Promoting the entire party's experience level at the same time
- Thread starter Driddle
- Start date
RichGreen
Adventurer
Hi,
I give out xp at the end of each session. For my weekly Red Hand of Doom game, only PCs who are there get xp and this means there are some characters who are 5th level, some who are 6th and some who are 7th. In my other two campaigns, everyone gets the same xp and I think I might switch to just telling everyone when they've levelled up. Sounds like it saves quite a bit of time!
Cheers
Richard
I give out xp at the end of each session. For my weekly Red Hand of Doom game, only PCs who are there get xp and this means there are some characters who are 5th level, some who are 6th and some who are 7th. In my other two campaigns, everyone gets the same xp and I think I might switch to just telling everyone when they've levelled up. Sounds like it saves quite a bit of time!
Cheers
Richard
Jubilee said:
Actually with a simple spreadsheet it's not much or a chore, nor is the email I send out letting you know that you advanced. I have always kept the xp totals unknown from the players to avoid the, "let's go hunting a bugbear" so we can advance a level mentality/meta-gaming.
For the record, I award BOTH occassional group story awards, and individual bonuses along with a normal "cut" of the xp earned from combat, etc. A recent wish granted to the group that was used altruistically and to advance the story was given such a group award.
IF you don't make a session you get 1/2 the xp awarded... this ensures that those that are actually present are given some benefit for regular attendance, but also means those that couldn't make it don't fall far behind either.
So far this hasn't resulted in anyone being more than one level behind anyone else.
OD&D, 2E rarely had the characters all at the same level, so it has never bothered me that even with the 3.x system of a "universal" xp/level chart that this needed to change.
I also allow players to level up literally in the middle of combat, when I knew they were close.
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
In 1e and earlier I used to give out xp after each encounter (and people leveled up instantly).
In 3e I used to give out xp at the end of each session, and people levelled up as and when. Party deaths meant that there was often a spread of levels in the party, so people got variable levels of xp - and there were particular rewards for good role-play etc.
In my current sci-fi game, the party level together when I think it is appropriate (normally at the end of each significant adventure).
The last of those methods has been no less fun for me (and I don't think it has been any less fun for anyone else either). An additional benefit is that nobody frets about being "just 100xp away from the next level" - something that I know I sometimes fret about in xp games
Cheers
In 3e I used to give out xp at the end of each session, and people levelled up as and when. Party deaths meant that there was often a spread of levels in the party, so people got variable levels of xp - and there were particular rewards for good role-play etc.
In my current sci-fi game, the party level together when I think it is appropriate (normally at the end of each significant adventure).
The last of those methods has been no less fun for me (and I don't think it has been any less fun for anyone else either). An additional benefit is that nobody frets about being "just 100xp away from the next level" - something that I know I sometimes fret about in xp games
Cheers
Jeff Wilder
First Post
He probably does it for the same reasons I do:Jubilee said:
(1) It allows me to adjust XP awards as I see fit, sometimes significantly, without worrying about my decisions being second-guessed.
(2) It allows adjustment for item creation and other XP expenditures.
(3) It allows me to grant XP rewards or penalties for things like strong roleplaying -- or lousy roleplaying, in some cases -- or for writing session logs, or for missing sessions. (If a PC is played while the player is missing, it's half XP; if the PC goes off-stage, it's zero XP.) The privacy aspect of it allows me to explain that there were bonuses or penalties, without making the player self-conscious in front of the group.
Typically, I start with an amount equal to about 75 percent of "book value" for overcoming challenges, then I adjust up or down. Players will end up receiving somewhere between 70 and 85 percent of book value (because I like slightly slower progression).
It's not really that much work ... compared to the other prep work I do for the game, it's not even a blip on the radar.
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
Individual XP allows me to give out individual rewards
XP is a reward, and not everyone does the same so not everyone should be rewarded the same. I rune a very RP oriented game, sometimes a few sessions between combats. Combat XP is less then half the total, the rest is story award, RP bonuses, etc.
