[UA] Alternative XP progression - Yay or Nay?

[Gothmog]

Do you think that cutting the awards in half would be too little? I'm trying to figure out if I want to half them or just use a quarter. I really, and I mean REALLY despise the rate PC's level up, but I'm not sure if a quarter is going to be too much.

One quarter might be a little much, but I was thinking around 1/3rd the value on the table. That would roughly bring it back into line with AD&D advancement rates, at least at lower levels.

 

[Mystery Man]

One quarter might be a little much, but I was thinking around 1/3rd the value on the table. That would roughly bring it back into line with ADD& advancement rates, at least at lower levels.

I've never had a problem with leveling since I would always use the circumstance table on the next page. If they wipe out 4 orcs (600xp?) in one round they get a percentage whacked off the XP if it was too easy. If they did it using some really creative way I would award a tad more for the same encounter, same thing if it was a real struggle with most of their resources used up. I would do the same with this alternative as well. I've never believed that shaving numbers all the way down the line has ever been the answer.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Could somebody just tell me what the gist of the new XP system is? I'm curious. Does it not use EL to determine XP any more?

 

[francisca]

yay.

I trust them when they say it is just as balanced as the previous, and will gladly give up the calculations.

Welcome to the D&D V.4 XP system.

 

[Shazman]

Well speaking from experience on both sides of the DM screen, I think that leveling is pretty quick up to around 6th level. After that, it can became painfully slow. I was in a campaign that played every other week and it got to the point where it would take 3 to 4 months of real time to level. As a player, it was very frustrating. Leveling, is one of the more rewarding aspects of the game. If you have character sheet completely memorized because it's been exactly the same for half a year, something's wrong. If you meet every week, and the PC's are still leveling like mad after mid-level, than using the new table might not be too bad. Otherwise, I'd leave it alone.

 

[Mystery Man]

As a player, it was very frustrating. Leveling, is one of the more rewarding aspects of the game.

As a DM if you forget that your players are people who want to have a good time as much as you, you wont have players for very long

The more I stare at this chart the more it looks like less bookkeeping for me. Less stress for me means more fun on both sides of the screen so I'll talk it over with my guys and give it a shot. Thu first few levels are the same so it will be easier to go back early on.

 

[Basaxerxes the First]

Well speaking from experience on both sides of the DM screen, I think that leveling is pretty quick up to around 6th level. After that, it can became painfully slow. I was in a campaign that played every other week and it got to the point where it would take 3 to 4 months of real time to level. As a player, it was very frustrating. Leveling, is one of the more rewarding aspects of the game. If you have character sheet completely memorized because it's been exactly the same for half a year, something's wrong. If you meet every week, and the PC's are still leveling like mad after mid-level, than using the new table might not be too bad. Otherwise, I'd leave it alone.

While I agree with you, Shazman, that leveling is one of the rewarding bits of playing a D&D character, I miss the old days when one could go several real months between levels. It made the new level even more rewarding, for one thing. If the UA alternate XP system (with or without in-house modifications) can bring help bring about a return to those glorious days, then I'm all for it.

 

[Shazman]

To each his own. As long as it doesn't alienate your players, use whatever sytem you like.

 

[Basaxerxes the First]

To each his own. As long as it doesn't alienate your players, use whatever sytem you like.

Truer words never spoken!

 

[Tzarevitch]

Could somebody just tell me what the gist of the new XP system is? I'm curious. Does it not use EL to determine XP any more?

It is basically the same as all the previous versions before 3e. A creature has a certain fixed value which is equated to a CR rating. Take the creatures CR rating to the nice simple table provided and you can figure out how much XP that creature is worth. No more variable tables or cross-indexing character levels.

BTW the system sort of requires that you use the new XP progression table which is scaled to take the flat xp awards into account. You also have to modify XP costs of certain other things (item creation, spells with XP costs etc.) but it is all a lot easier than my description makes it sound.

I LOVE my UA book, if for no other reason than the simpler XP system. I would almost have bought it for that alone.

Tzarevitch