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Message: <blockquote data-quote="googleUser" data-source="post: 7134538" data-attributes="member: 6878234">Edited 06/09/17 for clarification and extra contentGood day fellow gamers,Sharing some thoughts about xp. BTW, English is not my mother language, so please forgive my poor syntax and approximative vocabulary.Here we goes.XP IS YOUR BEST FRIENDLet’s be honest: every player LOVES getting xp. The more, the better. Gems and Flaming swords are great, but XP is Gold (pun intended). At some table, a little whining may even be in progress at the end of the session.XP is a big part of D&D, but has very few story uses. So here are some ideas to change that, allowing the awarding of XP to contribute to the overall tone you're looking for in your campaign. This is totally Metagaming, as Metagaming is a thing, and don't have to be a curse use by some players to destroy the story, but could be a tool for the DMs to help telling the story a certain way.I will not talk about any ideas already in the DMG (Milestones...), because, well....It's already in the DMG. Look it up ^^Golden Rule: At the start of the campaign, discuss with your players how XP will be rewarded.The way you reward XP should help the setting flows the way the DM (and players, as it's usually a group effort) intended. It's especially helpful for new players.  The DM should feel free to tweak and turn the way XP is awarded, if it could help the storytelling. Here are some examples. Bear in mind that these are only examples and will only work if it fits the setting you're playing in and your gaming group. - Exploration-style game: award XP the first time a PC meets  a new  type of monster. There are no requirements that he or she kill  it or do  anything in particular except survive. (This can potentially  result in a  vaguely Call of Cthulhu-like game, with veteran PCs who  lots of  memories of fleeing from strange and horrible, madness-inducing   creatures.) (Thank you Hemlock for this amazing idea)- Band of thieves: XP depends only of the treasures you find, and is NOT rewarded for beating encounters.- Holy Warriors: XP for killing the Demons scorching the land (KILLING  only, the Holy Flame doesn’t take demon prisoners). Half XP for the cowardly demons who flee from your wrrath, Extra XP for compensating farmers for the lost of the crops.- Hack N Slash: You’re getting xp the usual way,  disposing of enemies (killing, fleeing, badly wounded…). You avoid the  fight and took the treasure because you were invisible ? No xp for you. We're here to take names and kick asses, fellows. But enjoy the spoils of your ruse <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />- Diplomatic & Peaceful: Combat is the last resort, a failure in itself. Half XP (or no xp) if you use violence to dispose of the encounters.- Gladiators/XCrawl: the Crowd gives you extra XP for entertainment. You killed your enemy when you could have knocked him out and let the audience decide of its demise ? Half XP, buster.- Honorable samurais ? No xp if they didn’t win in a fair fight. Extra XP for saving face, especially if it was dangerous. Seppuku ? Start your new character with extra XP (or extra Character Points. I'm deviating from the subject, so ^^).- Magic University: You get a level when you pass a year. Bad grades ? Your level could be delayed until mid-year exam. Hit the books ! (currently DMing, works well)- Soul vessels: PCs are inhabited by the Souls of Ancients Legendary Warriors. They have no class or level on their own, just the ones of the Souls inside them. They get Milestones for behaving the way their Souls did (Fighter should fight and practice with different kind of warriors, Druid interact with animals and plants, Wizard use magic or read about arcana...). (Currently DMing, works well too)Don't be afraid to mention it as needed during game-time, as a reminder, especially during the first couple of sessions. XP could even be mention during story time, if it could help the plot. For instance, let’s picture a room with a BBEG in it, with its pet dragon locked in a cage and a dragon keeper nearby. DM has count half the CR (and the XP) for the dragon, considering the cage factor. The key is in the keeper’s pocket, and it will try to free the cute pet if there is trouble. Couple of things could happen: Players barge in, dragon is freed, they kill everything and get only half xp for dragon, as it was in a cage. Players dispose of the keeper and the dragon stayed in cage the whole fight, they leave it there and still get the half xp. But what if one of the player was a wannabe Dragonslayer ? After disposing of the BBEG and it’s keeper, staring at the dragon inside the cage, he’s about the kill it with his bow. There comes the DM: “if you kill it fair and square, bonus xp is coming your way.” A little insensitive to have a memorable moment is a small price to pay. D&D is a game, and XP is a part of this game. Let’s use it with no shame, fellows. If you find this interesting and have more ideas on how to emphasize the setting using xp, please share ! PerfidiusPS: I know this post will be old news for some of you, especially very experimented DMs. I'm not reinventing the wheel here, just sharing some thoughts <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

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