The Chump to God model

[FireLance]

Dude = Competent
Badass = Veteran
Chump = Peon
God = Superhero

I guess that every character would start out as Chump. If a specific campaign never actually plays through those levels, what the character did as a Chump can be narrated by the player. That said, I would like at least the option of starting out as Chump, even if the group as a whole decides they would rather begin with more competent characters.

Whatever the starting point of a specific campaign, I would like at least the theoretical possibility of ending up at God, even if the campaign never actually reaches those levels.

 

[JoeGKushner]

And also getting a little stale.

Yawn.

Like there is anything truly 'new' under the sun?

Playing deities? Done.

Starting off as the ultra bad ass? Done.

Starting off as bad ass but in ultra gritty setting where you can get killed by a mean hobo? Done.

It's not like the OP is providing a huge list. Many people enjoy the staple of fantasy and it's still in use today and still hugely popular no matter how 'stale' it is.

 

[Umbran]

Like there is anything truly 'new' under the sun?

I cannot think of any game that's done reverse advancement - the PCs start out pretty badass, but as they exert their power it is used and gone forever.

You could do a campaign that's a race to see if you can find the BBEG and defeat him before you're too spent to beat him...

 

[FireLance]

I cannot think of any game that's done reverse advancement - the PCs start out pretty badass, but as they exert their power it is used and gone forever.

You've never played a (pre-4E) wizard whose spellbooks are missing?

 

[Umbran]

You've never played a (pre-4E) wizard whose spellbooks are missing?

Even then, spellbooks can be replaced if one has raw cash, and there are wands and scrolls galore...

I'm talking about actually gone forever. Like, your character is imbued with the power of a demigod, but each time that power is used, it is burned up. Like action, power or experience points that are burned and *never* replaced.

 

[Jack7]

I cannot think of any game that's done reverse advancement - the PCs start out pretty badass, but as they exert their power it is used and gone forever.

You could do a campaign that's a race to see if you can find the BBEG and defeat him before you're too spent to beat him...

I don't know 'bout a whole game but that might make a real interesting campaign. Say there was a magical curse or some sort of supernatural disease causing one to lose their powers, or in game terms, to "regress in levels." (Of course you always had magic items and relics that could do that ad hoc or for short periods, but it wasn't usually continuously regressive.)

Or, just slowly become "ordinary people again," either permanently or sporadically, unless corrected. I think I'll turn that idea over in me head awhile and see if I can devise some sorta plotline.

 

[maddman75]

I cannot think of any game that's done reverse advancement - the PCs start out pretty badass, but as they exert their power it is used and gone forever.

You could do a campaign that's a race to see if you can find the BBEG and defeat him before you're too spent to beat him...

Call of Cthulhu can play out like this. I think it is the polar opposite of D&D. Rather than start out pathetic, then grow to compentent, then powerful, then godlike, the PCs start out basically competent and don't really advance much. Skills go up some, but generally you start out skilled at what you're good at. You never reach superpower - using spells and magic will generally only spell your doom. And between the constant drain of sanity and the lethality of combat, its only a matter of time before a character either gets eaten by something or has Seen Too Much and ends up in a straightjacket in Arkham Asylum. The characters feel like ticking time bombs. It isn't about getting big and tough, its about doing something to stave off darkness. If you can.

I generally dislike the hero's journey style of game. I want characters to be fully realized when the game starts, and don't want them to change much. Evolve maybe, but not change in scope. Our group switches games frequently, and I'd prefer to play a gritty low fantasy game, then play a high fantasy game, then play a supers game rather than have one character go through all those phases. I want the game system to focus on what we're doing, not try to do everything.

 

[Umbran]

I don't know 'bout a whole game but that might make a real interesting campaign.

I don't expect the market for such a thing would be particularly grand. Despite the suggestion that growing powerful is stale, I'd bet that becoming weaker with time wouldn't be terribly attractive to most players.

I think I'll turn that idea over in me head awhile and see if I can devise some sorta plotline.

Well, if it turns into something you end up using, and the players have a good time, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

I think D&D is unusual in the steepness of the default power curve with regard to character advancement. What is a high level wizard, if not godlike - at least in every edition I've played.

The Will to Power. The notion of more is central to D&D. More levels. More power. More hit points. More spells. More magic items. More gold. Get more. Power may also temporal within the context of the game world (more land, more retainers etc.) - something emphasized in earlier editions. The notions of a character's self-transcendence and the desirability of mastery of the world seem implicit to me.

I'm surprised that more therapists haven't caught on to D&D.

Or dictators.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

I prefer everyman to badass.