D&D 5E New Players same level as Current Players?

[Iry]

If a PC is absent, I give no XP. If I judge a PC to have contributed inadequately (rare), they get a reduced XP share. I give small XP bonuses for outstanding contributions. Puzzle solvers get the XP only if they contributed to solving the puzzle.

YOU MAY DISAGREE WITH THIS but it is not the same as levelling everyone up at the same time - my high level group has a 3 level spread (10-13), my low level group typically has a 1 level spread but I think they're all currently 4th level. You may say that's BADWRONGFUN, but clearly it can happen! Also I have lots of players and we seem to have a good time.

Of course I disagree with it. If a player is absent then he either had something very important to do (and should not be punished) or he has an attendance problem and you should have a conversation with that player outside of the game. I simply do not believe in using XP as a punishment for undesired behavior.

The real punishment for not playing is not getting to hang out with your friends and have a fun night of D&D.

 

[Nytmare]

The real punishment for not playing is not getting to hang out with your friends and have a fun night of D&D.

I can count at least one hands-worth of people who I've played with over the years who did not care at all for the camaraderie or chance to be social. To them, playing in an RPG was nothing more than some kind of psychological fix to gather and accumulate points on a personal high score board.

 

[Sunseeker]

I can count at least one hands-worth of people who I've played with over the years who did not care at all for the camaraderie or chance to be social. To them, playing in an RPG was nothing more than some kind of psychological fix to gather and accumulate points on a personal high score board.

I've played "with" (in the general sense that we were both in the same game) those sort of people online, but fortunately never had to deal with them in person. I just don't get it. Why hang out with real people if you don't want to, well, hang out with real people?

 

[Iry]

I can count at least one hands-worth of people who I've played with over the years who did not care at all for the camaraderie or chance to be social. To them, playing in an RPG was nothing more than some kind of psychological fix to gather and accumulate points on a personal high score board.

I used to run games for money, and encountered quite a few players like that. I actually have no problem with people who enjoy the game that way, provided that they are on good behavior and are considerate of other players. Luckily, those players tend to have good attendance and participation so they do not miss anything.

 

[Nytmare]

I can only remember one, in a game where I was a player, who not only wasted a good chunk of everyone else's weekly game time arguing over how much XP they should get (especially arguing for XP and earned wealth over fast forwarded down time) but who argued over XP from missed sessions essentially laying claim to earned intellectual XP for ideas that other people/characters wouldn't have had without their character existing.

 

[Iry]

I can only remember one, in a game where I was a player, who not only wasted a good chunk of everyone else's weekly game time arguing over how much XP they should get (especially arguing for XP and earned wealth over fast forwarded down time) but who argued over XP from missed sessions essentially laying claim to earned intellectual XP for ideas that other people/characters wouldn't have had without their character existing.

You bring up another awesome advantage to using milestones instead of XP -- it is incredibly nice having almost nobody argue about XP.

Hilariously, I went to hang out with a friend two weeks ago and he was doing the different XP thing. And sure enough people were arguing about XP -- some wanted more, some wondered why another player had more than them, some legit had less for story reasons, some had less because they forgot to write down how much they had. It was such a mess.

 

[S'mon]

Of course I disagree with it. If a player is absent then he either had something very important to do (and should not be punished) or he has an attendance problem and you should have a conversation with that player outside of the game. I simply do not believe in using XP as a punishment for undesired behavior.

The real punishment for not playing is not getting to hang out with your friends and have a fun night of D&D.

I play at a public Meetup, most of my campaigns are open-style, and players often have
other things to do - I don't get angry with players who miss sessions, or 'punish' them.
I don't punish or reward *players*. Player Characters get rewards for their achievements.

 

[S'mon]

You bring up another awesome advantage to using milestones instead of XP -- it is incredibly nice having almost nobody argue about XP.

No one I know argues over XP. I guess I have more mature players
(including my 8 year old).

 

[S'mon]

Just looking at my group of friends, we started out with 4 players; next session we had someone new join, but one player missed out that session; 3rd session, everyone was there; 4th session, one player was sick and couldn't make it. At the end of the adventure, the experience was divided 5 ways and every player gained an equal number of experience points whether or not they were able to attend all sessions. Last session, I was a player, instead of DM, so I brought in a PC with the same number of experience points/level as everyone else. Once this quest is done and I rotate with the DM, his PC will be brought in with the same xp total as the rest of the party. It keeps things even, our group doesn't need PCs to have different xp scores or levels and it makes the game more enjoyable for us to have each PC on an equal footing.

I do this in my 4e and (finished) Pathfinder games. Works fine, as long as the GM tracks the party XP tally - IME with a single XP tally players get lazy and forget to track it, so GM has to.

 

[Halivar]

I do this in my 4e and (finished) Pathfinder games. Works fine, as long as the GM tracks the party XP tally - IME with a single XP tally players get lazy and forget to track it, so GM has to.

Since we have a few players who want to believe that they have not yet added their new levels and hit points (and thus wind up with an obscene amount eventually), every player keeps a log-sheet where they mark down the date, the xp given, and the hp rolled at level. Keeps honest people honest. No one complains about having to fill it out, and most people are thankful not to have to rely on their memory.