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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Conaill" data-source="post: 3065995" data-attributes="member: 1264">I would seriously hope not! And even if it were, I would never want to design a roleplaying system to further encourage this thrend.Perhaps I'm biased by having spent the first 3+ of my formative RPG years playing GURPS and various other non-D&D games in a very active gaming community where getting "phat loot" was NOT on anyone's mind. But I, and many other gamers I know, play to have *fun*, to go on great adventures, to Slay the Beast and Rescue the Maiden. Getting a new gadget can be fun, but I am not my sword... It is *me* who accomplishes these great tasks, it's not just because I have a mighty artifact which could make any peasant a demigod. And yes, I'd like there to be some way for my character to grow and develop. Maybe he learns a new skill or two over the course of several months. Or maybe his face will be scarred for life, to remind him of that epic battle where he came this close to losing his life and his honour both. To me, an enjoyable roleplaying campaign is much closer to a novel in that sense. I'm not going to be disapointed in a fantasy novel, just because the hero is scarcely more powerful at the end of the novel than at its beginning. Or because the protagonist didn't gain fat loot during the course of the novel. In fact, I would argue that these factors are almost entirely irrelevant to my enjoyment of the novel.I have to admit that I've found the "phat loot and XP" mentality to be much more common among the various D&D groups I've played with in later years. And I definitely see how addictive this style of play can be - I've noticed I'm feeling less and less embarrassed at being showered with gold and jewelry for doing what a hero or adventurer is supposed to do anyway, or of getting yet another character level when I haven't even gotten used to all the new powers I'd gotten last time. And I can see how someone who grew up with this mindset could wind up thinking that's what is essential for a great game. But as I said, it's not an attitude I would want to encourage any further, let alone use it as a basis for game design...</blockquote>

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