You're in 3e territory now, son!
Hey all, this is my little blog. I'll mostly be using it to collect little thought snippets I don't want to escape or be forgotten. Discussion is welcomed, bickering is not. If I sense responses heading off into the argument land of tired old threads, I can and will cut it off.
Hey all, this is my little blog. I'll mostly be using it to collect little thought snippets I don't want to escape or be forgotten. Discussion is welcomed, bickering is not. If I sense responses heading off into the argument land of tired old threads, I can and will cut it off.
XP-less Advancement & Action Point Variant (3.5)
Posted 13th July 2008 at 04:43 PM by Psion
As I am looking at the possibility of starting a PbP after GenCon, I thought I'd gather together some of my disparate house rules. One of the most telling ones that I have taken a shine too is my XP-free advancement rules. These rules started life as my "no death penalty" and "simplified advancement" rules, but took major cues from PirateCat's XP-less gaming rules. The main goals/implications of these rules are:
The Advancement and Action Point rules are as follows:
Character Advancement and Levels
Players don't track experience in this variant. The DM tracks level by the means of "encounter points" (which include both combat and non-combat challenges). The encounter points are not tracked for each character; there is a single encounter point allotment that applies to the whole group. When enough eps are received to advance, the whole group will level simultaneously.
Any effect that would drain XP or cause permanent level loss is applied to essence points instead (see below). If no essence points are available, the character has a negative level (using all the standard rules for such) that persists until the character pays off the "essence debt".
Note that XP costs can also be paid by the use of power components or "levin". This is the favored method for many NPCs. See Green Ronin's Advanced GMs Guide for details on acquiring and using Levin.
Tracking Encounter Points
The DM sets a "per level" encounter point rate; the standard is assumed to be 25 eps/level. The DM rewards the party 1-4 encounter points per meaningful encounter or goal. 2 points is considered a normal encounter, on the order of facing a creature with CR=party level. 1 point should be allowed for simple encounters or challenges without great risk or effort (but nothing so trivial as a single skill check unless the consequences were severe). 3 points is a difficult encounter (for combat challenges, CR > APL+2), and 4 points for climactic encounters. The 4 point award should be rare.
Keep in mind that EPs can be rewarded with no creature threat involved at all; all sorts of noncombat tasks can be tracked with this system.
Action Points
PCs have action points in 3 categories: Fortune, Essence, and Karma. All types of action points operate as described in Unearthed Arcana (summarized here) except as noted below:
- Simplify advancement (eliminate need to calculate and track XP)
- Eliminate level spread in the party. The entire party is at the same level and nobody ever gets left behind.
- Take the sting out of PC death; bringing in a new character just as viable as having the character raised.
The Advancement and Action Point rules are as follows:
Character Advancement and Levels
Players don't track experience in this variant. The DM tracks level by the means of "encounter points" (which include both combat and non-combat challenges). The encounter points are not tracked for each character; there is a single encounter point allotment that applies to the whole group. When enough eps are received to advance, the whole group will level simultaneously.
Any effect that would drain XP or cause permanent level loss is applied to essence points instead (see below). If no essence points are available, the character has a negative level (using all the standard rules for such) that persists until the character pays off the "essence debt".
Note that XP costs can also be paid by the use of power components or "levin". This is the favored method for many NPCs. See Green Ronin's Advanced GMs Guide for details on acquiring and using Levin.
Tracking Encounter Points
The DM sets a "per level" encounter point rate; the standard is assumed to be 25 eps/level. The DM rewards the party 1-4 encounter points per meaningful encounter or goal. 2 points is considered a normal encounter, on the order of facing a creature with CR=party level. 1 point should be allowed for simple encounters or challenges without great risk or effort (but nothing so trivial as a single skill check unless the consequences were severe). 3 points is a difficult encounter (for combat challenges, CR > APL+2), and 4 points for climactic encounters. The 4 point award should be rare.
Keep in mind that EPs can be rewarded with no creature threat involved at all; all sorts of noncombat tasks can be tracked with this system.
Discussion: Advancement with EP's
Action Points
PCs have action points in 3 categories: Fortune, Essence, and Karma. All types of action points operate as described in Unearthed Arcana (summarized here) except as noted below:
Action Point Categories
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Comments
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We've been advancing without XP for years. It's basically "advancement by consensus", meaning sometimes, a player or the DM says "Do you think we should level up now?", and then we discuss it, then do it or wait some more.
Works very well in my opinion.Posted 5th September 2008 at 10:23 AM by Fenes
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