D&D 5E XP for Absent Players

[SubDude]

For more than 30 years I've been awarding half XP for players who miss the gaming session. What are considerations for changing this approach and awarding the same XP to everyone, absent or present?

ETA: Playing 5E, don't care at all about characters all being the same level.

Part of me argues that missing some of the XP isn't a punishment since they're getting some of the reward for their character's participation, but I can see the counter-argument that the character is still facing all the same risks (indeed potentially more risk by letting someone else play the character) but getting less reward.

I'd say our usual thought process has been the second option that Kinematics listed in post 30 below. And I'm reflecting on the posts here to see if I want to change it.

 

[Morrus]

Adults have busy lives and families and jobs, and punishing them for not being able to attend social occasions is weirdly manipulative.

 

[Oofta]

I look at leveling (I don't use XP) as simply a way to tell different aspects of the story, so everyone is always the same level. I also give people a slightly reduced amount of GP and items. Basically enough to get them close to on par with the rest of the party considering money and consumables that might have been used along the way.

Missing sessions suck enough, I don't see a need to penalize the player any more, but I also do it with new players. If the entire group is fifth level, the new person starts at fifth level.

 

[Ancalagon]

For more than 30 years I've been awarding half XP for players who miss the gaming session. What are considerations for changing this approach and awarding the same XP to everyone, absent or present?

It's what I've been doing for a long time, it hasn't really been a problem for us?

 

[coolAlias]

Which edition of the game are you playing?

In AD&D 2e, characters often varied widely in level due to the different class progressions, multi-classing, xp bonuses / penalties, etc., so in that game I'd say it doesn't really matter which way you go.

In 3e, being behind not only the level curve but assumedly also the loot curve could put characters at a serious disadvantage.

5e is much more forgiving than 3e regarding level disparity, but depending on how the frequency and difficulty of combat they could still be in for a rough time if they fall too far behind.

 

[ad_hoc]

Adults have busy lives and families and jobs, and punishing them for not being able to attend social occasions is weirdly manipulative.

I don't consider it punishment.

I want my character to grow and change only when I am there to play them.

I don't want to miss a couple sessions and then suddenly my character is another level and I never got a chance to play the previous level.

 

[Morrus]

I don't consider it punishment.

I want my character to grow and change only when I am there to play them.

I don't want to miss a couple sessions and then suddenly my character is another level and I never got a chance to play the previous level.

I guess you could voluntarily refuse XP then.

 

[Charlaquin]

Docking XP for absence creates parties with uneven levels, which makes encounters harder to balance, and in turn you make your players feel bad but don’t actually change their attendance habits. In contrast, giving absent players full XP makes your life easier as a DM and has no downsides.

 

[iserith]

For more than 30 years I've been awarding half XP for players who miss the gaming session. What are considerations for changing this approach and awarding the same XP to everyone, absent or present?

It probably won't change much since you're already giving them half XP as is. What really matters in my view is what you're giving XP for as that is what will tend to influence behavior in the game. If there's a problem of sporadic attendance that is impacting the game, I recommend looking to other out-of-game solutions.

My group views XP as an incentive to do the things that give you XP. In most D&D 5e campaigns of mine that means killing monsters/NPCs (combat) or making them your allies (social). If you want treasure, you'll generally need to explore to find it. XP or gold here is not an incentive to show up to play, nor a punishment for not showing up to play. The incentive for showing up is getting to have a good time together and helping to create an exciting, memorable story.

Personally, I do not award XP for non-attendance. I've got more players than seats at the table (generally 8 to 10 players for 5 seats). If you can make it, great; if you can't, someone else will take that seat and we'll catch you some other time. I also have no cares about characters of different levels. Bounded accuracy sees to that concern and any level differences quickly vanish anyway. My current Eberron group spans 5th to approaching 9th level, and I've run games where there were up to 7 levels of difference. It all worked out fine.

 

[LordEntrails]

I keep all my characters at the same level XP amount. Too many bad experiences with players feeling ineffective because of level differences (esp in 3.x). Besides, there is no mature reason for me to reward or punish players for attendance, playing is reward enough, absence is its own penalty.