For RP bonuses, I keep a few stacks of poker chips at the table. If someone does something particularly in character (especially when it's not the best choice), me or one of the other players will throw them a chip. Side conversations can be happenign while I working with part of the group, and it gets "noted" in terms of RP XP if a player gives another chip. I'm lucky to have a mature band of player and have never had an issue with it. At the end of the night I collect the number of chips, and they are the major factor* in determining how the pool of RP XP I assigned for that session gets divvied.
We've had player be absent, and their character was so memorable and real that other players are spouting off catchphrases and actions and that character is getting chips. Because they've built such a memorable character.
People get immediate rewards (a chip) when doing something well, it really encourages it.
I also give out XP rewards for fleshing out things of our campaign wiki.
Now, people still level around one session of each other. But the "simplicity" of tracking one number instead of five would lose so much richness with people getting recognized for their outstanding RP that it's not worth the trade off.
Just a question for those who level everyone at once - how do you deal with characters that are a level behind due to death?
Cheers,
=Blue(23)
* Chips is the major factor. Other factors are: everyone gets 2 virtual chips for having a character there, so everyone will get some share of the pot. Also, since I didn't want people not giving out chips because it "reduced their share" of the pot, each chip is also worth a small straight amount of XP - 5 per highest character level. On a normal night, most players get 3-6 chips.
XP is a reward, and not everyone does the same so not everyone should be rewarded the same. I rune a very RP oriented game, sometimes a few sessions between combats. Combat XP is less then half the total, the rest is story award, RP bonuses, etc.
For RP bonuses, I keep a few stacks of poker chips at the table. If someone does something particularly in character (especially when it's not the best choice), me or one of the other players will throw them a chip. Side conversations can be happenign while I working with part of the group, and it gets "noted" in terms of RP XP if a player gives another chip. I'm lucky to have a mature band of player and have never had an issue with it. At the end of the night I collect the number of chips, and they are the major factor* in determining how the pool of RP XP I assigned for that session gets divvied.
We've had player be absent, and their character was so memorable and real that other players are spouting off catchphrases and actions and that character is getting chips. Because they've built such a memorable character.
People get immediate rewards (a chip) when doing something well, it really encourages it.
I also give out XP rewards for fleshing out things of our campaign wiki.
Now, people still level around one session of each other. But the "simplicity" of tracking one number instead of five would lose so much richness with people getting recognized for their outstanding RP that it's not worth the trade off.
Just a question for those who level everyone at once - how do you deal with characters that are a level behind due to death?
Cheers,
=Blue(23)
* Chips is the major factor. Other factors are: everyone gets 2 virtual chips for having a character there, so everyone will get some share of the pot. Also, since I didn't want people not giving out chips because it "reduced their share" of the pot, each chip is also worth a small straight amount of XP - 5 per highest character level. On a normal night, most players get 3-6 chips.
DragonLancer
Hero
Stormborn said:
Thats how my group does it.
Psion
Adventurer
Heh... didn't see this thread before. I just started a thread sort of in line with this in the house rules forum...
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=208474
I've been using a spreadsheet like patv. I liked rewarding players for good roleplay or clever play, but I feel like experimenting a bit and my main reason for shifting to a "one XP total" model is to dispense with the idea of penalizing players for character death. I hope this will free up players to try new character concepts and be less annoyed about character death (because frankly, I feel adventurers lead a risky life and don't like running my games as if it weren't).
As I am planning on shifting XP costs to action points, I may also shift rewards to action points.
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=208474
I've been using a spreadsheet like patv. I liked rewarding players for good roleplay or clever play, but I feel like experimenting a bit and my main reason for shifting to a "one XP total" model is to dispense with the idea of penalizing players for character death. I hope this will free up players to try new character concepts and be less annoyed about character death (because frankly, I feel adventurers lead a risky life and don't like running my games as if it weren't).
As I am planning on shifting XP costs to action points, I may also shift rewards to action points.
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