Gold and XP Farming

[shilsen]

Shilsen - no harm done

Different strokes for different folks ... but it seems we agree on something. We like the characters to WORK for their levels (however that may manifest itself according to our systems, it seems).

Actually, I'm not really seeing a place where I make the characters work for their levels. For me, as long as the players and I are having fun, the XP's effectively there to have characters advance at a rate I'm comfortable with. It really has nothing to do with what the characters do.

As you say, different strokes.

 

[Arnwyn]

OK, this isn't about computer versus table top games. It's always been an issue with D&D that the PC would come back, the XP and treasure would be decided and given out, and some character would be soem almost trivial amount of gold or XP short of what they needed. Do you allow them to resolve this without going on another full on adventure? If so, how?

I give out XP after each encounter, so the PCs don't need to go "on another full on adventure". The next encounter will do it.

Not sure about gold. What do you mean "short of what they needed"? Just borrow some cash from another party member.

 

[luke_twigger]

In our group the players no longer know their exact XP score, it's handled by the DM. Obviously the players know what level they are and sometimes the DM will give hints "you're about halfway though your level", "there's a chance you might level up tonight so think ahead what feats you might like to take", etc.

It removes some metagaming, where if players know what XP they got for a fight they can reverse engineer the CRs which sometimes provides metagame info.

It also helps avoid the syndrome of "we're 100XP short of a level, let's wander round the swamp until we get a random encounter".

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

If they are short, then they are short.

 

[barsoomcore]

XP are way too much work for me. I just tell my players when they gain a level. Likewise money. My games are rarely about acquisition of items, anyway, so it's never been an issue. If a player wants to buy something significant, we decide what's reasonable and figure it out.

I hate record-keeping. I get that equipment list management is fun for some folks, but it's not for me.

 

[painandgreed]

I was actually going to start a thread on this subject, myself, today.

I give xp by the book – no story awards, no role-playing awards, etc. Just xp for challenges overcome. (I want the PCs to do stuff, and adventure.)

Ah, see as far as serious campaigns go, I prefer story driven ones and like to get XP away from hack and slash only. Or rather, I prefer character goal driven ones and if the character just wants to hack and slash, that's all good by me, but there's usually a good deal of people in a gaming group who don't really want to have to kill orcs so they can get better at speaking German. Hurts the versimilitude. Combat only XP has been one of the design flaws I've disliked the most aboout D&D since the mid 80's.

There's a a daily XP given out. Nickel and dime stuff that is very small by normal adventuring standards, but it's more and it is also how most NPC's advance. This can also be increased by training and hiring higher level character to teach. So effectivly, I allow PCs to spend game time and possibly money for XP (not enough to raise a level unless they're willing to have years of downtime though). There's also RP XP, goal completion XP, and exploration XP. Lion share of XP still comes from killing things and taking their stuff, but there's enough otherwise that player's don't feel forced to do that if they don't want to. However, I'm still working out the bugs in how to do it in 3E.

 

[Quasqueton]

like to get XP away from hack and slash only

I didn't say I give xp only for hack and slash. I said, "xp for challenges overcome."

"Overcoming a challenge" is not always "killing something in battle". Hack and slash is one way of gaining xp, but it is not the only way.

Quasqueton

 

[KingCrab]

I would have to say no deal. I have one whiny player that would forever call me unfair and partial if I gave the level boost to someone else who was 1 xp short. I really should get rid of that guy.

 

[genshou]

I don't usually award XP for role-playing. I reward the players by continuing to run a fun game they enjoy role-playing in, and pitching in for extra stuff along with the pizza. I do award XP for overcoming challenges including social skill checks which carry a penalty for failure. Just as sneaking past a sleeping minotaur counts as overcoming the challenge, so too does finding out crucial information in town about the evil wizard, information the PCs would have a difficult time surviving the wizard's tower without.