Promoting the entire party's experience level at the same time

[amethal]

When DMing, I give out individual ExP for each combat or encounter, to those characters who participated in it. It's easy enough to keep track of during a session, and it means those who take the risk and get involved get the ExP reward. I don't care if characters don't all bump at the same time.

Every DM I've ever played under does the same. And, as a player, I'd really have some pointed questions starting with 'why' were it done any other way.

Lanefan

Reading this thread should give you the answer to that question.

 

[Neil Bishop]

(snip) As I am planning on shifting XP costs to action points, I may also shift rewards to action points.

This is what I do. Everyone gets the same XP but bonus action points (and, on extremely rare occasions, fate points) can be handed out for excellent play. My players don't bother with crafting their own items but, if they do decide to do so, I think I will go back to doing it 2E style using Volo's Guide to All Things Magical for inspiration.

 

[an_idol_mind]

The way I've run things over the past few years is to give XP after each encounter. If the PCs level up during this time, they wait until the end of the session or a significant break in the adventure to do so.

With the exception of spellcasters who spend XP to craft items and whatnot, everyone in the group is usually at about the same XP total. That's because I hand out role-playing awards as a group rather than to individuals. The goal behind that is to encourage the players to work together to come up with great ideas and to allow players who aren't as flashy and forthright to get rewards for assisting those players who have more forceful gaming personalities and are always the de facto party leaders.

 

[TarionzCousin]

When DMing, I give out individual ExP for each combat or encounter, to those characters who participated in it. It's easy enough to keep track of during a session, and it means those who take the risk and get involved get the ExP reward. I don't care if characters don't all bump at the same time.

Every DM I've ever played under does the same. And, as a player, I'd really have some pointed questions starting with 'why' were it done any other way.

Do you factor in the exchange rate between U.S. and Canadian XP too?

I, along with all the DM's in my current group, switched over to levelling everyone at the same time. Once you give up tracking every character's XP individually, you don't miss it. It's more hassle than it's worth, IMHO.

Also, it speeds up play both during combat and at the end of every session.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Anyone here play in a group where the entire adventuring party is promoted in experience levels at the same time? So instead of micro-managing each character's individual tally, the DM (via estimation or elaborate math equations) just keeps track of one experience point pool and everyone goes from 5th to 6th level at the same time, for example.

Good idea for you, or would you prefer to keep your experience gains -- or lack thereof -- entirely to yourself?

I've never actually played in a campaign that did this, but I have RUN campaigns this way. Although, I didn't actually track XP, I just leveled the party every time they completed a major goal.

 

[GreatLemur]

I don't use XP. When the party survives a really tough encounter or accomplishes something significant, they gain a level. I've considered what to do about characters that just aren't present for as much of the action as everyone else, but holding them back would just penalize everyone's fun, so everyone levels up together.

Thankfully, item creation hasn't been an issue, yet. I'd probably just ignore the XP cost for it, though. The cost in time and money seems like enough, especially when you're not giving out a lot of treasure by default.

 

[werk]

My experience exactly. Since we run people's characters if they are not there, the PC still gets the same amount of XP everyone else does, so everyone levels at the same time anyway.

Ditto, same here.

With the exception of pitifully small 'role-playing' xp awards, we all have the same XP. No one really crafts aside from a few scrolls.

 

[TessarrianDM]

I give out XP individually, after each session. We have a large (seven players with eight PC's and 1 NPC) group, but usually only 4-5 players can make our monthly session. Characters whose players can't make it are either played as NPC's and are awarded 1/2 share of experience and treasure (as is the NPC) or stay in town and gain nothing. The remaining 1/2 share of both is divided up between the participating players, and they gain an additional 100 xp per additional character/NPC they play. I also give individual awards for good roleplaying, etc.

I keep all character records and give the players a new copy when there are any changes. I notify them between sessions if they level, and they tell me what they want to change, choose, etc. This has never been an issue with me or the group. Playing an average of once per month, I have the time to do it this way.

Still, though, all of the PC's have managed to stay within one or two levels of each other.

 

[Phlebas]

I use a spread sheet to calculate xp earned for CR (monsters, plus traps, plus puzzles) for all who show up (no show, no xp, no problems). I then use another spreadheet to record xp for each PC + RP bonus, minus any xp costs (normally e-mailed OOG)

When the spreadsheet says they level, they level (at the next convenient point in the story). I normally e-mail them, together with any background info, ready for the next session

its not much of a chore and doesn't seem to provoke complaints - though the centaur wizard did complain that he felt underpowered until he realised it'd been a month since he'd last checked his e-mails ......

(DM's where i play level up the group together - it keeps it simple for everyone other than the artificeir and wizard who are always second guessing whether to make items or not)

 

[Gort]

Yeah, I tend to just let the players level every once in a while. The only problem this creates is that the magic-item-making characters get some free XP, but I see that more as a problem with the item creation rules than with my system of levelling people.

Handing out bonus XP as rewards for stuff sounds good and all, but it's a lot of hassle and your reward for it is a party of different levels and players grovelling for bonus XP, and you're a jerk if you say no and if you say yes your system of XP rewards doesn't really work.