Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Saiga 02-06-06, 04:46 PM	I am currently playing a 1 on 1 game with a friend, and I am a first time DM as it is - coming from having just bought my own DMG just the other day. So, I don't really know that much. But I try - my main concern right now is experience points. How can I settle on an amount for something such as doing a successful barter? Or the PC does a successful intimidate check and gains some useful information? Since this is mostly role-play based, it is difficult to simply fight for experience, so I have to come up with some system for little problem-solving things such as these. any help out there? thanks so much.
getgoldcardsoul 02-06-06, 05:06 PM	But I try - my main concern right now is experience points. How can I settle on an amount for something such as doing a successful barter?Ack, there was a formula or rule for this, wasn't there? Somewhere in the DMG? Or maybe the DMGII? Check the index for topics for "ad hoc experence" or "quest experience." If that doesn't help, you're just going to have to eyeball it. If it were up to me, bartering should only give ad hoc XP if the PC is getting something plot related out of it. For instance, the only reward for haggling a merchant down on a sword should be a cheaper sword. Also, successful diplomacy (whether it means using the Diplomacy, Intimidate or Bluff skills or otherwise passing an encounter through roleplaying) usually garners the XP one would normally get for killing the NPC/monster in combat. But with only one character, that could mean a lot of XP... You may need to adjust as you see fit.
Galentir 02-06-06, 05:06 PM	There's no hard and fast way to do it. IMO, the best way to think about it is to compare the difficulties between the RP situation, and a combat situation. Fighting two orcs, say (CR 1). Compare how difficult it was to hit the orc (roles that would have needed to be made, how many times it would take, on average, to make those roles, etc), to what your PC had to do to make the Intimidate/Diplomacy/Whatever. Don't, however, include your PCs bonuses in this. If they wanted to make a character that is good at Diplomacy, that doesn't mean they should get less XP if they use it than someone else. Let's take an example. X the Fighter is fighting Y the Orc. Y's AC is 13. X needs to role a 13 on a d20 to hit, which they have a 2/5 chance of doing. (For simplicity purposes, ignore crits). Now, let's say X does 1d8+1 damage if they hit. On average, that's 5.5 points of damage. If Y has 10 HP, it's gonna take two hits to take Y down. So, X has a 2/5 chance of hitting, and needs to hit 2. So, it'll take approximately 5 rounds to take down Y. Now, X the Fighter is bluffing their way past Z the Guardsman. Z has a +3 Sense Motive, which, added to the 10.5 average on a d20, means that X has to get a 13.5 (let's say 13) to bluff his way past Z. So, again, that's a 2/5 chance of succeeding. However, in this case, the more times you try, the harder it gets. So, you have to compare the 2/5 chance that the bluff succeeds the first time, with how much damage, etc, X is going to take when fighting Y, and balance the rewards. Of course, this is a very time intensive system, and, while it helps, is probably only useful in hard scenes, where your players did a great job. You could come up with a CR system for Bluff/Intimidate/Diplomacy if you used this system, probably. If you don't want to spend that much time, I'd say just wing it. Approximate how hard it is, compare to a combat encounter, and look up the XP awards for that difficulty encounter. You can also do stuff in %s of levels. 10% of a level is always 100 XP * Current level. So, if you think 10 of those encounters should earn them a level, give them 100 XP * their level. -Galentir
Bruunwald 02-06-06, 05:43 PM	Go to the section in the DMG regarding traps. Compare your average skill DCs for dealing with the NPC in question with the DCs for detecting and disabling a trap. Now ask yourself, was the PC in any danger at all in dealing with this NPC? Probably not, so stick with CR 1 traps for determing XP from such encounters. It's a good measure, since it's the same thing as using only skill checks to bypass a sticky situation. Eyeball it for half that much or even less, or even nothing if the stakes were not high at all (such as getting a free beer). Now, if the skill checks helped your PC out of situations where he was in danger of being attacked, he ought to be getting XP for overcoming the encounter, since "overcoming" does not necessarily mean defeating through arms. In that case, maybe stick with the CR for the creature or EL for the situation, unless the antagonist in question is going to continue being a threat later, in which case you could give out half or less now, and the other half when he's finally defeated. Some would argue, but you're doing the right thing for a one-on-one game, where your lone PC needs to gain levels quickly in order to keep the game exciting and stay alive at the same time. Just remind your player that if/when you get more people involved he'll probably find advancement takes a little longer. But don't worry, group play is even more fun once you're ready.
Illion the Red 02-06-06, 05:46 PM	For measuring experince in such situations, I would suggest using Bruunwald's method. If you are looking for additional information regarding 1 on 1 gaming, follow the link in my sig...