How do you award XP?

[blargney the second]

In the 3.5 game that I DM, the PCs level up when it feels appropriate to the story.

In Wik's 4e game, he gives us XP by the book.
-blarg

 

[Lanefan]

1e-based game:

For combat, I track individual ExP by encounter based on whether a character was involved or not. For non-combat, I track some individual stuff and also give a general adventure bonus when the mission is done. I do not give ExP for treasure.

I give 'em out about every 3 or 4 sessions unless someone is close to bumping, in which case I'll give 'em out as needed.

Between variable advancement tables by class, variable levels of participation in combats/adventures, and variable times of joining/leaving the party, the characters bump at all different times.

Lanefan

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I usually give it out at the start of each session. However if some or all of the PC's are close to levelling during a session I may give out XP during a session and let them level up.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Dilldappe]

Usually at the end of a session. Sometimes in the middle of a session when some major goal has been achieved. Normaly I award flat xp, meaning everyone gets the same amount.
Assigning individual xp hasn't realy worked for me and the others so we decided to change it.
Also, I give only half xp for monsters. The rest comes from plot milestones, riddles and quest xp. The groups I DM therefore level rather slow.

 

[Jhaelen]

3e: right after an encounter (or after a quest is completed).
4e: no xp tracking, level-up when it makes sense for the story.

 

[Dausuul]

I used to use the "per session" method. With 4E, however, I've abandoned XP tracking altogether and now I just level the PCs up each time they complete an important objective.

Strange to say, 4E is the first edition where you can do this with no problems and no tweaking. In 3E, it was almost possible without tweaking, but you still had item-crafting spellcasters to worry about, not to mention level drain. Previous to 3E, of course, every class ran on its own XP track.

 

[Zinovia]

With 4E, however, I've abandoned XP tracking altogether and now I just level the PCs up each time they complete an important objective.

Strange to say, 4E is the first edition where you can do this with no problems and no tweaking. In 3E, it was almost possible without tweaking, but you still had item-crafting spellcasters to worry about, not to mention level drain. Previous to 3E, of course, every class ran on its own XP track.

This is absolutely true - 4E is the first system where you can do this without worrying about xp spent for making magic items (in 3.x), or the different progression rates of the classes (1st & 2nd).

Initially in my 4E game I tracked xp for quests, skill challenges, and encounters, and kept it all on a spreadsheet. I told the players how much xp they had at the beginning of the next session.

I started with RP bonuses just as we had in our 3.5 game, but found the same people were getting them all the time because they tended to RP more. The bonus xp didn't do much to encourage roleplaying among the group - it just created an xp disparity between the characters. (As an aside, a means of encouraging roleplaying that has worked for us so far is the use of aspects and fate points, a la SotC - but that's another topic.)

With 4E, it felt better to have the entire group level at the same time, so I dropped the RP bonuses to specific people, and instead wound up giving bonus xp to the group in general. By then, I wasn't telling the players their exact xp totals, although I was still tracking them in my spreadsheet. I told them when to level up based on the totals I had. Finally, when I found myself tweaking my bonus xp totals up or down so they would level at a good time, I realized there wasn't any point in tracking xp. Why do unnecessary bookkeeping?

We level when it seems right - about every 4-5 sessions, and when major objectives have been completed. I still use the xp values in setting the difficulty of a given encounter, but that's all. It's nice to not have to track it, and I prefer to have the group level together rather than some people eventually outleveling their companions due to differences in the way xp happens to be awarded.

 

[MortonStromgal]

At the end of a session I ask my players the following

What did you learn? 500xp
How well did you roleplay your character? 250-1250xp
Did you follow your alignment? 250xp
Did you do anything heroic? 500xp
Did you include another player? 500xp

 

[Umbran]

Well, I'm running Deadlands, and it has an entirely different model that may to be too difficult to import. So, I'll describe it.

Deadlands has a sort of action point type mechanic, called Fate Chips.

There are White, Red, and Blue chips in a pot. At the start of a session, everyone draws three chips. Extra chips can be earned for Role-playing your Hindrances (character flaws, many of which don't have mechanical impact - if your Hindrance is actually a hindrance, the GM gives you a fate chip), or just by being very clever or funny.

Chips can be spent to cancel wounds or aid die rolls. If you have any left at the end of the session, you can turn them in for Bounty Points (the system's XP - the system is of a point-buy variety).

In a D&D game using some form of Action Points, I could easily see "turn in action points at the end of the game for some number of XP".