Comments on: When Is A Good Time To Hand Out Experience Points?

By: Johnn

Johnn — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:09:06 +0000

That’s funny, Mike.

I remember playing a module (Treasure Hunt? I think it was part of the N series of AD&D) where we all washed ashore as 0 level PCs. We stated what our intended classes were going to be at 1st level and then started the adventure.

Well, we earned 1st level, but the GM had been tracking our actions and how they matched to PC classes. Turns out my priest was more of a rogue. The other players became either rogues or fighters too. Heh.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:47:08 +0000

@ Pachristian: I have used a similar technique in the past. I found that there were distinct problems with the feeling of reality in the campaign when a player could simply announce that they had been studying “x” throughout the previous sessions. The final straw came when a player told me what it was that they were working on for next level, and I deliberately placed a situation into the game to give them a chance to ‘practice’ – and the player used everything BUT what they were supposed to be studying to try and solve the problem.

By: Johnn

Johnn — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:34:39 +0000

@pachristian: I love the idea of players doing a new sheet for each level. Great for auditing and building up a stockpile of NPCs. Neat.

By: pachristian

pachristian — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:26:18 +0000

Myself, I like to hand out XP immediately. Otherwise, it’s too much work for me, as the GM, to sit back after the game and remember who did what and for how much. When a player approaches level, I ask them to write up a “levelled up” version of their character, and bring it to the gaming table. When the character actually does level, the player simply whips out the new sheet (which as GM I have already reviewed) updates it to show new XP, hit points lost and spells/charges expended, and hands the old sheet over to the GM (who files it).
This minimizes disruption in play, and keeps the players happy.
And yes, players get their new hit points and spells immediately. It is “assumed” that they have been studying between adventures.
As a GM, I keep pretty close track of what encounters are available and how much experience I will be handing out.
This allows me to plan later encounters in a single adventure on the assumption that players will have leveled, and will have certain spells and abilities available to them. Further, as the players prepare their “leveled up” version in advance, I generally know what new feats, spells, or class abilities they will be taking – and I can work that into the game.

Nothing is more fun than a player who says “whew! I am so glad I trained xxxxxxx for my character! We would have been toast if I hadn’t!” The player feels good about himself/herself, the other players are happy with the levelled player, and the GM just keeps his mouth shut and DOESN’T say “I only put that in BECAUSE I knew you were taking xxxxxx.”

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:20:51 +0000

In my 4e campaign we’ve decided to go for faster advancement. For the next little while, instead of giving out XP at all, I’m going to be giving out levels as “treasure” when the PCs reach significant ~~milestones~~ checkpoints in the overall campaign arc. For example, the PCs have recently learned that they need to find six scattered fragments of an ancient artifact and reassemble it. That’s seven checkpoints, and they’ll receive a level bump each time they complete one of those checkpoints. This will advance the PCs a bit faster than the standard ten-encounters-per-level progression in 4e, but this will allow us to move through the story arc a bit faster, so that the players can experiment with new powers, and I can experiment with new monsters. Everybody at the table seems happy with it.

By: Johnn

Johnn — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:48:06 +0000

@Mike – love the malevolent scabbard trick. Heh.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:07:13 +0000

One word of warning, Johnn: When you use the “not finished yet” trick, you need to have some reason in your own mind as to why the encounter isn’t over yet. The PCs never have to know what that reason is, but you need to know. Options to consider are a sentient & malevolent scabbard (inciting the encounter with some form of enchantment), another enemy scrying the party with a crystal ball and directing reinforcements against the party, an invisible stalker amongst the enemy creatures, and someone watching the combat unfold from a hidden position – information which can subsequently be used against the party in a later encounter.

By: Johnn

Johnn — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:12:01 +0000

Nice tip Tommi. Thanks.

By: Tommi

Tommi — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:02:27 +0000

Use experience tokens that can be handled out silently without disrupting play. When someone is playing brilliantly, silently give them a token (but make sure it is noticed).

By: Johnn

Johnn — Sat, 02 May 2009 01:07:06 +0000

@Kameron – good call on rewarding for good roleplaying. We use pocket points (+1 to your roll when you cash one in). I used to use XP to reward, but with pocket points players get to reward each other, giving peer to peer kudos, instead of just GM kudos.