Appropriate Story EXP Rewards [Archive] - Wizards Community

Appropriate Story EXP Rewards [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Jancarius
09-05-05, 02:31 AM What are some good guidelines for Story EXP point awards?
Tyler Do'Urden
09-05-05, 02:58 AM Only you can make that decision.

I've seen DMs that don't award XP for encounters, they just give out levels at the end of a long adventure (it would work out to awarding 1000xp per level).

You could just give flat amounts of experience depending on the importance of the story arc; 200 for encountering a major villain, 500 for finally slaying him, 1000 for rescuing the princess, 25,000 for saving Sharn, etc.
Nom
09-05-05, 03:05 AM (1) Reward the behaviour that you want to see.

(2) Rewards should be in line with player perception of their achievements.

(3) DMG pg 40-41 has a pretty good discussion of this too, including some suggested values.
Cantankerous
09-05-05, 04:49 AM The first rule is to not let the story awards become over blown. Keep them small, and if they seem too small, increase them. Few Players will complain about an increase in something, but MANY will complain, sometimes bitterly, about a decrease. So, always start smaller, for increasing is appreciated, while decreasing can (and often will) cause problems.

Isshia
Bowlich
09-05-05, 05:35 AM I typically have most of my group's EXP comming from story rewards. As such I allow upto 1/3 of the experiance points needed to level each session as a maximum cap, I dispense the rewards in chunks throughout the session and most players get their 1/3 if they stayed in character and didn't rules lawyer too much.

But that just works for me, since if I went only by combat they'd only level once every fifteen or sixteen sessions which I feel wouldn't be enjoyable for them at all. In the end you really have to feel it out for your group, if they're already getting a lot of EXP from combat then story rewards aren't really going to mean much to them unless you give out EXP equal to or exceeding the amount that your giving them for combat, however if you want combat EXP to remain the center role of the leveling in your campaign then either no story rewards or smaller rewards are more appropriate... but in the end it all comes down to what the players enjoy most.
KJW
09-05-05, 07:52 AM I have the same sentiment as Bowlich. My xp awards are more based on how fast I want the party to be advancing against the pace of the campaign. I use the DMG tables for guidelines, and use 'story' xp to bring things up to the pace I want, which does slow as you get up in the higher levels. Nothing frustrates players more than too little XP, but too much demeans the campaign, the balancing depends upon the party and your goals as a DM.
Jancarius
09-05-05, 01:57 PM Were those page numbers for the 3.5 DMG or the 3.0? They are drastically differently organized
Nom
09-05-05, 06:55 PM 3.5. If I don't mean the current version I will specify.
Rathje
09-06-05, 12:21 AM My personal story award amounts:

Major Plot-line: 1000 x Average Party Level
Medium Plot-line: 500 x Average Party Level
Minor Plot-line: 250 x Average Party Level

All values are divided by the number of characters in the party. I play with a four-person party, so I'd adjust accordingly for a different size. I find it keeps story slightly less important than encounter experience, but still noticeable.
weasel fierce
09-06-05, 01:38 AM Story awards are also a good way of regulating how much you want the party to massacre random critters, to earn XP.
Nichodeemous
09-06-05, 02:42 AM I tend to just use the Challenge Rating system for story awards, since the rules for it are already in place. A good game nets my players the XP for a challenge equal to their party level, with the CR dropping to -1 or -2 below their party level if they goofed around a little too much or got out of character enough to slow the game down at all. If they did bad enough to bog the game down or annoy the other players (or me) then they don't get a bonus. On exceptional nights they get XP as if they beat a CR +1 or +2 higher than party level, but these are rare awards (I've only done a +2 award once). I've had good experiences with this system since my players stopped seeing every critter they meet as an XP source and started treating role-playing challenges with all due seriousness.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jancarius 09-05-05, 02:31 AM	What are some good guidelines for Story EXP point awards?
Tyler Do'Urden 09-05-05, 02:58 AM	Only you can make that decision. I've seen DMs that don't award XP for encounters, they just give out levels at the end of a long adventure (it would work out to awarding 1000xp per level). You could just give flat amounts of experience depending on the importance of the story arc; 200 for encountering a major villain, 500 for finally slaying him, 1000 for rescuing the princess, 25,000 for saving Sharn, etc.
Nom 09-05-05, 03:05 AM	(1) Reward the behaviour that you want to see. (2) Rewards should be in line with player perception of their achievements. (3) DMG pg 40-41 has a pretty good discussion of this too, including some suggested values.
Cantankerous 09-05-05, 04:49 AM	The first rule is to not let the story awards become over blown. Keep them small, and if they seem too small, increase them. Few Players will complain about an increase in something, but MANY will complain, sometimes bitterly, about a decrease. So, always start smaller, for increasing is appreciated, while decreasing can (and often will) cause problems. Isshia
Bowlich 09-05-05, 05:35 AM	I typically have most of my group's EXP comming from story rewards. As such I allow upto 1/3 of the experiance points needed to level each session as a maximum cap, I dispense the rewards in chunks throughout the session and most players get their 1/3 if they stayed in character and didn't rules lawyer too much. But that just works for me, since if I went only by combat they'd only level once every fifteen or sixteen sessions which I feel wouldn't be enjoyable for them at all. In the end you really have to feel it out for your group, if they're already getting a lot of EXP from combat then story rewards aren't really going to mean much to them unless you give out EXP equal to or exceeding the amount that your giving them for combat, however if you want combat EXP to remain the center role of the leveling in your campaign then either no story rewards or smaller rewards are more appropriate... but in the end it all comes down to what the players enjoy most.
KJW 09-05-05, 07:52 AM	I have the same sentiment as Bowlich. My xp awards are more based on how fast I want the party to be advancing against the pace of the campaign. I use the DMG tables for guidelines, and use 'story' xp to bring things up to the pace I want, which does slow as you get up in the higher levels. Nothing frustrates players more than too little XP, but too much demeans the campaign, the balancing depends upon the party and your goals as a DM.
Jancarius 09-05-05, 01:57 PM	Were those page numbers for the 3.5 DMG or the 3.0? They are drastically differently organized
Nom 09-05-05, 06:55 PM	3.5. If I don't mean the current version I will specify.
Rathje 09-06-05, 12:21 AM	My personal story award amounts: Major Plot-line: 1000 x Average Party Level Medium Plot-line: 500 x Average Party Level Minor Plot-line: 250 x Average Party Level All values are divided by the number of characters in the party. I play with a four-person party, so I'd adjust accordingly for a different size. I find it keeps story slightly less important than encounter experience, but still noticeable.
weasel fierce 09-06-05, 01:38 AM	Story awards are also a good way of regulating how much you want the party to massacre random critters, to earn XP.
Nichodeemous 09-06-05, 02:42 AM	I tend to just use the Challenge Rating system for story awards, since the rules for it are already in place. A good game nets my players the XP for a challenge equal to their party level, with the CR dropping to -1 or -2 below their party level if they goofed around a little too much or got out of character enough to slow the game down at all. If they did bad enough to bog the game down or annoy the other players (or me) then they don't get a bonus. On exceptional nights they get XP as if they beat a CR +1 or +2 higher than party level, but these are rare awards (I've only done a +2 award once). I've had good experiences with this system since my players stopped seeing every critter they meet as an XP source and started treating role-playing challenges with all due seriousness.