RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I noticed that a common theme amongst DMs here is to award 'roleplaying xp' and I agree with this trend whole-heartedly.
The way we handle these awards in our games is that, at the end of each session, each player gets to vote for the player that did the best job of roleplaying that session. Obviously, players cannot vote for themselves. Then I, as the DM, get TWO votes which must be given to different players (can't double up on one). Each player holds up a finger when they get a vote and votes are tallied at the end. Each vote is worth (avg. party level x 25 xp). So, at level 5, each vote is 125 xp. With 5 players and myself, a single player could earn 625 xp from RP alone if the table unanimously decided that they were the 'RPer of the Night.' Most of the time the votes are split up, but every now and then someone just has a 'show-stealing' night where their character really shined.
Now, here's the great things about this system:
1) It makes impressing the PLAYERS more important than impressing the DM. If you're constantly stealing the spotlight and doing everything on your own, even if the DM thinks you've done a great job, the players are going to send their votes elsewhere.
2) It gives the DM a sense of what kind of game the players enjoy most as you go along. Is the character who seems to get the bulk of the votes a wacky, carefree guy? Maybe the players enjoy a less serious campaign. Is the stoic paladin of St. Cuthbert the star? Maybe your players are more cerebral and reverent.
3) Most of the time, we require an explanation of WHY the player is awarding the vote. Things like "I really liked to way you handled the assassin's interrogation," or "I thought the lyrics you made up for your bard's songs were hysterical," are both perfectly viable replies. This also lets players and DM alike get a good feel for what parts of the games are being enjoyed most.
4) Players who are not getting many votes will start to fall behind the leveling curve. They can see what the other players seem to enjoy and are motivated to portray themselves more actively in order to try to 'win' some votes for themselves. Plus, THEY have to vote for someone and thus they will pay more attention to the game at hand.
I'm curious to find out what other gaming groups do as a standardized form of roleplaying xp awards. One DM I used to have would hand out specially-colored dice whenever a player did something in-character that was particularly dramatic. You could spend those dice to allow re-rolls or you could cash them in for XP (party level x 100 xp each) at the end of the night. Some sessions he wouldn't hand out any, others he would hand out a half-dozen. These are just examples. I'd like to see what others have done.
Like I mentioned in the other thread, I keep an index card with all the character's names on them and do a tally for particularly interesting bits of roleplaying. Each tally is worth 25xp. When I reward XP at the end of the night, I make sure to emphasize in some fashion that "you're getting this bonus extra XP 'cause I like how you roleplayed such-n-such situation." Favorite example: Two of the characters got into a heated argument over what you could & could not do in a particular situation. The players were having a great time, their characters were almost at each others throats.
I haven't had a play experience yet in which I could do something like this. Some people just don't "get" role-playing, to borrow from another thread title. It's not necessarily something that's easy for them or that they're even interested in trying. However, these people can also be friends in other areas of life outside the game, and may also really enjoy D&D, but for other reasons. I've always felt that systems like this tend to be unfair to such people, and as such, I would shy away from them myself. But, if it works for you, grand!
I like the Palladium rpg's experience point system a lot.
I definitely have to agree with you there! Especially since there's no emphasis on "killing the monster" as the only way to gain xp.
I like the Palladium rpg's experience point system a lot.I definitely have to agree with you there! Especially since there's no emphasis on "killing the monster" as the only way to gain xp.
The Palladium system for experience is unknown to me... Would someone volunteer to explain it briefly please.
Ultradan
The way we handle these awards in our games is that, at the end of each session, each player gets to vote for the player that did the best job of roleplaying that session. Obviously, players cannot vote for themselves. Then I, as the DM, get TWO votes which must be given to different players (can't double up on one). Each player holds up a finger when they get a vote and votes are tallied at the end. Each vote is worth (avg. party level x 25 xp). So, at level 5, each vote is 125 xp. With 5 players and myself, a single player could earn 625 xp from RP alone if the table unanimously decided that they were the 'RPer of the Night.' Most of the time the votes are split up, but every now and then someone just has a 'show-stealing' night where their character really shined.
Now that's a fantastic idea Fatespinner... I might just use that. Thanks!
Ultradan
The Palladium system for experience is unknown to me... Would someone volunteer to explain it briefly please.
Ditto.
