Is my proposed leveling system too limited?

Which are the better solutions

  • Give a generic quest unrelated to the three abilities

    Votes: 1 16.7%
  • Give three separate quests for each of the abilities and level up individually

    Votes: 4 66.7%
  • No choosing, level up all three equally with each leveling.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Others

    Votes: 1 16.7%

  • Total voters
    6

NotaNuffian

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The leveling system levels up via quest completion.

For example, do 3000 push ups, kill a man, etc. Basically, completing one given task and a level up is granted.

The system itself also provides three distinct abilities.

For example:
1. Physical Boost (Passive)
2. Storage
3. Hadoken

My current thought is to with each level up, MC can choose either one of the three to "evolve", which allows the ability's effect to grow stronger or branch off.

Example in Physical Boost, one can either choose to have a bigger boost or branch off to having the ability to Berserk.



The problem comes from how myopic the quest is given. I am planning to have ONE singular quest objective and one only. And it might or might not link to only an ability.

For example, "do 10,000 push ups in one go" as a quest is only linked to Physical Boost. So unless the MC is dumb, he should always prioritize Physical Boost.

So what might be a better solution?
1. Give a generic quest unrelated to the three abilities (eg kill a person/ save a life)
2. Give three separate quests for each of the abilities and level up individually
3. No choosing, level up all three equally with each leveling.
4. Others, please specify.

The movable variable over here is the Quest. I on one hand don't want the quest to be too varied and abundant (like daily quest BS) and have the MC become too OP. On the other hand, having to complete one near-impossible quest objective and ended up to choose from one out of three abilities feel like painfully difficult.
 

sanitylimited

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doing 10,000 pushups isnt a quest, its a training arc. training arcs should be offpaged/screened. focusing on powerups will make you forget the story.

instead of having the system give the reward, have the system give the location of the reward. than the protagonist can plan out how to get the reward. ie infaltrate a sect, suduce the queen, eat freds brain etc.
 

NotaNuffian

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doing 10,000 pushups isnt a quest, its a training arc. training arcs should be offpaged/screened. focusing on powerups will make you forget the story.

instead of having the system give the reward, have the system give the location of the reward. than the protagonist can plan out how to get the reward. ie infaltrate a sect, suduce the queen, eat freds brain etc.
:blob_hmm: :blob_hmm_two:
 

Daitengu

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I agree with sanitylimited. It's the content of the quest that makes or breaks it. Can you imagine getting a quest that requires you to get a bachelor's degree, then the next is volunteering at a homeless shelter for a week?

Depending on means and location the quest system can be impossible to level, to super easy.
 

NotaNuffian

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I agree with sanitylimited. It's the content of the quest that makes or breaks it. Can you imagine getting a quest that requires you to get a bachelor's degree, then the next is volunteering at a homeless shelter for a week?

Depending on means and location the quest system can be impossible to level, to super easy.
The context is murder.

The quest is murder the strongest in the area. Say the president of US- Amazon.

It will mostly be murder.

I have the murderhobo syndrome.
 

Daitengu

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The context is murder.

The quest is murder the strongest in the area. Say the president of US- Amazon.

It will mostly be murder.

I have the murderhobo syndrome.
The rewards will have to be high enough to be worth it and be balanced. Cause why would I pick anything other than a hadoken? storage and physical boost are just to nebulous. One could be a literal storage crate, while the other just boosts dead lift strength 10kg.
 

NotaNuffian

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The rewards will have to be high enough to be worth it and be balanced. Cause why would I pick anything other than a hadoken? storage and physical boost are just to nebulous. One could be a literal storage crate, while the other just boosts dead lift strength 10kg.
Examples.

But yeah.
 

NotaNuffian

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wht is a hdken?
 

Jerynboe

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Having the three be different with different missions does add the internal consideration of which task is the most/least difficult and most/least distasteful. Having to decide between killing a retired marine with a family that he single-handedly supports and is a loving father to, do 10,000 pushups, or kill a Captain Planet villain could be a whole thing. Do you take into account the reward? Do you decide based on what seems easiest/quickest? Do you decide based on whatever morals you happen to have? Is the system trying to bribe you to do certain things you have displayed reluctance to do in the past? Giving a bit of agency and incentives seems like it could add a little free internal drama if that’s something you want.
 

Lodur

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doing 10,000 pushups isnt a quest, its a training arc.
It can be the quest, if you assign it to be. Yes, it will be super dumb, but you really have no obligation to make smart System. Dumb System is not enough interesting? It's completely to an author to make the story interesting even with the dumb System. Make the MC struggle with dumb preprogrammed rigid logic, by completing quests the most unpredictable ways, cutting corners, exploiting bugs and / or quest phrasing, etc., etc.
 
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