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GMing with Joy: Long Term Gamemastering
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<blockquote data-quote="Charles Dunwoody" data-source="post: 9151280" data-attributes="member: 17927"><p>I'm going to assume you're playing D&D 5E which awards XP for killing monsters. You can change this by awarding very little XP for killing monsters. This assumes the players are open to a game about more than killing monsters of course.</p><p></p><p>In TSR D&D the PCs got 1 XP for each gold piece hauled back to civilization. By comparison the XP for monsters was tiny. Random encounters were to be avoided, sneaking around was a good idea, and creative problem solving was the norm because coins weighed so much.</p><p></p><p>You don't have to play TSR D&D to get this option, though. Award XP for whatever you do want the PCs to be doing in the game or whatever goals they set for their characters. Do they want to free prisoners? Award each PC 50 XP per prisoner brought back home. Explore? Give them 100 XP for a new hex entered, another 100 for making peaceful contact with strangers, and maybe 500 XP for building roads or setting up a new village. Multiply these totals at higher levels of course by comparing to current monster XP thresholds.</p><p></p><p>At the same time, and make sure you tell the players this, award only 10% of the normal value for killing monsters to balance the extra XP coming in from elsewhere.</p><p></p><p>Most players will do what the rules award them for doing. Since you're the rule maker, have the rules favor the game all of you want to play.</p><p></p><p>At the same time, attach all the world building and roleplaying to these XP goals as well. A weeping wife embracing the husband the PCs rescued. The PCs making some extra coin from that road they trailblazed and negotiated a trade deal between two connected villages. Maybe a powerful patron approaches them based on their reputation and offers them a real adventure with real rewards: glory, power, money, fame, and of course piles of XP for the daring and bold who make it home alive.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Charles Dunwoody, post: 9151280, member: 17927"] I'm going to assume you're playing D&D 5E which awards XP for killing monsters. You can change this by awarding very little XP for killing monsters. This assumes the players are open to a game about more than killing monsters of course. In TSR D&D the PCs got 1 XP for each gold piece hauled back to civilization. By comparison the XP for monsters was tiny. Random encounters were to be avoided, sneaking around was a good idea, and creative problem solving was the norm because coins weighed so much. You don't have to play TSR D&D to get this option, though. Award XP for whatever you do want the PCs to be doing in the game or whatever goals they set for their characters. Do they want to free prisoners? Award each PC 50 XP per prisoner brought back home. Explore? Give them 100 XP for a new hex entered, another 100 for making peaceful contact with strangers, and maybe 500 XP for building roads or setting up a new village. Multiply these totals at higher levels of course by comparing to current monster XP thresholds. At the same time, and make sure you tell the players this, award only 10% of the normal value for killing monsters to balance the extra XP coming in from elsewhere. Most players will do what the rules award them for doing. Since you're the rule maker, have the rules favor the game all of you want to play. At the same time, attach all the world building and roleplaying to these XP goals as well. A weeping wife embracing the husband the PCs rescued. The PCs making some extra coin from that road they trailblazed and negotiated a trade deal between two connected villages. Maybe a powerful patron approaches them based on their reputation and offers them a real adventure with real rewards: glory, power, money, fame, and of course piles of XP for the daring and bold who make it home alive. [/QUOTE]
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