How do you award xp ?

[I'm A Banana]

I just hand out levels, in general.

I basically waive the magic item construction XP costs and the spell XP costs...it hasn't come up enough. If it ever did, I would probably base it on level...

You're a first level spellcaster? Okay, you can make 25 scrolls before your 'xp is depleted'.

I also give bonus XP for good roleplaying, lubricating the game, making me happy as a DM, etc., too, so people who do good can end up a level ahead, if they do it consistantly and interestingly.

My PC's seem to really dig this...I level them up during prominant story moments, when it 'makes sense'.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

I award XP once every couple of sessions trying to find a (somewhat) logical place for rewarding XP. Usually when the characters return to town, take a week off, etc...

I use the CR/XP table from the DMG and calculate total XP as per the core rules. This total is divided by the number of characters, giving each character's share of the XP. This is the max amount of XP a character will receive.

A third of it is immediately awarded for monster-bashing.

Another third is used as a max for story award. All objectives accomplished? Get the full-third. Killed the princess because you didn't like the way the king treated you, made a deal with the dragon and are now it's unwitting pawns? Get the full-third. Miss the whole princess storyline, crunch the numbers to determine if you can, in fact, harm the dragon before giving up and going to the tavern and waiting for adventure to you? No story award for you.

The last third is awarded for role-playing. I try to make it a secret amount, cause nothing sucks more for both DM and player than saying, "James, you get 500 XP. Nice work. Bob, you get 0 XP.. I know you just like to bash monsters, but I'd like more than you showing up and rolling dice." (ficticious names used to protect the guilty )

Then again, I like to complicate things.

 

[Wormwood]

I adhere to the EL/CR system like it waS carved into the side of Mount Sinai in hundred foot high letters.

Never been happier.

 

[shilsen]

I essentially give levels, but I keep track of XP for purposes of magic item creation, XP-draining spell, etc. I also give bonus XP for staying in character and roleplaying. Works perfectly for me so far.

 

[Sanackranib]

XP

In my current game I give a set ammount per session reguardless of CR or the number of encounters (if any)

 

[Tonguez]

I give levels but base these on achieving 'Plot events' (eg the PCs are set out to reach the Temple of Om and on the way must get pass the 'Mean Monster' - I decide that Mean Monster will be worth 1/4 of a Level and reaching the Temple will be 1/2 level = 3/4 of a level),

I give bonus skill points as individual awards for good rp and innovative ideas,

The campaign is low magic and the only items that can be creafted are Potions and Fetishes (Scrolls) and I wave the XP as long as the PC makes a craft skill check.

More powerful items are rare and gifts from the 'gods' (NB actually more 'celestials/fiends' - if this world was your local town you'd find 'gods' working at McDonalds)...

 

[dpdx]

The few times I've DMed, I gave xp out of the book for combats, then increased one or more of those CR/EL ratings based on social factors (good roleplaying by somebody, game lube, patience with fledgling DMs, overcoming shortcomings thereof), figured the total xp, and divided equally among the PCs.

About the only situation I'd award one PC more xp than another is if somebody didn't show up. They could do a make-up session (maybe a side adventure, or something), but the award might be anywhere from 1-100 xp off (in either direction) from what the others got.

In any adventure I've played in or ran, different characters get different opportunities to shine, and so unequal xp just doesn't seem fair. I've known GMs of other systems to do the unequal distrib, and it just seems to make players jealous, suspicious and resentful ("Well, of course she got more xp - she's his GIRLFRIEND"), which can kill a game.

The other weird thing is that I have yet to see any character in a game I've been in do something to cost them xp - item creation, big spells, etc. But if they did in my game, they'd pay the full cost, cause I feel like we already level up before we're ready, even when I DM.

I ran players at 1st level through The Burning Plague, and they'd leveled up to 2nd at the end of the adventure. As a result, I'd actually welcome a diminished xp award as a player, as long as everyone else got the same. I'd feel like I had more time to get into my character, and feel better about my ability to play him at the level I was at.

 

[ForceUser]

I give full XP for defeating monsters, plus small roleplay and story awards, after each session.

 

[Celtavian]

Re

I use CR, sometimes modified for situational difficulty. I give story awards, and I give roleplaying awards. I give xp when I as a DM determines an encounter is over.

 

[Fenes 2]

Firstly 'exotic components' means that the facility to create magic items will lie in your hands as DM. Depending on how you handle it, it would esnure that no item is ever created that you don't specifically approve of.

Secondly, if the Item Crafters are oblged to craft for the rest of the party, that's likely to serve as a big disincentive. That is unless the acquisition of components and the time needed to craft items are just handwaved away.

Ummm... I would never DM a game where I could not veto an item, so whatever rules we use the facility to create items would still lie in my hands as a DM. As a matter of fact, if I found something unbalancing in my game, no matter if it was a feat, skill combo, item, spell or (Prestige)Class, I alter or ban it.

As far as the second point is considered, the acquisition of exotic components will result in an adventure itself, which the whole group can participate in, so I fail to see how that is a disincentive to craft magic items for others. The time needed may be adjusted.