Too fast! Too fast!

[James McMurray]

Here's another alternative (albeit not a nice one, and one that shouldn't be used if you think your players would get upset). Kill characters off.

Let hem have access to Raise Dead and / or Resurrection, and make sure that it doesn't hit their earned rewards (by making it free in exchange for quests or by making sure they earn enough to afford it). This will result in them losing levels.

Like I said though, don't even contemplate it if you think the players will get upset. And if you do decide to do it, try to work it into the storyline somehow.

For instance, people generally never have memories of hat happens while they're dead. What if one character does?

 

[Darklone]

Some houserules friends use:
- take the sum of all levels earned till now for the XPs needed to get the next level.
- divide the amount of XPs per player once again by the number of players.
- divide the XPs per player by ten.
- totally different systems (such as Rels SH system).

 

[Li Shenron]

Actually, we do a lot of role-playing, and last 7-hour session there were only three battles. Although I do give out just as much XP for roleplaying....maybe it's the sheer length of time we play that equates to the large XP. ::shrugs:: It's good to hear about the leveling slowing down. Even if it gets to 2 sessions per level, that will be enough time for me to develop a lengthy story.

Does the DM remember to divide the Xp into all the PCs? Check that he is using the rules correctly because unless the 3 battles are very high-EL then it really looks there is something wrong. Unless here you mean that with RP you basically give double the normal amount of Xp; it's not bad itself to give out Xp for RP, but you have to realize if that's the reason of you fast advancement.

After 3 years of playing 3ed, I consider the Xp system simply an advice. After all, it's already a simplification (you divide the Xp among everyone, no matter who played best or did most of the job). Use it as freely as you wish and don't feel guilty for it. If you just give the PCs as much Xp as you think it provides the advancement speed YOU want, the only problem you may face is with item creation: since IC is based on spending Xp, the max amount of items craftable is inevitably tied to characters advancement.

But really, if you think it's too fast, slow it down without fear. Even if you make a mistake of giving too little one day, the next time you can give more. IMHO PCs advancement is too fast when they don't get to use the new abilities of this level before reaching the next.

 

[Mystery Man]

I use the second page "Modifying XP awards and ECL's" and give percentages base on how easy or hard the encounter was, based on average dice roles.

 

[tennyson]

Here's another alternative (albeit not a nice one, and one that shouldn't be used if you think your players would get upset). Kill characters off.

Let hem have access to Raise Dead and / or Resurrection, and make sure that it doesn't hit their earned rewards (by making it free in exchange for quests or by making sure they earn enough to afford it). This will result in them losing levels.

I won't argue that a PC death is hands down an effective way mathematically to bring XP down, I also have to say that it would not do my players or my conscience well. We always roll dice in open view of everyone else, so no fudging....and if a PC death does occur, it's usually because of bad tactics, unwise decisions, bad rolls, etc.

However, the suggestion about making resurrection free in exchange for a quest or someting similar is a good one! I'll have to keep that in mind.

But really, if you think it's too fast, slow it down without fear. Even if you make a mistake of giving too little one day, the next time you can give more. IMHO PCs advancement is too fast when they don't get to use the new abilities of this level before reaching the next.

This is another thing that bugs me (and incidentally one of my players said the same thing). Half the fun of roleplaying a campaign is having the time to flesh out and familiarize yourself with your character. When you're getting new abilities faster than you get chances to use them, you (IMHO) spend more time organizing your PC than playing them.

 

[SnowDog]

No matter what, if you're changing the experience ramp, it's worth discussing with your players. The last game I was a player in (I'm DMing now) we all discussed what power level we enjoyed playing and discovered that we really dug levels 6 through 10 the best. So, levels 1 - 4 sped by, levels 4-6 came at normal rate, and once we hit level 6 experience really slowed down. We all knew that was how it was going to go and everyone was happy.

The other factor is that if there's RP experience involved, you need to watch the totals overall. If you're handing out RP experience the other experience should probably be scaling down, unless the RP experience is on the order of 5-10% of the total. In other words, to follow the pace outlined in the rules (which many people already feel is too fast) you should be giving out their suggested amounts of experience, whether it comes from combat, RP, or a custom "bribe your GM with M&Ms for experience" system .

 

[Ace]

Let me play the opposite card and suggets that you not worry about how much XP the players earn as long as the guidelines are followed

3xD&D is pretty balanced at all levels-- not just 1 thru 10 like previous editions

A lot of GM (at least 2 in my circle) seem deathly afraid to play high level games -- I understand the fear (they can be very different especially for us old schoolers) but I say just go for it

If you BBEG is too weak than beef him -- templetes are alway fun and there are always the options of a horde of magic items, higher stats and more levels

 

[CalrinAlshaw]

There are multiple methods to slow down character levelling.

Some have been mentioned..

Doubling the experience required.
Using smarter low-level monsters.
Training method (Although one way to stop players from complaining about experience they gain, is to handle that yourself, after session when you have time. And when/if they stop playing in your game, tell them how much their character has so they can use it for other games. assuming you don't have an ongoing campaign.)

Or you could simply hand out a certain amount of experience each session or adventure. Base it on character participation, roleplaying and such.

Calrin Alshaw

 

[KarinsDad]

Let me play the opposite card and suggets that you not worry about how much XP the players earn as long as the guidelines are followed

3xD&D is pretty balanced at all levels-- not just 1 thru 10 like previous editions

A lot of GM (at least 2 in my circle) seem deathly afraid to play high level games -- I understand the fear (they can be very different especially for us old schoolers) but I say just go for it

It is not a matter of playing high level games. Back in the 2E days, we played a marathon weekend high level game. It was ok, but not as much fun because the players were not totally aware of all of the abilities of their characters.

The same problem exists in 3E/3.5 if the characters level too quickly. Players who are not used to playing higher level characters do not get the same richness of game because they are not aware of all of the abilities of their characters and end up relying on low level tactics, etc. With more time to learn their characters, however, they end up getting more out of the game because they have the time to learn.

And, the same occurs for the DM. If the characters level too quickly, he has to scramble a little more to challenge them unless he merely picks appropriate CR monsters from the book and that is not as much fun as designing your own higher level NPC challenges.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

In my campaigns, I follow the guidelines for XP as laid out normally in the DMG. However, I reckon that the major NPCs (especially the campaign's BBEG) is *also* getting XP, just probably not at the same rate as the PCs. I usually use a ratio of +1 level to the NPCs per 2 or 3 level-ups to the average party level.

For me, this works out great. It helps to flesh out the major NPCs (I often work *how* they got that XP in somehow) and keeps the challenge alive. It also helps give that feel that the NPCs are off doing something besides waiting for the PCs to break into their lair/come to them for healing/come to them for a quest.

It's a little more work and, obviously, I don't do it for every frickin' NPC in the campaign world, but It's satisfactory to me.