EXP - What's Your Method?

[Dark Mistress]

In our group standered practice is to base half the award on accomplishing a task(wether that be killing a dragon or helping the farmers bring in enough of a harvest to survive the winter) how much is based on how hard the task was to accomplish(based on the resources the PC's have), the other half of the xp is based on role playing. Then at the end of each session all the PC's vote on who they thought role played the best(can't vote for themselves) who ever gets the most votes gets a 10% bonus.(ties split the bonus)

The amount that is awarded is a max of 1000 xp from levels 1-5, 2000 xp from levels 6-10, and 3000 xp from levels 11+. This has the effect that characters level faster at low levels, start to slow down at midlevels and then really slow down at upper levels. We do this as a group because we feel it is easy to learn the basic of a proffesion but should take a life time to master one. We find that more realistic which we like, it also means very high level people are rare, famous and scary. (plus as a whole we as a group prefere how the game plays between 5-15 level and this helps keep the group in that range for much longer than the normal xp award system)

 

[Terraism]

I was really getting fed up with one of my players nagging me for XP, so I switched to a "flat" model -- 150 * char level XP each session. Sadly, the nagging has continued, so now I'm moving to a "big lump sum after each adventure" model.

The nagging will probably never stop, so I'll try to concentrate it such that it doesn't take up time every session.

-- N

I do something similar - 250 * character level per session, thus resulting in one level every four sessions. However, at the end of every session, the group votes on the "best roleplayer," and that person gets an extra 50 * character level. I do the same - meaning that, if everyone (myself and all the players) agree on one person being the best, they get 350 xp/level for that session. I was worried that it might breed competition - or even resentment - but I've got a good group of players, and it was their decision to do it openly as opposed to "secret vote."

 

[MonsterMash]

At the moment I'm using the CR based system for combats from the 3.5 rules, with some story awards, but I like the goal based systems so I may revise how I do things.

I use a revised chart for the levels with gaining a level taking more XP, roughly double the PHB chart, e.g. 2000 for 2nd, 6000 for 3rd, etc

 

[Ozmar]

Hi all,

I have been running a 3.0/3.5 game for the past 4 years, and I've been using the experience rules straight out of the DMG. For the first 2.5 years, we played pretty regularly (every 1-2 weeks), and the last 1.5 years we played once every month or so. The players who played from level 1 ended up at about level 35! I found the rate of XP gain to be too high. I think my players agreed. Some of them complained that they barely had time to understand their new-found abilities before they were hit with another level increase!

For my next campaign, I am planning to do something different. At first I thought I would simply cut the XP in half and see how that progresses, but then I thought I would put more planning into it and control the process more carefully. So here's what I am planning now.

I want the bulk of the campaign to play out in the 4th to 14th-16th level range. (I am not sure about the upper limits: that's hopefully a long ways off). So I would like to see them advance fairly quickly to level 3 or 4, and then spend a long time advancing slowly through the next ten levels.

I also want XP awards to encourage heroic play styles and heroic behavior. I want PCs to contribute to the game, and the XP awards should encourage that.

I am planning to map out adventures in broad strokes over the next several levels, and then determine how many adventures I want to run in a given level. For example, I have two adventures at level 1, 2 at level 2, 2 at level 3, and I think about 4 at level 4. For each adventure, I determine how much XP (on average) should be available (per character) to maintain this advancement rate. For example:

Adventure/Lvl Average XP
1/1 500
2/1 500
3/2 1000
4/2 1000
5/3 1500
6/3 1500
7/4 1000
8/4 1000
9/4 1000
10/4 1000

An adventure may play out in 1 to 3 game sessions. We meet every other week. So these first 4 levels represent (potentially) a year's worth of gaming.

For each adventure, I then break down the average XP into individual and group-based awards that the players can earn through achieving goals, overcoming challenges, advancing plots, etc... At the end of a game session, I award XP individually by writing it down and indicating what they did to earn the XP award. Thus, they know which types of activities are XP-worthy, and they can adjust their play style to earn more XP.

