Non-XP Games

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Post originally by Starbrat at 2005-04-02 08:52:18
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I suppose it should be pointed out that a very popular game ran for many years with no experience system whatsoever in just the way you mention, namely Traveller.

That's the only one I can think of, though. Are there other popular games I've missed that do this, or was there some post-Cambrian crash of rule-diversity that wiped out the experienceless clade and allowed the XP-driven games to thrive?

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Post originally by Fulsrush at 2005-04-02 15:56:34
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Call of Cthulhu has an as-you-use-it kind of skill advancement, although they only increase during periods of downtime.

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Post originally by Daniel Bayn at 2005-04-02 18:57:05
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I have no experience with Traveller, but I've heard many good things. As for the Cambrian Extinction ;) I blame that addictive Variable Ratio Reinforcement schedule. It's a bitch.

Call of Cthulhu's system is decent in that it takes practice into account, but if realism is your goal, there's something else to consider. Most skills are learned on a curve: You make quick progress in the beginning, but performance increases take longer and longer to achieve as time goes on. To maintain a high level of expertise, you have to practice hours a day, every day. Role-playing _that_ would just plain suck.

L8r, --Dan

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Post originally by CLAVDIVS at 2005-04-02 19:16:15
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Actually, CoC does take the curve into account (although not the endless hours of practice; most people I game with assume that happens "off camera" when we're not adventuring). To improve a skill, you have to FAIL a check on that skill. So they better you are, the slower you improve. Some XP-based games even take the curve into account with XP costs for improvement proportionate to the existing rating (Shadowrun and both Worlds of Darkness come to mind; GURPS also has increasing costs, but derived from a table rather than a fixed ratio).

Not that I didn't think you were aware of that already, but since you brought up the curve I thought it bore mentioning.

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Post originally by Daniel Bayn at 2005-04-03 11:18:16
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Actually, I wasn't aware of that. Very cool.

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Post originally by Sergio Mascarenhas at 2005-04-03 21:20:13
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Well, BRP (that includes games like CoC) works on the curve of experience assumption. And it does not require roleplaying the daily training just as it does not require roleplaying breakfast and going to the toillet: Characters are just assumed to do it.

Sergio

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Post originally by Sergio Mascarenhas at 2005-04-03 21:23:13
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It's simple to demonstrate, actually. If you want to see the specifics for several games you can check my RPGnet columns:
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/Ruleslawyer_Sergio_9_1.html
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/ruleslawmay00.html
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/Ruleslawyer_Sergio_6_1.html
where I handled the issues discussed in the present column.

Sergio

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Post originally by flyingmice at 2005-04-07 10:40:29
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StarCluster 2 system games do not use XP. Your character advances by year.

-mice