Character Progression
=====================

In almost every roguelike, the main character goes through some kind of skill
progression. There are two aspects to this:
 - How does the player get experience?
 - How does the player spend experience?

The classic answer to the first question is: by killing enemies. There are
a few exceptions: in brogue there is no experience and no levels for the
main character. Some cRPGs give experience based on quests, exploration, or
looting treasures. For Caves Of, I'm thinking to a super simple method of
levelling up: the player gains a level every time he reaches the next
floor. If the game has ten floors, then the maximum player level is 10.
This might or might not work in the end, but it fits the KISS principle
pretty well. The player needs to find the boss and kill it to get the key
to the next level anyway, and it's still worth exploring to get the loot,
so there is a tradeoff between rushing down and take your time to explore
in the hope for better loot.

As for spending experience, I basically have no intention to create a super
rich ability tree: I wouldn't know where to start from and balancing
everything is more than I could ever be able to do. Instead, I want the player to
choose between two or three options every time he levels up. Choices should
have a big impact on the gameplay, and ultimately define the character
class. For example, at level 2 the player might have to choose between
doubling her health or gaining a permanent +20% chance to crits. Some
choices might be between and attack and defence skills, but others might be
between two different attack skills. With only ten levels it makes sense to
design big-impact choices, instead of the classic "+1% to movement speed".