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In Palladium, you the exp's work pretty much the same way as in D&D for going up levels.
You get a finite amt. depending on if a monster is a minor menace, major menace or great menace.
THEN, you get a little for using a skill, for roleplaying(that makes sense for your character), for clever ideas (more if they work) and for endangering yourself to help others--again on a sliding scale dependent on the danger and the amount of people you help.
It's pretty "freeform" so if that's not your thing you might not dig it.
We'd play pretty frequently and go up to about 8th level after a year and a half to two years.
I noticed that a common theme amongst DMs here is to award 'roleplaying xp' and I agree with this trend whole-heartedly.
The way we handle these awards in our games is that, at the end of each session, each player gets to vote for the player that did the best job of roleplaying that session. Obviously, players cannot vote for themselves. Then I, as the DM, get TWO votes which must be given to different players (can't double up on one). Each player holds up a finger when they get a vote and votes are tallied at the end. Each vote is worth (avg. party level x 25 xp). So, at level 5, each vote is 125 xp. With 5 players and myself, a single player could earn 625 xp from RP alone if the table unanimously decided that they were the 'RPer of the Night.' Most of the time the votes are split up, but every now and then someone just has a 'show-stealing' night where their character really shined.
Now, here's the great things about this system:
1) It makes impressing the PLAYERS more important than impressing the DM. If you're constantly stealing the spotlight and doing everything on your own, even if the DM thinks you've done a great job, the players are going to send their votes elsewhere.
2) It gives the DM a sense of what kind of game the players enjoy most as you go along. Is the character who seems to get the bulk of the votes a wacky, carefree guy? Maybe the players enjoy a less serious campaign. Is the stoic paladin of St. Cuthbert the star? Maybe your players are more cerebral and reverent.
3) Most of the time, we require an explanation of WHY the player is awarding the vote. Things like "I really liked to way you handled the assassin's interrogation," or "I thought the lyrics you made up for your bard's songs were hysterical," are both perfectly viable replies. This also lets players and DM alike get a good feel for what parts of the games are being enjoyed most.
4) Players who are not getting many votes will start to fall behind the leveling curve. They can see what the other...
I like this system alot and think I'll start using it!
I haven't had a play experience yet in which I could do something like this. Some people just don't "get" role-playing, to borrow from another thread title. It's not necessarily something that's easy for them or that they're even interested in trying. However, these people can also be friends in other areas of life outside the game, and may also really enjoy D&D, but for other reasons. I've always felt that systems like this tend to be unfair to such people, and as such, I would shy away from them myself. But, if it works for you, grand!
I tend to agree with this point. I definately have friends that enjoy D&D but aren't trying to roleplay or improve their roleplaying skills. I wouldn't want to penalize them for having a different style of play especially if they are not disrupting the rest of the group. I prefer that the main benefits of roleplaying being the enjoyment of those envolved and more in game benefits like contacts or additional information that they may not have gotten without the roleplaying.
Palladium's suggested XP guidelines work well. It slides up from "a good idea" to "sacrifice yourself to save your party" to "protect innocents from a grave menace."
I'll see if I can't find it and paraphrase to provide a list later today.
I haven't had a play experience yet in which I could do something like this. Some people just don't "get" role-playing, to borrow from another thread title. It's not necessarily something that's easy for them or that they're even interested in trying. However, these people can also be friends in other areas of life outside the game, and may also really enjoy D&D, but for other reasons. I've always felt that systems like this tend to be unfair to such people, and as such, I would shy away from them myself. But, if it works for you, grand!I tend to agree with this point. I definately have friends that enjoy D&D but aren't trying to roleplay or improve their roleplaying skills. I wouldn't want to penalize them for having a different style of play especially if they are not disrupting the rest of the group. I prefer that the main benefits of roleplaying being the enjoyment of those envolved and more in game benefits like contacts or additional information that they may not have gotten without the roleplaying.
I double agree with these points. Our time is so limitied with how often we play, that we basically say one game session (10-12 hour marathons) will level up the party to the next xp level. If PCs have died, then they still need to make up the difference etc. Our campaigns last until 20th level and it takes us two years to get there. Handing out individual ad hoc xp can either be a boone that helps motivate players to extend their abilities at the table (i tend to think this is the ideal) or a source of angst if some feel they are being snubbed for whatever reason (reality). We just don't fiddle with it to avoid any potential problems among the players...
