D&D 5E Wandering Monsters 01/29/2014:Level Advancement...

[Johnny Champion]

Not sure how I feel about the experience economy being tied to the goblin standard.

Funny but true. In our 5e play at 1st level, a short mini-adventure is then followed by a tough dungeon with a quest, which the XP and gold should equate to moving to 2nd level. This takes 2 sessions, which is about normal for subsequent levels as well, assuming we handle 'house keeping' and 'town intrique' done via email in between sessions. Looking forward to the 5e release...

 

[Desdichado]

I used the word "wargamer" for three reasons.

First, [MENTION=2205]Hobo[/MENTION] used it already upthread with the same meaning.

Second, the designers of D&D, who had the "skilled play" paradigm in mind and advocated it very strongly in the AD&D PHB and DMG, were wargamers.

To be entirely clear, I meant that only in the sense that the wargaming background informed the earlier iterations of the game, and there was an assumed playstyle that, kinda sorta I believe, fell out of fashion during the mass popularity of the game. Many of those who entered the hobby in that period did not share the wargaming background, and I think that fundamentally changed gamer culture, both from the perspective of the players, but also the designers.

I'm not entirely sure that talking about wargamers now as a subset of D&D players makes as much sense. Although I do still see a lot of parallels between the wargamer approach and the "skilled play" approach. Which I think is what you're saying too.

 

[pemerton]

Which I think is what you're saying too.

I think we're on the same page on this one, yes.

 

[infinitum3d]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but this topic is always relevant.

My opinion is that "experience" comes from learning something. If a first level fighter kills a goblin, he learns something. If a 20th level fighter kills a goblin on the first blow without taking any defense, then they didn't learn anything therefore there is no experience gained.

If a 10th level wizard casts a fireball every single encounter since he's learned the spell, and he uses a fireball to kill a dozen goblins without ever being in any danger, then he doesn't gain any experience.

Now if that 10th level fighter takes three rounds to kill the goblin and the goblin hits the fighter three times, then the fighter is still learning something and gains some experience from the fight.

If the 10th level wizard has only ever cast the fireball on two or three goblins and is trying to figure out how many he can get, then he is gaining experience through the learning process.

If a rogue finds a trap and avoids it, he gets experience. If he finds the same type of trap again, maybe he still gets experience. If he finds the exact same type of trap at every door and can get around it every single time with no effort at all, there is no experience being acquired.

In my opinion, the XP of any encounter or situation is variable and flexible based on the unique situation.