D&D 5E Futzing With Experience Points (Exploration and Treasure for XP)

[ammulder]

What's "encountering" a creature?

Can you just show your face and then turn invisible and run away and still claim the encounter XP?

Is a gang of creatures one creature or many? (As in, do you get 10x the "encounter creature" XP for encountering 10 orcs vs. 1 dragon?)

In general, does this go too far to discourage combat? I mean, you can just explore the hexes and draw up a map with notes on what creatures are where without actually fighting any of them and earn loads of XP that way, right? Does that go too far toward the PCs being observers instead of interacting with the environment?

Maybe the treasure award makes up for it. But it seems weird to imagine the conversation:
"Orcs ahead!"
"It's OK, they haven't seen us, we can just note them on the map and sneak off."
"But think of all the treasure we'd be passing up!"
"Yeah, you're right, let's go kill them."

 

[not-so-newguy]

Oh, and does my forest gnome get that encounter a neutral creature XP for chatting with a badger? And the making it friendly XP by feeding it?


I fully expect these to be the ideas that pop into your players' heads, so I'm asking them now so you can firm up your thoughts.

Totally get what you're doing here It's a good way to find the exploitable loopholes.

Yep, if you want an encounter about searching out and making friends with badgers, then so be it. Keep in mind the Isle is a very hostile place and random encounter with dangerous monsters happens frequently. Also, Exploration Experience can only be achieved outside of the confines of friendly tribal territories (shown on player's map).

 

[not-so-newguy]

What's "encountering" a creature?

Can you just show your face and then turn invisible and run away and still claim the encounter XP?

Yes. [edit] you can only get XP from encountering a creature once.

Is a gang of creatures one creature or many? (As in, do you get 10x the "encounter creature" XP for encountering 10 orcs vs. 1 dragon?)

I should rephrase that as "Encountering a group of creatures." A group of creatures equals the amount of PC in the group rounded up. [edit] if there are 5 PCs and 6 kobolds, you get Exploration Experience twice. I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with that rule.

In general, does this go too far to discourage combat? I mean, you can just explore the hexes and draw up a map with notes on what creatures are where without actually fighting any of them and earn loads of XP that way, right? Does that go too far toward the PCs being observers instead of interacting with the environment?

You can explore the whole map and avoid combats, and it may be reasonable to do that. If the players find it fun, great. Keep in mind the Random Encounter table, there will probably be encounters where the group has no choice but to fight. Swift dinosaurs come to mind.

Maybe the treasure award makes up for it. But it seems weird to imagine the conversation:
"Orcs ahead!"
"It's OK, they haven't seen us, we can just note them on the map and sneak off."
"But think of all the treasure we'd be passing up!"
"Yeah, you're right, let's go kill them."

I don't see the problem here. Doesn't seem weird to me, unless the players don't like that type of play. I will find that out when I pitch the idea.

 

[not-so-newguy]

Version 3. Still futzing. Further defined what each entry on the Exploration Experience list means, based off the questions and comments. Most of it found in the footnotes. Lower the rate gained from 5% to 4%.

TL;DR I rewrote my idea. Refined things a bit, hopefully it's a little clearer. If you liked my idea to begin with, then you might find it interesting. If not, then you probably shouldn't bother reading since there are no major changes.

The Isle of Dread is a module set on a huge island that was inspired by King Kong and Lost World. The players are provided a hex map that is largely blank and must explore the island, filling in the hexes as they explore. The module is a mini-sandbox campaign where the players are free to go wherever they want.

I will be changing things within the adventure: Replacing some of the monsters, editing all treasure, creating my own random encounter tables, and providing three potential adventure hooks to begin. Perhaps I will insert other classic dungeon modules within the island, not sure yet. I will also be using a different way to calculate XP.

I don't want to level characters at appropriate points in the story since this is an open sandbox, the "story" is whatever you guys choose to do. All I provide, in regards to story, is adventure hooks. If I go by the book, then most of your XP would come from killing monsters. Rather than go by the book, I'd like to focus the xp gained based on what I think the module is all about: Exploration and loot.

XP works like this:

• You get experience points for finding loot at a rate of 1 XP = 1 G.P. value. There are some limitations to this, but that's essentially it. (you can't rob PC's and friendly NPC's for experience, for example.)
  
• You also get experience for exploring. XP gained is limited to this list:

1. Crossing an unexplored hex*
2. Encountering a neutral or hostile creature group**
3. Explore a structure***
4. Change a creature's attitude to friendly.

Exploration Experience can only be gained outside of the confines of friendly tribal territories.

