D&D 5E How Do You Reward Attendance and Participation?

[DEFCON 1]

The concern is that I'm getting ready to run an AP, and I don't want characters to have to level grind to get to the appropriate level for the game.

You could always just use XP for monsters/encounters plus a "story bonus" for those who attended that night. The "story bonus" amount would be contingent on the pacing you want for your AP. So if you suspect the group will finish a section in two more sessions and the monster/encounter XP they could earn will put them 2000 XP short... then you reward the players who are there an additional 1000 XP story bonus on top of the encounter XP.

 

[werecorpse]

I would advise against using levels or xp that can feel like a punishment.

Attending the game should be reward in and of itself, cos its fun. Plus if you need in game stuff use treasure: those who were in attendance when the party rescued the merchants son get a potion of flying each. Etc Better yet weak but permanent items like a crystal that acts as a healing potion and renews on the full moon. You will never hear the end of it from those that didn’t attend.

As for participation that’s a lot harder. I give out possible hooks to players all the time and the same people take them up and the same ones ignore them. That’s about all that you can do. Some people play as if they are the audience between combats, that’s what they like to do, they enjoy watching not doing. That’s fine. As long as they are not getting in the way keep offering them opportunity but be prepared to have it ignored.

I have a player like this in my main group who I have played with for over 30 years. He has about 99% attendance and is fine in combats or problem solving but never legitimately interacts with NPCs. At one point after a game he complained that he didn’t get enough roleplaying opportunities, he said if his paladin character had a squire that would be awesome and that somehow then he would be able to roleplay. I said I didn’t understand why not having a squire prevented him from roleplaying but that if he wanted to have one I would allow it he could just recruit one. A couple of sessions later he had done nothing so in the next adventure they were at a forest gnome settlement and rescued a young almost adult forest gnome that I said was quite skilled in combat for his age. I roleplayed him approaching the paladin and saying that he was interested in the Paladins faith (Ehlonna - forest deity) and he would like to seek the hero’s guidance as to how to possibly become a paladin. The player told me that he tells him that being a Paladin was a tough job and maybe he should try something else and then said to me “right we leave this settlement and head back to the city, I need to buy some more healing potions”.

As DM all you can do is give opportunity. You can take a horse to water, even bring them a bucket, but you can’t make them drink.

 

[Jd Smith1]

The reward is in the fun in playing the game. The only thing the same is the level, everything that happens in game is not the same. Players that don't attend miss out on the experience and that experience could be moving along player and campaign goals or it could be acquisition of items. I've long since passed the point where I think that granting XP only to players who make it on game night, thereby creating a level imbalance, is a good reward for attendance.

Ah, the fun in playing the game. That's not how I (or my players) learned to play games. The coach always said, the only time the game is fun is when it's over and you've won.

I don't care about level imbalance. Everyone starts at level 1, and everyone gets out what they put in, so the levels never line up. Some people are just better than others in the game.

 

[Oofta]

Ah, the fun in playing the game. That's not how I (or my players) learned to play games. The coach always said, the only time the game is fun is when it's over and you've won.

I don't care about level imbalance. Everyone starts at level 1, and everyone gets out what they put in, so the levels never line up. Some people are just better than others in the game.

You can win an RPG?

 

[Tony Vargas]

I have been using milestone XP for several years now, which (I feel) has at least partially contributed to apathy from several players. (Why bother making an effort to come if you get all the character rewards anyway?) Also, it's made players want to rush through content, avoid side quests and exploration, roleplaying encounters, and wandering monsters.

In a game like D&D, especially one as DM-centric as 5e, there's more to player rewards than just XP and advancing along the predestined progression of your class or build.
You character can be taken off those rails, for good or ill, at any time, by the DM, something as simple as an item too good to pass up - or cursed that you can't get rid of - or the campaign incentivizing different choices than you originally intended, emphasizing one pillar or type of challenge or enemy more than expected for instance. Then there's resolving actions, in 5e the DM signs off on what an action does, whether it succeeds, fails, or needs a check, essentially every time. If a player is engaged and pays attention, he's more likely to come up with actions that the DM will narrate success on.

The concern is that I'm getting ready to run an AP, and I don't want characters to have to level grind to get to the appropriate level for the game.

You can do both. You can start the game at a given level that fits the story, and provide enough opportunities for advancement to hit the right level at the right time (or a little before, or a bit late, depending on how the players behave). You can even have a hiatus between chapters in which everyone, through 'other adventures' or 'special training' or whatever jump forward to the next level you want to run. But, in the course of a given story, XP can be per session, instead of milestone.

You can win an RPG?

You can certainly lose.
Seriously, a TPK is a loss, no?
In a cooperative game, you can all win or all lose, and as long as you each contributed meaningfully, you each share in it.

I wouldn’t come back as being a trained monkey isn’t my shtick.

Better training monkeys than herding cats.

 

[Umbran]

You can win an RPG?

Yeah, the lack of a set win condition makes that a little weird.

I mean, I get the folks who are into it for the challenge. That's fine. Everyone likes to win a hard combat and all.

I'm just not sure the idea that XP as the primary motivator for showing up is a healthy attitude. You can win or lose the challenges without the XP, just as you can win or lose any individual session of a board game. But, like a session of a board game, the individual RPG session should be interesting enough to play on its own, without the XP. If it isn't, maybe there's a bit of a mismatch between the players and the GM.

 

[iserith]

The goals of play for the game are for everyone to have fun and for an exciting, memorable story to be created during play. If you achieve those goals, you "win" at D&D.

Giving experience points and other rewards for engaging in things that are fun for everyone and that lead to an exciting, memorable story makes it easier to achieve the goals of play. Players will tend to do those things if it is tied to their characters' advancement. It reinforces choices and directs the group toward fun.

What those fun, exciting, memorable things are varies by the group, campaign, and/or adventure. For some, if a player is not there helping contribute to the fun and the creation of a exciting, memorable story, he or she is not entitled to those rewards. A group which buys into that notion is accordingly also incentivized to show up.

 

[cbwjm]

Ah, the fun in playing the game. That's not how I (or my players) learned to play games. The coach always said, the only time the game is fun is when it's over and you've won.

I don't care about level imbalance. Everyone starts at level 1, and everyone gets out what they put in, so the levels never line up. Some people are just better than others in the game.

Your coach sounds like a terrible coach.

 

[generic]

Your coach sounds like a terrible coach.

That's kind of the point of sports, of which I'm not a devotee, to win. Sports is a team activity where you try to win, and crush the enemy team.

As a side note, I know someone who plays rugby passionately, and she does not just "enjoy the experience".

 

[Retreater]

I guess I have players who prioritize coming to the game and others who don't. I understand family, work, health obligations (obviously), but some show up late, cancel last minute, or just "forget," etc. When I brought up whether they still want to play, I get excuses, promises to change, but nothing changes.
So I suppose canning the player is the way to go?