[Bythos]

1. Do you see any way to reward players for actions that are more difficult to measure (behaviour, leadership, social interaction etc.) and not necessarily related to combat or traditional level progression?

I, for one, enjoy the system in place in City of Heroes. It uses a badges system that keeps track of many different actions that occur throughout the life of each player's characters. After defeating so many enemies, healing so many teammate's, or mentoring a newbie for a certain amount of time, badges are awarded to the player. Usually this only provides a visual recognition of their accomplishments, but secret combinations of these badges give the player added bonuses and powers. The downsides include insubstantial rewards, like the Crey Pistol, that are useless bonuses, and the eventual posting of the 'secret' combination which diminishes the original efforts of the dedicated players. One way around this posting problem is to withhold the players' notification of the bigger bonuses. They will still receive all the benefits, but no one will be the wiser. :-)

Another way that might be useful to rewarding behaviors and quality traits in players would require more interaction on the part of DM's or in-game 'spies'. These people would roam around in game, joining groups and observing players' behavior. They could provide semi-scripted challenges for the team to face and rate/reward their actions. For example, in the midst of combat with a team, the 'spy' stops actively playing. They continue to get pounded on by the baddies and effectively causing the team to be short-handed. Depending on the actions of the team, they will be rewarded. If the leader or team member, notices the lack of action and either protects the player or calls others to help the 'spy', they would be rewarded. If they ignore their pummeled teammate or get angry at the lack of action on the 'spy's' part, they would not be rewarded (maybe even punished, lol). After the battle is completed, the 'spy' would then come back and explain the (simulated) computer trouble.

If using real people to monitor is too taxing, I'm sure that quests could be created that test moral courage and fortitude. As boring as a diplomacy option might be at times, just imagine arriving at the boss battle of a mission, only to discover that the boss is really a decent creature that has been tricked/trapped into doing the wrong thing. Should the heroes try to talk down the misled character or just slice him to ribbons anyway?


2. If a player (for any reason) was to be rewarded, in-game or out of game, what kind of reward(s) would you consider appropriate?

Rewards should be proportional to the reason they are receiving a reward. If a team just spent 4 hours battling their way to the depths of the dungeon and defeating the torturous fiend at the end, only to receive a dagger that would have been useful 10 lvls ago, the players will change their view of the mission from exciting journey to tedious grind.

In the case of the badge combinations above, creating useful abilities or items would be ideal. In the case of the Crey Pistol, it should be useful in some way against someone, like severely disabling any Crey baddie. While this may cause balance issues, it should not be so easily accessible, with only a few lucky individuals acquiring it.

In the case of the 'spy' given rewards mentioned above, either a predetermined set of rewards for each situation or a honor system that the 'spy' can award a certain amount of points to each player. The more honor points the player receives, the more powerful they can become. Keeping everything proportional, points could invisibly increase stats, in the case of Aion it could be called divine protection. As long as this reward system is kept secret, the genuinely good players, in terms of increasing enjoyable game atmosphere, will be given a better chance of greatness while those that deteriorate the fun of others will be forced to remain mediocre.

This would allow good natured casual players to compete with core gamers that exhibit harsh and negative tendencies, from a gameplay perspective.

Finally (sorry, long post), one wish I have had from way back to MUDDs, are completely unique in-game items for extreme circumstances. I like the idea of the normal person at the right place and right time to receive an awesome gift. For example, she is the first one to fully explore the hidden cave, she should receive the one of a kind Uber Glaive of Uberness, with no restrictions as it could level up with her. Everyone that visits afterwards would still receive an uncommon item, but nothing in comparison to her weapon of lore. Or a team might stumble upon a kidnapped nymph, free her from the evil clutches of evil, and each is rewarded with a 5X stat increase on a single different stat, one with boosted strength, another with increased defense, etc. These characters could then become the secret weapons of each side's battles.
This would encourage players to adventure instead of simply grinding for level.

With extreme rewards for very select random few, rewarding honor and integrity in game, and keeping regular rewards proportional, a system that is more then just grinding and leveling could emerge.