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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SweeneyTodd" data-source="post: 2669995" data-attributes="member: 9391">Darn it, you figured it out. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> Yes, reward systems heavily influence play, so a reward system that's player-driven leads to player-driven play. That's absolutely what Clinton (the author) was going for. The Shadow of Yesterday uses that system, and there the players are expected to call for scenes related to their Keys. That's pretty much how the plot gets constructed.If you want to make sure everyone levels evenly, I don't think you need to complicate the Key system to do so. For instance, notice that some keys might come up less often, but when they do it's easier to get the bigger reward from them. (And the ones that come up really frequently don't ever pay off at 5 xp.)I also think you can use it as a measuring stick to guide player expectations, which is what reward systems do. (People spend a lot of attention on defeating enemies in standard D&D, right?) Let's say, for example, you expect PCs to level up every three sessions. That's saying that you'd like each player to have a scene relevant to their keys four times a session. (Or three times, but one's a big one, etc.) Whether you initiate those scenes or they do, that's a pretty handy way of measuring how much screen time the players get. Equal screen time, equal leveling.Finally, yes there's the possibility that someone could end up with no Keys and not enough XP to buy a new one. (You'd have to do that on purpose, though; you never have to buy off a Key.) You can solve that problem simply, by just saying people can go into debt enough to buy one Key. Also, it's really unlikely to happen once you have more than one Key.Or you could try something really out there, and say if you put your character into that situation, you're voluntarily retiring them from play or making them an NPC. Picture this: A PC's got the Key of Fraternity for their one true love, and is so single-minded that they have no other Keys. Their lover betrays them, and they decide to sell off the Key and don't buy another one. In play, they stand on the edge of a lonely cliff, throw their lover's keepsake off the edge, and turn and walk away. Fade to black. (Hey, I kinda want to try that now. Killing a character off from a broken heart is way more interested than "And then an orc with a greataxe got lucky." <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> )</blockquote>

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