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

[el-remmen]

Partially the default style for my games is driven by the adventures I choose to run which involves events and plots and combat, partially it is driven by on the spot improv and sandbox play.

Yes. Very much this to me.

 

[Oofta]

This is specifically why I prefer story or milestone or x number of games style xp.

I am personally happy with many different styles and enjoy different aspects and approaches to the game. I want my game to be designed to be open to whatever styles are fun for my players and me, I do not want to try to psychologically drive them to engage in one specific style or another. If everyone is interacting with small town gossip and relationships and having fun doing so I am happy to have the game go that direction. If everyone wants to roll dice and kick butt to blow off real life steam that is fine by me. If people want to be tactical sneaky guys carefully avoiding combat to pull off a heist I can roll with that style.

Partially the default style for my games is driven by the adventures I choose to run which involves events and plots and combat, partially it is driven by on the spot improv and sandbox play.

The players getting to decide tone is said better than I did. I agree, I don't care too much about tone (within certain bounds, I don't want anti-heroes for example) as long as they are excited and engaged.

 

[el-remmen]

Revelation #2: I am essentially doing milestone but using the XP numbers from killing monsters to decide what to give.

 

[Charlaquin]

This is specifically why I prefer story or milestone or x number of games style xp.

I am personally happy with many different styles and enjoy different aspects and approaches to the game. I want my game to be designed to be open to whatever styles are fun for my players and me, I do not want to try to psychologically drive them to engage in one specific style or another. If everyone is interacting with small town gossip and relationships and having fun doing so I am happy to have the game go that direction. If everyone wants to roll dice and kick butt to blow off real life steam that is fine by me. If people want to be tactical sneaky guys carefully avoiding combat to pull off a heist I can roll with that style.

Partially the default style for my games is driven by the adventures I choose to run which involves events and plots and combat, partially it is driven by on the spot improv and sandbox play.

To each their own, of course. Like I said, if that’s a negative side-effect to you, I imagine session-based advancement will be more appealing.

 

[iserith]

For giving out XP at the end of every session would be a pain. The end of sessions are already always a pain. We are always hurrying because we are about to (or already have) gone over time. Often we are mid-adventure, or even mid-combat(!) which means we have to carefully note everyone's hit points, remains spells/slots, position on the map, etc. . . So trying to add giving XP to that or (worse to my mind) stopping the flow of the game to award it as it happens would not be to my taste.

The best I can imagine with those approaches, if I were to try one, would be awarding XP for the last session at the beginning of each session or awarding it via email between sessions.

I guess I am also old school in that I always imagine going up a level required some downtime in addition to XP.

Interesting comment on end of session stuff. My group hard stops at 11 pm Eastern. Fifteen minutes prior to that time, we're all looking for that "cliffhanger moment" to end on (which can include an exciting turn of events mid-battle). Barring that, we look for a satisfying resolution or readiness for a new thing next session. When we see it, the session's over. Because I award XP after every challenge is resolved, there's really nothing to do unless we just resolved a challenge in which case some simple math is all it takes before we call it a night.

As far as downtime to level up, there is a variant rule for that in the DMG (as a downtime activity), but it's not an expectation of this version of the game. One can, however, set some limits around it - must long rest first, must pay money, must spend downtime days, etc. But I find that's something to do when there is a thematic or structural reason for it. Otherwise, one may as well just have the PCs level up on the spot as they earn it in my view. The player is excited for it and the party gets a little bump in power so they can push a little further (than they probably should do!).

 

[Charlaquin]

On the middle point: I've seen it backfire when it's stuff the players were doing anyways. It feels like a sarcastic gold star for showing up to work on time, rather than a reward for doing something good. But maybe that's just "using it badly" as opposed to "it not being useful in this case" - but it can at least be used badly.

It's also a very meta kind of rule, and not a necessary one, but how much an individual cares about that will vary.

I should also point out that 'setting the tone' isn't the only use of xp. For example, open tables or other less-consistent games xp might be necessary since pc's won't all be hitting the same milestones and/or story beats. XP becomes a must-have in that scenario.

Again, the tone-setting thing is a side-effect (which I see as a significant benefit, though others might see as a drawback). The main advantage of XP is making progress towards leveling up a. Visible (which is also achieved with session-based advancement) and b. A direct result of your actions (which story-based advancement tries to achieve but in my opinion usually fails to.)

 

[Charlaquin]

I don't know. I dropped XP long ago in an edition far away. Didn't seem to decrease enjoyment at all, in fact my players appreciated getting rid of it since it was a distraction and extra bookkeeping (their words).

Like I said, I think most people don’t need XP awards to enjoy the game, but the benefit they have, while subtle, is significant. The difference it makes isn’t obvious like getting rid of bookkeeping is, so it doesn’t surprise me at all that players might appreciate the lack of bookkeeping and not consciously appreciate the lack of progress as a direct reward for their actions. And hey, if it works for your group, how much that difference actually matters is pretty academic. Keep doing what’s fun for you!

What works for one person may not work for another. Don't know if you've ever tried alternatives (and not telling you one way is better than another) but my players get plenty excited about achieving goals for the sake of achieving goals.

I have tried other ways, and they have their own benefits and drawbacks. I use the method I do because I think it creates the best player experience overall. YMMV.

 

[Blue]

Some see leveling up as a reward. Others as a progression. They are both right. But it's also a pacing mechanism. When the tenor and scope of what the players are dealing with expands, that's a good time to level them up. Or to be more specific, that's a good time to TIER them up, and hopefully you have been leveling them up at an appropriate rate that it's time to do that.

 

[el-remmen]

Fifteen minutes prior to that time, we're all looking for that "cliffhanger moment" to end on (which can include an exciting turn of events mid-battle). Barring that, we look for a satisfying resolution or readiness for a new thing next session.

Oh we try that too - but is rarely very clearly or easily judged for us.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Again, the tone-setting thing is a side-effect (which I see as a significant benefit, though others might see as a drawback). The main advantage of XP is making progress towards leveling up a. Visible (which is also achieved with session-based advancement) and b. A direct result of your actions (which story-based advancement tries to achieve but in my opinion usually fails to.)

If the xp come from your actions (as a direct result), it's setting the tone. Because even "you get xp for taking actions" is setting the tone in the sense of "I expect active play, and not passive play." The only way for xp rewards to not influence tone is for them to happen regardless not only of what actions you take, but whether you take actions at all.

If setting the tone can be a negative (as @Voadam so eloquently explained), then awarding xp for actions can be a net negative.

And if the choice of what you do is irrelevant, including whether or not to do anything, it becomes less meaningful than a participation trophy. It can even feel like a waste of tie and energy to note it down. That might seem like an extreme case, but it also seems to be the experience of quite a few people.