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  1. #1

    XP and Leveling in AD&D

    This is actually two questions rolled into one:
    1. Could I have DM's submit how they award XP?
    2. How many do it the way in which the DMs Guide suggests (awarding XP for GP etc.)

    Just curious. Also as a third "cross-game" question (in est from any edition), could I get DM's views on how they handle between-level training? This question was originally posed on the C&C forum, but I think it has more of a place here, amongst the "Classic Minded."

    Cheers,
    SF
    Aliens.... Go fig?

  2. #2
    It's been awhile since I DM'd a Classic game, but...

    I usually gave XP for monsters defeated straight up - that always seemed fair. I would give XP by value of treasure obtained, but because that was much more subjective, I occasionally used a multiplier based on the difficulty of the encounter where it was obtained. For instance, if it was too easy I might let the group have the money but say they only earned 0.2 xp per gp. But more often than not, what I'd do instead is change the value of the coinage... If things were too easy, 2000 gp became 5000 sp, and way too easy became 20000 cp. Then I'd award xp appropriately based on converted gp value.

    The only time I worried about training was when I needed a cash sink or a time sink. If the players had too much gold, or were leveling too fast, time and money would be spent on training. And since our groups were fairly heavy in terms of RP, the better a player RP'd the more freely the gold would flow, and the better the chance that this would instigate roleplaying outside of real adventuring.

    My players got into the habit of calling me "Scrooge", but it always seemed the more we played this give-and-take game, the better the RP was and the more we all enjoyed ourselves.

  3. #3
    leozelig's Avatar
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    I award xp for gp and magic items. If nobody wants a magic item, it can be sold and the resulting gp (and xp) distributed among the party, which is a rare occasion. Ignoring the xp-for-treasure rule results in very slow level progression, since monster xp is often less than half of the total xp awarded in a module. Incidentally, I award xp at the end of the adventure, with treasure being divided among the surviving PCs only, of course.

    For training, I use 1,500 gp x CURRENT LEVEL, which is by the book for the most part. I do not "grade" the players or apply a multiple to the training cost as suggested in the DMG.

    In my current group, we subtract training costs from the total treasure found, and then distribute the remaining gold evenly. It takes a little planning to make it work at lower levels, but it's possible. Selling a magic item to cover training costs is another solution if players are short the necessary funds.

    If there is a higher level PC of the same class already in the party, then he/she can train the lower level PC, with the exchange of gold left up to the players. It takes 1 week to train, which is another reason I leave the xp award until the end of the adventure - it is an out-of-game event that occurs between adventures. For long adventures, I will award xp at a natural break point if possible.

    We also decided that the paladin's church would gladly cover his training costs, provided he represents them honorably and donates generously. It ends up working out heavily in the church's favor at higher levels, but paladins cannot keep more than 200 gp anyway according to the PHB.

    I think that basically covers it!

  4. #4
    dr_venture's Avatar
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    With AD&D I followed the rules: XP for kills, money, and magic. But when I started doing that with my FG games, the pace of the bi-weekly game combined with text-chat meant that it would take probably years for characters to level even once. I figure I want to level characters roughly once per 'adventure.' So after checking with my players, I started using the awards below (remember that I use Rolemaster criticals). I have just started doing this, so I don't know how successful or disastrous this will turn out... so far, fingers crossed, it seems pretty good:

    Plot Points & Goals
    Small plot goal or good idea: 25
    Intermediate plot goal or plot insight: 100
    Important plot point or really big insight: 200

    Danger
    Pretty safe with some danger (missile combat): 25
    Potentially lethal (i.e. normal, hand-to-hand combat): 50
    Risky behavior/real chance of serious injury or death: 100
    Confronting almost certain death: 250

    Kill, Defeat, or Save Another
    Easy/weak: 20
    Moderate/normal: 40
    Difficult/tough: 100
    Absurd/powerful: 300

    Health and Critical Hits (given and received)
    ‘A’ Critical: 10
    ‘B’ Critical: 20
    ‘C’ Critical: 30
    ‘D’ Critical: 40
    ‘E’ Critical: 50
    Near death (0 HP or less) - character only: 50

    Maneuvers, Skill, & Spell Use
    Routine/simple spell or skill use: 10
    Moderate or normal / normal spell use: 20
    Hard / spell used cleverly or good advantage: 50
    Absurd / Spell used ingeniously or to turn the tide: 150

    Misc.
    Encounter with the supernatural: 25
    Travel per mile: 1

    All of the XP awarded,except the mileage XP, are multiplied by 75% or the character's level (yeah, I use a spreadsheet to just tally totals for each character).

    So far fighters seem to get more Danger awards, but because melee only attacks once per round, the get fewer crits and kills... which seems to kinda balance the melee vs. missile combatants. Clerics do pretty well, as they often fight hand-to-hand, cast spells, save people, and seem to be thinkers, too. Wizards get little for combat in the way of kills or combat, but clean up with mass effect spells (say a sleep spell knocks out or 'defeats' 4 guys). I'm still fussing with it, but I think it at least shows promise.

    I welcome observations.
    Last edited by dr_venture; April 25th, 2013 at 08:00.
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  5. #5
    damned's Avatar
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    i also like my players to level up at *least* once per adventure - this usually takes several sessions per level at the least. sometime my players will *need* to level up to have any likelihood of completing an adventure... so that will often happen... i only award xp when players return to town. im trying to keep things simple at this stage so players dont have to train to level up currently. i broadly allocate xp based on how much happened each session and how much is required to keep them progressing... no strict formula...

  6. #6
    Answulf's Avatar
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    Add me to the list of GMs that accelerate level advancement on Fantasy Grounds campaigns. Regardless of what system I am using, I try to have the players advance about every other session.
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  7. #7
    All in all, these are informative, good points so far. As per leveling up once an adventure. Would you say it's as Dr. V said because of time/typing constraints and irregular play hours inherent in a global community or is this just an inherent issue with AD&D inspired games. I would be under the assumption that at higher levels, the leveling pace would slow down as it gets harder and harder obtaining "experience" that the character could benefit from.

    @Dr. V. It looks pretty good, if not a little RM inspired (not that I'm complaining).

    Cheers (and keep it coming)
    SF
    Aliens.... Go fig?

  8. #8
    leozelig's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by S Ferguson
    All in all, these are informative, good points so far. As per leveling up once an adventure. Would you say it's as Dr. V said because of time/typing constraints and irregular play hours inherent in a global community or is this just an inherent issue with AD&D inspired games. I would be under the assumption that at higher levels, the leveling pace would slow down as it gets harder and harder obtaining "experience" that the character could benefit from.
    That is exactly what our group has seen... used to level every adventure, now it takes two or three adventures. One adventure can run for a month or two playing once a week, so that pace is still relatively slow. Any slower, and I think many players would lose interest.

  9. #9
    damned's Avatar
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    agreed - players play for the rp and the adventure but they do get that warm fuzzy feeling when they level up. low level characters in old school rulesets die too easy and really have such limited skills/abilities, it makes a huge difference keeping them leveling up every few sessions - both to them and to what you can throw at them
    poor magic users who cast a sleep and a spider climb and then spend the next 6 hours hiding behind the clerics skirts...

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by S Ferguson
    This is actually two questions rolled into one:
    1. Could I have DM's submit how they award XP?
    2. How many do it the way in which the DMs Guide suggests (awarding XP for GP etc.)?
    1. I do it the same way leozelig does it.
    2. That is, the way the DMG suggests, apart from grading the players - they're all good!

    I do occasionally hand out a bonus XP award for a particularly outstanding piece of play.
    Last edited by Callum; April 26th, 2013 at 09:39.

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