P&P. If you can't climb without an item in a video game you can't scale a wall, but nothing prevents you from doing that in P&P if the wall is of a supposedly scalable type (or the players come up with a crazy scheme to make the wall scalable). Video games can restrict the characters by denying them keys until the right moment, but P&P tends to give characters all possible keys except for a few special ones. Therefore I can't see how you'd make P&P like video games without creating arbitrary restrictions.
Wepwawet
Explorer
I believe what you're proposing is already done by a good DM or a good campaign design. Levelling is directly tied to the places the adventures take place.
Like, you can't fight Orcus at first level, because you're not powerful enough, you're not at where he lives, nor you know how to get there.
Locationing has always been present in (good) adventure design.
It would be really interesting though to tie advancement with the places you gained that XP. You could only get new feats and powers that you learned at those places, like, stuff that made sense in the story of the adventure.
For example, in an adventure on a freezing snowy place you'd end up learning good stuuf about ice magic and techniques that use cold (Wintertouched feat, for ex.), but you couldn't learn any fire power at all. Cause you know, fluff-wise makes no sense.
Like, you can't fight Orcus at first level, because you're not powerful enough, you're not at where he lives, nor you know how to get there.
Locationing has always been present in (good) adventure design.
It would be really interesting though to tie advancement with the places you gained that XP. You could only get new feats and powers that you learned at those places, like, stuff that made sense in the story of the adventure.
For example, in an adventure on a freezing snowy place you'd end up learning good stuuf about ice magic and techniques that use cold (Wintertouched feat, for ex.), but you couldn't learn any fire power at all. Cause you know, fluff-wise makes no sense.
