OD&D doubts in od&d

[rossik]

so, im about to choose and read the adventure im gonna DM to my friends, and i was re-reading my old d&d book (the thin one, with the big box and the zanzer dungeon map).

im not sure how to give Xp by treasure.

lets say 4 pcs fin 200 gp.


a)they gain 200 xp each?
b) they divide 200 xp - so, 50 xp each
c) they get the amount they keep to themselves (like, player 1 keep 75, then gain 75 xp, player 2 keep 50, so he gain 50 xp and so on..)

and how about "not coin" treasure, like a ruby, or a piece of art?

 

[der_kluge]

I believe in those early systems, it was simply meant to be the amount of (gp value) of treasure acquired. So, you'd need to determine gp values of the ruby and other treasures.

I think it's then assumed that players divvy things up evenly. I don't know why they would decide to allow one player to get more than the other. Unless they have some compelling reason to do so, I guess.

In terms of magic items, however, the person receiving the item would get the XP for that item.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Treasure XP is divided amongst the PCs (so 4 PCs finding 200 gp would get 50 XP each). For gems, jewelry, etc., you divide the gold piece value of the treasure.

Some DM just divide everything equally. Some DMs give the XP based upon the actual division of treasure. Thus, if 200gp were divided equally, but one PC also got a 100gp gem, the XP awards would be 50, 50, 50, 150. When you're using the approach, PCs will usually sell gems and such to make everything evenly divisible.

 

[rossik]

I think it's then assumed that players divvy things up evenly. I don't know why they would decide to allow one player to get more than the other. Unless they have some compelling reason to do so, I guess.

.

well, i have seen more then once (and actualy done it too) a thief character find a treasure, but "declare" only 70% of it


thief looks to the pile of gold the party found (200 gp).
-hey guys, i will divide it, dont worry

(party dont know hes a thief!)


so, then u can imagine....

in this case, all party found the same amount, but the thief kept more then the others.

 

[gizmo33]

so, im about to choose and read the adventure im gonna DM to my friends, and i was re-reading my old d&d book (the thin one, with the big box and the zanzer dungeon map).

im not sure how to give Xp by treasure.

I have most of the old DnD books of the various editions but I don't recognize what rules you're talking about. A "big" box doesn't sound like ODnD to me, perhaps it's one of the basic editions. Who is the author?

 

[T. Foster]

In the edition of D&D you're talking about (as well as earlier editions of Classic D&D - Holmes, Moldvay, Mentzer) total g.p. value of all treasure recovered is divided evenly among the surviving characters regardless of how the treasure itself is divided. Non-monetary treasure (ruby, art) is counted as its equivalent value in g.p., and magic items don't give any XP. So if a party of 4 found 200 gold pieces, a ruby worth 150 g.p., a piece of art worth 50 g.p., and a magical potion, they would divide 400 XP evenly -- everybody gets 100 XP -- regardless of how the treasure itself is actually divided.

In Original D&D (1974 brown booklets) and 1E AD&D, XP for treasure goes to the character who actually keeps the treasure, so if the division of treasure is uneven, the XP reward will also be uneven. Also, magic items grant XP -- if they're sold immediately, the g.p. sale value is counted for XP, if they're kept, the item itself is worth XP (less than the sale value, usually about 1/3). So if a party of 4 found 200 gold pieces, a ruby worth 150 g.p., a piece of art worth 50 g.p. and a potion (with an XP value of 150 and a sale value of 450 g.p.) and divided up the treasure so that character A got 125 g.p., character B got 75 g.p. plus the artwork, character C got the ruby, and character D got the potion, then characters A & B would both receive 125 XP, character C 150 XP, and character D would receive 150 XP if he kept the potion, or 450 XP if he sold it immediately.

 

[T. Foster]

I have most of the old DnD books of the various editions but I don't recognize what rules you're talking about. A "big" box doesn't sound like ODnD to me, perhaps it's one of the basic editions. Who is the author?

He's talking about this set, which was released in 1991 alongside the Rules Cyclopedia and replaced the Mentzer red-box. I never owned this edition but from what I understand the rules are essentially identical to those in the Mentzer set (except that it covers levels 1-5 instead of 1-3).

 

[rossik]

sorry for the mess, guys!

am i calling my box wrongly as "od&d"?
should i rfer to it as "basic d&d" or something?
(and yeah, im talking about that one in the link..ehehe...tks for that!)

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

sorry for the mess, guys!

am i calling my box wrongly as "od&d"?
should i rfer to it as "basic d&d" or something?

There's no "official" designations, but typically, these terms are used:

OD&D = the original three brown books + supplements
Holmes = the "blue book" basic set edited by Holmes.
B/X = the basic and expert sets edited by Moldvay/Cook/Marsh (Erol Otus art)
BECM or BECMI = basic, expert, companion, masters, and immortals set (edited by Frank Menzter) with Elmore cover art.
RC = Rules Cyclopedia. Basically BECM compiled, but with a few minor differences.

I haven't seen a designation for your set, but it's probably based on the Mentzer sets. The term "Classic D&D" is commonly used for all of these (although I personally tend to think of OD&D and Holmes as separate).

 

[Hypersmurf]

thief looks to the pile of gold the party found (200 gp).
-hey guys, i will divide it, dont worry

In our case, it was Piratecat's elf.

We found 80gp?

"No problem. Here's 10 for you, 10 for you, 10 for you, 10 for you, 10 for you, and we'll put 10 in a party fund for emergencies."

6 PCs plus the party fund, and the elf always managed to divide everything nicely by 8...

-Hyp.