How much XP? [Archive] - Wizards Community

How much XP? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Slobad_the_rogue
04-12-07, 10:32 PM Hello, I'm a player in the only game in my surroundings. So I oubviously don't want to leave that group.

But, when we play, I always feel like things go SOOOO slowly. We once played our 3 level 2 PCs for 4 hours straight and got 1500 XP...

Is our group normal? or slow... or really slow...
Zankue
04-12-07, 10:43 PM Well it really depends on what you're doing in those 4 hours, are you just doing one encounter after another? lots of roleplaying? or arguing over rules? that would be very necessary to answer this question
NinjaPenguin
04-12-07, 10:43 PM XP is not a function of time spent playing, but of challenges overcome while playing. The DM is the final arbiter of how much XP you've earned for overcoming any particular challenge, and even the guidelines in the DMG for CR / XP relationship are simply that: guidelines. Normally it takes multiple sessions to gain a level.
jeffseadot
04-12-07, 10:46 PM Yeah, but that's more true at higher levels. It's not uncommon for a group of low-level adventurers to level up each session. If you're all at level 2, it should definitely not take more than two sessions to get to level three. It really shouldn't take more than one.
Magrus
04-12-07, 11:23 PM All depends on what you are doing, and how the DM thinks you should be doing. A friend of mine is the opinion of having 3-4 sessions before leveling, and anything else is WAY too fast. Personally, I don't much agree with that, and it irks me when I'm forced to play with that all of the time.

If your group is spending a lot of time talking amongst themselves, role playing shopping, or camping, stuff like that...then it's your own fault. If you are dodging arrows and overcoming challenges, dealing with traps and fighting enemies constantly you should be getting a ton of XP.

I would say talk to your DM. Don't get uppity, and don't whine, but just talk to him. I personally appreciate feedback from my players. I put a lot of work into my games, and if they aren't enjoying it, I need to know. It means I wasted my time, but if I know what they want, I can fix it for the next time as not to waste MORE time.
Thecolorblue
04-12-07, 11:23 PM Remember, the DM might also be slowing down your leveling for a reason. (S)He might have a really cool plot or campaign planned, but it would work best at lvl 2 and not 3. Or he might like low level combat better than higher level combat, so slows down the exp to stay under lvl 5 for a few more sessions.

However, you can always talk to the DM and have him explain it. Even if he is unintentionally giving below normal exp, bringing it to his attention will make him take another look at the rules and make changes.

Oh, and for the record, unless it is straight dungeon crawl the amount of exp you gained seems about normal. I personally hate it when the DM gives us an automatic level after each game, kinda defeats the purpose.
Empiro
04-13-07, 12:31 AM Hello, I'm a player in the only game in my surroundings. So I oubviously don't want to leave that group.

But, when we play, I always feel like things go SOOOO slowly. We once played our 3 level 2 PCs for 4 hours straight and got 1500 XP...

Is our group normal? or slow... or really slow...

Is that total or per character? If it's per character, then that's a ton of XP for 4 hours of gameplay. It almost brought you up a complete level. Even if it's just 1500 for the entire party, 500 is 1/4 of a level, and is OK if it wasn't all about fighting.
Aminvelos
04-13-07, 01:20 AM With 4 players all four players should level after 13.3 encounters I think it was. But getting 1500 exp for each player is a bit quick compared to a normal game. If you each gained only 500 each then yes your moving a bit slow. Enjoy the game at low levels, use special attacks. If your a wizard enjoy the days where your 0 lvl spell daze actually does some good!

Try to enjoy the role playing aspect of the game and get into your character.
Slobad_the_rogue
04-13-07, 08:02 AM Well, it was 1500 total... so we got 500 each.

During that night of play we : fought about 7 monsters (all CR 1-2 according to my knowlege : metagame check. Triggered 4 traps, stoped 2 more, found a way to sneak past 2 orc guards AND made a few diplomacy rolls to convince the town guards to help us AND roleplayed (and had fun too)
daggeroflath
04-13-07, 08:04 AM If you feel you're not getting enough, bring it up with your DM. The same goes for gold, magic items, spells for your wizard to learn... whatever. They'll either fix the problem, explain their reasons, negotiate with you or act like a jerk. If they act like a jerk then kick them in the crotch and leave the game.