As ever,
ACE
While my current system is more similar to Lilith's, I really like Fatespinner's system. It is elegant and involves everybody and heads off at the pass the idea that RP experience is a form of favoritism from the DM (an idea with which I disagree strongly) or arbitrary. I plan to adopt this for the next session and see how it goes.
Thanks Again!
-Syl
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I definately have friends that enjoy D&D but aren't trying to roleplay or improve their roleplaying skills.
Yeah, I suppose my system is not for everyone but then again, if I had players who weren't trying to roleplay or improve their roleplaying skills, I'd kick them out of my game. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. I don't demand that my players deliver Oscar-winning performances at every session but if they aren't even TRYING to roleplay, they'd be better off not coming.
I'm surprised with the number of replies I've seen in support of my system. Once you try it out with your group, please let me know how it goes. I'm interested to find out if it works as well for others as it does for us!
Fatespinner - I use nearly the same system as you for awarding "inspirational" xp - though I do not include myself in the voting (but am not above adding in bonus xp "on the sly"). In my case, inspirational is worth 10xp/level. I also include a "pity" vote. In the case of the pity vote, whoever gets the most votes (awarded equally on ties) gets 15xp/level. I also award "journal" xp which is worth 50xp/level and can be done once per session. Journals have no specified length or format - the only requirements are that it is something permanent I can keep that reminds me of the session and tells me a little more about your character.
I was inspired to try out this method of bonus XP after playing at Werewolf LARP for the first time. Is this where you culled your system from, too, Fatespinner?
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I was inspired to try out this method of bonus XP after playing at Werewolf LARP for the first time. Is this where you culled your system from, too, Fatespinner?
Yup, our old LARP group did the voting circle thing where each player got a vote and if you earned 3 or more votes, you got a bonus XP for the night. The ST usually handed out 2 or 3 votes (depending on the size of the group). I thought it was a fantastic way to handle the rewards system, so I swiped it.
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My roleplaying experience system works thusly:
All combat experience points are divided in half. One half goes into the party RPXP pool. The other half gets divided further in half, with a quarter of the combat XP going directly to the character most influential in that creatures death and the last quarter going into the COMBATXP pool.
At the end of the evening the COMBATXP pool is divided evenly amongst everyone. The RPXP pool is divided by twelve (however many players I have times three). Each player gets three votes and is not allowed to allocate any more than two votes to any one given character. Each vote is worth 1/12th the RPXP pool.
My players, serious roleplayers the lot of them, really like this system.
Tam
We use Fatespinner's system for our Werewolf and Exalted games, and it works like a charm (it gets me lots of XP, hehe)
Everyone pays attention, and tries to impress the others.
I might include it in a future D&D campaign as well, if I ever run one again.
Also, there's another system I was thinking about implementing, which rewards players in One-shots, were XP isn't much concern because the characters are only around for a short while.
The idea is fairly simple; characters get an RP-bonus on any roll, the bonus depending on the description. Such bonus would go on any roll that was described, and would possibly give characters an ability to win battles though impossible. It'd work on NPC's as well, of course, to make low level critters a tad more dangerous and interesting at the same time...
Any suggestions? This system should give immediate rewards for good roleplaying, and force characters to think about their characters actions, thus bringing the game more to life. Final call is of course up to the DM and he should be free to limit the numbers of times a character can get a bonus.
Examples: (simple situation: a drunken Orc interrupts a Dwarf talking about the best game of golf he ever played)
-4/-1: Metagaming, no description at all.
("I jump on the table to get a +1 bonus on attack rolls and roll my attack: 18 and damage: 6")
0: Simple description
("I jump on the table and swing my hammer. Attack for 18, 6 damage")
+1/+4: Good description, In character description.
("I jump on the table, stare the hapless Orc thug in the eye, grin at him and then bring my hammer crashing to his head."
+5/+8: Mindblowing description, fully in character, leaving the other players jaws dropping on the table.
("I jump on the table, stare at the Orc for a moment, and then let my mind drift to the golf game I was talking about and he interrupted. I grin, smack my foot on his head, yell out 'FOUR!' and attempt to lob his head of with my hammer, aiming for the barrel of beer next to the counter.")
