Before I get into an explanation of how the experience system works – and most likely, that’s going to make more sense in the next post – let’s go over some of the unique challenges of creating an experience/quest system in a game that centers on the collapse of society and a game system where absolutely any ally or enemy can die. Well, I think I just touched on the biggest one, so let’s run with that.

So in a lot of traditional RPGs, even in terrible, monster-caked dystopias you’ve got cities full of people and a lot of those people give quests. Some of them can die, but most of them can’t or at least not until you get the dialogue choice to kill them. So, anyhow, the streets are filled with people who you can’t attack for fear of guards who are there to save you from yourselves - your progress will break, you see, if you kill all those people with exclamation points or names over their heads. A good number of these quests are going to be fetch quests sending you out of the Town of Incredibly Safe People into the wilderness where you will risk life and limb and werewolf rape for someone’s missing hat. Find the hat, kill the endless spawns of the monster that’s slightly higher than your level, return the hat, get some kind of reward and selfless/dick response – we’re all familiar with this setup, yeah?
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