Adjusting XP Reward for Terrain Advantages

[Camelot]

I was just flipping through my new Plane Below, when I came across an encounter that had a skewed XP reward (p. 90, and another on p. 92). It was higher than it should have been given the monsters that it pit against the characters. What gives? According to the blurb right below the encounter level, "The experience reward is adjusted for terrain advantageous to the [monsters]."

It makes sense and I want to be able to do that in my custom encounters, too. Terrain that helps the monsters and hinders the characters makes it more exciting, but also more difficult, and I want to be able to represent that with XP. If the terrain helps the characters only, then I want to be able to lessen the XP since it was easier than it would have been had there been no special terrain. I've thought about this before, but have just been ignoring it. Now that the beach mages have done it, though, I know it can be done!

The only problem is, that it doesn't say how they figured out how much to add! In the 9th level encounter, they added 300 XP, a number that has no relation to typical 9th level XP rewards. Then in the second encounter, also 9th level, they only add 200! How do they come up with these numbers? Is there something I missed?

 

[jester_gl]

To come up with an adjustment in the xp value of an encounter, I would probably compare with traps from the DMG. 300 is a level 7 trap, 200 a level 5 trap. I don't have the Plane Below, but I guess that the advantage to the monster could probably be compared to an equivalent controlling trap effect.

Another way to increase the value of an encounter would be to include a skill challenge. For example, some of the monster are at the top of a cliff and the PC need to climb up there while dodging falling boulder and whatnot. The end result is a terrain feature that gives a set xp value related to the complexity of the skill challenge.

 

[Jhaelen]

Yup, I noticed that, too. It's too bad it's not yet part of the 4e ruleset. Several of the encounters in official modules are vastly more dangerous because of the terrain being carefully tailored to favor the enemies. Yet for none of them the xp have ever been adjusted so far.

I think often you could treat them like a hazard of an appropriate level. But it's difficult to come up with a hard and fast rule because of the wildly different effects terrain can have.