[crimfan]

Why is it that so many games have totally chintzy chargen rules that let you make total chumps rather than competent characters? I understand the argument "character growth" but man, this just seems to ignore the realities of a lot of games. I can think of two reasons, I'm sure there are others:

(1) "Chump to god" is not the general trope of many genres. Indiana Jones doesn't go through a huge amount of ability growth in the course of his stories. Most superheros don't either. RPGs aren't genre fiction, of course, and new powers is a big reward for most players, so I don't think static characters make sense, but come on.

(2) Many games are played for a short term, say six to ten sessions max, and then stop. If the only chargen rules available assume "chump to god" this is going to mean that either the game doesn't get played or the GM has to wing it. It wouldn't be hard for authors to put in a few options for chargen that better enable the GM to figure out how to mesh the system with campaign goals. Again, many GMs have the experience to do this... but many don't, or won't, or worry about the rules lawyers among their players.