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<blockquote data-quote="Wolfwood2" data-source="post: 3066031" data-attributes="member: 39394">XP is a metagame tool to control player character advancement.&nbsp; Naturally it acts funny if you take it as an in-game reality.Okay, let's look at it this way.&nbsp; You know there are games out there where players don't track xp for their PCs, right?&nbsp; They level up whenever the DM says. &quot;Okay I think it's about time for you to level up.&quot;There are also games where the DM gives out XP at a slower rate than the book because the group enjoys longer periods of being at the same level between advancement.Now my question for you is, do you think that from an internal in-game perspective these campaign worlds would look differently from worlds where PCs recieve and earn xp at a by-the-book rate?&nbsp; That is to say, does the fact the the PCs' advancement rate is divorced from overcoming challenges (in the first case) mean that all NPCs have an advancement rate divorced from overcoming challenges?Or does the fact that the PCs have to overcome more challenges to advance (as in the second case) mean that NPCs work under pretty much the same rules, and so there are fewer high level NPCs?From an in-game reality perspective, is it impossible to have an NPC above level one who has not overcome any challenges?&nbsp; Say the son of a noble who has trained every day with an instructor and has emerged with the skills of a second level Fighter.&nbsp; Is that something that cannot exist within the reality of the game world?&nbsp; (And if you count 'training' as overcoming challenges, then can't 'training' pretty much justify any NPC of any level?)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wolfwood2, post: 3066031, member: 39394"] XP is a metagame tool to control player character advancement. Naturally it acts funny if you take it as an in-game reality. Okay, let's look at it this way. You know there are games out there where players don't track xp for their PCs, right? They level up whenever the DM says. "Okay I think it's about time for you to level up." There are also games where the DM gives out XP at a slower rate than the book because the group enjoys longer periods of being at the same level between advancement. Now my question for you is, do you think that from an internal in-game perspective these campaign worlds would look differently from worlds where PCs recieve and earn xp at a by-the-book rate? That is to say, does the fact the the PCs' advancement rate is divorced from overcoming challenges (in the first case) mean that all NPCs have an advancement rate divorced from overcoming challenges? Or does the fact that the PCs have to overcome more challenges to advance (as in the second case) mean that NPCs work under pretty much the same rules, and so there are fewer high level NPCs? From an in-game reality perspective, is it impossible to have an NPC above level one who has not overcome any challenges? Say the son of a noble who has trained every day with an instructor and has emerged with the skills of a second level Fighter. Is that something that cannot exist within the reality of the game world? (And if you count 'training' as overcoming challenges, then can't 'training' pretty much justify any NPC of any level?) [/QUOTE]

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