Xp or no Xp

[Slife]

It all boils down to this

XP, or no XP: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in your mind to bypass
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

 

[Bagpuss]

The problem with escaping enemies is that you might encounter them again later in the adventure.

If they (the enemies) have the opportunity to heal themselves and regain their resources, should the party gain XP every time time they defeat them?

I should think not!

Why? What if you just hit them with a different = CR creature if they actually killed the guy, would they not deserve the XP for that?

Or his clone? or twin brother?

It's the same challenge.

 

[the Jester]

The problem with escaping enemies is that you might encounter them again later in the adventure.

If they (the enemies) have the opportunity to heal themselves and regain their resources, should the party gain XP every time time they defeat them?

I should think not!

Why not?

To switch genres for a moment, shouldn't the Fantastic Four get xp for defeating Doctor Doom each time they do it?

 

[RFisher]

Why? What if you just hit them with a different = CR creature if they actually killed the guy, would they not deserve the XP for that?

Or his clone? or twin brother?

It's the same challenge.

For me, it's just about expectations. If the PCs expect to get full XP for multiple "defeats" of the same individual, they may be tempted to try to "XP farm" each individual monster. To discourage that, I set the expectation that they may not get XP for a second defeat of the same individual. Then I can still give out full XP for a second defeat that came about (for lack of a better word) naturally without encouraging them to contrive multiple defeats of a single individual.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

For me, it's just about expectations. If the PCs expect to get full XP for multiple "defeats" of the same individual, they may be tempted to try to "XP farm" each individual monster. To discourage that, I set the expectation that they may not get XP for a second defeat of the same individual. Then I can still give out full XP for a second defeat that came about (for lack of a better word) naturally without encouraging them to contrive multiple defeats of a single individual.

I go with 'one max XP reward per critter per scenario' as a base.

So, if they get Lord Middenheap on the run they get a partial reward. If they then hunt him down, and bring him to justice before finishing the adventure then they will get the remainder.

If however they finish the scenario, then fight him again in 'The Return of Lord Middenheap', dropping him into a lava pit, they will get the full reward for the second scenario.

And if there is any ambiguity then they get the full reward. (Because we all know that Lord Middenheap will be returning if they leave him in the burning building/sinking ship/erupting volcanic island....)

The Auld Grump

 

[Slife]

For me, it's just about expectations. If the PCs expect to get full XP for multiple "defeats" of the same individual, they may be tempted to try to "XP farm" each individual monster. To discourage that, I set the expectation that they may not get XP for a second defeat of the same individual. Then I can still give out full XP for a second defeat that came about (for lack of a better word) naturally without encouraging them to contrive multiple defeats of a single individual.

If it becomes noticeable, the DM can just stop giving XP. It's as simple as that. (And if they are capable of safely XP farming a monster, it obviously isn't much of a challenge, and shouldn't be worthwhile, anyway.)