a thought, since this is a skill based game... let\'s say, first off, that exp is not a general statistic, but each skill has its own exp level. you gain exp in a skill each time you use it. the amount you get is determined by how much of a threat is immediately upon you. if you\'re a spellcaster, healing yourself while sitting in town with no one around won\'t make you get better at healing very quickly. but, doing it in a high pressure situation, while a horde of orcs is charging down the hill at your party, will increase the amount dramatically. the reasoning is, that you\'re not just repeating the same old method of casting that you learned in mage school, you\'re frantically trying to do it as fast and as well as possible. the same would apply to combat-specific skills, if you swing your sword at the single pathetic little kobold, you won\'t learn much about using your sword. swinging it while a dragon is breathing down your neck (doesn\'t matter if you\'re swinging it *at* the dragon, the threat is still there) will make you better, faster.
this solves a couple of problems. it helps to eliminate botting, since practicing without the threat of death gives little to no experience. the game stays skill level and not character level based, which all in all makes more sense than some games, imho. there are probably more upsides than i\'m listing, depending on your point of view.
the downsides... well, i\'m not very good at picking out flaws in my own logic, but i\'m more than happy to listen to people with different points of view do it for me
one thing i see is that it changes how characters can choose their path. rather than gaining a level and saying, \"hey, i\'ve always wanted to be a little better at the fireball spell, i\'ll dump some points into that\", they only get better at what they use and practice with. i\'m not sure if this is a bad thing, but it does require more determined efforts by the player to advance their character the way they envision. care would have to be taken to make each skill useful, because players won\'t use stuff that\'s not. without some planning you could end up with a lot of very similar characters.
let\'s throw grouped characters into the mess. simple, really, when a member of your party performs a skill, the other members gain a small amount of experience in that skill, by watching. this does away with a set figure like 20% bonus exp for grouping, because it now has it\'s own benefits, that of watching others perform their skills. this also works out for guilds... let\'s say that there was a skill that involved fabricating widgets. your guild decides that they must make thousands of widgets for the upcoming annual widget sale. the guild gets together at the hall and goes on a widget making spree. you get better at it faster, because you\'re able to see others do it. in a more realistic sense, the characters are sharing their knowledge and new ideas about widget making, something that is tedious to roleplay and almost impossible to factor into experience through roleplay.
anyway, there\'s my rant for tonight. loving the discussion, by the way