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I noticed that a common theme amongst DMs here is to award 'roleplaying xp' and I agree with this trend whole-heartedly.
I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents worth on this subject.
Back in 2nd edition, I used to give roleplaying bonuses for roleplaying. It worked better in 2nd edition because character classes advanced with varying amount of xp needed to obtain levels. For instance a wizard needed 2500 xp to get to second level whereas a thief needed only 1250!!
Now that all classes advance at the same rate AND that D&D provides very cookie cutter challenge rating system for groups of a certain level etc, it is counter-productive to have a variance in character levels - as I've come to discover.
What I did in 2nd ed was: each character would write 5 one-word adjectives that describe their personality. I would add up all the xp for overcoming encounters for that day. I would then apply a formula of (10% for each adjective if behaved appropriately, scale 1-5 on how well they played their alignment (times 10% - so up to 50%) and then scale of 1-5 on participation; if the player spent more time side-chatting and re-enacting Monty Python and Princess Pride then their score in that category would be a 1 vs someone who actually took part in the table in character discussions and such) That formula could then potentially add up to 150% OF the xp earned that day for encounters.
What I learned is that extroverted persons tend to really mop up the xp and those players who are a bit shy or play quieter characters get left behind. I learned it is a bit unfair depending on the personality of involved players.
Fast forward to 3rd edition: I no longer award xp for monster slaying etc. Instead I give story award xp based on what the characters do. Thus the PCs advance at a rate that I need them too; and it provides less of an instinct to automatically have to attack/kill all encounters to guarantee xp!
I do not offer individual xp awards based on role-playing: what I do offer is Hero Points.
They are earned when: a player has an excellent moment of roleplaying that really changes something in the game (say for instance a player did a wonderful job using bluff, diplomacy, etc to help the party out of a bind). Or if one is truly heroic and puts himself in real harm's way knowing the risks to save another. (in other words someone knows the risk of going up to attacking a medusa - character NOT knowing what it is, but ignores player knowledge and charges in anyway to save another person, etc). Also if a player left no mess, helped clean up last game and showed up on time they get another, and if they write a journal between games they get another. Finally I award one anytime I feel that I "picked" on a particular PC for the purpose of moving along a storyline and the player keeps his chin-up and takes it in stride. (for instance, a wizard that has his spell book stolen all for the purpose of getting the PCs to hunt down this rogue as it is vital to the plot points).
Hero points: roll a d6 and add result to their D20 roll for any sort of in game roll (attack, save, skill, ability check). You can use more than one Hero Point at a time - you simply drop more than 1 D6 - picking the best of the results to add to the D20.
I used this method for years - long before Unearthed Arcana described their Action Points doing similar things (among other abilities). I still use the Hero Points - and they're earned via players involvement - not arbitrarily assigned as the Unearthed Arcana would have you use them.
I would award all the Hero Points at the beginning of each game that was earned from last game - and they had to be used that day (not saved up). People usually had 2-6 in any given day.
Robert
I've always been pretty fast and loose with the ad hoc role-playing XP in my games. But unlike most of the posts I've read here, I tend to give them in the moment, as opposed to at the end of the session.
Its typically a 25 or 50XP reward for a good RP choice or moment, but if its particularily hilarious (and appropriate) or if it displays a surprising level of putting the character before the player, I may reward the player with much more - sometimes even in hundreds.
I suppose that giving the rewards on the fly like this could foster some ill feelings from players - perhaps some feel cheated or that I am showing favoritism - but honestly, I have never run into that type of problem in my games.
This is how I do it. ussually I reward at the end of the game. I track certain things on PC index card, like initiative. I write RP exp on the card in the moment.
I let my players nominate themselves for RP exp. But I reserve the right to say no. My players are fond of nominating each other for RP exp awards, this I encourage. My awards are similar to yours 20 to 50 exp. I have also awarded in the hundreds.
There have been hard feelings from time to time when a player expects RP exp, and none are given. I will tend to award players who RP improves, over those who constantly RP well. Although, consistently impressing the DM, gets a PC consistent RP exp. I think the key is to impress me as the DM.
Question: Does any one harbor ill feeling for consistently not getting voted the RP award in the end?
That has been an issue I have seen outside of gaming when people consistently vote for the best among them. So no votes.
