D&D 5E XP is a major weapon in the DM arsenal

[googleUser]

Edited 06/09/17 for clarification and extra content

Good day fellow gamers,

Sharing some thoughts about xp. BTW, English is not my mother language, so please forgive my poor syntax and approximative vocabulary.

Here we goes.

XP IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

Let’s be honest: every player LOVES getting xp. The more, the better. Gems and Flaming swords are great, but XP is Gold (pun intended). At some table, a little whining may even be in progress at the end of the session.

XP is a big part of D&D, but has very few story uses. So here are some ideas to change that, allowing the awarding of XP to contribute to the overall tone you're looking for in your campaign. This is totally Metagaming, as Metagaming is a thing, and don't have to be a curse use by some players to destroy the story, but could be a tool for the DMs to help telling the story a certain way.

I will not talk about any ideas already in the DMG (Milestones...), because, well....It's already in the DMG. Look it up ^^



Golden Rule: At the start of the campaign, discuss with your players how XP will be rewarded.

The way you reward XP should help the setting flows the way the DM (and players, as it's usually a group effort) intended. It's especially helpful for new players. The DM should feel free to tweak and turn the way XP is awarded, if it could help the storytelling. Here are some examples. Bear in mind that these are only examples and will only work if it fits the setting you're playing in and your gaming group.

- Exploration-style game: award XP the first time a PC meets a new type of monster. There are no requirements that he or she kill it or do anything in particular except survive. (This can potentially result in a vaguely Call of Cthulhu-like game, with veteran PCs who lots of memories of fleeing from strange and horrible, madness-inducing creatures.) (Thank you Hemlock for this amazing idea)

- Band of thieves: XP depends only of the treasures you find, and is NOT rewarded for beating encounters.

- Holy Warriors: XP for killing the Demons scorching the land (KILLING only, the Holy Flame doesn’t take demon prisoners). Half XP for the cowardly demons who flee from your wrrath, Extra XP for compensating farmers for the lost of the crops.

- Hack N Slash: You’re getting xp the usual way, disposing of enemies (killing, fleeing, badly wounded…). You avoid the fight and took the treasure because you were invisible ? No xp for you. We're here to take names and kick asses, fellows. But enjoy the spoils of your ruse

- Diplomatic & Peaceful: Combat is the last resort, a failure in itself. Half XP (or no xp) if you use violence to dispose of the encounters.

- Gladiators/XCrawl: the Crowd gives you extra XP for entertainment. You killed your enemy when you could have knocked him out and let the audience decide of its demise ? Half XP, buster.

- Honorable samurais ? No xp if they didn’t win in a fair fight. Extra XP for saving face, especially if it was dangerous. Seppuku ? Start your new character with extra XP (or extra Character Points. I'm deviating from the subject, so ^^).

- Magic University: You get a level when you pass a year. Bad grades ? Your level could be delayed until mid-year exam. Hit the books ! (currently DMing, works well)

- Soul vessels: PCs are inhabited by the Souls of Ancients Legendary Warriors. They have no class or level on their own, just the ones of the Souls inside them. They get Milestones for behaving the way their Souls did (Fighter should fight and practice with different kind of warriors, Druid interact with animals and plants, Wizard use magic or read about arcana...). (Currently DMing, works well too)


Don't be afraid to mention it as needed during game-time, as a reminder, especially during the first couple of sessions.

XP could even be mention during story time, if it could help the plot.

For instance, let’s picture a room with a BBEG in it, with its pet dragon locked in a cage and a dragon keeper nearby. DM has count half the CR (and the XP) for the dragon, considering the cage factor. The key is in the keeper’s pocket, and it will try to free the cute pet if there is trouble. Couple of things could happen: Players barge in, dragon is freed, they kill everything and get only half xp for dragon, as it was in a cage. Players dispose of the keeper and the dragon stayed in cage the whole fight, they leave it there and still get the half xp. But what if one of the player was a wannabe Dragonslayer ? After disposing of the BBEG and it’s keeper, staring at the dragon inside the cage, he’s about the kill it with his bow. There comes the DM: “if you kill it fair and square, bonus xp is coming your way.” A little insensitive to have a memorable moment is a small price to pay.


D&D is a game, and XP is a part of this game. Let’s use it with no shame, fellows.


If you find this interesting and have more ideas on how to emphasize the setting using xp, please share !


Perfidius

PS: I know this post will be old news for some of you, especially very experimented DMs. I'm not reinventing the wheel here, just sharing some thoughts

 

[jgsugden]

I don't know if others have the same experience, but I've been is a number of campaigns with a bunch of different player groups - and all of them use a benchmark experience system. The DM advances the PCs a level when they meet a certain benchmark and use XP only to help them plan the potential encounters the PCs might face between levels. It is an afterthought, not a major award element.

