Do you use Xp Penalty and when ?

[DethStryke]

I have not deducted XP for anything that I can remember over many years, aside from when it's part of the game like magic item creation. I do have a few bonuses / adjustments for the following:

Player of the Week - who everyone thinks stood out in that session for whatever reason. I make each person specify why, and may veto a vote if I think it's bull crap. The people I lay with are a tight, intelligent crew though, so I don't think this will ever come up. The PotW gets a reroll, but I have done the same with a bonus to experience sized to the group level and the system involved. I think this really makes people aware of each other when they know they are going to be asked to vote.

Character Session Write-ups - I based it loosely on Old One's Faded Glory writeup system, giving a bonus multiplier for word length times level. I love character development, and I think that these write-ups foster more thought into how the character thinks and feels. Details and inner monologue come to life through these that normally are never voiced at the table. I prefer using the write-ups to get that look into their mind, as trying to pack all the details in a game really just creates too much chatter and opportunity for cross-talk / random tangents.

Absent Player - We all have lives and get sick, and it will figure that even at a bi-weekly game that someone will have something come up and not make it. That's life as an adult. However, since we only play every few weeks, I am lothe to give up a game day because one person out of six can't show up at the last minute. So anyone who is not present is run by the DM (me) as an NPC. In the player's guide that I wrote up the table rules on, I specify up front, "I will run the character as an NPC, but I will not be able to run them well. It is possible that you may die, miss personal character storyline opportunities, do stupid things and not participate correctly at key moments because of my lack of attention to your character details while running the game." The character, like any NPC that is part of the adventure group, gets a full split but only earns half of the split. So if the split is 700, that absent player gets 350 for the session. That cushions the blow and that way they don't get outpaced on the levels.

I see the absent player policy as a bonus, because they could not be invovled and not get any experience.

I used to do penalties for not having your dice, not having food, etc. but it stopped after high school because the people I played with became more mature and I try very hard not to play with deadbeats.

 

[MonkeyDragon]

I think character problems should be solved in game, and player problems should be solved out of game. I think of XP as an out of game things, since it's an abstract that doesn't really affect the players' behavior or surroundings.

On my "Rules" sheet, (gaming courtesies, basically) it states "XP is like candy. When you're good, you get more. If you're naughty, it gets taken away." Players can do all kinds of things to get bonus xp, like providing snacks, drawing or finding pictures of their characters, keeping character journals, writing backstory, good roleplaying, doing something clever, saving the party's butt in crazy situations, out-witting the dm, or answering random trivia about the world. We also vote for the best role-playing at the end of each session for a bonus. And I might hand out silly little bonuses for poeple just being funny, like 2 XP for a good joke.

I have never actually had to dock XP, but possibilities include being disruptive, being rude, arguing with the DM, preventing the game from moving forward, repeated lateness or unpreparedness, stuff like that. My current DM has a system of "crabs." He has a small plastic crab that is lobbed at offenders. We all fear the crab, yet it keeps things light, because crabs are funny. I plan to implement the crabs in my next game. I also will take away 2 XP for horrible jokes and silliness, but then, I've also been known to randomly dock 2 XP from PEOPLE for bad jokes. "Andy, that was awful. -2 XP for you. No, not your character, YOU."

I don't think it's a bad thing to dock XP for naughtiness. Usually just a warning or a simple "c'mon, guys, cool it." is enough. But sometimes there are players that get obnoxious, and don't respond to warnings, but aren't so obnoxious that you want to punt them. If they have something to lose, they straighten out.

I wouldn't ever dock XP for something a character did in game, unless the player was just being rediculous. If a character does something dumb, or out of alignment, or just bad, the world reacts to them. All consequences happen in game. On the other side, I wouldn't ever make a character suffer because a player was being irritating. I don't think it's fair for a character, and by extension, the party, to suffer for something a player does. Especially since the character's consequences are likely to last a lot longer than a player's simple loss of a few XP. An example that really drove this home for me: My DM was trying to get on with the combat, and told me to shush when I was still talking, so I finished what I was saying anyway. Ok, yeah, I needed to shush. I deserved the crab. Instead, the huge fiendish octopus attacked me with all of its arms, in an attack that I could not possibly survive. I did get reincarnated, but will be behind the group in XP for a long time, and am now in a body that not only messes with my cultural identity, but also hits me for wisdom, and I'm a druid. All because I said one more sentance than I should have. He's a good DM and I don't argue with him, but I still don't think it was entirely fair.

Anyway, that's my rant. In game consequences for in game problems, the threat of crabs for general naughtiness.

 

[Gwaihir]

We used to reduce the XP awarded for crassly out of character comments or play, or alignment violations. We were (DMS) striving for a "serious" role play environment. Now that most of that group is married off, and a few of us get together to play once a month, we are much more relaxed about such things. I give extra XP for outside the game tasks, such as journaling or backgrounds or other input, and ingame bonuses for what I consider a well role played encounter or something of the like. But penalties are a thing of the past for us...

 

[der_kluge]

I take away XP when the players magic magical items.

Your players make magical items? Wow, what kind of version of D&D are you playing, anyway?

 

[Jdvn1]

I always liked the idea (although I haven't been able to implement it) to start a bank. Whenever anyone is grossly out of character or otherwise promotes bad roleplaying or something, they put a dime or a quarter or something into the bank. The money is then used for snacks/drinks at the next game.

 

[MoonZar]

You guys gave me very nice reply to my question and i'm very glad that u helped me.

I'll build a objectif system on how to calculate xp bonus on a couple of point :

Creativity
Heroism
Roleplay
Teamworks
Alignment (Respect of you alignment)
Quest Bonus

People who play badly will simply have least bonus, instead of penalty. This a more positive way to deal with it.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

I got docked XP because my DM thought that paladins should utter war cries to their god in battle and I didn't do that. And he thought that they were closer to their deity than a cleric. We had a major discussion the next time about that. And cleared things up.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Your players make magical items? Wow, what kind of version of D&D are you playing, anyway?

D&D Blackleaf Edition. Meet me at midnight in the old cemetary... and bring beer and a blood sacrifice.

 

[IronWolf]

I do not use XP penalties in my games (unless for something detailed in the rules - level drain, certain spells, magic item creation, etc). I do give RP bonuses or other bonuses when I feel something warrants it (sometimes to the whole party, other times simply to the character who did something exceptional). I also may reduce the XP for a given encounter if I want to slow down leveling a little bit.

 

[ARandomGod]

I thought it was to discourage excessive 'dipping', at least for those who aren't human or half-elf.

But you'd soon discover that in many cases it's actually better to be non-human for multiclassing (at least, if indeed they still say that for human your highest class is considered the 'favored class'). Sometimes (oftentimes IMC's) it's better for the class you're just entering to be the favored class.