Running WotC Adventure Question

[CydKnight]

"Do you find after completing the encounters you are running short on XP to make the levels you are supposed to be?"

To answer this question directly, I say yes in most cases. Typically there isn't enough XP there if you simply go with what's in the campaign book in my for those that I've run. However, my impression of 5th edition campaign books is that they are often meant to be supplemented with either your own ideas or ideas from other sources that a DM can make fit.

This isn't necessarily the case with all WoTC 5E adventures. I haven't read all of them and certainly haven't run or even played all of them. Of the ones I have, Lost Mine of Pandelver from the Starter set can absolutely be run as written and get you the XP you need when you need it. Waterdeep Dragon Heist may be anotherr exception where you could simply run the content in the book and get there but I haven't actually run or played it. Running Out of the Abyss as a DM, I have in some cases heavily supplemented the campaign with content from the DM's Guild along with some of my own ideas inspired by various wiki's or stories I've read.

"Do you offer XP for treasure retained, completing missions or accomplishing goals, and other options besides defeating opponents in encounters?"

I do not do this for treasure, however I have on occasion provided additional XP for completing a task where, either one is not offered by the official book or where I have inserted non-official content into the campaign. This isn't typically a whole lot. Perhaps 5% - 10% of the total creature XP depending on the PC level and what I eyeball to be appropriate.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yes. In Out of the Abyss, the PCs were seriously behind where they needed to be by the time we got to the half-way point. For the second half, I slowed things down and added lots of sidequests and whatnot, so we got to where we needed to be by the end.

The same goes for Hoard of the Dragon Queen/The Rise of Tiamat. But that group is especially large, so any XP gets divided to the nth degree.

When I run Tomb of Annihilation, I'm switching to full Adventurers League and going with the ACP system. I think that should help.

 

[aco175]

The new Adventures League modules for the new season seem to have automatic advancement after a number of hours played. The first few levels are gained after 4 hours of play as long as you are progressing through the adventure. After 4th or 5th you need 8 hour of play. There seems to be a magic item gain based on hours as well.

Not sure if this is how you want to play. I tend to give xp after the adventure is completed or at low levels after each part. I also give a bonus xp for completing the major reason for the adventure. Another campaign I play is more random and only play every month or so. I have been giving a level each time we play so that the players can advance after each module. I may go each 2 modules after 7th or 8th level.

 

[WhosDaDungeonMaster]

In other editions I have awarded XP for treasure, ideas, accomplishments, and mission goals, as well as monsters.

But, because adjusted XP is used to determine challenge difficulty, and calculated non-adjusted is awarded for success, typically players get 25-50% less XP than the challenge difficulty indicates. I found that this means I really need more encounters to level the characters than what I had initially thought. I think this is what is happened with the pre-made WotC adventures. Mores the pity, it seems like they would anticipate that and beef up or increase the number of encounters to compensate.

I am looking into other avenues. I don't like milestone or session-based, but in a lot of ways I am getting tired/ frustrated with the entire leveling concept. Other games give points where the choose to increase abilities and skills, etc. but there are no levels involved. IMO it is the one place where D&D has fallen behind, but I understand since leveling is the easiest way to measure a character's progress.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I give out xp for accomplishing significant quest objectives, but not for treasure (unless the treasure is something needed to fulfil the quest). I give out about 1/3 of the total xp in this way.

I also award full xp for monsters the party gets past but avoids killing (unless it's a case of running away in blind panic).

I don't award any xp for randomly killing anything that there was no reason to kill or couldn't fight back.

 

[Charlaquin]

Yeah, you need to give additional XP to meet the recommended party levels for most WotC adventures. Personally, I’d consider that a feature, because it leaves me wiggle room to expand on what’s written.

 

[WhosDaDungeonMaster]

Yeah, you need to give additional XP to meet the recommended party levels for most WotC adventures. Personally, I’d consider that a feature, because it leaves me wiggle room to expand on what’s written.

Good point. I am just finding it to be the case that more encounters are needed in my own adventures than I expected because of the difference between adjusted XP and awarded XP for defeating foes.

 

[Charlaquin]

Good point. I am just finding it to be the case that more encounters are needed in my own adventures than I expected because of the difference between adjusted XP and awarded XP for defeating foes.

I like to award XP for three things: Overcoming encounters (which can include combat, social encounters, puzzles, traps... really, any scene that involves an obstacle and a degree of risk), discovering secrets (pretty much any significant discovery that the players have to go off the “critical path” to find), and completing objectives (if an NPC offers a reward for it, if it’s an individual PC goal, or if it’s a significant milestone in the “main quest,” I give XP for it in addition to any treasure or other rewards). I also don’t futz with individual monster XP. Any time I award XP, I assign it a difficulty (easy/medium/hard/deadly just like a combat encounter), and award the amount of XP for an encounter of that difficulty for the party’s level.

 

[WhosDaDungeonMaster]

Any time I award XP, I assign it a difficulty (easy/medium/hard/deadly just like a combat encounter), and award the amount of XP for an encounter of that difficulty for the party’s level.

That would be a nice thing for puzzles, "secrets" (as you mention), and such. Last night I had a puzzle that took the players a bit to solve, and awarding a Moderate encounter's worth of XP would be appropriate.

 

[5atbu]

Why not just hand out the *adjusted* XP?