D&D 5E What kind of XP awards does your group currently use in 5E?

[Charlaquin]

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.

 

[el-remmen]

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 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.

 

[el-remmen]

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 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.

 

[Marc_C]

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.

 

[Voadam]

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.

 

[Umbran]

I amnot running the games, so I am not entirely sure. I think "story based milestones" is the best description for what the GMs are doing.

 

[Charlaquin]

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.

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.

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.

 

[Charlaquin]

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.

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.

 

[Charlaquin]

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.

Effectively session-based advancement, then.

 

[el-remmen]

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.

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.