This simple formula solves 90% of roleplaying problems.
Dazzer
04-13-07, 07:35 PM I guess my games go slow (I'm DM).

Until about 2 months ago. I DM'd a game where most adventures were tight-nit, close up shop when done deals.

That meaning: Once you complete the quest, nothing will come back out of it to eat you, or help you...it's done, remember it fondly.

I generally run games this way until around level 3.

During these first few quests, I attempt to get players to better bond with each-other as a party, as well as learn how they want to play their character...and allow them to change characters BETWEENeach adventure (but not inside each adventure) until they find one they can finally play out.

My level 1 adventure, took 3 sessions (of about 4 hours each) of role-playing, most of which was done in-game, and not joking around. It was a mystery about "Why are the commoners disappearing in this small town" (generic I know)

Turned out to be a possessing creature that transforms a teen(14 years old) into a were-rat that eats people and is good at jumping onto the low roofs and hiding.

I planned on them defeating the wererat without killing it as the perfect solution. What miffed me is they actually managed to beat up the possessing creature...(incorporeal, evil)

Prot-Evil on the boy from the sorceror (stops possession...); Magic Missile from the sorceror (hits incorporeal no miss chance). While the knight and swashbuckler keep the boy away from the creature. The other wizard (necromancer) had magic weapon prepped, and magic weaponed his quarterstaff, and made his weapon magic so as to be able to hit (albeit with a 50% miss-chance) the creature....her second spell of the day and last......true-strike.

The reason it took 3 sessions of 4 hours, was because they were investigating thoroughly the town, finding all sorts of rumours and possible leads etc... like a normal investigation would go, some are miss, some find other unrelated things (bad and good) and some leads are actually on target.

Total Net Gain of XP: 900xp each

Creature they actually defeated was CR 3; they defeated it through ingenuity so I awared them double XP for it. (1800, divided 4 ways...) As well as bonus XP for a bunch of things they did like role-playing well, and finding out this small side-quest etc. (the bonus XP actually amounted to around the same amount!)
Daydreamer
04-13-07, 07:45 PM my group plays 8 hours a week.
at 8 hours a week, of productive play we dont ever argue or goof off pretty much...id say we level up once a month, on average, more early on, less later on.
holylink718
04-14-07, 11:01 AM It's already been said, but I second that at low levels you should level up every session (or at least every other), but once you reach 7th to 8th level, it should start to slow down a bit, because the party has the ability to go faster and longer without rest. The wizard, for example, doesn't run out of spells half-way through the [d&d] day, same goes for the cleric, and the fighters have more hp and don't need as much rest. However, the op said that they have level 2 characters, and I'd say that level 2 characters should level up pretty quickly, because, obviously, they need it pretty bad. Just talk to your dm about it. Who knows, maybe he/she doesn't understand how xp works (if they're new to dming), or maybe they just made a mistake.
DarkRhystar
04-14-07, 03:58 PM Total Net Gain of XP: 900xp each

Creature they actually defeated was CR 3; they defeated it through ingenuity so I awared them double XP for it. (1800, divided 4 ways...) As well as bonus XP for a bunch of things they did like role-playing well, and finding out this small side-quest etc. (the bonus XP actually amounted to around the same amount!)

3600 experience for battle.
2400 or so experience for role-playing.

Sounds really good for 1 or 2 sessions at low level; 3 sessions for that, though, is a little slow in my experience.

Consider speeding up experience gain for a few levels until the PCs hit level 4 or 5 then slowing things down just a little until about level 8.

A lot of groups I've played with and ran find sweet spots in between levels 8 and 14 where they have enough things to do and abilities to have fun for quite a while without needing to level up.
literati
04-14-07, 07:00 PM Heh, I was just reminded of a 2nd ed campaign I played in where my character didn't level for almost a year of real time (he was about 13th level or so).

