What is XP?

[Steverooo]

I know that title sounds odd, but consider this basic situation.

You are a Wizard. You want to create a wand. This takes XP.

You are a Cleric. You Raise someone. This takes XP.

But what is this XP?

Putting aside pure game mechanics for a moment, what is it about your experiences, thoughts, memories and toe-to-toe encounters with the kobold hordes that powers magical items and/or allows you to raise from the dead?

If you put XP into an item, does that item contain a little piece of you?

When you give up XP, do you lose memories of events?

Like I said, this is a "Mechanics Aside" question.

Consider it a weird philosophical exercise.

XP are Experience Points. Experiences are the things you've gone through, the knowledge and confidence they inspire, the skills and abilities gained thereby, and the time spent acquiring them.

Making items doesn't require part of you (usually...), but they do require knowledge, skill, and a limited resource called time... You give up no memories, abilities, skills, nor even self-confidence, but you do give up the time to make something, and use the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do so. Since Knowledge, skill, and time are limited, you can only do so much.

Of course, you can always go out, earn some more XP, increase your knowledge and skills, gain new abilities, and craft something else... but that requires more adventuring!

 

[Lamoni]

As for the question about XP - I think that describing it as "life essence" (at least for the examples you mention) is sufficient. In the Real World, anytime a writer writes a book or a doctor performs a surgery or a teacher grades a paper they are spending their "life essence". Often times there are works that are SO great the person really does put some of themselves into whatever they are doing - and thus leaving a part of themselves behind.

This doesn't really agree with me. In my mind, anytime a writer writes a book or a doctor performs surgery they just get more practice and experience that makes them better at it the next time they do the same thing. Writing a book does leave something of you behind, but does it really take something out of you? It is more like a photograph. Take as many photographs as you like and it leaves a record of the person behind, but it doesn't take from your soul.

Originally posted by Verdigris
Your mental and physical body is dummed down a bit as it would be if it were exposed to concentrations of any number of inherently toxic (if indeed powerful) substances. When industrial workers breathe mercury vapors, lead, formaldehyde, polyvinyl chlorate, etc. they suffer from a variety of symptoms which include muscle weakness, brain damage, and/or retardation. Exposure reduces them in ability and mental acuity.

Magic, wherever it comes from, is a similarly powerful substance that, if harnessed, can do wonderous things. But like its chemical analogs, it is also inherenly dangerous. Mess with it and you could turn your mind and body to mush.

This idea makes more sense to me. But how dangerous is curing magic? Even if it got out and contaminated you, it doesn't seem like it could do anything but good. Unless you messed up... and in that case, it wouldn't cost you XP everytime you made an item, it would just cost you XP if you failed a save. (forgot to wear your gas mask or rubber gloves... or magic safety gear)

 

[Voadam]

This idea makes more sense to me. But how dangerous is curing magic? Even if it got out and contaminated you, it doesn't seem like it could do anything but good. Unless you messed up... and in that case, it wouldn't cost you XP everytime you made an item, it would just cost you XP if you failed a save. (forgot to wear your gas mask or rubber gloves... or magic safety gear)

Many medicines are quite nasty in the wrong situation. For example there are medicines that will slow your heart rate and different ones to speed up your heart rate, take either of these while you are at a normal healthy heart rate and they can kill you.

 

[PowerWordDumb]

I try not to think about it too hard - not because it's not an interesting intellectual exercise, but because I know nothing good ever really comes from the analysis.

I find it easiest to consider XP to be the accumulated weight of your experiences. Just as in real life, the more you do, the more you are able to focus yourself on doing better the next time. The level-jump mechanic is arbitrary, but better than constantly gaining imperceptibly-small increments of skill in my mind.

As to the burning of XP in item creation or rituals, if you accept XP to be a representation of your learned ability to focus on "getting the job done", then consider what item creation or ritual casting (as just a couple of examples) really entail:

In the case of magic item creation, traditionally this is an involved process requring absolute focus by the creator, with no interruptions and complete involvement. In this case, it's not hard at all to see that this change of focus away from adventuring/spellcasting/whatever activities to something else could manifest as a certain bit of "rustiness" when finished and getting back into the saddle. Particularly if you buy the "incorporating a part of yourself" point associated with certain items.

In the case of ritual casting, similarly the tradition there is of tremendous investment of personal energies and occasionally a portion of your spirit into the effort. Same argument applies.

The fact that in either case, spending XP during such an effort doesn't actually drop you levels, but merely creates a temporary XP debt for you to make up seems to support that type of interpretation. The fact that it also provides some rules leverage on maintaining balance (can't just create infinite amounts of wands of magic missile and arm the entire nation) doesn't hurt either.

Anyway, it's not a perfect system by any means, but it gets the job done respectably well as far as I'm concerned. After all, it's just a game.

 

[Arnwyn]

I tend to think of XP as your life force and the favour of the gods.

Yep, that's pretty much how I consider it, too. And like Voadam above, it works for me on the conceptual side of powering magic items and certain spells.

But, just as PowerWordDumb noted, I don't try to think about it too hard (or at all, if you ask my players ).

 

[dave_o]

Wouldn't it be rad if some godly, disembodied voice awarded you XP?

For instance, if I go out of my way to help someone across the street, a voice was like "Good job. 50 XP!" And suddenly - I'm better at guitar.

 

[PowerWordDumb]

Wouldn't it be rad if some godly, disembodied voice awarded you XP?

For instance, if I go out of my way to help someone across the street, a voice was like "Good job. 50 XP!" And suddenly - I'm better at guitar.

LOL! Of course, properly-played, that disembodied voice should only be awarding XP in a lump-sum at the end of the play-session, so you'd likely be at home asleep in your bed and never hear it.

Maybe this is why I generally have an easier time with a hard piece of tablature after I've tried it for a while and then slept on it for a night?

 

[dave_o]

Argh! Life is d20 Modern!

*works on FX Powers*

 

[Wombat]

What can I say?

I took three classes on Medieval Theology so questions like this tend to pop up into my head.

On the rules side, though, don't you find that wizards (and clerics who stop to make potions) lag behind in experience due to the rules? I now have players who are scared of making magical items just because they know that burning the XP will leave them behind, especially compared to Fighters and Rogues who have no reason to "burn" XP at all.

You see, that's another part of where the question comes from.

Besides, I just find it wonderfully creepy to think that Wizards are actually putting a small part of the souls and/or memories into the items they make.

 

[babomb]

Purely for the sake of contrariness, I'm going to post a completely different view.

You're probably aware that it takes a certain amount of practice just to remain as good as you are at a given activity. If I run a mile every day, then stop for a while, when I try to run again, I won't be as good at it. Likewise, a wizard needs to practice his spells (as well as skills, fighting, etc.) to get better at them (gain experience). If he only practices a little, he at least maintains his skill. He can't get any practice if he's stuck enchanting the @$&! fighter's %@#&*! sword for eight hours a day and he's limited light activity the rest of the day.

So XP loss is like atrophy or getting rusty -- unless the undead drain it from you, but that's a different story.