D&D and most of its retroclones have overly complicated methods of rewarding players with experience points (commonly called "XP"). As you can probably tell, I am not a fan of complicated systems.
I liked the FAQ method. Let's do it again.
What do I get XP for?
Slaying monsters and getting treasure, with the occasional bonus for good role-playing or other awesomeness. Oh, and explorations, because I want the players to explore.
That's the same thing that D&D gives XP for, how is it simpler in Crowfield?
The Crowfield method involves just asking three questions at the end of the (real world) night when the session is ending. That character gets one XP for every yes answer
- Was the character involved in at least one dangerous combat during this play session?
- Did the character bring home valuable treasure during this play session?
- Did the character explore a new place during this play session?
What counts as a dangerous combat?
A dangerous combat is one where there's a good chance that at least one PC might get killed.
For example, a group of three orcs is probably a dangerous combat for a group of first level characters. It is not a dangerous encounter for a group of 7th level characters.
If an otherwise dangerous combat is made "not dangerous" due to player planning and tactics, the players still get their XP. The idea is to reward the players for playing smart.
What is a "valuable treasure"?
This is a lot like the dangerous combat question. A stash of 100 gold pieces is valuable to a low level character, but not a high level character. It's a judgement call by the GM.
What do you mean when you say a valuable treasure must be "brought home?"
It's not enough to find something, you have to clearly own it.
If a party finds a valuable gem, but they have to give it to a troll in order to cross a bridge on their way back, they do not get credit for that treasure. However, if the gem was only part of the treasure and they make it home without the gem but still have the jeweled crown, they earn the XP.
Historical note: When D&D was just starting, its creator, Dave Arneson, would take away XP if a character had treasure in their home but a thief broken in and stole it. He would also only award XP for treasure that was spent on "wine, women, and song."
Does that mean that a character can only get 3 XP per session?
Yep. Well, 4 or 5 XP per night is probably the max if you consider bonus XP. In reality, it will probably average about 2-3 per session.
I'll need a million years to get my cleric to 2nd level!
That's not a question, but I'll address it anyway.
In the original rules clerics need 1,500 XP to reach second level. Assuming you play once a week and you gain 2-3 XP per session, it would only take you 12 years, nowhere near a million.
But your assumption is wrong. In addition to reducing the XP award, I'm also reducing the XP required.
How many XP do I need to level up?
Pretty much, it's (new level * 5) XP. That means you'll probably start the fifth night of play as a second level character. Assuming one session a week, at the end of a year (real time) you'll probably hit 7th level. It would take about three years of regular play to hit 12th level.
Let's put it into table form:
| New Level | Cumulative XP | XP Spent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | N/A | N/A |
| 2 | 10 | 10 |
| 3 | 25 | 15 |
| 4 | 45 | 20 |
| 5 | 70 | 25 |
| 6 | 100 | 30 |
| 7 | 135 | 35 |
| 8 | 175 | 40 |
| 9 | 220 | 45 |
| 10 | 270 | 50 |
| 11 | 325 | 55 |
| 12 | 385 | 60 |
The "Cumulative XP" column is the traditional "when you reach this many XP you reach the new level" way of showing these things. Example: At the end of a play session, the GM tells Sandy that her character Jalice has earned 3 XP for the night. Sandy records it on her character sheet, and notices that Jalice now has 11 XP! "I just leveled up," she exclaims. Jalice is now a second level character with 11 XP and needs 14 more to hit level 3.
The "XP Spent" column is for those who prefer to award XP, and then have the player "spend" it to gain the new level. Example: At the end of a play session, the GM tells Sandy that her character Jalice has earned 3 XP for the night. Sandy records it on her character sheet, and notices that Jalice now has 11 XP! "I'm going to level up," she exclaims. So she "spends" 10 of the XP. Jalice is now a second level character with only 1 XP left; she needs 14 more to "buy" level 3.
I like the second system better, but YMMV.
Is that same table used for all classes?
Yes. This is something else that some of the old grognards didn't like about 3E, but I thought was a great improvement. It's almost like different people like different things!
It's essentially the same as 3E (or Pathfinder, maybe?).
If you're not familiar with those systems, here's a brief explanation. Every character has a character level which is the sum of their class levels. So a 4th level character might be a 4th level fighter. Or a 3rd level fighter/1st level magic user. Or maybe he's the paladin type, so he's a 2nd level fighter/2nd level cleric. Whatever. When you spend your XP, you gain another character level, and you pick which class that's going into.
Can I do anything else with XP?
I'm toying with an idea.
If you miss a roll (to-hit roll, saving throw, talent roll, etc), you can spend XP to improve your die roll. Example: Jalice has been pricked with a poison needle. She needs to make a CON save of a 14 or better, but she rolls a 7. She can spend 7 XP to raise her roll to 14 and succeed, thus saving her life!
I'm not sure on that yet. Anyone have any thoughts?
I'm also a fan of the FAQ style!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the simpler take on XP, though the smaller numbers do prompt some questions:
For dangerous combat, what if the character dies? Do they still gain the experience?
What if the party cannot make it 'home' for a few sessions (i.e. exploring a large structure or just journeying further out after careful preparation for a long trip)? Would they lose the "bring home treasure XP" as a group for all sessions taken up there? Would they still get it as long as the treasure was unmistakably on their person and 'lose' 1 XP if it's stolen? Or would they store up pre-XP to gain once they did return home (a la your bonus XP)?
And I enjoy a good cost-gain exchange like you mention at the bottom, but with the much lower XP requirement it would seem a bit steep based on your example. If that occurred in the fourth session, even assuming Jalice had gained 3XP a night at 9, she would drop down to 2 and sacrifice 70% of her second level requirement!
Perhaps something less impactful with still cost, like 1 XP = increase roll by 5, or perhaps this is something anyone can do once per session and sacrifice some or all of the XP for that session.
Reply to expending XP to boost die rolls.
DeleteMaybe the answer is to steal from Clout. Instead of changing the die roll, we change the outcome. Spending 2 XP will change:
A fumble into a (normal) failure, OR
A failure into an "Unlucky 13" (i.e. a partial success), OR
An "Unlucky 13" into a Success
How's that?
Ah yes, shifting the impact vs. the math. That does seem like a more fair exchange, still weighty but could be worth it in some instances. I like it!
DeleteThanks, as always, for the comments!
ReplyDeleteThere's a couple different topics there, and each will get it's own reply. This one is about the party not making it home.
As an open table game, it's kinda of important that the party makes it back to Crowfield (or wherever "home" becomes) at the end of each play session.
The main reason for this is that, unlike a "traditional" group, you never know who's going to be playing in the next session.
Let's imagine that Tom, Becky, Alice, and Dave played last week and they ended in the middle of the Cave of Glistening Horror.
What happens tonight when Alice and Dave are there, but so are Jim and Don, and Tom and Becky didn't show up? Jim and Don's characters are in Crowfield, far from the Caves. Maybe Alice and Dave can play their backup characters (players tend to have multiple characters when I run open table games), but maybe Alice really wants to play Jalice tonight. And what do you do about the missing players' characters? What if they never come back?
This is why game sessions almost always start and end from Crowfield. And the clock never stops, so when you came back to the table a week later, a week has passed in game, too.
What I normally do if we're running out of time, is to warn the players and let them start working on an exit. If they don't make it, I give them a savings throw to see if they made it home safe instead of playing it out. Those that fail are assumed to be lost or captured or something.
It's an idea I stole from someone. I'll see if I can find a link.
Thanks again!