I know they probably won't always find all XP awards, so I make sure there are enough awards in the adventure so they can earn extra, but are likely to earn a certain minimum. For example, I want to make sure they get at least 60% of the adventure's XP, so long as they complete it at all, but they could earn up to 140% or more if they do everything. I also need to be flexible for awarding spontaneous contributions to the game.

Here's an example:

The first adventure consists of them coming together for the first time to compete in an amatuer division of a competition hosted by the Adventurer's Guild called the Challenge of Champions. They have their own reasons, and have never met each other before.

So the first adventure's XP awards might look like this:
Successfully complete a challenge in the contest = 40 XP (there are ten of them)
Win the Challenge of Champions = 80 XP
Establishing personal bonds of friendship with other PCs = 50 XP
Roleplaying your character in an engaging and entertaining manner = 30 XP
Defeating the imp = 40 XP
Uncovering the plot to kill Mundon Glimmerheart = 80 XP
Discovering the unusually large kobold in the freak show = 20 XP

Total Potential XP = 700

I actually expect they'll earn between 320 and 500 XP.

In future adventures, I plan to place a few individualized rewards. As characters develop individual goals, they'll find XP awards that map to their individual character's goals.

In this method, XP is like treasure: it is "seeded" throughout the plot of the adventure. But unlike treasure, the players don't necessarily know they've found it until the session is over. Over time, they'll learn where I tend to place XP awards and their play style will subtly adjust to compensate.

What d'ya'll think of this? Am I putting too much work into this? Perhaps...

Later!
Ozmar the Overworked DM

 

[swrushing]

I just use chronoglical real world timing. After 3 months or play (~3 session a month) you level up.

 

[Rel]

For those who asked, here is the system we use:

XP system used by Rel

First, I must note that most of the credit for this system should go to the player who runs Speaks with Stone in my current campaign. He originally designed it to replace the clunky xp system for Rolemaster and since then, he and I have both tweaked and refined it. It works like this:

First, there's a chart that looks sort of like this:

___Combat__________________________________________
___Melee___________________________________________
___Magic_____________________________________
___Creation__________________________________________
___Skills____________________________________________
___Puzzle__________________________________________
___Sacrifice__________________________________________
___Learned__________________________________________
___Character__________________________________________
___Goal__________________________________________
___Social__________________________________________

___x X

The players each have a copy of this chart for every session. As we go along they write down things that their character has done in a particular category in the big blank to the right.

At the end of the session, they give me the sheets and I "grade their papers". In doing so, I will put "tic marks" in the small blanks to the left if they have fulfilled the requirements for the category. At the bottom I total up all the marks they received and then apply a multiplier based on their current level (represented by the X in the chart above). Currently, the formula I use for the multiplier is 50+(character level x 15).

On average, I'd say the players get around 7 marks per session. If a 5th level player gets 7 marks they would get 875 experience points for the session (the multiplier for a 5th level character is 125 per the above formula).

In practice this meant that it took around 3 sessions for everyone to make 2nd level. On average, it has taken approximately one session longer to reach each of the successive levels than it did to get to 2nd (i.e. 4 more session to make 3rd, 5 more sessions to make 4th, etc.).

When I say that 7 marks is average for a session, I mean precisely that. There have been sessions where some characters only got 4 or 5 marks. And there have been some sessions where they got 10 or 11 marks. It all depends on how involved you are in the game.

Let me give a few details about how I grade the various categories.

Combat - I usually give out one mark for every "minor" combat the group takes part in and two for a "major" combat. These are rather subjective definitions but I'm comfortable with them.

Melee – I typically give out one mark per combat where the character primarily engaged in melee. This rewards the PC’s who place themselves in the most jeopardy and protect those who remain “at the rear” using magic and ranged attacks.

Magic - If a character casts at least half their normal spell allotment or uses the powers of most of their magic items, I give them a mark here. If a character goes through their whole spell selection more than once, I usually give them a second point. It has been argued that this category heavily favors the spell casters over the non spell casters but there are other categories that the spell casters are not as likely to get so that doesn't bother me. YMMV.

