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<blockquote data-quote="Rune" data-source="post: 5768790" data-attributes="member: 67">Lesson 3: Reduce the bookkeeping.The last lesson kind of leads into this one.&nbsp; Take a look at the rules.&nbsp; There are probably several things that jump out as tedious and time-consuming.&nbsp; Can you ditch them?&nbsp; Do they need to be replaced with something?&nbsp; How can you reduce the bookkeeping load both for you and your players?Right off the bat, I'm going to throw a proposal out here.&nbsp; Ditch the Experience Point system.&nbsp; It is cumbersome and, frankly, encourages a style of play (that is, combat-driven) that will make your life more difficult.Some DMs simply advance PCs whenever it feels appropriate.&nbsp; If you would prefer a little more structure, however, I recommend advancing the PCs in level as they accomplish quests (say, 2 major quests, with 3 minor quests counting as a major).&nbsp; There is some degree of tweaking that you can do here, as well.&nbsp; For instance, if you want earlier levels to come quicker than later levels, you could add 1 major quest to the total needed every time a level is achieved.With this simple substitution, we eliminate the need to figure out how much XP a party earns, how to divvy it up, how many combats you need to plan for so the party can level, and how to advance the PCs if they take an approach that isn't combat.&nbsp; These things may not seem significant, but they add up, and they eat away your prep—and playing—time.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rune, post: 5768790, member: 67"] [b]Lesson 3: Reduce the bookkeeping.[/b] The last lesson kind of leads into this one. Take a look at the rules. There are probably several things that jump out as tedious and time-consuming. Can you ditch them? Do they need to be replaced with something? How can you reduce the bookkeeping load both for you and your players? Right off the bat, I'm going to throw a proposal out here. Ditch the Experience Point system. It is cumbersome and, frankly, encourages a style of play (that is, combat-driven) that will make your life more difficult. Some DMs simply advance PCs whenever it feels appropriate. If you would prefer a little more structure, however, I recommend advancing the PCs in level as they accomplish quests (say, 2 major quests, with 3 minor quests counting as a major). There is some degree of tweaking that you can do here, as well. For instance, if you want earlier levels to come quicker than later levels, you could add 1 major quest to the total needed every time a level is achieved. With this simple substitution, we eliminate the need to figure out how much XP a party earns, how to divvy it up, how many combats you need to plan for so the party can level, and how to advance the PCs if they take an approach that isn't combat. These things may not seem significant, but they add up, and they eat away your prep—and playing—time. [/QUOTE]

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