Without any interaction? I would say no.
Exp isn't a factor in any of my games. My players level up at appropriate intervals. That being said, I would not award exp to a group that did that. Exp is supposed to be earned from problem solving. Most of the time, this takes the form of killing monsters. This could also represent using diplomacy to convince the Ogre to let you pass through his lair to get to the Dragon beyond, or rescuing the little girl who was kidnapped by Goblins and returning her to her parents (in addition to the exp from killing the same Goblins). Simply witnessing a Troll lumbering through the forest shouldn't yield exp. Now, if the Troll had been actively searching for the group, and the group successfully hides, then maybe. But seeing the same Troll from a distance, realizing it doesn't notice you, isn't in your way, and doesn't otherwise offer any direct obstacles, and just turning around and leaving shouldn't net you any exp. The way I've always thought about it: exp should typically be exchanged for resources (HP, spells/day, Smites, rounds of Rage, etc.).
Personally I prefer levelling at appropriate moments but, if I were handing out XP on an encounter basis, then yes I would give it for avoiding the encounter.
I mean, you'd give it for beating the encounter up, so for combat skills. And you'd give it for applying knowledge and various social skills to talk through it. So why not give it for using stealth and perception to solve the problem? If the point is to solve the problem, then the problem is solved, so there should be XP.
So, if I see a red dragon in the sky and I move behind a tree in one of your games, would i get the complete XP from a red dragon encounter?
I dont think hiding from something counts as "solving the problem" except in some rare exceptions like the commented above, where something is tracking you actively and u achive to get it lost (sorry if my english is bad enough to not be clear in what I want to say).
The opposite means u can reach lvl 20 without actually do anything more than be in the right (or wrong) place at a time, and watch how the big bad guys ignore a simple human being sneaky far from them.
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Depends on what the GM does. If the encounter entails just as much work / strategy / interaction to avoid the encounter, then yes I give them experience. If the party just says we avoid the looming army at the horizon and the GM hand waves the army away, then no XP.
depends on the situation.
For example, party see a brown bear and walk around it. No exp for that. But say the party spot a marauding band of ogres. They are wounded and don't think they can take the fight so choose to hide. The ogres come looking around. A clear risk is present, the stealth rolls are high enough and the ogres leave. Then XP would be granted. It's that risk that must exist for XP to be granted, if there is no risk such as a party of stealth masters, no XP for hiding from encounters that could never find them in first place.
I also don't give XP for encounter that can not harm the PCs. So no XP for killing 1/2 CR commoners when you are 12th level.
I would run it as depending on how much they have to actively work to avoiding the fight.
If they decide never to get in a mile of that area? Then no.
If they all utilize disguise checks in order to fool guards at the front gate to sneak in? Then yes, if it was originally meant to be a combat encounter. They took risks, and utilized their resources (disguise kits, maybe some disguise self spells), in order to solve the problem.
As a side note, I might have one or two of the creatures avoided added into a later encounter. Since they were allowed to lvie and carry on their business, which might include going to the mess hall where you are trying to kill the enemy general. It is only fair both logically, in in terms of game balance (they had saved resourced by not fighting- balance that out; also, this slightly increases the difficulty after they lowered the difficulty by not raising the alarm, allowing for a sneak attack)
You (should) only get XP for something that's at least a bit difficult. The harder the task, the greater the XP reward. Zero hardness, zero XP.
There's also a meta aspect to this:
Does the party, as party of the campaign arc need to level up? Jade Regent is an example of this during the snow slog. If players don't get experience for avoiding encounters during the slog, I don't think they'll be sufficiently strong afterwards.
An open world like Rappan Athuk has a "find what you want to find" component to it. Players are more mice scurrying for cheese while big cats hunt them. I'd only award xp there for defeating opponents or thwarting them.
If avoiding the monster is similar in function to solving a trap or barrier, they should get xp.
If they simply walk up to a cave entrance, sniff the air and nope out, then limited or no xp.
I'd still give marginal xp for simply exploring things, similar to Kingmaker.
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Thank you, everybody.