For doing any of those four things, you get a set amount of experience points. The experience points gained depends on the character's level. The rate is shown in the table**** below. I will be totaling the experience at the end of each session and dividing equally.

Level. Exploration Experience
3rd. 70
4th. 150
5th. 300
6th. 360
7th. 440
8th. 560
9th. 640
10th. 840

*A PC must be physically present to gain experience. You can not gain Exploration Experience via proxy, such as using a Familiar or Scrying Spell.

**So to be clear, the party would receive the same XP for encountering some kobolds as facing a dragon. The amount you gain depends on your level. A "group" of creatures is equal to the number of PCs in the group rounded down. The group gains Exploration Experience one time for encountering a group that number less than the party.

***Four rooms equals one structure with fractions rounded up. Additional Exploration Experience at a rate of four rooms, so a cavern with nine rooms would yield Exploration Experience three times. Extensive hallways, on rare occasions, may count as a room; but typically connective passages do not count.

****I got the rate of experience by figuring the amount of experience it is required to gain a level, then I take 4% of that amount. So if a PC gains Exploration Experience twenty-five times they will gain a level. Keep in mind the additional experience gained from loot.

 

[Daern]

XP for gold works great for certain types of campaigns. I use it in a Barrowmaze game I run. XP for gold is never quite enough so players supplement it with carousing. It's become a super fun tradition in the game.
I also run a Curse of Strahd game. In that one I just sort of generously toss out XP based on monsters battled and goals accomplished.

 

[designbot]

I thumbed through the DMG and Monster Manual, but I'm not seeing anything that would make this less complicated. The closest thing I could find is the XP Threshold table on page 82.

The chart you're looking for is Experience Points by Challenge Rating on page 9 of the Monster Manual:

Challenge	XP
0	0 or 10
1/8	25
1/4	50
1/2	100
1	200
2	450
3	700
4	1,100
5	1,800
6	2,300
7	2,900
8	3,900
9	5,000
10	5,900
11	7,200
12	8,400
13	10,000
14	11,500
15	13,000
16	15,000
17	18,000
18	20,000
19	22,000
20	25,000
21	33,000
22	41,000
23	50,000
24	62,000
25	75,000
26	90,000
27	105,000
28	120,000
29	135,000
30	155,000

Naturally, those values are split between the party members. Personally, the idea of the value of the hex varying based on the level of the party doesn't sit right with me. You could assign a fixed value, or make hexes that are further away or harder to get to worth more.

 

[not-so-newguy]

Thank you for posting that.

 

[Satyrn]

1. Crossing an unexplored hex*

*A PC must be physically present to gain experience. You can not gain Exploration Experience via proxy, such as using a Familiar or Scrying Spell.

Can I fly high above the hex for this?

 

[not-so-newguy]

Yes, but it will need to be at a low altitude...100 feet seems good to me

 

[not-so-newguy]

Life has gotten in the way of my DnD, so I'll need to wait even longer to try this. In the meantime ...I futz.

TL;DR I'm experimenting with a new way to calculate XP that involves exploration and loot with focus on the Isle of Dread module.

A character will level up when she/he/it receives Adventuring Experience 25 times. I will be adjusting the encounters to account for a group leveling from 3rd to 10th level, where the campaign is capped. A PC will need to receive Adventuring Experience 175 times to reach 10th.

A PC that dies will make a new 3rd level character. The new Character will be required to receive Adventuring Experience 10 time to gain a level, until he/she/it catches up with the rest of the group.

Receive Adventuring Experience for the following achievements:

• Cross 10 unexplored Hexes. There are over 670 unexplored hexes in the Isle of Dread module, which accounts for Adventuring Experience 67 times. Exploring friendly tribal islands and peninsula does not count towards Experience.
• Encounter a group of monsters 5 monsters or less = one group. Additional experience will be given for every five monsters beyond five with fractions rounded down. This assumes there are 5 PCs in the group.
• Find a permanent magic item There are 8 permanent magic items, not counting the book's suggestion to add more items in the dragon hoard. Everyone receives experience for finding 1 magic item. Consumable Magic is not counted towards Experience.
• Find loot totaling 2,000 gold pieces There's roughly 100,000 gp worth of loot in the adventure, which would account for Adventuring Experience 50 times. Everyone receives experience per 2,000 gold pieces gained. Grifting/Robbing the friendly natives will not be counted for Experience.
• Explore a structure Four rooms = Adventuring Experience. Fractions will be rounded up. Example, a five room cavern = Two points of Adventuring Experience

• Change attitude of a group from hostile to friendly. Improving attitudes works the same as encountering monsters. A "group" is considered 5 monsters.