I am currently running The Emerald Spire; a super dungeon.
In running the dungeon, I have come across a few issues.
1. On the fourth floor of the dungeon, the party will encounter a group of friendly troglodytes. The party can easily bypass threat of harm on this floor if they befriend the troglodytes (whom are actually good-aligned). In fact, that's more or less what seems to be expected. I'm not clear on whether the party should receive XP for "clearing" the floor if they leave the troglodytes on good relations.
This is part of a bigger issue: should you give players XP for bypassing threats? In a dungeon delve, I feel like the players should get at least some XP for finding a way to bypass a threat without expending resources. If the PCs don't receive XP, it encourages them to kill everything - if for no other reason than to keep up with the power curve of the game.
You could say that this situation is different: this is more like wandering through a town that just happens to be in the middle of the dungeon. The designers don't expect you to kill the inhabitants of a town, and it might be odd to give the players XP for running around killing random villagers .
It's not as big a deal in a game that isn't a dungeon delve, where resource management isn't as important.
Unfortunately, the game isn't like OD&D, where most XP came from treasure, not monsters.
2. I haven't decided when, in a dungeon delve, is the best time for the PCs to gain a level. I am considering three possibilities. Assume, for the sake of argument, that the leveling process is arbitrary - as in, it doesn't need to represent anything occurring in the game world, even if some GMs prefer it that way.
A: The PCs gain a level when they have enough XP (either at the end of a fight; or end of session if calculating during fights is too distracting or time-consuming). The advantage is that it is the quickest method; and incentivizes the PCs to keep going deeper into the dungeon (a little more XP and we can hit Level X!). Also, it helps ensure that the PCs spend adequate time at each level of gameplay; instead of risking the PCs getting half way to the next level of XP before taking a level to which they are already otherwise entitled.
B: The PCs gain a level when they rest, if they have enough XP. This straddles the line between A and C.
C: The PCs gain a level when they rest back in town. The advantage is that this forces the PCs to leave the dungeon, which gives the monsters time to adjust to the PCs' strategies, and makes the party reconsider their resource expenditure.
I am explicitly not going with a potential fourth option: that the PCs gain a level when I feel it is appropriate. I'm using a pre-generated module and I'd like to stick close to their leveling schema as I understand it. I could try translating that into average level per level of the dungeon; but for now I'll hold off, and just stick with one of the above three ideas.
I tend to give my players XP for accomplishing their goals and overcoming challenges, so I would say bypassing an encounter counts if it was part of that process. If their goal is to get the treasure in the chest being guarded by a troll, then bypassing the troll is just as valid as killing it. In either case, they've overcome it to achieve their objective.
I tend to do leveling at either the end of the session, or if we're doing a mid-session break that's not mid-combat. "The party sets camp for the night. Okay, let's take a break here. I'm going to go get our pizzas, you guys level up while I'm out."
There are half a dozen different axioms when it comes to XP and leveling up.
1) PCs ONLY gain XP for defeating things that have an XP value.
2) PCs ONLY gain XP for completing things that either have an XP value, or for doing something that the DM has planned as giving XP, E.G. Quest XP, RP XP, Skill usage XP, .etc.
3) PCs gain XP for completing objectives in set content, E.G. Quests, Modules and Scenarios, and whether or not they actually fight the encounters or traps placed between them and their objective is irrelevant.
4) PCs gain XP when the GM says so, E.G. the PCs level up thematically.
5) A mix of 2 and 3.
6) A mix of 2, 3 and 4.
The default setting on the game is around 2. PFS is based on 3 as all the PCs need to do is complete the scenario or module to get full XP for it.
4 can be interesting, but can also feel unfair to the PCs at times.
It is completely fine to mix and use different axioms to portray different parts of the story. If the PCs defeat the BBEG and he escapes they might level up. Instead of having them crawl around looking for him on the open world you might instead fast forward 2 years as they've tracked him down with allies. They have fought many battles, and have since leveled up before delving down into his dungeon for the actual final confrontation.
As for leveling, the general consensus among some circles is that the PCs level up when they rest. Until then they do not gain any benefit. This prevents mid dungeon leveling up, or, if you divvy out XP as the monster is killed, mid fight leveling up.
More RP heavy groups demand that you go see a trainer in town, and if there isn't one in town you go find one in a bigger or different city. This often ends up with having to go to the outer planes to find a tutor at higher levels, making spells like Plane Shift far more useful and vital to any caster's progression. Remember it is rare for NPCs to get above level 6. By level 12 the PCs are going and gaining the tutelage of Kings, Queens or other country leaders. Beyond lvl 12 the PCs have to seek out extremely rare high level adventurers or go to the planes.
I give players XP for dealing with obstacles. As long as the encounter is a legitimate obstacle they get full XP. I am not familiar with Emerald Spire, but as long as the players have to deal with the troglodytes they should get full XP. Even if all they do is sneak past the obstacle they still had to deal with it. Using a skill like diplomacy, or stealth is still using resources. Characters don’t have an unlimited amount of skill points so they are still using resources when bypassing obstacles.
As for leveling up I normally do this at the end of the session. Occasionally I will level up the characters when there is going to be significant down time. Obviously this is does not happen in the middle of a dungeon. For example if the party traveling and they are going to be spending a few weeks in a city then I will level them up during this time.
