You know what? I think I'm done with XP

[ForceUser]

I'm lazy. Calculating all those XP awards in meticulous detail borders on the absurd, and while I'm vaguely curious what the players earned for the night's session, I have begun to feel like the chore of totaling awards is redundant. After all, there is no set-in-stone rate for advancement in D&D; it's really whatever the DM feels like. So why consult the little arcane charts at all?

I think I'm just going to start leveling my players whenever I feel like it. Every few sessions, or automatically at the end of an adventure. It's all the same, right?

 

[Drakmar]

dude.. I changed the way I did it.

basically.. I decided that I wanted my players to gain a level every 4 to 6 game sessions.. so.. I just went with.. every time you turn up.. you get a tick. if you roleplay well...you get a tick.. and when you have enough ticks.. you gain a level.

works beautifully. I usually set the number of ticks needed at 7...

 

[Breakstone]

My thought on XP is more of a guide for rewards at the end of the game.

When you tell the players "You gain 500 xp for defeating Sir Vorvek the Dark Knight" it provides more of a reward than just saying "the villagers give you 500 gp for defeating Sir Vorvek the Dark Knight."

Perhaps, instead of just throwing it away, you can decide how much experience to give them on your own, instead of consulting the chart.

 

[Emiricol]

I try to level my PCs every 2-3 months. I use XP because my players dig XP, but I pretty much plan my adventures with this progression in mind.

 

[barsoomcore]

You are wise, Force User.

FU.

Heh, heh, heh...

Sorry, but seriously, yeah, I'm considering it. One of my players is a total lawyer who tracks every little point and wonders why there's this much instead of that much.

The only reason for sticking with them that I can see is if you have characters of varying levels -- low-level characters ought to level faster than high level characters.

 

[RobNJ]

I believe that Star Wars uses a system where a set amount of XP based on level is awarded for every session, and that conforms to the formula where every 13.333333333333 encounters, you gain a level. I've been thinking of doing that (along with deleting alignment) in my next game.

 

[Breakstone]

A recent Dungeon/Polyhedron featured a game called Omega World, which suggested using loose XP, meaning if the players completed the quest, they gained 2000 XP. If they didn't complete the quest, they gained 500 XP. If they just goofed around but still did something, they gained 100 or so XP.

Anyway, I suppose I see XP as more of a reward than anything.

 

[Zappo]

I have never even read the XP tables. From day one, I've decided that I wanted my players to level about once every month and a half, and awarded XP accordingly. Be present at most sessions, roleplay well, and it will be closer to one month, miss sessions and roleplay badly and it will be closer to two months.

 

[John Crichton]

Good topic....

I loosely use the CR/XP charts. I'll consult them as a guideline but overall the players will level up (if of same levels at the time) every 6-8 sessions (we try to play once a week). Sometimes more. Never less than 6.

If a PC does something entertaining or very "in character" I may bump it up a session for that PC. Or if the PC's aren't roleplaying up to snuff for a session or 2 this can slow down their progression. I still use XP as I think it is a good gauge for the players to go by. But it's more based off a completed mission/task/encounter system (a la CoC) than killing monsters or defeating traps, etc.

:: edited to make sense ::

 

[Nathanael]

I actually use XP backwards: as a method of determining what challenges my PC's will face as opposed to what they will earn from facing challenges.

I plan for my PC's to go up every one or two adventures and determine how many creatures there will be and how difficult the encounters are based on that. I don't have to be exact, because I award everyone the same xp for participating. If the points go over or fall short, I don't care, because I don't have to keep track of exact points. If they get close or go over I say 'You've gone up a level' all the same. In a way, I'm just using the XP as another form of EL.

Instead of arbitray XP for individual acts of good roleplay, I hand out titles, favours and equipment. I find this is easier to keep track of than 5 different XP scores. In addition, a nifty item or the ability to gather extra income from a barony is much more valuable, and 'real' to the characters, at higher levels than a few paltry and ephemeral XP...