Need Help with Experience Awards

[Aluvial]

I am trying to figure out an experience problem.

I have 12, 3rd level fighters who have participated in, and survived a massive battle. I am condiering them cohorts at best.

If I wanted to combine them, so that they made up one character, or 2 characters, so that my handy autocalcualting xp sheet could handle them along with all the other PC's and NPC's, then what level would he/they be?

I use the Forgotten Realms style, where each character is awarded XP, based on their level, and then divided out by the number of characters.

Does this make sense I hope?

Aluvial

 

[green slime]

Why bother? If they are at best cohorts, then they should only progress and improve as much as you, the DM feel that they should. No point getting worried about miniscule details none of the players are going to care two hoots about.

Cohorts aren't supposed to be running around leveling all the time.

 

[irdeggman]

Right cohorts advance based on their "leader" and do not dilute the xp pool of the PCs.

Followers (the other possibility) do not gain xp at all.

If they are instead "allies" then they get a normal share of xp.

A common house-rule though is to treat them as 1/2 a character each for xp awards.

 

[Aluvial]

Right cohorts advance based on their "leader" and do not dilute the xp pool of the PCs.

Followers (the other possibility) do not gain xp at all.

If they are instead "allies" then they get a normal share of xp.

A common house-rule though is to treat them as 1/2 a character each for xp awards.

Ok, let's say they are allies. My math brain hurts. Is there a way to convert 12, 3rd level guys into one or two guys and have it add up correctly?

The PC's do not deserve all of the credit, and these 12 fighters need a split, even if it is half a normal share.

Aluvial

 

[Nebten]

It would depend on the average level of the party. That would determine how helpful they were. If all 12 survived, it doesn't sound like a very high level encounter.

For simple math, just divide the total XP by (total # of PCs)+(1 or 2) so that you can shave off a bit of XP given to the PCs and if you want re distrubte it among fighters.

I would not add the fighters into the average party level though when computing XP. The 12 3rd level fighters will weigh down the average thus giving more XP to everybody.

 

[Aluvial]

It would depend on the average level of the party. That would determine how helpful they were. If all 12 survived, it doesn't sound like a very high level encounter.

For simple math, just divide the total XP by (total # of PCs)+(1 or 2) so that you can shave off a bit of XP given to the PCs and if you want re distrubte it among fighters.

I would not add the fighters into the average party level though when computing XP. The 12 3rd level fighters will weigh down the average thus giving more XP to everybody.

Thanks, but this is not what I'm asking to do. Average party level means nada here. Each surviving character gets an award based on their level (FR style). I'm tyring to figure out how to compress those 12 guys into 2 guys and have the other numbers remain the same.

Let's see...

I have 10 CR 3, 27 CR 5, 9 CR 9, and 1 CR 11. I have 9 PC's who each will get a full share.

The 12 guys each count one half person, so I've cut their number in half, 6. NOW, how can I compress those 6 down to 2?

Let's see, I only give 60% of actual xps in any session, so...

A level 3 gets 540xp for each level 3 encounter; 10 of them. (540 X 10 = 5400). Ok divide that by the total number of characters... 15 (5400 / 15 = 360xp each for the 6, or 1/2 that again for the 12. Each of the 3rd level guys gets 180xp for the 10 CR 3's.

I'll do the CR 11 now. (8640 X 1 = 8640 8640 / 15 = 576 576 / 2 = 288. Each of the level 3 guys gets 288xps for the CR 11.

SO... looking at my chart. A CR 3 creature for a 3rd level is 540, a CR3 for an 8th level is 1/2 that, at 270. SO.... hmm. stuck here.

Aluvial

 

[Aluvial]

So, 6 level 3 guys would get 360, so 1/2 the number would get double the experience. 3 level 3 guys would get 720.

To take that to 2, would be....

1/3 of the number would get three times the xp, so 1080xp.

So, 2 guys of ? level would get 1080xp for the encounter...

Aluvial.... i think.

 

[Aluvial]

Now I see that I can't solve this issue... The xp chart won't expand enough for me... I thought that if I converted, I would do fine, for instance, 4 8th level guys would get the same xp for 2 3rd level guys. That's fine.

But because the chart calculates only to level 1 PC's, who get the same abount as a 3rd level PC, then I can't go any smaller and keep the CR and the number of creatures the same...

Bah.... Now I have to do the largest battle I've ever run by hand.

Aluvial

 

[irdeggman]

I have no idea what this Forgotten Realms style of xp awards you are talking about is.

The method you described in your original post is exactly what the 3.5 DMG has in it.

Are you playing 3.0 per chance?

Just list all of the detail - the number of each CR opponent you have and the levels of all of the NPCs and PCs.

We will do the math for you - there are a lot of people here who are real good at that.

If you are only giving 60% of the xp award in the first place and then adding in a whole slew of NPC allies you have diluted the xp awards for the PCs to the point of being really, really small.

Off hand it sounds like too many house-rules for us to give you a rules based solution.

 

[irdeggman]

Now I see that I can't solve this issue... The xp chart won't expand enough for me... I thought that if I converted, I would do fine, for instance, 4 8th level guys would get the same xp for 2 3rd level guys. That's fine.

But because the chart calculates only to level 1 PC's, who get the same abount as a 3rd level PC, then I can't go any smaller and keep the CR and the number of creatures the same...

Bah.... Now I have to do the largest battle I've ever run by hand.

Aluvial

The DMG says for 1/2 level characters to treat them as 1st level and then divide it in half. Well actually it says to use the CR 1 level and divide it in half for CR of 1/2 - but the same logic can work for characters of 1/2 level (even though that technically doesn't exist).