I want to start off by saying that i have seen this system work on several different sites, so keep that in mind as you read over this.
Out of all the Fairy Tail sites i have seen, made, participated in etc, Over half of the populace despises job grinding for EXP. Cause in essence, would you enjoy rping the same thing over and over again?? Sure jobs have different storylines, but they still feel ... well they feel like Real Life Work... ( and for us adults we don't want to come on and RP about working after our 8 hour shift XD ). Either way... Thinking back on things I watched a few arcs of Fairy Tail recently and i realized that Natsu and Lucy really don't gain any power or knowledge from "Jobs". No they earn it from saving the damn world so many times... but i think you get my point. ( Yes i know this is an AU site mainly and does not follow the series to a T )
What i propose is a system that allows EXP to be earned from more than just jobs. Mainly in the form of RP Threads like Socials, Solo's, Training and Duels.
We will get into the mechanics of that in just a moment however, a few explanations are needed first.
This encourages members to create threads that are based around personal plots instead of trying to make jobs more interesting than they really are, and also pushes players to write longer posts, thus pushing members to grow RP wise.
No i am not saying get rid of jobs, but i think they should be cut down to what jobs really earn them, and that is Jewels. In the show they didn't earn EXP in jobs, no they went on jobs for money!
Now to get into a little bit of the mechanical part of this idea.... It is actually very simple.
For every 50 words written in a post (rounded down) you are awarded 1 EXP point. This means a post of 570 words would earn you 11 EXP (570/50=11.4 rounded down to 11). EXP is gained per post, and should be kept track off with something like this.
[WC = 100 Words]
[EXP = 2 EXP ( Then place the total currently for the threads here)]
When players have gathered a substantial amount of EXP through threads, they will need to collect the threads and tally up the EXP for a claim. This can be done in the Meta Game Forums. The claim is pretty simple, by posting all of the threads links they tally it up and ask for a claim, then a moderator comes in and approves their math for the EXP Total and changes their sidebar.
I can say personally as a staff member on several sites, That this is more than doable staff wise. It does not ask for any more attention that approving job requests do. As a member of current sites, this promotes me to Write longer posts and participate in more threads than i ever have before. Threads that encourage Character development and not just going monster hunting.
Think about it and please post your comments.
EDIT: The idea that this system can be exploited was brought up. And i have a few things to add.
1: ) ANY system created can be exploited. There are people out there that just like to try and test the waters.
2: ) The way to prevent exploitation is nothing more than mods DOING THEIR JOB! Moderators have to read through Completed Jobs ANYWAYS ( well they are supposed to >.> )
3: ) If people try to write nonsense to get a higher WC, no one will want to rp with them. Why would i rp with someone who put 'the the' in front of everything?
4: ) Once again, Mods are supposed to read through the claims... But they already do that with jobs soooo no work overload
5: ) There won't be a massive amount of claims everyday. If you have to assign a mod to JUST CLAIMS.. I'll volunteer if need be.
6:) This system DOES NOT MAKE RPING A CHORE! Therefore members enjoy themselves by creating their own plots.
That is all for now.