Is D&D all about murder and pillaging?

[Raven Crowking]

You would probably get awesome experience points for that were it converted to 4th edition.

I don't play 4e; some else might do the work, though.

I actually found a DMG from 2nd edition in my library... I inherited it from somebody who quit playing /moved and couldn't transport their books. <RC clapping so loudly I can here it all the way here />

You can see the problems this book has, then.

In 2e, they attempted to create an XP system that quantified the sorts of things talked about upthread -- after all, if this is what the game is about, shouldn't it be reflected in XP totals?

The answer is: No. At least not the way 2e did it.

XP totals are one form of reward within the context of the game. Trying to make that system conform to other types of rewards was a mess.


RC

 

[billd91]

I see some incredibly hand wavy but still not presented as optional ... recommendations about granting experience for character survival and a biggy===> Story Goals!!!! and a separate sounding one for "completing the adventure" which may be an amalgom of character survival and completing story goals ...

What did the premaid 2e adventures include about "story goals" I wonder? Did they already have saving the village gives you X experience points?

Al-Qadim adventures made substantial use of story awards. A very quick flip through the first random 4 I grabbed had story awards in 3 of them.

Honestly this looks like uber amounts of work... and much of it is not clear... 2 people could walk away granting anything from 1 to 4 times the experience points as each other.

I don't see much wrong with that. Different groups of players prefer different paces of campaigns. I think it's a good thing to give the DM a throttle on advancement.

 

[Truth Seeker]

This is not impossible...I have been moving away from that for the last decade or more.

The problem is...not everyone is willing to change that format. And go into a different means of giving 'awards', but...I have witness for myself in the last few years. Some folks are making the effort to advance past the kill/loot ladder.

A small blossoming...

Not impossible to do, just harder to do. When the game is not about loot, it takes more effort on behalf of the GM to make the game and combat interesting for the players. It also takes more effort from the players to become engaged in the story and game world in which the combat takes place. The rewards for the combat nature of the game (apart from being fun in and of itself) arises from the story "rewards" and not the loot "rewards".

 

[Garthanos]

You can see the problems this book has, then.

In 2e, they attempted to create an XP system that quantified the sorts of things talked about upthread -- after all, if this is what the game is about, shouldn't it be reflected in XP totals?

And I answer yes it should... and I will say that that I see good ideas in need of a focused cleaner implementation.

A bit of brilliance: DM taking cues from players regarding there characters personal goals and using these as a basis for determining story goal experience awards these could be used in unison with the goals implied directly by the setting or published adventure.

 

[Garthanos]

Al-Qadim adventures made substantial use of story awards. A very quick flip through the first random 4 I grabbed had story awards in 3 of them.

That is pretty good...

I don't see much wrong with that. Different groups of players prefer different paces of campaigns. I think it's a good thing to give the DM a throttle on advancement.

If the variation is due to DM choice that is one thing and I agree.... if it is because the intent is vague and the lack of clarity or difficulty of use results in elements being dropped or ignored. I am thinking it is not so good.