What happened is that the party was travelling from the dungeon they were exploring to the nearest city, and I rolled up a few random encounters.
Since they had such good Perception rolls, they were able to see most of the creatures they encountered well before those creatures saw them, and decided to simply go around those creatures.
I did not initially award experience for these, but I started to wonder if they should get some experience for at least making the Perception rolls, thus at least seeing the challenge.
These were natural creatures in the wild, and instead of just farming for the experience and attacking the creatures, they opted to leave them alone in their natural habitat and move on.
Shouldn't that count for some experience, in your opinion?
I know its not overcoming a challenge, maybe I should be awarding role playing experience for those instead.
Hmm... in a case like that, what I might do is have a druid send them a message, maybe giving them a scroll with a useful spell or two and explicitly thanking them for not disrupting the local ecosystem. Not every reward has to be experience points.
Maybe a small side quest where the druid decided 'they seem suitable' (since they aren't poaching a-holes, as well as strong) and invite them to chase down a demon damaging the local ecosystem.
The demon of course would have nice loot. Maybe a sword, some general number boosters, maybe one weird item.
Sidenote- having that animal they decided to avoid suddenly turn towards them and congratulate them seems like a nice, druid-y move.
From a game play composition perspective... it seems like a nice way to get back the random encounters they skipped. But this time, with actual loot since they did the wise and kind move of not attacking random animals just hanging out in their natural habitat.
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Hmm... in a case like that, what I might do is have a druid send them a message, maybe giving them a scroll with a useful spell or two and explicitly thanking them for not disrupting the local ecosystem. Not every reward has to be experience points.Maybe a small side quest where the druid decided 'they seem suitable' (since they aren't poaching a-holes, as well as strong) and invite them to chase down a demon damaging the local ecosystem.
The demon of course would have nice loot. Maybe a sword, some general number boosters, maybe one weird item.
Sidenote- having that animal they decided to avoid suddenly turn towards them and congratulate them seems like a nice, druid-y move.
From a game play composition perspective... it seems like a nice way to get back the random encounters they skipped. But this time, with actual loot since they did the wise and kind move of not attacking random animals just hanging out in their natural habitat.
Wow, those a both way more awesome ideas!!! I like the idea of the creature that turns out to be a druid as well as a side quest. I think I'm going to use both of those for the next return trip they take to the city.
yeah, druids are great for random events, since they can legitimately be watching you from anywhere. Cause no one suspects the squirrels. Circle of the Acorn 4 eva.
So they can just go 'yo, seen you around the woods, you seem pretty cool, and I think I got a job for you'. More impact if there are situations like this with animals though, of course.
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If the encounter is an obstacle preventing the party from achieving a goal they should get experience for it. If on the other hand they encounter does not present any obstacle and they spend little or no effort to avoid it they should not get any experience for it. If they use spells, skills or class abilities to actively avoid the encounter that is probably worth some experience.
So if the encounter is with a person or creature guarding the only bridge over the river they have to cross they should get experience. If the encounter is they see a person or monster in the distance and simply let it pass them by without doing anything they should not get any experience. If
...Example: if the PCs are on journey, and there is an encounter consisting of bandits blocking the road and demanding a toll, they could pay the toll, they could fight their way through, they could try intimidation, and all of those would be solving the problem. So why would spotting the encounter in advance and sneaking around to avoid engaging it not be xp? The "problem" is some people blocking your path, and sneaking has solved it.
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In the example, I could reward my players for finding a way to pass the toll doing a good use of their stealth, but sure it wont be the encounters xp. For me the problem isnt solved. The bandits are already there, asking for money to everyone who reach their spot, and the next time our PCs come to this point they will need to find again a way to avoid them (whatever form), so they havent solved the problem at all.
I think we arent gonna agree on this, but theres no problem. I think the OP can judge by all our responses when he should and when he shouldnt reward sneaky actions.
Hope our different points help him to take his own decisions.
Regards.
Seeing a dragon flying overhead and hiding in the trees to avoid getting attacked? No XP.
Sneaking past a sleeping dragon in its lair in order to make it to the other end of the mountain pass unscathed and onwards towards the real objective? Full XP.