Exp. leaches?

[Vexed]

Scenario-
Two women are running away from fire giants as you come out to the edge of a forest. You take care of the giants and offer to escort the two women to the nearest town.

Dilemma-
The two women are druids 3rd level. The town is days away. Keep in mind the player’s party level is 18th. (The pcs offer to escort them because of their good alignment, not because they need/want their assistance)
They also intend to later leave the city with the PCs to find their parents who were last known to be near a mountain region that the PCs are going to investigate for different reasons... Since Cohorts, hirelings, and followers are all in some manner subservient to the PC, would the druids be classified as Allies? (They do, or I should say will risk their life in fights, use magic/skills, etc.)

The DMG says ...
Allies come in two types. 1- People who provide goods, info, and lodging. 2- People who travel with you on adventures. They differ from cohort/hireling/follower because they don't work for the PC(the second example of Allies functions as members of your party and receive treasure/xps)

Does this mean the two druids are part of the "party" now? What if you’re PC do not wish to share xp and reward with them, but they later become an integral part of the story... I realize you can (as a dm) have them show up later, etc. But the point of the post is to ascertain the xp distribution. So which do you feel is correct?

A) Yes, the people traveling with you become part of your party, period. They share your xps and gold. Regardless if they are 18th level fighter or 1 lvl commoner goat herder.

Or...

B) No, they just become some kind of sub class of follower who tags along regardless if they have anything to bring to the table or not. (They get no spoils or xps at the end of the session)

P.S.
I realize in some cases it may be beneficial to have lower level NPC part of your party to bring the party level down. Also, in some cases NPC around your level become XP leaches. But there should be a standard so this doesn't become an issue.

 

[Jeb McDonald]

or C) Do whatever you want to do with them regarding experience. Our group generally uses option C) when dealing with others who aren't PCs. Essentially, we figure out the experience for each party member excluding the hirelings/followers/cohorts/groupies and then simply assign an appropriate experience point award to the non-PCs. If, for example, the hireling is roughly equal level and does an equivalent amount of work, we include that hireling in the number of PCs when figuring out xp. In your case, I wouldn't count the druids, but I'd still give them some experience for surviving if they are hanging around with the party. I would not, however, have these 3rd level druids impact the party CR nor would I have them "take away" xp from the party members. Just give them an appropriate amount.

 

[Chimera]

I usually figure henchmen/cohorts and various lower level hangers-on as being 1/2 share of experience. After all, just think of what kind of learning experience it is for those 3rd level Druids to be involved in, or even watching, a fight between 18th level PCs and some terrible monster that would cut them to ribbons.

OTOH, I usually require some kind of participation in the battle to gain a share of the experience.

But I'm also flexible. If 20 soldiers take down 20 Orcs at the same time that the party kills a Beholder, I'm likely to split the encounter, award the soldiers only the experience for the Orcs and the party only the experience for the Beholder.

 

[Impeesa]

Can they make any sort of remotely meaningful contribution to an encounter? Given the 15 level difference, they probably couldn't do anything useful in an encounter tough enough to be worth XP for the PCs - if it happens that they do, sure, give 'em a share. If not, they're just people who happen to be nearby at all times.

--Impeesa--

 

[Hypersmurf]

XP and gold are two completely separate questions.

XP is up to the DM. If the DM feels they're contributing, he'll treat them as part of the party for XP purposes.

Gold is not up to the DM; that's an in-game issue. The party finds a thousand gold pieces. "You did good," they tell the druids. "We'll buy you a beer in the next town. Now go cook dinner while the big boys divvy up this cash amongst ourselves."

What are two third level characters going to do if the 18th levellers say "No loot for you"?

Alternatively, if the PCs decide to divide up the cash equally with the druids, even though the DM's decided to give them no XP, then what's to stop them?

-Hyp.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I think it is usually better to reward xp to the PCs for set goals, and remove NPCs from the equation entirely whenever practical. The primary reason is you do not want to reward players for bizarre metagaming, nor should you nickel & dime them for using common sense and asking for assistance when it would be appropriate.

 

[Thanee]

You could just use the rule for cohorts in 3.5, where they gain XP, but do not take away from the total.

I'd generally assume NPCs, which go with the party (unless they do not contribute at all, which in this case most likely they won't), get an equal share and thus reduce the XP gain of the PCs. They also (usually) reduce the challenge of an encounter with their presence, or not?

BTW, the party level has zero influence on how much XP every character gains in 3.5. It's just meant as a guideline to set encounter levels for the DM, which does not have to be followed either.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Scharlata]

[...] Does this mean the two druids are part of the "party" now? What if you’re PC do not wish to share xp and reward with them, but they later become an integral part of the story... [...]

Hi!

Even if the difference isn't 15 levels but merely 5 level, as a DM I've gotten into the same situation. I've decided to declare two assisting NPCs party members for sharing XP. Gold is - as Hyp just mentioned - another matter completely. Some of my PCs looked as if I patched two XP leeches to the party. Some of them accepted to have now two commoners of 2nd level around until they resume their normal life (or maybe come along with the party in the near future). The point is: XP: yes, if the assistance DID matter in a fight. Gold: in-game solution.

Kind regards

 

[Tarril Wolfeye]

The two women are druids 3rd level. Keep in mind the player’s party level is 18th.

In that case the druids will not get XP from most encounters that challenge the PCs, because the encounters will be of a too high level.
So you just have to divide the XP award for the party by the number of characters that gain any XP from that encounter and problem solved!
About the gold: That's totally in the hands of the players, as others have said.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I'd generally assume NPCs, which go with the party (unless they do not contribute at all, which in this case most likely they won't), get an equal share and thus reduce the XP gain of the PCs. They also (usually) reduce the challenge of an encounter with their presence, or not?

I have a problem with rewarding players/PCs for stupidity.

If there is a local ranger you could easily find who could lead you through the dangerous swamp for a modest price, should you award more xp for (A) getting guided past a lot of random minor challenges, picking up insightful tips from a swamp expert, and getting to the real encounters in a timely manner, or (B) disdaining help because an extra competent hand sucks up xp, getting hopelessly lost for a few days, getting distracted by lots of wandering monsters, and getting to the fun stuff much later in both in game & real time?

As I see it, the goal is crossing the dangerous swamp and that should earn xp appropriate to a competent party of their size overcoming the likely obstacles. Do not reward them extra for purposefully doing so less skillfully.