In-game rewards for out-of-game activity

[MrBeens]

I'm planning to use +1 consumable item bonus tokens that stack with pretty much anything else, but not themselves. They can be applied to any d20 roll.

I'm gonna use poker chips

If someone demonstrates behaviour I want to encourage, they get one of these.

The tokens don't stack with each other, but stack with pretty much everything else. You can trade three +1 tokens in for a single +2 token. And three +2 tokens for a single +3 token.

YMMV

Edit: [MENTION=19265]Connorsrpg[/MENTION] I like your ideas, consider some of them stolen.

This is roughly what we do, although they are fixed at +2 and you can't trade up.
Given for in and out of game cool stuff.

 

[Ryujin]

I rather like the idea of giving a minimal, consumable item but if the "person" (player) has pleased the "gods" (DM), then why not give a boon?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

The one with the backstory actually has a backstory, which will let him have contacts, knowledge bonuses ert.

The one who keeps the journal has... tadaaa... the Journal! Which allow him to look up things, other have forgotten. You may allow him some more int checks to see if his character remembers important details.

 

[Scribe Ineti]

I hand out what I call 'luck points'. Spend one to get a +1 to any d20 roll; spend three to reroll any d20 roll. Players can have up to 5 at any given time, can spend as many as they want in a given round, and can donate them to other players to spend as needed.

This has encouraged my players to contribute to the game outside of the game and has encouraged them to work together during the session by pooling their resources.

 

[tyrlaan]

We use Bonus Action Points in our games as a reward, as well.

• Only the DM can grant BAPs.
• You can only spend one BAP per round.
• Bonus action points do not count toward or against the number of APs you can spend in a encounter.
• When you take an extended rest, all BAPs in excess of 2 are lost.

Also, for player birthdays, I give a token good for one milestone (+2 encounters) figuting they have reached a new milestone in life. But this may go away now that item daily's are getting modified.

Just curious how you find this affects the game. With more APs on the table, do combats feel easier for the party? Also, how often would you say you hand these out and for what? Just "extracurricular" activities or also cool things at the game table, etc?

 

[Arlough]

Just curious how you find this affects the game. With more APs on the table, do combats feel easier for the party? Also, how often would you say you hand these out and for what? Just "extracurricular" activities or also cool things at the game table, etc?

As for how this affects the game, in most cases it ended up getting used in skill challenges to roll a "recovery inturrupt/instant" for a failed roll. For example, if the Rogue tried to pick the pocket of a guard and failed miserably, the Warlord would spend an action point to roll a Bluff (distract the guard, giving a bonus to the rogue's roll after the fact and hope it is enough to make it a success) or Diplomacy (convince the guard that the rogue was just fooling around, eliminating the fail but not counting as a success).

When you had a player that managed to gain/save enough action points to use multiple ones in battle, it usually was a great cinematic act that the players remembered and talked about many sessions afterward. Like the fighter charging in and shielding a prone comrade from attacks, a cleric storm across the battlefield turning undead so he could drag a fallen companion to a place it was safe to stand, or a ranger unleashing a series of blows to push back the enemy at the front line. And, since the job of the DM is to be an entertainer, I have no problem with a character being really cool every once in a while.

As for awarding them, I would give the rewards for out of game activities, but more often I would reward them for exceptional roll play, or even particularly clever remarks that made the whole table laugh (though this was less frequent.)

Try it and see how your group handles it. If it doesn't work, you can always stop the practice.