XP Spread

[the Jester]

Okay, so we played my low-level halfling game yesterday. It was a long game, running from 5:01 p.m. to 3:05 a.m. according to my sign-in sheet (on which such things are, at least sort of, documented). There were 8 pcs in the party, but never more than seven at a time as people arrived and left. Of the pcs, one is 4th level, two are 6th level, four are 7th level and one is 8th level.

Now, I just figured out xp for yesterday's adventure. The session included a lot of combat- a total of 11 CR 2 monsters, two CR 3 monsters, two CR 4 monsters, and one each CR 5-8. I use an xp system that cuts the monster xp to about 2/3 and gives a bit for roleplaying as well.

The spread on xp gained ran as follows:
2757
2179
1978
1761
1697
1613
1338

And one guy who I need to talk to in order to award him his roleplaying xp before I have his total, though he's probably still going to end up getting the least (because he missed much of the meaty combat).

Now, I'm just rambling- no real point here- but I am curious how the experiences of others running large, come-and-go, mixed-level groups compare. Anyone else have any experiences similar to this? (Anyone else have a group like this? Come on, I know someone does! )

(Btw, roleplaying xp typically nets a pc 10 x lvl x (4-7, depending), just so you have an idea. Extra good rp sessions change the 10 in the formula above, and in this session I made it 12 x lvl x n.)

 

[Darkness]

The spread on xp gained ran as follows:
2757
2179
1978
1761
1697
1613
1338

This data would tell us more if we knew which level each of them is. (You mentioned they are 8, 7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 6, 4. So... Which is which? )

 

[Victim]

Can you match the XP gained to the level of each character? Since you have such a wide spread in levels, I'm wondering if it's a "rich get richer" situation.

 

[the Jester]

4- 2757
6- 2179
7- 1978
8- 1761
7- 1697
7- 1613
6- 1338

For clarification, the guy who got 1338 works til about 11 pm, so he only got a few hours in. Which, as we work on alternate days at the same job, is teh suck for gaming.

The guy who left early is also 6th, but (as stated earlier) I don't have his total. He was only in one combat, though.

 

[the Jester]

Another point about the way I give xp: some of the role playing xp is player voted- there is an mvp and a best roleplaying award. (7th and 6th level pcs, respectively; the ones who got 1697 and 2179 xp).

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I tend to go with story awards. That saves me the trouble of calculating exp and the players aren't in competition with each other for the spotlight.

I also award exp to players who don't show up but who generally make the game. Real life considerations are, sadly, more important than D&D.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

You have a sign-in sheet?!?! For D&D?!?! Why????

 

[scourger]

And you played until 3 a.m.?!

Anyway, I think my players would mutiny in the face of the level spread you have. As far as XP spread goes, it looks like you played the equivalent of about 3 of our regular sessions; and different people showed up for different parts. It sounds reasonable that they have different XP awards.

My real question is, what happens to the character when the player isn't there? Here's how I work it. If the character is there, then the character garners expereince. If the character departs with the player, then the character gets no experience. I've been doing this so that the players have a little more incentive to show up and play so their characters can advance. In my current game, most of the 8 PCs are 4th level. A couple of lucky ones are 5th. I think 1 is pushing 6th. When a character dies, the replacement gets half the expereince of the dead one--adjusted to the minimum for the module. One PC in particular has lived and has been played in all but 1 of 20 sessions, so that PC is the leader in XP.

I also quit keeping a spreadsheet for xp, which sounds similar to your sign-in sheet. It's just too much work. Now, I award blue poker chips for good play: having a painted miniature, good roleplay, or whatever else I want to encourage. A chip is worth a reroll of any d20 or a 5% xp bonus at the end of the session. That way, the reward is immediate and tangible. It also allows the players more heroic control over the outcomes of events. At the end of each session, I tally and award xp on the spot. People cash in their chips. I'm done. I find there's more than enough other work to do to get ready for the next week's session than figuring up xp between sessions. You could use a similar system and just do the tally & cash-in when a player enters or leaves the game.

I am intrigued by the idea of your halfling game. Are all the PCs halflings?

 

[Ibram]

XP spread is to be expected with people coming and going from a group (my own group has this problem to a lesser degree). What I've done is just auto level up the lowest level people to bring them to the group average (I assume that their characters are dooing Something when their players are not there).

I hate to have the level spread get more then one level appart, it messes up my encounter calculations (doubly so if its the tank thats trailing).

 

[the Jester]

I keep sign-in sheets for my games for record purposes. I can go back and find out who was there when x happened in game y, for instance. It also really helps with the story hours.

As to how the level spread got so wide, it's because some players are almost always there and some aren't. Also, when you die, you start off 1 level lower and the 4th-level guy has had two deaths in the last, mmm, prolly about six sessions. (The guy who is now 8th was the other most recent death, and he came back at about 3rd level; but he's one of the ones who makes almost every session from start to finish.)

As to how we handle missing players- their character just sort of 'fades into the background'- the excuses we've used range from 'scouting ahead' to 'down with a fever' to 'going to the bathroom.'