Design Pattern: Progression Exhaustion

Overview

Progression Exhaustion is the inversion of the Progression Track; thus it employs the principle of Diminishing Returns instead of Thematic Capital. Improvement modeled with Progression Exhaustion grants more for less for sticking to a particular theme, you get less for more.

Purpose

The incentives are the opposite and the use is the opposite: encourage the player to branch out and not specialize their experience. Using both progression tracking and exhaustion together is an effective way to coax balance out of a player's development, especially in RPGs.

Example

• HERO System – HERO System uses 3d6 as the central gauge of success. The probabilities of rolling a number on the range [3,18] follow a pronounced bell curve. The modifier a Skills or Characteristic grants to a roll changes linearly with respect to the points spent, and the opposition value of rolls starts at 9-. The result is that each for additional point you spend on a skill you get less of an improvement to your rolls. At some point around a 85% success rate, it becomes better to start spending points elsewhere.
  
  In terms of gameplay, this means that players rarely improve a skill to 100% competency; they spend points more wisely and anything they do push to and beyond the max will be an essential, flavorful part of their character.