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I'm of the idea that you should give full XP when the PC's complete an encounter, be it by stealth, sweet-talking or RAGELANCEPOUNCE.
Be sure to tell your players that you are handling things like this: that way, they know they don't have to kill everything that moves to get XP, and that more unconventional solutions will be rewarded the same way as if they reduced the enemies to a smear on the floor.
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1) PCs should only receive XP for challenges they actually encountered; if they never even met the troglodytes or heard about them, they don't deserve XP. That said, if the challenge is overcome, it's worth XP.
Running away from a monster shouldn't be worth much. Maybe a % because you learned something about What Not To Fight. Managing to run past the monster however is overcoming it (getting past the obstacle), and therefore worth full XP.
This also encourages "thief" concepts where you try to get past the monsters, loot the dungeon, and out again, preferably without getting chewed on; as opposed to "kill everythign and take their stuff". It makes stealthy characters much more valuable.
2) Personally I prefer leveling up in town, if it's practical. That way you don't get shenanigans like the wizard suddenly getting a spell just at the right moment to deal with an obstacle.
However, this needs to be tempered with not delaying level-up for too long. It's really annoying if you've basically earned one or more levels of XP, but don't gain it yet because you're in a piece of the adventure that just drags on, before you can return to town.
Therefore if this is the kind of megadungeon where you set up camp inside and use that camp for months, I'd allow leveling up inside. But perhaps with a "training montage" of a few days in camp, resting up, practicing new tricks and such (all of which takes about ten minutes OOC).
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To the original poster:
You should really put some spoiler tags in your posts when describing anything about modules or scenarios. I bailed as soon as I realized you were giving details on Emerald Spire.
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This is part of a bigger issue: should you give players XP for bypassing threats? In a dungeon delve, I feel like the players should get at least some XP for finding a way to bypass a threat without expending resources. If the PCs don't receive XP, it encourages them to kill everything - if for no other reason than to keep up with the power curve of the game.
According to the Gamemastering section of the Core Rulebook:
Designing Encounters
The heart of any adventure is its encounters. An encounter is any event that puts a specific problem before the PCs that they must solve. Most encounters present combat with monsters or hostile NPCs, but there are many other types—a trapped corridor, a political interaction with a suspicious king, a dangerous passage over a rickety rope bridge, an awkward argument with a friendly NPC who suspects a PC has betrayed him, or anything that adds drama to the game. Brain-teasing puzzles, roleplaying challenges, and skill checks are all classic methods for resolving encounters...
PCs receive experience points for "solving" the problem of the encounter: defeat a (group of) creature(s) (which may or may not include killing), disable or otherwise deal with a trap (including activating it and healing the damage), use Diplomacy and/or roleplaying to make a creature/group friendly, make skill checks to bypass hazards, etc. If a group of creatures/NPCs are made friendly, then the PCs should gain experience points (usually the same amount as defeating them in combat). Typically, they only receive encounter XP for those creatures they directly influence (just as they normally only receive XP for creatures actually defeated); however, an additional reward of story XP can be appropriate if they influence key individuals in control of a larger community.
Avoiding an encounter may or may not be worth experience, depending on the circumstances. If there are multiple routes through a dungeon, then PCs typically don't get XP for encounters that are not part of the route they take; IMO, if they use research and scouting (magical or otherwise) to determine the layout and location of encounters before determining their route, then they deserve a reward of story XP in addition to the encounters on their route.
I haven't decided when, in a dungeon delve, is the best time for the PCs to gain a level. I am considering three possibilities. Assume, for the sake of argument, that the leveling process is arbitrary - as in, it doesn't need to represent anything occurring in the game world, even if some GMs prefer it that way.
The Gamemastering section recommends awarding XP at the end of each session:
Awarding Experience
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game characters advance in level by defeating monsters, overcoming challenges, and completing adventures—in so doing, they earn experience points (XP for short). Although you can award experience points as soon as a challenge is overcome, this can quickly disrupt the flow of game play. It's easier to simply award experience points at the end of a game session—that way, if a character earns enough XP to gain a level, he won't disrupt the game while he levels up his character. He can instead take the time between game sessions to do that.
If you do not give XP for bypassing/outsmarting encounters then you breed the "kill everything for its XP" mentality. Friendly trogs will be slaughtered as a matter of course so as not to miss out on any XP.
I give full XP for bypassing fights and talking past enemies. Avoiding possible death should be rewarded as well as avoiding the killing of someone else.
I believe that the PCs should not gain XP from the troglodytes, whether they fight them or bypass them. The troglodytes are friendly and well-meaning; not a meaningful threat; easily bypassed in an obvious and morally unambiguous manner; and have good reason to attack the PCs (justified moral outrage and self-preservation).
Giving the PCs XP for killing the troglodytes is like giving XP for slaying villagers.
I'm reminded of this comic someone sent me where 1 adventurer is telling another (shortly after they leave town) how he leveled up when he kicked a beggar. (He then goes on to describe how he suddenly gained proficiency with a battle axe, and also got the urge to buy one.) Unfortunately, it was an e-mail attachment, so even though it is on my hard drive, I can't provide a link to it -- I don't know where the original was.