D&D General Experience Matters - The benefits of XP

[Seramus]

If the group's method for character advancement is "level up whenever the DM feels like it," which is what many people call "milestone XP" (even though it's not defined that way in the rules), what is being incentivized here? Nothing, really. Except pestering the DM periodically to level up, I suppose.

"Whenever the DM feels like it" is usually still combat, plot, or goals. Just with less transparency about how far you're progressing. Alternatively, an untransparent combat, plot, or goal based leveling system is basically "Whenever the DM feels like it."

 

[Vaalingrade]

I suppose a factor to consider is how often the characters bump. In 3e-4e-5e as designed they bump pretty much every time they sneeze, meaning you could be dealing with level-up bookkeeping every session or two; and I can see how that could become annoying. Even more so given that levelling up in the WotC editions is generally more of a production than in the TSR versions.

That's really just the lower levels of 3 and 5.

And 5's has a (bad design) reason: they've made levels 1 and 2 into secret Zero Levels that they understand very few want to spend any time in. So instead of just making the Zero levels an optional thing, they make it a thing that lasts a single session or less.

 

[Vaalingrade]

"Whenever the DM feels like it" is usually still combat, plot, or goals. Just with less transparency about how far you're progressing. Alternatively, an untransparent combat, plot, or goal based leveling system is basically "Whenever the DM feels like it."

I tend to use 'when you reach a stated plot goal or help each other reach a stated player goal'.

So the players in my Magical Girl School (looong story) level on completion of class projects or group hijinks. They've leveled via prank war they caused independent of the main plot.

 

[cbwjm]

I don't use individual xp, I use party xp so everyone advances at the same rate and any new characters come in at the same level.

I give out the usual xp for defeating enemies and traps but also include xp for certain goals, it might be a granted quest or it might be something discovered during a quest. These rewards are 5% for a minor reward, and 10% for a major reward of the xp needed to level.

For my last session, players were so close to level 7, and were closing in on the final battle that I ended up just bumping them up a level, I guess that's kind of like milestone xp but it isn't a common occurrence in the games I run.

 

[S'mon]

If they always get the same amount, in what way is it individual XP?

Different sessions, different players. My Faerun Adventures alone has 3 main PC groups. Players move between groups, they miss sessions. PCs die or are retired, new PCs come in at half the level of the highest level PC.

More specifics at 5e Campaigns & PC Groups

 

[S'mon]

if a player misses a session but that player's character is active, it'll get xp as normal.

I prefer absent player = absent PC, but if they want another player to play their PC I allow it, and they earn XP (and can die) as normal in that case.

 

[S'mon]

I don't like arbitrary levels either but I do like milestones.

I'm playing a fairly sandbox game right now. The PCs get a plot hook of some kind and then go try to achieve a goal.

What's the sandbox element?

 

[iserith]

I'm sure I could, but why?

In the event your players wanted to, at least you have a means to make it satisfy your v-tude requirements.

 

[iserith]

But... I've been in D&D games where we were expected to level in midsession and it was pretty clunky and didn't allow time to really consider your choices because you're doing a lot of things at the same time. A lot of the time midsession leveling was retrained to something else next session.

The solution to that is to have the players plan out what they will do on next level-up prior to the session.

 

[iserith]

Nope, not in my experience. What is being incentivized is to stop worrying about levelling up as a primary purpose and focus on the rest of the game.

I've never met a player who didn't think about leveling up from time to time. It's part of the game.