mhensley said:
I like this idea, I think, but how do you deal with the xp cost for creating magic items?
I do it with action points. Here's the system I was describing, condensed down to two pages; it works extremely well for us.
The short version of the rules:
[sblock]• You no longer gain, or need, XP to level. PCs level when the DM decides (which is usually pretty obvious, about once every 10 sessions for us.)
• PCs end up with 5 + 1/2 lvl Action Points per level. The 5 points are kept track of separately from the others. Action Points can be used as per the rules on the SRD (see below); in general, an Action Point can be spent to add 1-6 points to a d20 roll or break the rules in some small, interesting way. I plan to be flexible with this, and if the PCs have other good ideas on the fly, that's fine. APs usually only apply to one die roll or one action.
• APs other than the 5 automatic ones can be turned in at 1000 xp/AP to form an xp pool. This pool can be used to power xp-draining spells, make magic items, and the like. In order to power such things, one character may donate his xp pool to another character at a conversion rate of 3 per 1. The two (or more) characters must be touching when this occurs.
The supporting character may donate all of the required xp if he has enough APs. Be aware that when making items, the item being made may reflect the supporting character in some way (more relevant for intelligent items, but anything is possible)
Example1: Dranko and Aravis wish to help Morningstar cast miracle. Morningstar spends 3 APs for 3000 xp, and Dranko and Aravis each spend 3 AP to help him; those APs from Dranko and Aravis convert to a pool of 1000 xp each. With 5000 xp to fuel it, the miracle goes off.
Example 2: Greywolf wishes to cast limited wish. He burns 1 AP, giving him 1000 xp in his xp pool. He uses 300 of that xp to cast the spell, and has 700 xp left over for future powers or item creation.
Example 3: Flicker wants to donate the xp required to make +4 gloves of dexterity. Kibi will make it, but Flicker donates 2 AP. This creates an xp pool of (2000/3=667 xp). The gloves require 640 xp to construct, so Kibi spends no xp and Flicker has a measly 27 xp left over in his pool. It still costs the normal amount of GP to make.
• At the end of a level, all remaining APs and xp pools disappear and are fully renewed. (I expect that folks will use up their remaining APs in the final battles, or make magic items before they train. That’s just fine.)
• PCs are responsible for tracking their own APs and xp pools.
• If a PC dies and is raised, they suffer a negative level from the death until they complete a quest that is mandated by the God whose power raised them. There is no way to circumvent this negative level, other than using magic like true resurrection in the first place. The negative level has physical and spiritual signs, and there may be societal implications to having returned from the dead.
• NPCs don’t generally get any Action Points unless they're important bad guys. Cohorts get 5 action points: enough to save their butt in times of crisis or pull the fat out of the fryer when really needed, not enough to be cooler than the hero. A player decides when a cohort uses their Action Points, not the DM, and the player is responsible for tracking them.[/sblock]
Note that dying gives you a negative level instead of making you lose a level. This is deliberate; one of my goals is to make everyone level at the same time, and that sort of a system never brings lower-lvl PCs up faster than average, like the default XP system in D&D does. I think the negative level is a good balance, because the DM can make the required quest as easy or hard, quick or slow, as he wants.
I also like the idea that the negative level opens up new roleplaying opportunities. Imagine a cult that only accepts people who have been to the land of the dead and returned (ie, who have a negative level from dying.) Imagine old crones who can sense this in a person. There can be societal consequences, either negative or positive, for people who have died and returned. All kinds of fun.
