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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 3107961" data-attributes="member: 8835">One method I've used is a mathematical variant of the "you level every so often" system.P = party level (average of the PCs level)G = # of sessions per level (rate of advanvement control)X = 1000 * P / GX will be the XP per PC to give out.  For levels 1-20, if G=2 it amounts to saying you will level up every 2 games.  From a PC viewpoint, they don't have to know that.  They just get the XP and do their own work from there.One valuable use for this forumula is for comparing XP rates.  By looking at how much XP gets you a level and at what rate, and comparing to other systems, you get a sense mathematically of how they compare.  We're not talking rocket science here, but some GM's don't even think about how many fast of a progression they rate, or how to control it in a fashion that's desirable for the players.Consider:  If all your games last 8 hours, how much XP should you give if you play every day?  Every week?  Every 2 weeks? Once a Month?Some DM's might answer "the same amount".  Most players would argue, the less frequent, the more XP.   Players want a sense of advancement over REAL TIME.  So how often you play affects that (and in turn, if you play every day, it might be wise to slow things down, or you may be 20th level in a month).It gets further complicated, based on how long your sessions are.  Long sessions generally ought to give more XP, but how much?I might argue that playing 6 hour sessions once a month should level the PCs each session.  I might also argue that I like to level every other sesssion.  Sometimes that's contradictory. If we assume that's reasonable game length, we could use that as a baseline (hours played), and use frequency as a control to set the leveling pace.  A new formula might spring up:P = Party Level (average PC level)L = Session length (approximate hours played)O = Optimal Session Length (6 hours, change it in your math if you like)F = Session Frequency (# times per month)X = (1000 * P) * (L/O) / FThe 1000 * P equals the XP needed to level up.  Everything else is a matter of reducing that.  Playing a 6 hour game gets you all of the XP to level up, if you play once a month.The math looks right.  It should level you up once a month, no matter how often you play.Both formulas I present do not take into consideration anything that happens in the game.  They are strictly about setting a pace of leveling.  If nothing else, they are mathematical expressions of the "PC's level when I feel like it" philosophy, by giving numbers that support the desired rate of the GM.You could also use the 1000 * P piece to come up with new XP rewards.  Let's say completing a major story goal is worth 20% of a level.  When now you know how much XP that is (X = 1000 * P * 20%).An alternative for story awards is to consider that the story IS the CR of the party level (since it was written for their level).  Then just award XP for completing it as they faced a rather long encounter (that wrapped around all the encounters that made up the story).  The XP for CR generally follows the formula of 300XP per CR (300 * CR).  So defeating the BBEG and saving the princess is worth an extra 300 * P, in addition to the XP the party got for defeating the BBEG directly.Math is hard.</blockquote>

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