EXP for MVP

[Umbran]

When in doubt, don't make your players engage in what is likely to become a popularity contest. Feelings are likely to get hurt. And also when in doubt, the DM should not put himself in a position where it may look like he's playing favorites.

 

[Tomovasky]

Cor Azer, my goal is like you though to get those who sit more then play to get in to it a little more. You see most of my games I ran are for my younger brother and a friend for each of us. My youngest brother being 12 his friend being 11 and then the next set of brother being and friend being 18, then me and my friend are 21.
So at times the younger ones get shy so I was hoping to get the a little more exited. Also we all are fans of Knight of the diner table and they give MVP in a few of there comics, So I thought it be little tie in that they would enjoy.

 

[Lanefan]

We give awards by hidden vote at year's end for MVP, also MVC (most valuable character), and various other things. Winners get a certificate, sometimes a small trophy they can keep for a year...but no ExP. The awards are kept out of game. I think I'll stick with that.

Lanefan

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Each session I get the players to vote on who they thought was the MVP for the session. This might have been the person who saved the party's butts that week. It could have been the person that made the session more fun for everyone. It could have been that someone cracked a hilarious in-game joke. It could have been the person who roleplayed their character the best.

It's up to each player to decide their reason and I (as GM) am the only one who sees who voted for who. Each vote is worth 50 XP so in theory a player could get up to an extra 200 XP each session.

Olaf the Stout

 

[RFisher]

I often let the players decide who gets the remainder after division of the XP. The criterion they use is up to them.

 

[froggie]

XP/MVP and a tough game

I have 8 players, and I am notoriously cheap on xp (like 5-10% compared to standard). I also use geometric xp tables from the Wilderlands players guide. Advancement is every 8-10 sessions. I have the players vote for MVP and #2 MVP. MVP gets a 200 xp bonus, and 2nd gets a 100 xp bonus. Works out to about a 15-20% bonus for the session. I find it works quite well too...folks try to play as a team.

My regular xp is as follows:

CR x 100xp/players each, half if not killed, 1/4 if PCs run away, 1/2 for traps. No xp for monsters of CR <3 less than the PCs, unless "in bulk".
Each Wilderness Hex or dungeon room explored-5 xp each PC
Minor plot theme deciphered/uncovered, solving riddle/puzzle etc. 50-100 each, like finding the dungeon entrance or solving the mathmatical puzzle
Major of same--150-500 each, like killing the BEBG after several sessions, rescuing the princess, etc.
Good/Creative idea (like tactics etc. that are really smart, e.g surprise me) 25 individual xp
Good roleplay--25-100/session each.

This works out to between 500 and 1500 xp/session typically. I do not escalate for PCs being higher levels...except CR factors go up. Makes for a good 1E level of advancement, and player skill grows at the same rate as character skill...I mean these guys are good.

28 sessions later, the survivors (4/8) are 3rd level, and the rest are levels 1-2 (depending on when they died). I think they have 4 permanent magic items (a +1 ghost touch axe, an amulet of protection from petrification, a minor robe of blending, and an amulet of +2 hide/move silently). They also have accumulated several potions and scrolls. Oh, and I charge 10x the xp for magic item creation.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I have 8 players, and I am notoriously cheap on xp (like 5-10% compared to standard). I also use geometric xp tables from the Wilderlands players guide. Advancement is every 8-10 sessions. I have the players vote for MVP and #2 MVP. MVP gets a 200 xp bonus, and 2nd gets a 100 xp bonus. Works out to about a 15-20% bonus for the session. I find it works quite well too...folks try to play as a team.

My regular xp is as follows:

CR x 100xp/players each, half if not killed, 1/4 if PCs run away, 1/2 for traps. No xp for monsters of CR <3 less than the PCs, unless "in bulk".
Each Wilderness Hex or dungeon room explored-5 xp each PC
Minor plot theme deciphered/uncovered, solving riddle/puzzle etc. 50-100 each, like finding the dungeon entrance or solving the mathmatical puzzle
Major of same--150-500 each, like killing the BEBG after several sessions, rescuing the princess, etc.
Good/Creative idea (like tactics etc. that are really smart, e.g surprise me) 25 individual xp
Good roleplay--25-100/session each.

This works out to between 500 and 1500 xp/session typically. I do not escalate for PCs being higher levels...except CR factors go up. Makes for a good 1E level of advancement, and player skill grows at the same rate as character skill...I mean these guys are good.

28 sessions later, the survivors (4/8) are 3rd level, and the rest are levels 1-2 (depending on when they died). I think they have 4 permanent magic items (a +1 ghost touch axe, an amulet of protection from petrification, a minor robe of blending, and an amulet of +2 hide/move silently). They also have accumulated several potions and scrolls. Oh, and I charge 10x the xp for magic item creation.

I know you're old-school but to me that is a little too slow in advancement for me. On the other hand I find 3.x advancement to be too fast. I'm somewhere in the middle.

I also think that the more frequently you play, the slower the advancement can be. We only play once a fortnight. 28 sessions is a year's worth of gaming. If my players had only gone from 1st level to 3rd level in a year I would have a revolt on my hands!

Of course if you and your players are happy with the rate of advancement then it doesn't really matter what anybody thinks. If it works for your group rhen more power to you.

Olaf the Stout