And I thought it was a great campaign. Hm. Eh, to each their own, I suppose.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Slobad_the_rogue 04-12-07, 10:32 PM	Hello, I'm a player in the only game in my surroundings. So I oubviously don't want to leave that group. But, when we play, I always feel like things go SOOOO slowly. We once played our 3 level 2 PCs for 4 hours straight and got 1500 XP... Is our group normal? or slow... or really slow...
Zankue 04-12-07, 10:43 PM	Well it really depends on what you're doing in those 4 hours, are you just doing one encounter after another? lots of roleplaying? or arguing over rules? that would be very necessary to answer this question
NinjaPenguin 04-12-07, 10:43 PM	XP is not a function of time spent playing, but of challenges overcome while playing. The DM is the final arbiter of how much XP you've earned for overcoming any particular challenge, and even the guidelines in the DMG for CR / XP relationship are simply that: guidelines. Normally it takes multiple sessions to gain a level.
jeffseadot 04-12-07, 10:46 PM	Yeah, but that's more true at higher levels. It's not uncommon for a group of low-level adventurers to level up each session. If you're all at level 2, it should definitely not take more than two sessions to get to level three. It really shouldn't take more than one.
Magrus 04-12-07, 11:23 PM	All depends on what you are doing, and how the DM thinks you should be doing. A friend of mine is the opinion of having 3-4 sessions before leveling, and anything else is WAY too fast. Personally, I don't much agree with that, and it irks me when I'm forced to play with that all of the time. If your group is spending a lot of time talking amongst themselves, role playing shopping, or camping, stuff like that...then it's your own fault. If you are dodging arrows and overcoming challenges, dealing with traps and fighting enemies constantly you should be getting a ton of XP. I would say talk to your DM. Don't get uppity, and don't whine, but just talk to him. I personally appreciate feedback from my players. I put a lot of work into my games, and if they aren't enjoying it, I need to know. It means I wasted my time, but if I know what they want, I can fix it for the next time as not to waste MORE time.
Thecolorblue 04-12-07, 11:23 PM	Remember, the DM might also be slowing down your leveling for a reason. (S)He might have a really cool plot or campaign planned, but it would work best at lvl 2 and not 3. Or he might like low level combat better than higher level combat, so slows down the exp to stay under lvl 5 for a few more sessions. However, you can always talk to the DM and have him explain it. Even if he is unintentionally giving below normal exp, bringing it to his attention will make him take another look at the rules and make changes. Oh, and for the record, unless it is straight dungeon crawl the amount of exp you gained seems about normal. I personally hate it when the DM gives us an automatic level after each game, kinda defeats the purpose.
Empiro 04-13-07, 12:31 AM	Hello, I'm a player in the only game in my surroundings. So I oubviously don't want to leave that group. But, when we play, I always feel like things go SOOOO slowly. We once played our 3 level 2 PCs for 4 hours straight and got 1500 XP... Is our group normal? or slow... or really slow... Is that total or per character? If it's per character, then that's a ton of XP for 4 hours of gameplay. It almost brought you up a complete level. Even if it's just 1500 for the entire party, 500 is 1/4 of a level, and is OK if it wasn't all about fighting.
Aminvelos 04-13-07, 01:20 AM	With 4 players all four players should level after 13.3 encounters I think it was. But getting 1500 exp for each player is a bit quick compared to a normal game. If you each gained only 500 each then yes your moving a bit slow. Enjoy the game at low levels, use special attacks. If your a wizard enjoy the days where your 0 lvl spell daze actually does some good! Try to enjoy the role playing aspect of the game and get into your character.
Slobad_the_rogue 04-13-07, 08:02 AM	Well, it was 1500 total... so we got 500 each. During that night of play we : fought about 7 monsters (all CR 1-2 according to my knowlege : metagame check. Triggered 4 traps, stoped 2 more, found a way to sneak past 2 orc guards AND made a few diplomacy rolls to convince the town guards to help us AND roleplayed (and had fun too)
daggeroflath 04-13-07, 08:04 AM	If you feel you're not getting enough, bring it up with your DM. The same goes for gold, magic items, spells for your wizard to learn... whatever. They'll either fix the problem, explain their reasons, negotiate with you or act like a jerk. If they act like a jerk then kick them in the crotch and leave the game. This simple formula solves 90% of roleplaying problems.
