I took A LOT of time on this post, so please read, know, and love all of it
I'm against the Season 3 method of Digimon growing stronger for this RP. It's partly because there's going to be a lot of swarming enemies and managing the fairness of experience distribution based on individual kills will most likely be impossible. There will most likely be times along the lines of some people being able to battle a large number of Corrupts while others might have to wait for posts before their character can jump into action (or maybe even make posts to clear distances between them and the action); there won't be any way to balance out when it happens nor to whom it's happening to. I'm also certain that trying to equal out the difference will probably step on some toes from time to time. EDIT: Case in point the explanation of power below.
The second, and biggest, reason why I'm not so crazy about it for this RP is because it'd be illogical for our digimon to absorb The Corrupts' data. It'd be one way to introduce corruption to our digimon but I feel it sadistic to continuously expose the digimon to it every other combat chapter.
For experience gain I'm going with equal strength potential gained as power by digivolving and reverting while also being expressed (scaling to digivolution stage) in critical situations. So the more that the digimon transition between stages the stronger they will become. Rookie-to-champion-to-ultimate digivolutions/reversions, and other similar situations, will only count as
one stage transition. No one can unlock any potential beyond 80% without being in biomerge. For Puppeteer's case this is kind of difficult because hers doesn't revert, so her digimon will increase in power as the team defeats digimon. However, her critical situation power will only be half as effective. This will still probably mean that Puppeteer will be the fastest to get stronger. In light of this, she will have equal power to a rival's in the case of player-on-player combat. Not using the max potential allotted is fine, of course. I'm going on the trust system here, though, so I expect that the tamers and digimon don't know this until informed of it and no one's going to do it continuously every spare chance they get.
Now that I'm discussing power, though, I might as well decide mechanics for Burst Mode since I decided that it'll happen. It will be a special-case feature that will only be available (not mandatory in every case, though) during chapters that I specify will be allowed to have it. It does, however, have to be unlocked by the danger of some critical situation
after gaining access to Biomerge. Burst Mode (or whatever it will be called by the player) will count as 150% power (this applies to KingKaos since he chose biomerge over Xros). This once again is difficult because Puppeteer chose an X as her mega. Because of this, she will only have 125% power as a mega, but will have access to it at all times during biomerge. Power equality rules will still apply in player-versus-player combat.
Because power will be equal against players, combat between them will not be decided solely by power. Victory will have to be achieved through variations in type match-up, conditions in effect during the fight (being corrupted, being previously injured, personal choices to reduce digimon's power, etc.), and/or the use of personality-exploitation.
For corruption I'm going with infectious attacks that stronger Corrupts will possess. Corruption will, however, be saved for chapters after the prologue. Under the effects of corruption, the corruption personality will kick in and the affected digimon will have a 45% power increase. Corruption does not occur in biomerge, but tamers cannot biomerge with digimon corrupted at the time. This will also accommodate rage-digivolution.
Potential availability! Follow this for each form's capacity for potential power:
Intraining: capacity for 20% power
Rookie: capacity for 50% power; 35% capacities for InTrainings that reached Rookie
Champion: capacity for 65% power; 55% capacity for Rookies that reached Champion
Ultimate: capacity for 80% power; 65% capacities for Rookies/Champions that reached Ultimate
Mega: capacity for 100% power (150% inside of Burst Mode); 80% capacities for Rookies/Champions/Ultimates that reached Mega
What does this mean? When a digimon reaches a new stage, they gain the capacity to achieve (not automatically, but as they use their new forms they get stronger up to the given percents of their potential power. When they advance further, their previous forms gain an increase to the maximum amount they can access. They will, however, become stronger for being biomerged with their tamer. Be mindful, though, that they don't have to reach the stage's maximum to be able to digivolve to the next stage, so they may not even be at the maximum of the previous stage.
I'm going to be honest. I have spent the last couple hours and a half scratching my brain over most of this... the second I get off this laptop I'm probably going to zonk out as it explodes... so please, if there are any concerns or last-minute changes, speak them BEFORE THE PROLOGUE IS OVER as opposed to later... because I won't be
mad and take it out on you, but I'll certainly be grumpy if it happens later... > w >
EDIT: and now it's almost 4 in the morning... please don't make me explain more TT w TT