D&D 3E/3.5 Novie 3.5 DM needs help - XP related

[AslanC]

Hey everyone, any and all help is appreciated on this one.

I am starting a new 3.5 campaign next week and I want to make sure my players actually log time in the lower levels and not progress too quickly. That said I still want the game to be exciting and dynamic for them and not be a "wandering through the forest" type of game.

What advice can you seasoned DMs give me for types of encounters, etc that I could use that won't flood them with XP but still be exciting and fun?

Any questions or more information you need please ask and I will fill in the blanks

 

[Arkhandus]

Well, the NPC classes (Warrior, Expert, Aristocrat, Commoner) can provide some challenge while still not giving significant XP, since an NPC-class enemy has a reduced Challenge Rating (a 1st-level human warrior might be a bandit, for example, with a CR of 1/2 instead of the CR 1 a human fighter would have; a 5th-level orc warrior is only CR 3 instead of the CR 5 an orc fighter 5 would have; etc.).

A reasonably large group of weak enemies (dire rats, 1st-level kobold warriors, small or tiny skeletons or zombies, etc.) can be a good challenge without yielding as much XP as a big monster. Just be careful what you equip low-level NPCs with; a bunch of kobolds wielding small greatswords or a few orcs with greataxes can potentially be very devastating, but not so much when they're wielding daggers, clubs, or the like.

 

[moritheil]

IMO goblins (or similar creatures) are ideal for this, as you can very readily scale the threat level of an encounter without having to deal with completely different critters - just change the number of goblins encountered.

 

[AslanC]

Excellent advice fellows thanks

 

[Nail]

You are actually asking two questions:

#1) How can I have the PCs "level" at a rate I'm comfortable with, and

#2) How can I create level-appropriate encounters.

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For #1, I'd say give them about 1/3 of a level of XP per session, so they take 3 sessions per character level. Keep in mind 1st to 2nd level will be faster. That's fine, as 1st level PCs are pretty fragile.

For #2,.....that's a much larger question. It's all about what style of play your players like. For my group, it's about equal measures combat, social interactions, and puzzle solving. That works out to 2 combats per 4 hour session, in case that factoid is interesting to you.

 

[Storme]

Personally I never have a problem with this as I run a strong roleplay group and run Story Focused games (the bar maid a crush...the warlord enemy has amassed an army and the players need to find help before tackling them, etc etc). Fights are the climax of the session (a series of scenes to solve problems, roleplay encounters with NPCs, discover clues, etc...just like a good story or movie). We have gone weeks without having a fight or even rolling a die and enjoyed every minute of it.

If you like a good story and have players that can carry a storyline, run your games this way. Exp is generally low...and frankly not all that important. In 3.5 your character can get to level 10 in a month (which is an enormous mistake in my opinion). In AD&D where I'm used to, it took several years. I'm used to going months at a time without leveling...hehe.


Storme

 

[AslanC]

For #1, I'd say give them about 1/3 of a level of XP per session, so they take 3 sessions per character level. Keep in mind 1st to 2nd level will be faster. That's fine, as 1st level PCs are pretty fragile.

For #2,.....that's a much larger question. It's all about what style of play your players like. For my group, it's about equal measures combat, social interactions, and puzzle solving. That works out to 2 combats per 4 hour session, in case that factoid is interesting to you.

Well for the first part, I can give them as much or as little as I choose, but I want them to enjoy and really taste the lower levels in this campaign and to be honest I find 3e gives waaaay too much XP and levels come very very quickly. It isn't about my comfort it is about wanting to take things slowly. I can't just cheap out on the xp though as one of the players is very savvy of the game system and as such I want him to have fun too without feeling like he is being cheated.

2 per 4 hours is fine, I usually have about the same.

In 3.5 your character can get to level 10 in a month (which is an enormous mistake in my opinion). In AD&D where I'm used to, it took several years. I'm used to going months at a time without leveling...hehe.

Couldn't agree with you more on this statement. But I have chosen to use 3.5, so with that I want to make sure it is an enjoyable experience all around. As for your style of play, trust me my group is exactly the same, we are dreaded RPers!

That said though I have 8 players for this one, deep character roleplaying may take a back seat for a while, so the game needs to be fun and up front.