Dazzer 04-13-07, 07:35 PM	I guess my games go slow (I'm DM). Until about 2 months ago. I DM'd a game where most adventures were tight-nit, close up shop when done deals. That meaning: Once you complete the quest, nothing will come back out of it to eat you, or help you...it's done, remember it fondly. I generally run games this way until around level 3. During these first few quests, I attempt to get players to better bond with each-other as a party, as well as learn how they want to play their character...and allow them to change characters BETWEENeach adventure (but not inside each adventure) until they find one they can finally play out. My level 1 adventure, took 3 sessions (of about 4 hours each) of role-playing, most of which was done in-game, and not joking around. It was a mystery about "Why are the commoners disappearing in this small town" (generic I know) Turned out to be a possessing creature that transforms a teen(14 years old) into a were-rat that eats people and is good at jumping onto the low roofs and hiding. I planned on them defeating the wererat without killing it as the perfect solution. What miffed me is they actually managed to beat up the possessing creature...(incorporeal, evil) Prot-Evil on the boy from the sorceror (stops possession...); Magic Missile from the sorceror (hits incorporeal no miss chance). While the knight and swashbuckler keep the boy away from the creature. The other wizard (necromancer) had magic weapon prepped, and magic weaponed his quarterstaff, and made his weapon magic so as to be able to hit (albeit with a 50% miss-chance) the creature....her second spell of the day and last......true-strike. The reason it took 3 sessions of 4 hours, was because they were investigating thoroughly the town, finding all sorts of rumours and possible leads etc... like a normal investigation would go, some are miss, some find other unrelated things (bad and good) and some leads are actually on target. Total Net Gain of XP: 900xp each Creature they actually defeated was CR 3; they defeated it through ingenuity so I awared them double XP for it. (1800, divided 4 ways...) As well as bonus XP for a bunch of things they did like role-playing well, and finding out this small side-quest etc. (the bonus XP actually amounted to around the same amount!)
Daydreamer 04-13-07, 07:45 PM	my group plays 8 hours a week. at 8 hours a week, of productive play we dont ever argue or goof off pretty much...id say we level up once a month, on average, more early on, less later on.
holylink718 04-14-07, 11:01 AM	It's already been said, but I second that at low levels you should level up every session (or at least every other), but once you reach 7th to 8th level, it should start to slow down a bit, because the party has the ability to go faster and longer without rest. The wizard, for example, doesn't run out of spells half-way through the [d&d] day, same goes for the cleric, and the fighters have more hp and don't need as much rest. However, the op said that they have level 2 characters, and I'd say that level 2 characters should level up pretty quickly, because, obviously, they need it pretty bad. Just talk to your dm about it. Who knows, maybe he/she doesn't understand how xp works (if they're new to dming), or maybe they just made a mistake.
DarkRhystar 04-14-07, 03:58 PM	Total Net Gain of XP: 900xp each Creature they actually defeated was CR 3; they defeated it through ingenuity so I awared them double XP for it. (1800, divided 4 ways...) As well as bonus XP for a bunch of things they did like role-playing well, and finding out this small side-quest etc. (the bonus XP actually amounted to around the same amount!) 3600 experience for battle. 2400 or so experience for role-playing. Sounds really good for 1 or 2 sessions at low level; 3 sessions for that, though, is a little slow in my experience. Consider speeding up experience gain for a few levels until the PCs hit level 4 or 5 then slowing things down just a little until about level 8. A lot of groups I've played with and ran find sweet spots in between levels 8 and 14 where they have enough things to do and abilities to have fun for quite a while without needing to level up.
literati 04-14-07, 07:00 PM	Heh, I was just reminded of a 2nd ed campaign I played in where my character didn't level for almost a year of real time (he was about 13th level or so). And I thought it was a great campaign. Hm. Eh, to each their own, I suppose.