Inflation in RPGs, Part II
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Now, it _must_ be assumed that any player character is, by default, a particularly exceptional individual. In most every population, the vast overwhelming majority of people will be practically anonymous individuals working in the bottom rung of their society. Farmers, peasants, lower echelon tradesmen, etc. Most of their lives are spent getting up in the morning, working all day, going to bed early so they can repeat the cycle day after day. Along the way they find a spouse, mate, and create clones of themselves to continue the Endless Cycle. If extraordinary circumstances are thrust upon them, they may have to take up arms in defense of home and hearth. However, in such a case, the overwhelming majority of them will serve as spear-carriers. ("Cannonfodder", in colloquial parlance.)
From the get-go, a player character does not bear any resemblance to such mundanes (other than being of the same species). A player character is destined to DO SOMETHING -- even if that may only be to "go out in a blaze of glory" early in his or her career. However, taking the raw clay and molding it into something phenomenal takes **time**. An eighteen-year-old does NOT pick up a sword and instantly transform into El Cid. Billy The Kid was renown for having killed 21 men before the age of 21 -- but historians suggest the tally was less than half that number. Alexander the Great started young and carved out a HUGE empire for himself -- before dying just short of his 33rd birthday. One of the most well known composers, Mozart, started learning music at the age of four. When he died at the age of 35 he was one of the most famous composers of his era -- living in poverty. From all of these, we see particularly exceptional people, known for being famous at an early age. But from start to finish, there is a span of TIME, spanning multiple decades, starting from relative obscurity and ending with consummate fame.
