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<blockquote data-quote="Ariosto" data-source="post: 5148323" data-attributes="member: 80487">I definitely favor rating the situation on a general measure of difficulty, rather than on the specifics of how hard or easy it is for particular players. To give more XP for having a harder time of it would be to reward unskilled play. That is very blatantly the case when (as in the game I DM) it is up to the players where to go and what to do, and it is chiefly in making those decisions that play of the game consists.Further complicating some views, while simplifying others, is the direct relationship in that game between treasure and XP. Securing treasure is the goal, not struggling through &quot;encounters&quot;. It's like Baseball, in which there's no bonus for swinging strikes and fouls -- you score points by getting runners across home base.When I place treasures, I am roughly assessing the requirements -- not just in character levels and numbers, but in demands on player effort or intellect -- to get the treasures. The returns on brute force and ignorance are likely to be at lower rates. For instance, wandering monsters as a general rule bear little or no treasure.There was a period when I did not even reduce awards for characters taking on challenges beneath their power level, except in the most egregious cases. The scaling of treasures by dungeon level and the scaling of XP requirements by character level seemed to be enough.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ariosto, post: 5148323, member: 80487"] I definitely favor rating the situation on a general measure of difficulty, rather than on the specifics of how hard or easy it is for particular players. To give more XP for having a harder time of it would be to reward unskilled play. That is very blatantly the case when (as in the game I DM) it is up to the players where to go and what to do, and it is chiefly in making those decisions that play of the game consists. Further complicating some views, while simplifying others, is the direct relationship in that game between treasure and XP. Securing treasure is the goal, not struggling through "encounters". It's like Baseball, in which there's no bonus for swinging strikes and fouls -- you score points by getting runners across home base. When I place treasures, I am roughly assessing the requirements -- not just in character levels and numbers, but in demands on player effort or intellect -- to get the treasures. The returns on brute force and ignorance are likely to be at lower rates. For instance, wandering monsters as a general rule bear little or no treasure. There was a period when I did not even reduce awards for characters taking on challenges beneath their power level, except in the most egregious cases. The scaling of treasures by dungeon level and the scaling of XP requirements by character level seemed to be enough. [/QUOTE]

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