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

[rackabello]

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.

The thing that intrigued me most about the Omega World XP awards was the category "Spectacular Failure." If the PCs give it their all, try something especially daring or creative but ultimately foolhardy, they are rewarded the same as they would be for success. Using this as is would probably work best in the sort of lighter, beer 'n' pretzels game that Omega World so unabashedly is, and one certainly wouldn't want to reward players for being brash dimwits, but I appreciate the idea that XP is more than something you get for offing the bad guys.

 

[Breakdaddy]

hah! our group has been gaming every saturday for almost two years (about 5-6 hours a session) and they just reached level 8 last week. They have all died at least once, and the res cost them a lvl, but two of the four made level 8 last week! Im so proud *sniff*!

 

[nopantsyet]

I was going to drop XP for my group's new campaign thinking that nobody would mind since they have always levelled-up regularly enough.

Boy was I wrong! I guess it's just one of those sacred cows that's hard to make sacred burgers from. One of my players response was, "Well, it just sounds lazy to me." And I said, "Well, yeah." As if DMs don't have enough to do without having to calculate XP all the time.

OTOH, I don't mind XP because I've arrived at a good balance for (most) CRs, and the XP rewards seem appropriate. But it would be nice to streamline my work a bit.

 

[Nightfall]

I was done with Window XP a long time ago.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

CRs for Everything and levels for he who brings the biggest bribe

I'm a fast moving pcs kind of a guy. Players in my campaigns almost never see a month go by in which they do not level.

I too assign CRs to everything or at the very least set amounts of experience based on the level of the party and their general performance. I mean if they are always choosing the clever way then I tend to give them more when they finally break down and bust their way in. You always learn more from initial experimentation than other wise.

I also have been, I am ashamed to say, amenable to player bribery. There is nothing like coming in to a roomful of players who have prepped your favorite chair, prepared a tray of snacks, and bought you a bottle of choice Gin. I appreciate such gestures and consider it both a sign that they are enjoying my game and are really into their characters and one more little sin on an already over burdened soul.

In my experience, games with set experience awards for specific actions, like 13,000xp for killing a dragon or some such, tend to encourage a much more active and creative performance from players in terms of decisions.

No group I have ever played with generated nearly as much pure RPG vigor as my Hackmaster crew. Mind you it was just as morally corrupt as bounty hunting, but man were they good at it.

 

[Frostmarrow]

We use XP but in a slightly odd fashion. We start out at 500 XP and when the DM sees the need to level the characters up we gain enough XP to bring us halfway in to the next one, in this case 1,000 XP. This brings us to 1,500 XP and halfway in to second level.

This is good because it allows the spellcasters the use of their item making feats.

 

[reapersaurus]

Our campaigns just give ad hoc XP - not really based on anything accurate - just so's we level up occasionally.

 

[Umbran]

Re: CRs for Everything and levels for he who brings the biggest bribe

I'm a fast moving pcs kind of a guy. Players in my campaigns almost never see a month go by in which they do not level.

Okay, I have to ask - how often do you play? Because personally, I'd find that in a weekly game, levelling that frequently would irritate me.

Do you feel these characters have a chance to fully explore the abilities they have at one level before you add to them?

 

[Eternalknight]

The system in Wheel of Time could work too. Each PC gains a number of XP, awarded after each adventure, equal to the length of the adventure (short 1,000XP, medium 2,000XP, Long 4,000XP), divided by the number of PC's, multiplied by the average level of the PC's.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I use the XP/CR/EL System quite exactly like it is written, and I use it to plan my campaign.

I figure out how much XP they will have, when they play a certain adventure, and base the challenges on that.
Or, if I have an adventure in mind, with certain villains (with certain CRs) I figure out how many adventures and what challenges I have to design to be played as an "advancement" to the other adventure, before beeing able to start it.
Currently, it works quite well ...

Mustrum Ridcully