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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 6759005" data-attributes="member: 1210">I just need to point out that characterizing not awarding xp for things you didn't do as 'punishment' is one of the big divides here. You see withholding xp as a punishment, whereas I (and I suspect Lanefan, and others) see awarding xp as a reward. From one perspective, everyone is entitled to the same xp; from the other, nobody is, and it must be earned actively. As usual, this divide boils down to a difference in playstyles. Neither is objectively right or wrong, but one might be wrong or right for a given group.Well, partially, but encouraging certain behaviors is exactly what xp does. Players are far more likely to do things that get xp rewards. They tend to look for ways to get more xp, whether by fighting bigger, badder monsters in a system where xp come from monsters, by accumulating treasure in an xp-for-gp system, by working towards completing the story or plot they're running through in a system that awards xp for advancing the story, etc. I'd say that (for those of us using xp) it's well worth looking at what activities provide xp, and if we want to encourage a certain playstyle, to bear in mind that xp are a great tool for motivating players toward that playstyle. Skipping xp and awarding levels at milestones falls under the same principle; it's pushing the players to follow the story or hit those milestones (whatever they might be).</blockquote>