Too fast! Too fast!

[Saeviomagy]

For my own part I may also begin applying increasing fractional penalties to non-lethal level encounters with lower CR. Say .75 for 1 CR lower, .5 for 2, etc...

Do you mean that if a challenge wouldn't kill the party (ie - fighting someone who will only capture, not kill), then they get less experience?

d20 modern has something about that...

 

[ruleslawyer]

I'd say a blanket XP reduction or XP-per-level increase is the best way to handle this. You've decided yourself that PCs level too quickly in 3e, which is a matter of preference, and therefore somewhat arbitrary (though not in a bad way!), so you might as well implement a somewhat arbitrary (read: generally-applied) mechanism. IMC, I slash all XP awards by 50% once my PCs hit 5th level. At that level, the feel of the game stops being quite so survivalist, players enjoy stretching their characters' muscles a bit, and it's helpful in giving the players time to explore the range of abilities conferred by core classes and the numerous PrC and feat options out there.

 

[tennyson]

One thing you mentioned that I feel a need to address: you give out XP for roleplaying. That might be one reason why your PC's are advancing faster than you believe they should.

Remember, XP is based on overcoming challenges. If you are giving XP simply because someone interacted well with a shopkeep or a guard, then they're not overcoming a challenge, and they've learned nothing.

Now, if they were haggling, or attempting to get somewhere they shouldn't have been allowed, or causing a distraction so someone else could do something, that's good. That's a good Challenge to overcome, but simply talking to someone shouldn't necessarily get XP.

Point well taken. I have been known to give out roleplaying xp simply for entertaining encounters and effort put forth by the players to portray their characters. However, I must also say that I feel good about giving xp for those types of situations. When a player really does a good job at playing his character, it adds humor, suspense, drama and excitement to the game - all of which make for a great gaming experience.

I think my issue is that (as you pointed out) I may be giving it too much during the wrong circumstances. Obviously, combat xp is cut & dry (if I decide to go by the books), but the greatest potential for unbalanced xp is in subjective roleplaying rewards. I don't want to cut it out all together, because my players undoubtedly can be phenomonal at roleplaying at certain times, more so than in combat.

They are all hitting level 6 now, and ironically since the beginning of this thread one of them has died (hello level 5). The story is moving along great, and they are on the verge of the main plotline. With some tweaking, as well as all of your great suggestions, I'll be able to run the game at a comfortable pace, as well as allow the PCs to enjoy their charcaters!

 

[dcollins]

I think my issue is that (as you pointed out) I may be giving it too much during the wrong circumstances. Obviously, combat xp is cut & dry (if I decide to go by the books), but the greatest potential for unbalanced xp is in subjective roleplaying rewards.

I don't know if it was taken out in 3.5, but the 3.0 DMG specifically addressed this (ch. 7: Variant: Story Awards"). If you're giving out XP for "roleplaying" then the specific recommendation is that you reduce combat XP awards by that same amount. ("Don't simply add story awards to standard awards...") What you should be doing, by the book, is take out maybe half of the XP they'd normally get from combat and set that aside for story- and roleplaying-awards.

 

[Avalin]

Do you mean that if a challenge wouldn't kill the party (ie - fighting someone who will only capture, not kill), then they get less experience?

d20 modern has something about that...

Actually what I meant was lowering the XP gain from challenges below character CR level which did not pose a lethal threat. For example a party of 6th level PC encountering a beligerent fighter CR 5 would only receive .75 of the total XP, if the fighter was CR 4 they would get .5, etc...

By lethal I really mean a signifigant challenge. A CR 6 party encountering several CR 5 creatures, or even one CR 6 creature supported by numerous CR 1 and 2 creatures would not be XP penalized. Its a judgement call but the goal is to reduce XP gain from fighting creatures of a lower CR which can at times be disproportionately rewarding.