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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 4794508" data-attributes="member: 7635">Ok, here is the scenario.I was working on a place in my world where spirits of the fallen (soliders from a forgotten war) arise each night to do battle. Even when slain, they arise again the next night. They are hostile to anyone who comes near them, and will attack living foes along with their undying rivals. For rules, I was considering making them minions that arise again the next night unless they take radiant damage (which destroys them utterly). But then something in my brain flagged up and said..."Why use radiant damage when every night they are guaranteed XP? After ten nights (assuming a level appropriate encounter) they'd level. After a while, it wouldn't be worth it, but dropping a fireball into an undead army of minions is a guaranteed 9 dead minions, and a few other area-affect spells and power later they could clear the field, rest up, and do it again the next night."(Before you say: "That's a minion/4e problem", replace "minion" with "low HD monster" and you'll see the same results). Two thoughts enter my head: the first is obvious; don't give them XP beyond the first time they defeat them. But that seems unfair; they are technically in the same amount of danger each night. The ghosts don't do less damage or have weaker ACs, they are the same ghosts in the same rough encounter levels. (Akin to if PCs slay a room full of 5 kobolds and then walk into the next room a slay 4 more, you wouldn't withhold the XP from the latter kobolds just because they slew the former). OTOH: I don't want an XP factory where each night they fight a bunch of ghosts and then go home, and viola one month later they're two-levels higher...(The same idea can be applied to portals that summon demons at regular intervals or an icky black cauldrin that spits out a goblin a night). Anyone got any good ideas to keep the concept but not create an infinite XP loop?</blockquote>

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