Hello,
are there any potent Systems or guidlines about not giving XP?Our group has been thinking about skipping the xp phase and let the players instead level up every 4-5 Sessions.
We´re playing the Serpent Skull AP which hasn´t been very tough latetly (beginning of book II).Just went out of the saltmines.
Sean K Reynolds has something called the Step System you should look up.
Where do i find it dude?
I let the players level up based on where the players are in the story. Doing it by sessions might cause problems with PC's that are too strong or too weak.
I let the players level up based on where the players are in the story. Doing it by sessions might cause problems with PC's that are too strong or too weak.
Good point,i have been thinking about this too.But doesn´t realy say in the AP´s "okay Players should be Level 6 by now" as far as i recall.Just the average Level for example Book II of the Serpenk Skull sayzs written for Levels 4 to 7
I let the players level up based on where the players are in the story. Doing it by sessions might cause problems with PC's that are too strong or too weak.Good point,i have been thinking about this too.But doesn´t realy say in the AP´s "okay Players should be Level 6 by now" as far as i recall.Just the average Level for example Book II of the Serpenk Skull sayzs written for Levels 4 to 7
Playing an AP: if you read the volume overview you will get guidelines of what level the players should be when they reach various sections. use those as your level up points.
At the beginning of most books it will say characters should be level X by the time they reach _____, and level Y by the time they reach ______.
That way if you end a session just before the PC's are about to explore one of those ______, then you can tell them to level up before the next session.
The beginning of each book also tells you what level the players are expected to be at. This information is normally within the first few pages, before the adventure actually begins.
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I level players by story, not by XP. This has made my life as a GM so much more manageable, and every player I've done it with so far has liked it better than XP. One of my players who is also a GM has adopted the practice.
Hello,
are there any potent Systems or guidlines about not giving XP?Our group has been thinking about skipping the xp phase and let the players instead level up every 4-5 Sessions.
We´re playing the Serpent Skull AP which hasn´t been very tough latetly (beginning of book II).Just went out of the saltmines.
Some players can get pretty jealous about getting to "earn their boxtops"...in situations where I have been somewhat stingy with XP, the natives get restless and wonder when they will ever finally get to level up.
I had wondered a couple times about running a campaign where the PCs level up only when it seems fitting within the storyline for them to do so, such as when they are taking a rest from adventuring to train "offscreen."
Even in an XP-ful campaign, I have occasionally gone hog-wild in giving out XP, finding any reason to try to get the PCs up to the next level. Or else I will merely advance everyone to the next level by fiat.
In an XP-less campaign I wouldn't feel obliged to grant a level-up at every 4th or every 5th session--if a certain "chapter" or "mission" is going rather slowly and a level-up would seem out-of-place, I would have no problem delaying it till a more opportune time.
I have played very few game that used XP other then as a guide for the GM, and I agree with Maxximilius, we always get to talk about the cool stuff that happend, rather then double checking XP, and the confusion that happens if someone didnt write down their XP at some point
I always give the players a clear, non-spoilered goal as soon as I drop the adventure hook on them. When they reach that goal, they level.
For instance, if the adventure hook involves a missing child from the village, I'll say "You'll level when you rescue the child". Although, if it happens that they would normally level twice before rescuing the child, I'll say "You'll level when you find the child" or something like that. That is to say, I account for the level of effort in setting a goal, such that it corresponds with when they might ordinarily level.
Making a non-XP system goal driven is really important. If you're running a module or something that assumes the players are not goal driven and instead try to level by "killing boars" or whatever, you can just make sure to announce those lesser goals.
Announcing the goal also keeps players from charging off into a situation they're way under-prepared for.