D&D 5E My D&D Next Wishlist: Bring back XP for GP!

[Olgar Shiverstone]

But nowadays, I reward with xp: Nothing. I don't grant xp based directly on player or PC behaviour, nor on anything mechanical. I tend to give level ups based on reaching adventure goals, but don't see it as a reward system, more of a pacing so that the game changes over time, and stays fresh.

I think that's an excellent way of playing the game, and should certainly be called out in the core rules as a way of managing character advancement.

Were I running a campaign at the moment, I'd probably default to this. I've run multiple campaigns tracking XP to the nth degree with multiple goals in mind; in hindsight it would have been just as effective to periodically tell the players to level up at appropriate points in the game.

 

[F700]

Heh, it's funny. When a player tries to beat the DM over the head with the rules, by selectively quoting from the books and conveniently ignoring whatever doesn't fit, he's called a bad player and a rules lawyer.

But, apparently when DM's do it, it's perfectly fine. I mean, people are selectively quoting rules at me all the while ignoring other rules. Funny how that works. And other DM's are tripping over themselves to pat each other on the back.

Never mind the massively shifting goalposts. 2000 pound golden thrones? Where did that come from? Of course, ignoring the fact that we've already KILLED EVERYTHING IN THE DUNGEON, so you can move your camp forward, why not leave it there for a while since no one else is going to be able to shift it either? Again, amateur hour dungeon crawling (I assume this is the apparent insult I've given) will give bad results.

But, like this entire thread has shown, some DM's will simply change the situation until the PC's fail. Every camp will be ambushed. Every hireling will be disloyal and steal your horses. No one will ever buy used items, regardless of quality (or maybe, oh, I dunno, the PC's casting Mending on it?). And, if any group does manage to clear these hurdles, the DM will simply invent more and more until they eventually fail.

Yeah, I stopped playing like this as a DM a long time ago. I used to be there. I followed the advice in the AD&D DMG. I don't do that anymore.

So what rules are you quoting to support your point of view.

And yes, I threw a 2000 pound throne out there as an example of a piece of treasure that would be difficult to remove from a dungeon. Would you consider a 20 pound piece of treasure an obstacle? No shifting goal post - the point all along was a piece of loot too big to easily recover.

And yes, your remarks regarding my amatuerish playing ARE insulting. I'm not offended anymore - I've since read the comments left on your profile so I see that you're regularly insulting and often have problems with people here. I think it's pretty safe to conclude based on what I've seen of your behavior that any problems you may have with the rules or DMs are more likely because of your attitude and the way you express yourself. Unfortunately, no rule system will ever be able to correct that.

Kind of a pity. Very often the level of enjoyment to be found in D&D is relative to the maturity of the players.

 

[Hussar]

Now you DM by video game logic? Trash vendors in every city which buy everything the PCs can get from monsters, no questions asked? Broken armor made for a race very different from your own? Sold! Slightly used shackles with only a little bit of rust? You can never have enough of them. A used oak table with some scratches from weapons and a few stains, likely blood? Who doesn't want something like that.

Or have you streamlined by now and invented a "sell all" ritual which directly converts everything into gold?

Where do you think video games learned it from? It's not that my game is videogamey, it's that videogames are Hussary.

Funny though how we went from weapons and armor to tables and shackles. Yup, keep shifting those goalposts.

/snip

And yes, your remarks regarding my amatuerish playing ARE insulting. I'm not offended anymore - I've since read the comments left on your profile so I see that you're regularly insulting and often have problems with people here. I think it's pretty safe to conclude based on what I've seen of your behavior that any problems you may have with the rules or DMs are more likely because of your attitude and the way you express yourself. Unfortunately, no rule system will ever be able to correct that.

Kind of a pity. Very often the level of enjoyment to be found in D&D is relative to the maturity of the players.

Ahh, the ad hominem. How I love thee. Cannot actually come up with counters to an argument? No problem, just attack the poster. Yup. Hey, you're the one taking donkeys into dungeons. That's an amateur mistake. Something you'd likely only do once because, as you rightly point out, the rules make it extremely difficult.

But, hey, as the wise man says, play what you like. There's obviously more than enough players out there who have no problems with being led around by the nose and beaten with the DM authority stick whenever they step out of line. I prefer players who are more proactive and creative personally and I don't mind when they go out of their way to maximize their effectiveness. Power gamers? Pshaw. Not a problem. They all become monster kibble easily enough.

All I know is that when we were 12 years old, we figured the solution to these issues. Maximize profit for fastest advance. Who cares if you sell those swords for 1 gp each? That's still 1 gp more than you had before. It's not like it cost you anything to pick them up.

But, yeah, my work here is done. You folks have proven my point quite effectively. In certain games, player creativity is met with instant punishment if that creativity would allow the players to actually get ahead.

Like I said, I don't play that way anymore. I imagine you don't either. But, there are most certainly those that do.

 

[Derren]

Where do you think video games learned it from? It's not that my game is videogamey, it's that videogames are Hussary.

Funny though how we went from weapons and armor to tables and shackles. Yup, keep shifting those goalposts.

Except that thats were I started.
But I see that you are making things up in your mind instead of actually reading posts because you have no arguments except "IT WORKS! I SAY SO!". Go play WoW. Hack&Slash games with absolutely no logic behind them seems to be "your" game.

 

[jadrax]

Now, if you want a real gp for xp arguement...should players get that xp for gp BEFORE or AFTER taxes, tithing, tributes, etc? Do they lose xp when they pay taxes - effectively turning the tax collector into a wight-like creature?

If you want to get really complex, how about Gold paid in Tax is the only thing that counts, thus making taxation the basis of a well ordered and experienced society.

Maybe add charitable and religious donations to the list of things that give you XP as well to add another layer of politics.

 

[Mattachine]

If you want to get really complex, how about Gold paid in Tax is the only thing that counts, thus making taxation the basis of a well ordered and experienced society.

Maybe add charitable and religious donations to the list of things that give you XP as well to add another layer of politics.

Only taxable gold counts for xp? That seems even more bizarre than xp for gp generally.

Also, plenty of player characters don't have causes, tithes, or guilds to donate gold for.

The xp for gp system was there as a form of points and scoring. Tournament play goes back to the beginnings of D&D as well. Video games borrowed gold-for-score from D&D. If you want to run a game that keeps score like this, xp for gp is great. If you want to run a game where excelling at your skills provides xp, this system isn't so great.

 

[Hussar]

Heh, I'll be bowing out of this one folks. I think I've gotten myself in enough trouble with this one. I do aim to misbehave from time to time.