Awarding XP

[LostSoul]

Except is was a cool role playing moment theat the player finalkly got to see this flaw really come into action with. I've found that people that give characters flaws like to see them in action.

It was a cool role-playing moment, and I'm sure the player loved using his flaw, getting a chance to explore his character. I'm just trying to point out that the player may not have expected less XP because of it. That could lead to problems.

I agree, the numbers are probably small enough so as to be insignificant when it comes to levelling up - the PC might be a session or three behind the others after playing this way throughout 10 levels or so.

However, when the DM hands out XP at the end of the session, it's not fun to hear that you got less XP than the rest.

 

[Glyfair]

W I'm just saying that he (or she) shouldn't be surprised if that player suddenly gets over his fear of water, or if it never comes up again. (Since there isn't as much reward for playing that type of character.)

However, what would have happened if this situation happened slightly differently? For example, a wandering monster encountered only his character, because he was left behind. If the defeated the monster he could easily get a lot more experience, since he wouldn't have to share his experience.

 

[Baramay]

One reason I think you are getting varied responses, is that some DM's fudge rolls to keep characters alive (this is well within their right.) This leads to players being more ready to jump into a fight. This also skews your experience award.

In the current campaign I am involved in, our characters are helping a friend (another PC) protect his bar. One night he is told a gang that is trying to destroy his bar is outside. He has his first level guards move to all of the exits as well as checking the upstairs. He works to calm his staff and patrons. He further stays in position to support his guards if there is a flanking attack. The other PCs go outside, talk, are blasted by a fireball and emerge victorious. The tavern owner only received RP experience. It was not as much as what those that fought outside received. At the same time he was not in a position of save or die from the fireball as two henchmen were, and he did not face the risk of being put in the dead book by a critical hit from a great axe. In the end he earned more than xp, he earned respect from his staff and patrons for looking out form their interest in a difficult situation.

In our campaign good roleplaying often has more benefits than xp

 

[swrushing]

What do you guys think?

take the scene and ask yourself some basic questions about your game...

1. did you LIKE and do you PREFER that character do like he did and roleplay his flaw to the degree that he did?
2. is this gaming style you want to encourage?
3. Did the net result of "less combat Xp" but "bonus roleplay Xp" end up giving water fright boy the same Xp reward in total as the others for the encounter, more Xp reward, or less Xp reward?

If the answers to 1 and 2 are "yeah sure it was great" then the answers to 3 needs to be either "more" or at the very lkeast "the same".

if the answers to 1 and 2 are "sure, yeah, it was great" and the answer to 3 is "he got less overall for that scene" then you really gotta ask yourself "why am i actively discouraging what i consider "good play" by docking that guy Xp?"

Now, for me, I take a simpler approach. i don't give any XP for anything and simply level the bozos up every three months real time (~ every 10 sessions.)

 

[Aust Meliamne]

take the scene and ask yourself some basic questions about your game...

1. did you LIKE and do you PREFER that character do like he did and roleplay his flaw to the degree that he did?
2. is this gaming style you want to encourage?
3. Did the net result of "less combat Xp" but "bonus roleplay Xp" end up giving water fright boy the same Xp reward in total as the others for the encounter, more Xp reward, or less Xp reward?

1) Yeah, I liked the character trait. Adds depth to the character.
2) I'm not wanting to encourage or discourage any particular type of game playing. If the player is enjoying playing a certain character, that is what I want to encourage, fun/enjoyment of the game/character.
3) yes, the character did get less overall xp from the encounter. I divide my XP awards into combat and role playing chunks. This character got 0 combat xp (since he faced no risk) and his role playing award was about 40% higher than the role playing award given to the other players.

Since it's come up in some of the above posts, this character is actually higher level than the other players. When he killed the monster by himself earlier in the dungeon, he got enough XP to raise him to 2nd level before the other players. Currently, this character is still ahead in XP, but only by about 50 XP or so.

When water boy killed the creature by himself, the other players didn't get any combat XP as they were all deciding who was going to squeeze through the narrow opening first. No body went through the hole and 3 or 4 rounds later, the battle was over.