How do you award XP?

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Up to 5th level, I just told the players when they levelled up. After 5th, I've been handing out XP, based on the encounter calculator on www.d20srd.org, mainly because I really don't want to deal with figuring everything out myself, and just concentrate on the story. I tend to throw some extra XP to the players when we have a good session or I like somehtign they have done. I never was really a big fan of XP, I'd rather see the story progress at a pace that everyone is comfortable with, rather than have it be a race to see who can earn the most XP in the shortest amount of time. My players seem to like the way I've been doing it, so everyone is happy.

 

[eris404]

I don't award xps based on CR, though I still use that as a gauge for an appropriate (combat) challenge. I also don't give out xps every session.

When I do give out xps, it is only at certain times during the campaign where it makes sense to me to do so - after an adventure is completed, for example, or when a particular goal is met. I usually award xps when the party has some down time in game and is (relatively) unthreatened and safe. Also, I tend to wait to give out xps until it is enough for the characters to level up. I like to give out xps near the end of the session so that players can use that time to update their characters, divide treasure, identify items and ask me questions.

However, if I have players in the group who are playing characters that use xps for certain abilities (such as making magic items), I will give out xps more frequently to allow them to use those abilities.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

3.5 Edition standard. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

It gives the proper amount of XP to the party so they are at the appropriate level to face the challenges in the purchased adventures I am running as the authors assume that rate of XP. I like this, it means less work thinking and creating things for me.

 

[wingsandsword]

I used to award by-the-book exp, CR & EL against total number of people in the party and their levels, and the calculations were just ridiculous. I hated having to pull out a computer just to do the experience point calculations.

I also thought the curve was set very high for progress. I run somewhat challenging games, and after only one or two sessions the by-the-book XP said PC's should be levelling. A dungeon crawl adventure I ran that I (and my players) thought was challenging and fun was almost two levels worth of XP for just two sessions of adventuring.

I hated for things to level up that fast, and so did my players. Getting nifty new powers is cool, but you are barely learning to use your older ones if you're levelling after almost every new adventure. Since higher level D&D is, frankly, much harder to run (when PC's have abilities that can sidestep entire encounters and puzzles with one spell), savoring the time at the lower levels before the game becomes more of a headache to run is also a DM's pleasure.

Then I said Forget It. I moved to strictly story-based experience. In a typical game, a character recieves 250 x Current Character Level. A character will level every 4 sessions. If they spend XP for spells or magic items, then slower, for excellent roleplaying/creative thinking/other commendable acts I'll award an extra 50 x character level XP.

The game progresses a little slower, but my players have enjoyed it. The game isn't about PC's trying to get into as many fights as possible to rack up as much experience as possible, or trying to take on big things because they'll know they can get the big XP, it has made it more about roleplaying and less about the metagame aspect of getting as much XP as possible.

As for when I actually award it? I try to at the end of a session, but the complexities of the CR/APL system were so complicated that I'd have to spend significant time after the module calculating experience, then give it out at the beginning of the next session (or email/call players and tell them).

I'm sure some of you will think it's not that complicated, but how quickly could you do experience for an encounter like:

3 7th Level PC, 2 6th Level PC's & 3 5th Level PC's vs. 4 Ogre Barbarian 1's, 20 Orc Warrior 1's, 4 Orc Fighter 1's, 1 Orc Fighter 6/Blackguard 1, 2 Half-Orc Monk 4's, and 1 Human Cleric 9 (a typical climactic encounter of an adventure). In other words, the PC's against a cult leader, his bodyguard, a pair of monastic acolytes, and a small detachment of guards.

 

[was]

I wing it using the 3.5 as a base and then adjust it somewhat.

 

[Wombat]

I eyeball how much danger and important social interaction I am putting the group through, take a bit off if I am granting them extra treasure (such as our rare magic items), and then hand out each player the same amount at the end of the adventure; all characters not on the adventure (everyone has multiple characters, but only plays 1 per session) recieves 20% of this XP, based on the notion that they are doing something else in the meantime.

There are also individual awards, given on the spot, in the form of XP, Hero Points (a la AU/AE), or special contacts.

This regulates things pretty well. I think the formulas for figuring out XP are great for new GMs, but after a while you get a feel for your parties, the speed of the game, and the rest and can pretty much wing it.

 

[mirivor]

I award each time players successfully rest their characters, should they have earned any previously. I use the CR system on the average group level basis.

 

[Haradim]

Participation "xp" + combat/encounter "xp" + roleplay "xp" + "xp" for heroics/amazing stunts/whatever else I might be inclined to award.

That's my basic system. Not all elements come into play in all campaigns/systems, and the quantities vary. Participation and roleplay xp (or whatever the game system uses for such rewards) are the only constants, and participation xp is awarded to every active character.

 

[babomb]

First, I figure the 3.5 XP (including XP for roleplaying encounters). Then I divide by a number somewhere around 10, depending on how I feel. Then I add 25 XP/level/session for participation. Then I give add a bonus for achieving goals (i.e., completing an adventure.), which varies based on how I feel about how the adventure went and the degree of success.

So, esentially, I make up a number.

I award XP either at the end of a session or when the party has significant downtime (because they can only level up during downtime).

 

[dvvega]

I am currently only running an intermittent game which is a romantic renaissance swashbuckling city based campaign so I decided to just give them a level when I felt like it (normally 2 or 3 sessions and they get a level - depending on what I feel like).

Normally I go "by the book" using the 3.5 charts so that any newer players won't be bogged down in house rules and so forth.

D