 

[iserith]

I don't know if others have the same experience, but I've been is a number of campaigns with a bunch of different player groups - and all of them use a benchmark experience system. The DM advances the PCs a level when they meet a certain benchmark and use XP only to help them plan the potential encounters the PCs might face between levels. It is an afterthought, not a major award element.

I use XP, but modify what gets awarded XP based on the campaign's focus. It's a good incentive to encourage players to engage with particular game elements.

Most groups I've been in for D&D 5e use experience points with the odd exception here and there, like in the Curse of Strahd game I was in where we just gained levels when the DM said so. I found this a bit less satisfying to be honest even though I eschewed XP for pretty much all of my time running D&D 4e. When the players know they have 4 hours to hoover up as much XP as they can, the pace picks up dramatically in my experience and we cover more content per session. Milestone-based games or DM fiat leveling games seem to be a lot slower in my experience. I prefer the hustle.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

For an Exploration-style game: award XP the first time a PC meets a new type of monster. There are no requirements that he or she kill it or do anything in particular except survive. (This can potentially result in a vaguely Call of Cthulhu-like game, with veteran PCs who lots of memories of fleeing from strange and horrible, madness-inducing creatures.)

You can combine that with XP-for-treasure if you like.

====================================

On the other hand, if you really want a roleplay-focused game, you could go the other direction and award XP based on metagame concerns like "sessions played." You could even just award flat levels: "we'll play one adventure every night we meet; if you complete the objective before we have to stop, you win the adventure and get the reward; otherwise you fail. Either way, you gain a level each time you complete an adventure."

The latter method is reminiscent of how advancement works in GURPS, and instead of trying to shape player behavior within the game, it just focuses on rewarding players for showing up and helping people have a good time. Might be a good choice for new or casual players who can only play once in a while.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

D&D is a game, and XP is a part of this game. Let’s use it with no shame, fellows.

D&D is a role-playing game, which means the mechanics of the game reflect how the game world works. Experience Points represent what the character has learned, in terms of adventuring skills and the ability to fight. Failing to award Experience Points for beating an encounter through violence, just because you're nominally adhering to a court-style theme for the game, would be meta-gaming - you're adjudicating the in-game reality of how the world works (how characters gain skill and become better at fighting), based on factors which are entirely external to the game (your choice to perceive the game as court-style rather than hack-and-slash).

Your perception of the in-game reality cannot possibly change how that in-game reality actually works. Any suggestions otherwise are fundamentally repugnant to the concept of role-playing.

 

[aco175]

I usually give XP for each encounter and a story award at the end if the objective was completed. An encounter may be combat or sneaking around the same monster, or even diplomacy with the monster (most of the time it is combat). What was those non-combat encounters in 4e, skill challenge? I still use some of this, but XP gets broken down to less and less depending on how good the results are.

 

[googleUser]

For an Exploration-style game: award XP the first time a PC meets a new type of monster. There are no requirements that he or she kill it or do anything in particular except survive. (This can potentially result in a vaguely Call of Cthulhu-like game, with veteran PCs who lots of memories of fleeing from strange and horrible, madness-inducing creatures.)

That's a great idea, thanks !

I'll add it to the list.

Perfidius

 

[googleUser]

Your perception of the in-game reality cannot possibly change how that in-game reality actually works. Any suggestions otherwise are fundamentally repugnant to the concept of role-playing.

Well, there is not point debating then. So I won't.


Perfidius,
repugnant to the concept of role-playing

 

[googleUser]

I purposely didn't mention Milestones and such, as these options are already explained in details in the DMG



Perfidius

 

[Andor]

D&D is a role-playing game, which means the mechanics of the game reflect how the game world works. Experience Points represent what the character has learned, in terms of adventuring skills and the ability to fight. Failing to award Experience Points for beating an encounter through violence, just because you're nominally adhering to a court-style theme for the game, would be meta-gaming - you're adjudicating the in-game reality of how the world works (how characters gain skill and become better at fighting), based on factors which are entirely external to the game (your choice to perceive the game as court-style rather than hack-and-slash).

The in game reality is that modeled by the rules. The rules are those agree upon at the table, and the XP awards are well within the GMs purview to alter to fit the tone of the game. In a Bushido style game where the XP awards are only granted for a fair victory then a Samurai's honor literally prevents him from learning from an unfair victory. Indeed similar rules are quite common in games with a focus on martial honor.

In point of fact XP is a meta-game concept and is entirely external to the reality of the game world with the sole exception of Magic Item crafting under the 3e system. Furthermore standard rules for XP commonly address gameplay style concerns which is why you can't level up by the skeleton in a box trick.