Creation - The characters get points here for using any craft skills to create things in the game. Sometimes I have given a point if one character in particular was the mastermind of an elaborate plan. Also, I give points here if the player contributes to the game in a material way, such as painting figures, drawing maps for areas of the campaign the characters know about or bringing extensive background material about a topic important to the game (perhaps some stuff they found about Roman architecture, ancient weaponry, mining techniques or anything else that helps bring detail and life to the campaign).

Skills - This is the category the Rogues love. If a character uses most of their skills during a session, they get credit for it here, provided they aren't already getting credit for it elsewhere.

Puzzle - This category represents the character solving a puzzle in game. It applies to elaborate traps and to unraveling the sinister plot of the evil mastermind. I should mention that I don't have that many elaborate traps in my campaign and the evil masterminds are pretty good at hiding their plots so I don't wind up handing out many points in this category.

Sacrifice - This represents heroism in the face of bad odds, putting your character at risk for innocents or helpless party members or giving up something for the greater good. This is one category in which the fighter types tend to outperform the spell casters.

Learned - This category reflects new information that the party has uncovered that is of general interest or specific importance to the plot. This is one that they get credit for almost every session.

Character - This is another point they should be getting every session because it reflects how they portray the personality of their character. Exhibiting the quirks, flaws and peculiarities of your character will always get you a point here. If you have a session where the quintessential personality of your character is captured in almost every scene, you'll get two points here.

Goal - Characters get points here for accomplishing major party goals as well as minor goals the character sets for themselves. I have the players tell me their goals in advance (or else they don't get credit for them) which gives me an indicator as to which way the campaign will likely be headed.

Social - They get credit mostly for interacting with NPC's in meaningful ways. I don't usually give credit for interactions within the party but I sometimes will if one of the characters shares a story or other details from their background that the other party members didn't already know.


I've said it before and I'll say it again: This system may not work for everyone! But I think it has several things going for it that work really well for me and the group I game with.

First, I never have to use the CR system in the DMG to figure out xp. I don't have to crack a book while I'm giving out experience because everything I need is on their sheet or in my head.

Second, it rewards the players for doing things besides combat. If some kind of encounter is important to the campaign, the players don't feel any need to rush through it to get to the combat. They know that they will be rewarded so long as what they're doing is relevant to the story, whether it be fighting monsters, conducting a diplomatic mission, celebrating the birthday of a loved one or doing espionage.

Third, it keeps the players focused on the game if they record stuff on these sheets during play. They may notice that they haven't put anything in the blank next to "Character" yet and that reminds them that they should be putting more of their character's personality into the session. If they haven't put anything in the "Goal" category yet, maybe they need to focus on what the group is trying to accomplish and not get side tracked by looting a room full of dead goblins.

Anyhow, if you have any more questions about the system, I'll be happy to answer them and you're obviously free to use it if you like.

 

[Psion]

I'm curious how many people pay close attention to ELs of opponents, average
party level, and number of characters when it's time to give experience.

I use it to eyeball encounter difficulty. But I never use CR for XP.

I use 50 xp x(average party level) per hour of play, and grant bonuses is 5% blocks for the challenge of the game, how well the players handled the challenge, meeting goals, entertaining the GM and the group, general cleverness, good RPing, etc.

 

[Epametheus]

When 3E came out, I followed the CR to XP rules fairly well, and it worked pretty well.

Our use of the CR-XP system kinda broke down when one of us ran 4 CR 20 enemies against a 16th level party; everyone literally gained a level (prize moment of the session: my bard triggered a mirror of oppposition, and it was generally agreed that my evil clone wasn't worth XP).

Since then, we've generally just handed out block XP rewards; mine usually amount to 35% to 40% of the total number of XP to reach the next level (ex. going from 9 to 10, I'd probably hand out 3500 to 4000 a session). I shoot for everyone leveling every 3 sessions.

 

[Asmor]

We just started a D20 modern game, and I'm gonna eschew the whole experience system altogether. I plan on just letting the party level up whenever I feel like ramping up the difficulty a bit (planning on every 3 sessions at first, although once they get to 5th level or so I might slow it down a bit).

 

[ST]

That's what I do, Asmor. I just hand out a level every three sessions. I do give roleplaying rewards, etc. but that's more during the actual game (bonuses to rolls, action points, etc.) so i don't really bother tracking XP by hand.