Charlaquin
Goblin Queen
It seems like doing it that way, you would have all the work of tracking XP with none of the psychological benefits for the players.They'd hate my games, I only give out XP every 3 to 4 sessions (at most!)
It seems like doing it that way, you would have all the work of tracking XP with none of the psychological benefits for the players.They'd hate my games, I only give out XP every 3 to 4 sessions (at most!)
But if they just receive a lump sum without knowing what they did to earn the XP, the only thing they’re encouraged to do is keep showing up every week. It ends up being about the same psychologically as session-based advancement.
I think it is just another kind of psychological benefit. XP award day is like a birthday surprise! A cheer goes up around the table and everyone starts discussing what they'd do if they went up a level. It is always a fun moment.It seems like doing it that way, you would have all the work of tracking XP with none of the psychological benefits for the players.
I’m not talking about bonus XP for out of game behaviors (or the IMO deplorable practice of giving bonus XP for “good roleplaying”). I’m talking about setting up the XP award structure to encourage certain types of play. XP for encounters encourages a play style where you seek out dangerous challenges. XP for treasure encourages a play style where you try to avoid encounters (because they tax your resources for no direct reward) and prioritize challenges with the lowest risk and highest monetary reward. XP for completing quests encourages a play style where you take on quests for their own sake, regardless of potential monetary reward. XP for new locations discovered encourages a play style where you explore the uncharted sections of the map, but probably don’t return to areas that you’ve already filled in.I get that, but they get it for advancing the story and developing their characters as a group. And they understand that b/c we have discussed D&D as a collective activity where everyone rises and falls together. I don't want to encourage them to do anything but have fun within the framework of the type of game we've agree to share. I know I like certain behaviors and habits, but short of disrupting the game I know these are not for everyone (or even best if everyone did them).
I used to give bonus XP as incentives for certain out of game behaviors but that just rewarded the people who already did those things and did nothing to change the behaviors of others - and after years of being a teacher I am not into trying to coax anyone to do anything they don't really want to do anymore.
Sure, but you could get that same effect with session-based or even story-based advancement. You’re using XP but not getting the benefits that are unique to XP.I think it is just another kind of psychological benefit. XP award day is like a birthday surprise! A cheer goes up around the table and everyone starts discussing what they'd do if they went up a level. It is always a fun moment.
Effectively session-based advancement, then.I divide the XPs required by a number of sessions and hand out the fraction at the end of each game. I stopped caring about XPs midway during 2e.
I’m not talking about bonus XP for out of game behaviors (or the IMO deplorable practice of giving bonus XP for “good roleplaying”). I’m talking about setting up the XP award structure to encourage certain types of play. XP for encounters encourages a play style where you seek out dangerous challenges. XP for treasure encourages a play style where you try to avoid encounters (because it races your resources for no direct reward) and prioritize challenges with the lowest risk and highest monetary reward. XP for completing quests encourages a play style where you take on quests for their own sake, regardless of potential monetary reward. XP for new locations discovered encourages a play style where you explore the uncharted sections of the map, but probably don’t return to areas that you’ e already filled in.
And of course, you can mix and match as you like. Since I like my games to be focused on heroic adventurers who take on quests and face deadly dangers, I award XP for encounters and quests completed. For a less heroic, Sword-and-Sorcery style hex crawler campaign, XP for treasure and locations discovered might be more appropriate. What you award XP for can have a big impact on the tone of a campaign.
I divide the XPs required by a number of sessions and hand out the fraction at the end of each game. I stopped caring about XPs midway during 2e.
For sure! I mean, session-based and story-based advancement work for tons of groups, so it’s not like you need an XP award structure to set the tone for your campaign. It is a powerful tool for doing so though, and again, human brains love watching progress bars fill up. So I prefer it.Ah. I misunderstood.
What you describe makes a lot of sense. In my current game, however, I hadn't given it much thought because everyone is enjoying doing what we've been doing (facing encounters and completing quests). Role-playing is its own reward, though in the case of people who want to rp every single micro-interaction in character it feels like a punishment for everyone else.![]()
I hated AD&D xp accounting as a DM. I did it, but there were times I fell behind a number of games and going over the encounters and figuring out the xp was an exercise I was happy to give up from 3e and on.
Excel you say?I loved it and still love it.
Back in 1E days I had an accountants ledger I used to keep track of XP. Now I use excel and I am not exaggerating that I LOVE making/using spreadsheets.
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I somehow missed this in the cross-posting. What are these unique benefits? They still get the bar filling up effect, just more spaced out making it more special when it happens. Getting XP is not guarantee of going up a level. Like I said, I have awarded XP six times and they're just shy of 5th level.You’re using XP but not getting the benefits that are unique to XP.
Mainly, tying the filling of the progress bar directly to your in-game actions. Watching a progress bar fill up on its own is satisfying. Making a progress bar fill up is significantly more satisfying. If you award XP in batches and don’t specify what the players did to earn it, they get the former effect, but they don’t get the latter. And you can get the former from session-based advancement too.I somehow missed this in the cross-posting. What are these unique benefits? They still get the bar filling up effect, just more spaced out making it more special when it happens. Getting XP is not guarantee of going up a level. Like I said, I have awarded XP six times and they're just shy of 5th level.