I would rather have My players upset at me than at each other. Curretnly though those I play with are keen at nominating each other for RP exp.
I have the opposite problem. My group would happily roleplay and not be in any hurry to progress with the plot and adventure.
Personally my favorite roleplaying awards are
a) that warm and fuzzy feeling for accomplishing something,
b) fun stories to tell in eg. Paizo message boards, and
c) getting treated by other players and DM as more than collection of stats (really important when DM decides how much he will fudge the die rolls when that random encounter orc proved out to be tougher than expected...).
I tried this system on monday, and I felt it increased focus and immersion, because people were at least trying to stay in character. My group is still a little clumsy with the RP, but to be fair it was also a very combat-heavy session, beginning with a Lich combat that lasted 20 rounds- 3 1/2 hours in realtime (In which the Lizardman Druid Chin-Zen prevailed with creative melee combat) and ending with an elemental combat which sort of threw them for a loop. The votes went nearly unanimously to the lizardman for his bravery, selflessness and true druid-style beast-fu.
I encouraged them to keep it in mind for the future and said I would never cast my vote for meta-gamers, rules-lawyers and spotlight-hogs, which at least put those people on notice. If it continues to be successful, I may increase the award.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I tried this system on monday, and I felt it increased focus and immersion... ...If it continues to be successful, I may increase the award.
I'm really glad you've had success with our system. Beware of increasing RP awards too much, though. Just because someone isn't getting all the votes doesn't mean they're not a good roleplayer, it just means they aren't getting enough attention. If your games typically involve cinematic combat, your combat characters will get a lot of the votes. Ideally, the DMs votes should help offset this a little bit, but if you increase the rewards' value, you increase the disparity between the attention-getters and the under-appreciated RPers. It's a delicate balance, but it works phenominally when you get it right. Keep up the good work!
I tried this system on monday, and I felt it increased focus and immersion... ...If it continues to be successful, I may increase the award.I'm really glad you've had success with our system. Beware of increasing RP awards too much, though. Just because someone isn't getting all the votes doesn't mean they're not a good roleplayer, it just means they aren't getting enough attention. If your games typically involve cinematic combat, your combat characters will get a lot of the votes. Ideally, the DMs votes should help offset this a little bit, but if you increase the rewards' value, you increase the disparity between the attention-getters and the under-appreciated RPers. It's a delicate balance, but it works phenominally when you get it right. Keep up the good work!
I cast my two votes for Chin-Zen, who did what he did without really trying to hog the spotlight, and Corvine, a more quiet and introspective Sorcerer, for his tireless casting support, quiet encouragement to the rest of the party and hanging in there, patiently, when I dazed him for 6 rounds with a Reciprocal Gyre, without whining about missing combat. A close third in my mind was the cleric Haji, who is also a more quiet player, who healed selflessly while also unleashing a torrent of destruction on the BBEG's minions.
I was thinking about instead of increasing the XP awards for RP, making more mission/Quest/RP rewards and using less monster (kill) XP in conjunction with the RP awards detailed here. Any advice on that?
Edit: It was a really combat heavy session as I said, but I wanted to use this opportunity to reward good gamesmanship, which is another excellent application for this, although not strictly RP. Just wanted to clarify. Also I agree wholeheartedly about not making the quieter players feel left out.
Just wanted to chime in again with some good news. I feel like this minor adjustment has helped very much. I tried to really focus and take my time with my descriptions and commentary, trying to draw them into the scene even more than usual. Under the guise of heavy combat, I threw several RP opportunities at the party and actually saw them start to almost compete for opportunities to RP immersively. I had a table full of alert, focused and involved players for the first time in a long while. Just in a few weeks this system has enriched my gaming experience and those of the group. I think part of it is that they see how important the RP is to me and that I am willing to meet them halfway.
The player who took the bonus last night is usually disruptive, loud and not serious at all, but he focused and stayed in the game and delivered a party-saving impassioned speech to steal the show right at the end. Chin-Zen's player came in a close second with his customary lizard bravado and "talking to the club" (long story) and has become an even better RP'er than he was a few weeks ago. The fighter even got in on it with a spooky telepathic conversation that kinda gave me shivers even IRL.
Thanks and keep up the good work! Hope it gives you some satisfaction to see your system help others so well.