Alternate XP / Adavancement methods

[Mark1733]

keeping up with organic nature of my campaign party, doling out XP while
not difficult mskes advancement feel too slow. Does anyone see a problem with simply advancing the party the first few levels with each with the conclusion of each "chapter" of the adventure module. Or base the split of XP on number if sessions attended.

are there other XP AWARD methods have worked as well?

 

[Ahnehnois]

There's always the "level up whenever it feels right" approach (end of chapter, if that's what feels right). To my way of thinking, you'd have to have a reason not to do that.

 

[Cadence]

I've played in and run lots of campaigns over the years that have just given out the amount of XP that feels right after each session and each chapter ending and no one has every griped (about the XP anyway).

 

[Kinak]

Yeah, just advance people whenever you feel it's appropriate in the story. One caveat comes in with 3rd Edition's XP costs for stuff... which I'd suggest houseruling away one way or another.

Personally, my group likes XP, so I give it to them. If they're lagging behind, it just means I get to give out generous story awards when they hit milestones.

Also, in many editions, people get XP for bypassing an encounter just like beating it. So talking your way past the guards is XP-per-XP equivalent to fighting through. That's important, especially if you don't want to encourage the game being a combat-fest.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

If you don't want to keep detailed track of XP, advancing levels when it feels right is a great alternative.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Yeah, just advance people whenever you feel it's appropriate in the story. One caveat comes in with 3rd Edition's XP costs for stuff... which I'd suggest houseruling away one way or another.

I'd just eliminate those completely. Between the time, the money, and the character resources required to craft items there are plenty of limitations. The spells I'd add in some cost, either monetary the way PF did or something more interesting.

 

[Kinak]

I'd just eliminate those completely. Between the time, the money, and the character resources required to craft items there are plenty of limitations. The spells I'd add in some cost, either monetary the way PF did or something more interesting.

Yeah, agreed. I usually go for something epic-sounding and tied into the setting in place of XP, like ground dragon bone or what have you.

But Pathfinder's solution is way better than XP, even if you're still using XP for leveling in your game.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[Mark1733]

Thanks for validating me on this one, and thanks for the other directions I can consider going. I will end this thread, but please look to the other thread I will be posting related to this one regarding the use of XP.

 

[Li Shenron]

keeping up with organic nature of my campaign party, doling out XP while
not difficult mskes advancement feel too slow. Does anyone see a problem with simply advancing the party the first few levels with each with the conclusion of each "chapter" of the adventure module. Or base the split of XP on number if sessions attended.

are there other XP AWARD methods have worked as well?

I also don't see any problem with your idea (which I'd call "story-driven XP"), just go for it!

There are countless of methods and variations thereof for awarding XP in a way that's different from combat-based or treasure-based.

For instance one totally "meta" method, is to grant XP based on when the players need, rather than the characters. With this method, the DM agrees with the players about how long they should stay at current level to get the most "fun" out of it (of course some players have most fun in levelling up...) i.e. stay at current level until they had enough time to use all the new stuff they gained, got enough chance for some tactical understanding and combo experimentation, and haven't become bored yet. Then, agree together it's time to level up to get something new to do.

Similar to story-driven XP but more complex is when instead of advancing automatically by the chapters, you bound the XP to actually solving pieces of the plot, discovering mysteries, win allies etc. This normally also includes defeating enemies of course, whether by combat or some other way.

BTW you don't have to completely phase out combat-based XP, but you can easily choose how much each source of XP should matter. For example, I player for a few years in a campaign where the DM was giving XP both for straight combat and for quests, but random encounters were worth half XP compared to combat that was related to an active quest. This house rule was meant to discourage "XP harvesting" and instead encourage focusing on your quests.