How best to remove XP costs?

[DreadArchon]

Has anybody come up with a decent variant for dealing with XP costs in a campaign that doesn't use XP?

I don't want to (1) get rid of XP costs or (2) replace them with gold costs. I'm thinking of giving characters a "spendable XP" budget per level, similar to Crafting Points (but not limited to crafting, of course), but I'm not sure how best to determine the amount.

Ideas?

 

[Nifft]

Piratecat had a neat system posted around here which involved using Action Points instead of XP -- thus, it's still a limited resource which could help you out in combat or you could use it to make magic items.

I'll do a search if no-one posts it soon.

Cheers, -- N

 

[DreadArchon]

Piratecat had a neat system posted around here which involved using Action Points instead of XP -- thus, it's still a limited resource which could help you out in combat or you could use it to make magic items.

Thought of that, but I'd rather my PC's used their action points as action points. (They could still use them in crafting, but not as the base of the system.) Also, the wide range of XP costs compared to the limited availability of AP's bothers me.

(Still, I'd read the thread...)

 

[Piratecat]

Nifft, thanks for the reference! The system is here.

DA, out of the action points that the PCs gain each level (5+1/2 lvl), the 5 must be used as action points. The remainder can be used either way. I had the same concern, and wanted to make sure that even the item crafters had points that they could just blow doing cool stuff.

Also, because each AP converts into 1000 xp and a player tracks any they have left over after the spell, there's no waste. We've used it for about a year now with high (19-22) lvl characters, and the system is really working well for us.

 

[DreadArchon]

Also, because each AP converts into 1000 xp and a player tracks any they have left over after the spell, there's no waste. We've used it for about a year now with high (19-22) lvl characters, and the system is really working well for us.

Ah, devil's in the details, ain't it cutter? I never thought of that.

That's quite awesome and I have every intention of using it just like that. Thanks bunches.

 

[robberbaron]

Interestingly, we've had a discussion on doing almost the opposite - allowing PCs to buy off the need for expensive material components with XP.
Specific example: a PC Cleric desperately wants to Raise a dead comrade but hasn't got 5000GP of diamonds handy. He can burn XP to cast the spell - either 1 per 5 gp or 1 per 10 GP.
We never got further than that and no-one has wanted to use it but I like the idea.

 

[GreatLemur]

Interestingly, we've had a discussion on doing almost the opposite - allowing PCs to buy off the need for expensive material components with XP.
Specific example: a PC Cleric desperately wants to Raise a dead comrade but hasn't got 5000GP of diamonds handy. He can burn XP to cast the spell - either 1 per 5 gp or 1 per 10 GP.

Yeah, I do kinda dig that, especially since material components never really made a hell of a lot of sense to me.

I think I'd have 1 XP equal 12.5 GP, though, simply because that's that's what XP is worth in magic item creation.

 

[der_kluge]

Artificer's Handbook has several alternatives towards XP for magic item creation.

PC's system works well.

Personally, I don't prefer the "mechanics-as-limiting-factor" to magic item creation. I prefer to limit it through play. That is, IMC, magic items are only as available as the components necessary to make them are. Most basic, run-of-the-mill stuff you can just make. You can limit that easily enough through the gp cost. I mean, having an XP as a limiting factor is not a big deal when you're spending less than 25xp per item anyway. What's the point? Players are going to run out of gold pieces before they even start to care about the XP expenditure.

My games tend to be sort of low gold, anyway. At least, I try to keep them that way. Unless the players have millions of coins, it doesn't become an issue.

NOW - at higher levels, having lots of coins becomes a reality. That's when you can start imposing restrictions on necessary components. "Oh, you need a Beholder eyestalk to create that wand of disentegration." That sort of thing. Then the amount of gold they have is irrelevent. The item becomes a quest.

I'm not advocating that you become an ass WRT to magic item creation, or your players will quickly become annoyed with you.

But it's a very easy, very practical way to limit magic item creation. It's never been a problem in my game.

 

[Quartz]

Off the top of my head...

How about simply keeping the character with the Item Creation feats half a level - or more - behind the rest of the party? Creation of items being limited by the available downtime. And casting a spell that requires XP delays their levelling up by 1-2 sessions?

 

[DreadArchon]

Off the top of my head...

How about simply keeping the character with the Item Creation feats half a level - or more - behind the rest of the party? Creation of items being limited by the available downtime. And casting a spell that requires XP delays their levelling up by 1-2 sessions?

The point was actually to avoid setting the crafters and casters back behind the party. If I didn't mind them falling behind I could just charge XP normally.