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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Sigil" data-source="post: 194228" data-attributes="member: 2013">IIRC...IIRC, the DMG explicitly states that XP is awarded for "overcoming" a challenge... and not necessarily by combat.  Killing the giant outright is overcoming the challenge.  Convincing him to chill out is overcoming the challenge.  Running away and hiding until he's gone is NOT overcoming the challenge.Also, I believe traps grant XP in one of three circumstances - (1) the trap is sprung (assumes the party survives the damage), (2) the trap is disarmed, (3) the trap is detected and bypassed (not 100% sure on this one, but it seems logical - noting that there is a trap and taking pains to avoid triggering it seems in my mind to be "overcoming the challenge").  It is not awarded if the party doesn't notice the trap and misses triggering the trap by dumb luck.Story awards are mentioned, and I like using those.I also award XP for non-combat skill checks critical to the PCs' success.  You need to coax a favor out of the local fence?  That is a challenge - and the PCs should receive XP for overcoming that - whether by gold or Diplomacy (or Intimidate) checks.  The PCs have to build a rope bridge to cross the chasm?  That's a challenge - and the guy who uses his Use Rope skill to build the rope bridge and get them across gets the XP for overcoming it (probably with the help of the party's single potion of flying to affix the bridge to the other side of the chasm <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ).  No, you're not dreaming, I just gave characters a reason to take the Use Rope skill - a challenge that needs the skill AND an XP award for doing so <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Skill use, in my mind, is a woefully underused method of awarding PCs experience... after all, you use skills to overcome challenges, right?  I use the following as a general guideline in these cases...1.) Beating another character at an opposed skill roll (e.g., Bluff vs. Sense Motive) - CR of the character beaten if no retry is allowed; half XP if a retry is allowed - and each failed attempt knocks 20% off this award.2.) Making a skill roll vs. a fixed DC (such as the Use Rope/chasm example), no retry allowed - CR 1 for a DC of 20, with the CR rising by 1 for each 2 points of DC increase.3.) Making a skill roll vs. a fixed DC, with retry allowed - CR 1 for a DC of 23, with the CR rising by 1 for each 3 points of DC increase.  Each failed attempt knocks 10% off this award.  Taking 10 gets you half XP, taking 20 gets you 1/4 XP.  Each attempt should cost something (gold, hit points, time in a time-critical situation, etc.) though, or it's not really a challenge to overcome.Logic puzzles?  That's a challenge to overcome.  XP for that, too.  Assigning a CR on this is a little trickier.Use common sense - stuck doors are not something significant to overcome (hence the reason for skill roll vs. fixed DC with retry having a cost requirement).  But ANYTHING that the characters have to overcome at cost (or potential cost) to themselves is a challenge and as such falls into the definition of "things that should grant XP awards."  That's why they're called "Challenge Ratings" and not "Deadliness Ratings" or what have you, right? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />--The Sigil</blockquote>

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