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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KidSnide" data-source="post: 5095234" data-attributes="member: 54710">This analysis would be correct if the character powers increased solely in power and not in nature.  If level 30 wizards just have a stronger version of magic missile that does more damage and can hit higher level characters, the leveling mechanics would be essentially empty and the difference between a powerful character and a weak character is purely one of fluff.But that's not how most RPGs work.  In most RPGs (and certainly for 4e and 1e-3e casters), your powers change in nature as well as effectiveness.  A higher level character might be able to teleport around the battlefield, dominate an opponent, or turn insubstantial to avoid an attack -- tricks the same character was not able to do at lower levels.  Similarly, the opponents faced don't just have more hit points and higher defenses.  They also have a similarly more fiendish set of powers to set against the PCs.These changes serve multiple purposes.  First, they keep the game interesting, because combat tactics change as your character gets access to new abilities.  Second, they make the players feel the increasing power of their characters, not just because they can defeat enemies from which they used to run (which would also be possible in your fluff-only system), but also because they defeat them with new things that they couldn't do before.  Incrementing the numbers matters, but it's using your new trick against your old foe that makes you feel the progress your character has made.- - - - -As an aside, lest it be lost, I think D&D can be fairly criticized for an over-emphasis on character leveling.  With 30 levels, there is a pressure for GMs to let their players experience the full range of power, potentially at the expense of a coherent story.  After all, your range of possible campaign arcs is seriously limited if challenging a god or demon price is the expected climax.  Of course, GMs are free to break that paradigm, but the WotC material is probably overly focused on universe threatening stories.-KS</blockquote>

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