Some of my players have recently taken the Leadership feat and the party increase with 2 cohorts. I’m not 100% sure how to give out xp to the main characters after an encounter so could use some imput from the fine folks here. Will use an encounter calculator just to make it easy, and the party members are 4 lv 9 with 2 lv 7 cohorts.
Option 1: Lets say the party kills a cr 10 monster worth 3818 xp, should I calculate it like only the pc’s did the killing then add xp to the cohorts like it says in the leadership description? This way the pc would get 954 xp each.
Option 2: They kill the same cr 10 monster but I calculate the cohorts as part of the kill then the total xp would be 4454, and each pc gets 742 xp, then calculate regular cohort xp according to the leadership feat?
So which options is the “correct” one?
Technically, I think your option 1 is closer to the RAW, but realistically I don't like it. It doesn't seem reasonable to me that when PCs get extra help in the form of cohorts, the xp total for the whole group goes up (then again, I also prefer a slightly more slowly-advancing game, given the option). You're the DM of your campaign. Do it your way, but let the players know if they ask.
Option 1 is what the book says to do, and while I agree that it doesn't make sense from a quasi-in-game view, I'm not changing it. Then again, I don't like the thought of spending a feat just to become popular. But, it makes for easy rules adjudication.
Also, just as an aside that is only tangentially related to the topic at all, I don't give XP for killing things. It's outdated, internally inconsistent, meta-gamey, and generally stupid, in my mind, and why they didn't get away from that in 3.5 is beyond me (here's hoping for a change in 4e!). I guess because it's tradition. Anyway, I give this type of reward for completing "quests," whether there was any combat or not.
Saved the damsel? You get XP. Didn't slay the dragon? That's okay, that wasn't the quest. You did slay the dragon? Yipee for you, you get its treasure, but no extra XP.
Sorry for diverting the topic a bit.
I really think leadership should give others benefits besides a cohort. It's way too weak for a feat. Anyone can have a cohort, not needing leadership to get one. Lame...
I really think leadership should give others benefits besides a cohort. It's way too weak for a feat. Anyone can have a cohort, not needing leadership to get one. Lame...
I second that, it's like you have to have the feat to be a leader...
Grant you access to better cohorts/bonuses, yes. Be required to have any cohort(s), no.
-Kurocyn
Thanks for the input all, not sure what I'll do yet but I'll figure it out before next session.
Oxi
Thanks for the input all, not sure what I'll do yet but I'll figure it out before next session.
Oxi
If the cohorts help a lot, treat them as helping with the encounter and use your Case 2. If they're just backup/moral support, use Case 1.
If you explain that you'll use that system, the players will probably handle most threats themselves, but use the cohorts to save them when they're going down. That sounds win/win to me-- you don't have to make the normal encounters harder, because the players probably don't want the lesser experience, but the cohort's an emergency "we're going down, pull the ripcord" type of insurance.
Also, just as an aside that is only tangentially related to the topic at all, I don't give XP for killing things. It's outdated, internally inconsistent, meta-gamey, and generally stupid, in my mind, and why they didn't get away from that in 3.5 is beyond me (here's hoping for a change in 4e!). I guess because it's tradition. Anyway, I give this type of reward for completing "quests," whether there was any combat or not.
Saved the damsel? You get XP. Didn't slay the dragon? That's okay, that wasn't the quest. You did slay the dragon? Yipee for you, you get its treasure, but no extra XP.
Sorry for diverting the topic a bit.
Not at all, but please don't leave us hanging... I agree with you 100%, but what system for XP calc do you use?
Just that- I look at the party's current XP, where I want them to end up when the adventure is over, how much XP they would get for completing all the combats in the adventure (and XP for other things if it's a published adventure that throws out Ad Hoc rewards like Dungeon sometimes does), and come up with a flat ammount somewhere around that. When the quest is completed, regardless of how it was completed or what happened along the way, that ammount of XP is granted. It's a very minor change, really. It's effectively just awarding story XP in larger quantities, and the only work is determining in what intervals and quantities to hand it out.
Just that- I look at the party's current XP, where I want them to end up when the adventure is over, how much XP they would get for completing all the combats in the adventure (and XP for other things if it's a published adventure that throws out Ad Hoc rewards like Dungeon sometimes does), and come up with a flat ammount somewhere around that. When the quest is completed, regardless of how it was completed or what happened along the way, that ammount of XP is granted. It's a very minor change, really. It's effectively just awarding story XP in larger quantities, and the only work is determining in what intervals and quantities to hand it out.
Thanks, Saern. I may use that from now on, in fact-- although I'd probably reduce it a bit (nobody expects to fight ALL the combats, for example). I used the flat xp-per-sesssion (a la Victory Games) modified by a "fun factor" for awhile, too, and it seemed to work out pretty well.
Just that- I look at the party's current XP, where I want them to end up when the adventure is over, how much XP they would get for completing all the combats in the adventure (and XP for other things if it's a published adventure that throws out Ad Hoc rewards like Dungeon sometimes does), and come up with a flat ammount somewhere around that. When the quest is completed, regardless of how it was completed or what happened along the way, that ammount of XP is granted. It's a very minor change, really. It's effectively just awarding story XP in larger quantities, and the only work is determining in what intervals and quantities to hand it out.
Where this falls down is when the players are not performing the DMs quests. If they are off making their own adventure it can become difficult to assay whether or not the completed quest.
I really think leadership should give others benefits besides a cohort. It's way too weak for a feat. Anyone can have a cohort, not needing leadership to get one. Lame...
I don't think you can actually have a cohort by RAW without the leadership feat. You can have an NPC ally I suppose but they collect a full share of XP and presumably some share of the treasure.
I actually think leadership is a bit overpowered and is way to complicated. I restrict the feat to gaining monsters that don't normally gain class levels. So one can get a Dragon to ride (if they are high enough level) but not a personal cleric. Because monsters tend to have a very limited suite of skills they are much easier to run then a full on second player and that keeps the game moving. Furthermore its just about as cool to have your own personal Bronze Dragon as it is to have your own personal spell caddy.
Just that- I look at the party's current XP, where I want them to end up when the adventure is over, how much XP they would get for completing all the combats in the adventure (and XP for other things if it's a published adventure that throws out Ad Hoc rewards like Dungeon sometimes does), and come up with a flat ammount somewhere around that. When the quest is completed, regardless of how it was completed or what happened along the way, that ammount of XP is granted. It's a very minor change, really. It's effectively just awarding story XP in larger quantities, and the only work is determining in what intervals and quantities to hand it out.Where this falls down is when the players are not performing the DMs quests. If they are off making their own adventure it can become difficult to assay whether or not the completed quest.
In my experience, they typically have pretty defined goals when they set off on their own quests, and I may not get their XP total to them until after the session because I have to calculate it later rather than stopping the game, but I don't find player-generated quests to be any more problematic than DM generated-quests for XP purposes (wow, that's quite a run on sentance!).