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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ozmar" data-source="post: 1491091" data-attributes="member: 8021">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!  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f615.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":confused:" title="Confused    :confused:"  data-smilie="5"data-shortname=":confused:" />  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!  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" /> 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 XP1/1        5002/1        5003/2        10004/2        10005/3        15006/3        15007/4        10008/4        10009/4        100010/4        1000An 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 XPEstablishing personal bonds of friendship with other PCs = 50 XPRoleplaying your character in an engaging and entertaining manner = 30 XPDefeating the imp = 40 XPUncovering the plot to kill Mundon Glimmerheart = 80 XPDiscovering the unusually large kobold in the freak show = 20 XPTotal Potential XP = 700I 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  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60e.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:"  data-smilie="6"data-shortname=":cool:" /></blockquote>

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