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<H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: Travis Casey <<A HREF="mailto:efindel#io,com">efindel#io,com</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Sat, 2 Jan 1999 14:59:06 -0500</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
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<PRE>
On Tuesday, December 29, 1998, Till Eulenspiegel wrote:
> "All skill-based systems are level based. It just takes a pendant
> and a magnifying glass to find them." J Lambert.
> I've heard this argument before, and I wonder how many people agree
> with this sentiment?
> I differentiate level and skill systems based on whether the player
> gains HPs as they achieve more power as one of the prime measures.
> Sounds like an odd yardstick but it works pretty well.
For muds, maybe... I come from a paper RPG background, and many paper
RPGs don't even *have* hit points, so that doesn't work for me.
Personally, I'd say that a "level-based" system is one which
(a) has levels. That is, it has a single number or a small group of
numbers which give a broad indication of the character's
proficiency at what he/she does.
AND
(b) in which those levels are a major determinant of what characters
are capable of.
Having (a) without (b) is not sufficient. Note that the levels need
not be exposed to the players, so whether a game indicates a level for
characters or not doesn't tell us whether it is level-based or not.
Why require (b)? Well, I'd like to point out that an economy can have
money without being "money-based" (e.g., if the majority of
transactions are still conducted by barter) and that a program can
have objects without being "object-based" (e.g., if the majority of
the program's work is done without reference to the objects). Thus,
it makes sense to me that a game should be able to have "levels"
without being "level-based."
(For that matter, those who are arguing that many "skill-based" RPGs
can be considered "level-based" are implicitly arguing that an RPG can
have skills without being "skill-based". Why not apply the same logic
to levels, then?)
--
|\ _,,,---,,_ Travis S. Casey <efindel#io,com>
ZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ No one agrees with me. Not even me.
|,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'-'
'---''(_/--' `-'\_)
</PRE>
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<LI><STRONG><A NAME="00016" HREF="msg00016.html">[MUD-Dev] Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></STRONG>
<UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> "Till Eulenspiegel" <choke#sirius,com></LI></UL></LI>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>[MUD-Dev] Re: From DevMud: Database module</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00213" HREF="msg00213.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: From DevMud: Database module</A></strong>,
Greg Connor <a href="mailto:gconnor#nekodojo,org">gconnor#nekodojo,org</a>, Sun 17 Jan 1999, 05:31 GMT
</LI>
</ul>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00098" HREF="msg00098.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: From DevMud: Database module</A></strong>,
J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Sat 09 Jan 1999, 04:22 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00210" HREF="msg00210.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: From DevMud: Database module</A></strong>,
Greg Connor <a href="mailto:gconnor#nekodojo,org">gconnor#nekodojo,org</a>, Sun 17 Jan 1999, 02:22 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</ul>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00016" HREF="msg00016.html">[MUD-Dev] Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>,
Till Eulenspiegel <a href="mailto:choke#sirius,com">choke#sirius,com</a>, Tue 29 Dec 1998, 20:58 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00021" HREF="msg00021.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>,
Travis Casey <a href="mailto:efindel#io,com">efindel#io,com</a>, Sat 02 Jan 1999, 20:00 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00033" HREF="msg00033.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>,
J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#kanga,nu">claw#kanga,nu</a>, Mon 04 Jan 1999, 06:37 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00036" HREF="msg00036.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>,
Jon A. Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Mon 04 Jan 1999, 19:37 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00039" HREF="msg00039.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>,
Travis S. Casey <a href="mailto:efindel#io,com">efindel#io,com</a>, Mon 04 Jan 1999, 20:37 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00015" HREF="msg00015.html">[MUD-Dev] More Laws</A></strong>,
Jon A. Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Tue 29 Dec 1998, 08:28 GMT
</LI>
</UL></BLOCKQUOTE>
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