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

[Eridanis]

General Awards (per session):
Show Up: 100 xp per level
Write a Journal of the Session: 100 xp per level
Any Combat that Session: 100 xp per level

Individual Awards (per instance):
Make Everybody Laugh: 100 xp
Voice a Good Idea: 100 xp
Do Something Remarkably in Character: 100 xp

Bonus:
Bring Snacks: 100 xp
Bring Extra Tasty Snacks: another 100 xp

In practise, this has meant we level every one-and-a-half to two months. A good progression for our style of play and the time commitment we're able to make (3-4 hours/session, 3 sessions a month on average). We're not giddy with power, nor do we feel like we're lagging behind. No matter how much we whine sometimes.

 

[HellHound]

I feel I should point out that, contrary to the tone of my original post, we still keep track of XP and I don't just "level up" the party on occasion.

I just don't calculate the XP with precision anymore. I do indeed love the fact that you can assign a CR to anything in the game and thus an XP value. (Outsmart the tower guard... CR1, Convince the mayor to send food to the drought-stricken village... CR6).

It's just that I generally only hand out XP when there is some down time or a safe place to stop. And sometimes that only happens in four or five sessions... by then I just end up guestimating anyways.

 

[Laslo Tremaine]

I'm in two campaigns at the moment (playing and DMing in one and running the other)

The first is a standard 3e Greyhawk game (with 4 rotating DMs). We decided early on that we would play this game strictly by-the-book (it was our first 3e campaign and our first D&D game in about 15 years). We do experience exactly as the standard 3e rules proscribe.

The second is a very non-standard, semi-homebrew game with a fairly different feel to it. Item creation feats are not allowed (and we have no arcane casters...), spells with xp costs or gp costs are roleplayed out (since the players are on their own in a world without any sort of infrastructure that would support magic (no magic shops, no coinage, etc). For this game, I just tell people when they level; XP are not tracked in any way. It's worked great so far.

I have a question for people who give "roleplaying" XP awards. Do you give them based of effort or on quality. I have been in groups that give XP (or "eeps" as we call them). In my groups the players seem to range from Very Talented to Only So-So. It seems to me that if you gave RPXP based on quality, that the Very Talented people would start pulling ahead of the Only So-So people. For my groups at least, that would not be a desired effect...

 

[Psion]

I just use a variant of the system presented in the DMG. The dmg offers up 75 xp per hour per level. That's too fast for me, so I just do 50 xp per hour per level and provide bonuses as a percentage.

 

[Desdichado]

Psion, how often do you find you level at that rate?

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I just use a variant of the system presented in the DMG. The dmg offers up 75 xp per hour per level.

It does?

I'll be damned. I really should read that thing.

That sounds to me like a really good method!


Wulf

 

[Bavix]

I've heard many people complain that 3E advances PCs too quickly (me being one of them). Most of those complaining give XP to PCs for things the players do (like like I did). After thinking about it for a long time I can't really agree with it. I mean, why does Kharlak the wizard gain skills or become a better spellcaster if Joe (the player) shows up for a game session on time or brings some snacks. Does it make sense that just because Billy is a great roleplayer and draws pictures of his PC then his character gains experience, heck no it doesn't. That's why I made up Player Experience Points or PEPs. I give XP pretty close to the charts in the DMG and it works fine as long as other arbitrary XP awards aren't heaped onto it. I've attached the basic system I use in my game.

Player Experience Points (PEPs)
A player can earn Player Experience Points (PEPs) through exceptional roleplaying and game related activities such as painting miniatures, writing a detailed background for their PC, making miniature scale scenery, creating or finding illustrations of their PC or equipment, etc. Some example PEP awards follow:
• Exceptional roleplaying = 1 - 100 per session
• Painting a miniature = 1 - 50
• Character development (PC background, family tree, etc.) = 1 - 50
• Campaign development (new prestige class, organization, spell, etc) = 1 - 50
• Illustrations of PCs, NPCs, locations, symbols, etc = 1 - 50
Players can spend PEPs to help keep their characters alive. For every 100 PEPs a player spends, she can roll one extra die and keep the better result. PEPs can be spent on any die roll but no more than 100 PEPs per character level can be spent on a single role. In other words, you can't roll more extra dice than your PC's level. The decision to spend PEPs on a die roll must be made before the roll is made.
For example: Malaran is a 7th-level brigand and Dave, being the roleplaying juggernaut he is, has acquired a whopping 1,250 PEPs over the last several weeks. During a harrowing game session, Malaran is being chased by several displacer beasts and he sees a chasm in front of him. If Malaran can make the jump, he'll leave the displacer beasts behind. Dave decides to spend 300 PEPs on the Jump check (which lets him roll a total of four d20 and choose the best result for the check). Dave could spend up to 700 PEPs (getting seven extra dice to choose from) for Malaran's actions with any single die roll.
Another example: Clint is tired of Neilo being a wimp with low hit points so upon Neilo becoming a 5th-level wizard, Clint decides to spend his maximum of 500 PEPs so he can roll a total of six d4s for hit points and take the best result.

 

[barsoomcore]

Yo Bavix -- that's pretty clever -- reward metagame contributions with metagame rewards. I like.

 

[S'mon]

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

Yes, well there's the thing. My personal issue isn't with the number of XP per encounter, but the assumed number of encounters per hour.

Yes, if all you're doing is concentrating on getting through encounters, you can churn through one an hour without too much strain. But where would you find time to play your role?

I agree, my D&D 3e games tend to run like tactical wargames, which is ok, but there seems less time for kicking back and just roleplaying than in the olden times. I think in my games we tend to average 6 hour sessions and level at about every 2-3 sessions, with encounters tending to be somewhat tougher than standard.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

S'mon, I just want to say I love your sig.

Apropos to D&D as well as to our troubled times.


Wulf