Why even keep track of XP?

[Klaus van der Kroft]

For the last 14 years, my group has kept the exact same pattern for XP handling we learned from the guy who first got us into D&D: Small amounts handed out for clever ideas, problem-solving, good interpretations, learning something new (character-wise, of course), advancing toward the character's goals, et cetera. These rewards tend to come up rather often, especially in roleplaying-heavy or riddle-heavy sessions, though since our encounters have evolved a lot toward "extended cliffhanger climaxes" over the years rather than typical fights, the rewards might also pop up due to particularly exiting and cinematic actions.

Also, we use two other methods for giving out XP: The so-called Player Tickets and Master Tickets. Both are based on the total amount of XP required to level up (specifically, each Ticket is worth 1.5% of the total XP needed for the next level), so their worth remains constant through the whole game. The former are handed out by the players themselves: At the end of every session, I ask every player to give his opinion regarding how everyone else played, and has a pool of Tickets to hand out. It has worked great, since on one hand there are some reward-worthy situations I might have missed that players noticed, and also lets everyone improve their own playstyle. The Master Tickets are instead handed out by the DM based on an overall performance of each character, though we also have the tradition of handing them out as a birthday gift (along with the "It Was Merely a Setback!" Dice, which lets a player remake a single roll even after knowing the result).

So as you see, we have a lot of different XP amounts to keep track of. As someone mentioned, small, regular rewards tend to be much more attractive than large, sporadic ones. Players, or at least my players, like to get rewards for specific things, and it also helps me promote/de-emphasize certain behaviours (and sometimes even hint the players when they are getting struck, by rewarding clever deductions which in turn will give them a clue when they are going in the right direction).

Besides, it is always nice to have more stuff. As Mr Burns once said, "I'd give everything I have, just to have a bit more!".

[iLaifire]

One really good reason to keep XP is for none-constant gaming groups. Lately I've been participating in a game at the local game store which is an event. It's pretty much first six players to show up get to play every game, if you already played once that day you'll get bumped for someone who hasn't played yet. Well as such, not everyone plays every week, so keeping track of XP instead of saying "Everyone gains a level" is a good thing, since it's difficult for the DM to keep track who has played how many games out of fifteen or so regular players there are.

As to XP as currency in 3rd ed, depending on what the use was, I sort of liked the idea. I remember the Samurai class, in Oriental Adventures I believe, had katana/wakizashi set he started the game with, and as he leveled he could spend XP to "awaken" his swords into magical weapons. In another supplement they had the same class, except that the "awakening" chart had the costs in gp, and that didn't seem as good to me. Granted that is based on the fluff, and I have a preference for rules being in tune with the story instead of what is "balanced" if there both can't happen.

[vuron]

I love tallying XP to the point where I've even included GP = XP rules from 1e. <.<

But serious no I'm not a big fan of accounting for XPs.

Pros
Players get regular validation (either per encounter or session)
Allows the DM to reward or punish players for outstanding play
Measuring stick
Allows for parties with uneven advancement rates.

Negatives
Fiddly
Encourages completist behavior where the players will attempt to face every encounter in a dungeon to maximize XP reward.
Grinding for XP sucks
XP rewards for sterling behavior are a blunt tool that encourages interpersonal conflict.

Personally I like giving out level according to the DM's best judgement. That means that if your group really likes 5-12th level play you can speed up advancement at the low levels and make advancement above 12th happen at a truly glacial rate. There is still enough problems with high level play that I don't want to have a timeclock saying that in 12 more encounters the PCs are going to be unmanageable and we need to reset the campaign.

As always YMMV