D&D General XP: How Do You Like To Earn It?

[Parmandur]

I don’t see why. My complaint is the players being hardwired to getting stuff in an extremely boring way and the response was to lean into the boringness with random encounters as a response. Just not my style.

Not much in style in general, hence the know away from that incentivization system entirely within the hobby.

 

[payn]

I am not sure how that leads to the idea of punitive viking hat GMing, but okay.

I guess I took all the excitement about dropping random encounters on the PCs for what appears to be stupid decisions. It just seems very old school punitive which is that “Viking hat” style?

 

[Reynard]

I guess I took all the excitement about dropping random encounters on the PCs for what appears to be stupid decisions. It just seems very old school punitive which is that “Viking hat” style?

Your interpretation that it is punishment for "stupid" decisions is what is off. I did not mean to imply that at all. In the theoretical scenario, the players decided to do a thing in the world, and the world reacts. That is neither stupidity nor punishment.

 

[TiQuinn]

The only preference that I have is that it doesn't take forever and a day to level up. I'm agnostic as to the means of leveling up.

 

[payn]

Your interpretation that it is punishment for "stupid" decisions is what is off. I did not mean to imply that at all. In the theoretical scenario, the players decided to do a thing in the world, and the world reacts. That is neither stupidity nor punishment.

Well, probably a bit to go around then because I was specifically calling this out as boring AF. The logistics of the world reacting is fine I just find xp places the interest in the least interesting aspects.

 

[Reynard]

Well, probably a bit to go around then because I was specifically calling this out as boring AF. The logistics of the world reacting is fine I just find xp places the interest in the least interesting aspects.

It depends on your goal. I agree that if "telling a story" is the goal, then counting XP is not really the right tool for that job. I mean, a "story" as such always emerges from play, but only in retrospect when doing things like dungeon crawling for loot, etc. But if things like set piece battles, pacing and big moments are a thing for you, milestones work much better.

 

[Parmandur]

Well, probably a bit to go around then because I was specifically calling this out as boring AF. The logistics of the world reacting is fine I just find xp places the interest in the least interesting aspects.

It is interesting to consider Clasic Traveller here, a game with no level advancement mechanism at all, that was also trying to encourage the same pulpy mercenary behavior as OD&D, bitnthrough narrative structures like mortgages and ebt collection.

 

[payn]

It depends on your goal. I agree that if "telling a story" is the goal, then counting XP is not really the right tool for that job. I mean, a "story" as such always emerges from play, but only in retrospect when doing things like dungeon crawling for loot, etc. But if things like set piece battles, pacing and big moments are a thing for you, milestones work much better.

Yeah that’s fair. I’m sort hybrid in that I like set piece battles and pacing big moments buuuut I like my players developing the parameters of them through engaging the setting. Start small and work up to big. XP often stays as small as long as the trickle of power keeps coming. Which is also why I’m such a fan of games like Traveller that don’t have that power level up incentive.

 

[Parmandur]

It depends on your goal. I agree that if "telling a story" is the goal, then counting XP is not really the right tool for that job. I mean, a "story" as such always emerges from play, but only in retrospect when doing things like dungeon crawling for loot, etc. But if things like set piece battles, pacing and big moments are a thing for you, milestones work much better.

Treasure for XP does encourage behavior that fits a genre of story, at least. Combat for XP really brought out weird sociopathic results in 3E, to my mind.

 

[payn]

Treasure for XP does encourage behavior that fits a genre of story, at least. Combat for XP really brought out weird sociopathic results in 3E, to my mind.

Yeah the reward system is going to incentivize play. So if xp comes from killing stuff well…

I think that’s why milestone is appealing to me because players, at least proactive ones, employ all kinds of solutions based on their tool kit and their interests! Though, I know that can be too daunting or vague for some play styles.