Downtime Based XP?

[JoeGKushner]

Has anyone done a detailed system for catching characters up who've been retired or out of play?

For example, the Black Company novels, and the Berserk Manga/Anime, have huge downperiods of time where the characters grow, gain knowledge, find out new quests. I like this as it makes sense that characters aren't always dungeon diving, hunting down stuff actively ,etc...., but have no idea on what would make a good experience point table for it.

The old Runequest Cities had a catch up table, but that really doesnt' cover XP.

The book Experts by Skrimish Publishing has one based on skill level and time, but might not fit active adventuerers.

Any ideas or resources?

 

[DaveMage]

You could always have a simple pattern. For example, characters gain 1,000 xp per year just by living their lives (training, studying, etc.). Now, I wouldn't apply this to NPCs, but for heroes, it seems reasonable.

If they were at the beginning of level 5 when you started, it would take 5 years to gain a level, but of course, we learn more by doing rather than studying about something.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Not that you'd glorify it with a term like "detailed system", but I had a simple rule to allow for this:

to whit, characters who were not involved in adventures (or who spent any time in "downtime") could pay for research and/or training. In my economy 100gp could be used to purchase 100xp... however, the maximum amount that could be spent on training was 100gp per week. This was significant and useful for low level characters while not affecting high level characters too much.

I've not used this for 3e+, and with the lower xp targets per level it might need some adjustment (although considering how many xps adventurers can earn in a week that might not be an issue!)

Considering that a years training from scratch (5200xp, for 5200gp - possible for a prince, say) a character could go from 1st to 3rd level. In the next year he could reach 5th level, and the relative rewards decrease in significance after that. It would take nine years continuous training and research to reach 10th level, twenty one years to reach 15th level and so on.

Picking a suitable fraction of the 100xp per week limit would adjust this to your hearts content.

Cheers

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Depends on the circumstance...

If the character was "retired", as in not actively adventuring, than the most the character would get would be Expert or some such to represent their activities during the time that has passed.

If the character was simply "out of game", as in the Player was out of town or was playing another character, but still adventuing, then some additional back story is developed to bring him 1 Level below the average party level for smoother assimilation.

 

[Matafuego]

I have now a player that is "waiting" for seven years (until another PC shows up, he's 8 now and will begin playing by the time he reaches 15 and leaves the monastery)
He's a 14th level character and he constantly complains about not gaining any XP during this seven years (he's researching spells, training, performing church duties, building himself a house and all sorts of things but not gaining any XP)
I did not want to give him XP for free but I think that given he constantly trains he should get something, so I think yours is a great question
Sorry I don't have an answer for it

 

[JoeGKushner]

One thing I have thought about on the side is little benefits like those found in the various Path of books where the character spends experience points to earn abilities.

I figure the character isn't going up a level, gains 'phantom' expeirence, and has something to show for it in the meanwhile.

Haven't put the idea into play yet, but it's sitting at the back of my mind.

Another though is no experience points for items crafted during that time up to a certain limit. Wouldn't want the players to abuse that rule. Could be just that the player's are hunting down power components or that they are resting and recuperating afterwards to limit the drain.

 

[Dogbrain]

One thing that works very well is "breathing experience". Every being capable of gaining experience gets it. Here is how to do it:

Decide just what level you want "Joe Nobody the Expert, Fred Nobody the Peasant, and Irving Nobody the Adept", all from the Village of Nowhere, to be if they manage to live to the ripe old age of 60. Nothing exciting happens out in Nowhere, except for the occassional famine or plague that keeps most people from ever reaching the age of 60.

Divide the XP for that level by the number of days in 60 years. That many XP is handed out per day to people who live very dull lives.

Then, just set up some multiplier categories due to greater "excitement" and apply as appropriate. Likewise, the more "excitement" in an area, the more likely they'd have to have spent time actively defending themselves. Don't be too mechanistic. I use it for NPCs a great deal. Players simply come to expect that the folks who live in some frontier village will be tough as nails and those who live in the comfortable lands to be weak as water. Once they get used to it, you can have a lot of fun. Let the PCs run into a crochety old coot who gives them a real hard time. Just before they're going to lay down some smack on him, let them find out that the old man spent 30 years as a stonemason "On The Wall" ("The Wall" being the Toughest Place on the Frontier (TM)) and is one of the few people to have ever survived long enough to retire with a pension...

 

[DiFier]

You could always have the player write up what the charachter was doing in the downtime. then give them XP for the stories. also give XP for art and such as some people aren't as good at writing.

 

[Nightfall]

It's pretty random overall how I do updating old characters and/or characters that haven been played in a while.

 

[hong]

Insert terrible XP-downtime-vs-Linux-downtime joke here.