D&D 5E Tomb of Annihilation Question [Spoilers]

[Alex Ramirez]

Hey folks, I am very new to playing/running D&D; as such have run into a rules issue for which I have not found a satisfactory answer on my own, and am hoping someone here can help me. As the title of the thread states, the particular circumstance in which this question arises contains minor spoilers for Chapter 2 of ToA.

I am currently running a group through ToA, and they have just left Port Nyanzaru through the Bay of Chult. They ran across the dragon turtle, and paid the tribute he demanded before going on their way. At the end of the session, they asked if they were owed experience from resolving the encounter with the dragon turtle, and I am unsure of how to address that.

I was unable to find a definition for "encounter" as it pertains to 5e D&D, which would have solved the problem, so I don't know if paying the tribute qualifies. If so, will it qualify every time they enter/leave the Bay of Chult? If it does not qualify as an encounter, why not? As far as I am aware, defeating a creature in combat is not the only way to gain experience from it.

My initial hesitation hinged upon believing that if my interpretation would award a Tier 1 party over 10,000 XP in exchange for a couple hundred GP, I was not taking something into account, or I was misinterpreting something; but, as I looked at the circumstance, I don't have the familiarity with the rules to explain why them placating the dragon turtle would not satisfy the requirements for resolving an encounter. I would really appreciate an answer from someone who has a bit more experience or expertise than I.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I would treat it like AD&D did. You got XP for "defeating" the encounter. Defeating did not mean killing it. It also mean bypassing or otherwise removing the encounter from risk going forward. Keep in mind, you would only award XP once, and not multiple times for the same encounter.

In this case, I would not award XP because you can keep encountering the turtle over and over, as many times as you enter the bay. So they haven't really bypassed it or killed it or otherwise removed the encounter from risk going forward.

 

[Alex Ramirez]

Thanks for the insight, that's a really helpful standard. I had considered that there was still the risk of them encountering the creature in the future, and I resolved not to award XP for that encounter, with the proviso that I would revisit the issue if given sufficient clarification.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

It actually gives an example in the book of giving XP for non-combat encounters in the Introduction chapter under "Character Advancement".

Conversely, you can hasten level advancement by awarding ad hoc XP for making discoveries, completing goals, roleplaying well, and surviving or avoiding deadly traps. Any such ad hoc award should be no more than what the characters would earn for defeating a monster with a challenge rating equal to their level. For example, a fair ad hoc award for a party of 2nd-level adventurers would be 450 XP, which is what the characters would earn for defeating a challenge rating 2 monster. As with other XP awards, the amount should be divided evenly among all party members.

So if they're 1st-level, give them 200XP for defeating a CR 1 encounter. Yes, it's not a CR 1 encounter, but it also wasn't really a combat challenge since the players would be pretty daft to go up against a dragon turtle at 1st level which they wouldn't even stand a slight chance of surviving, especially when it's clear that there's a non-combat solution.

Also: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?582133-SPOILERS-Running-Tomb-of-Annihilation-Discussion

 

[Sacrosanct]

It actually gives an example in the book of giving XP for non-combat encounters in the Introduction chapter under "Character Advancement".



So if they're 1st-level, give them 200XP for defeating a CR 1 encounter. Yes, it's not a CR 1 encounter, but it also wasn't really a combat challenge since the players would be pretty daft to go up against a dragon turtle at 1st level which they wouldn't even stand a slight chance of surviving, especially when it's clear that there's a non-combat solution.

Also: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?582133-SPOILERS-Running-Tomb-of-Annihilation-Discussion

The only reason I wouldn't give them XP is because they didn't "beat" the encounter. The dragon turtle is still there, and will still accost them every time they enter the bay. If the PCs found a way to avoid paying the tribute (by avoiding the encounter, fast talking, etc), then I'd give XP for something like that. But otherwise I probably wouldn't for doing what every other ship does. All matter of opinion of course.