Trouble understanding XP in adventures

[Tykane]

I'm setting up Malevolence, getting ready to run it for four players, and I'm trying to map out how much XP per room they can get. But I'm having trouble understanding exactly how it works. If anybody happens to also have it, I'm looking at room B16 right now.

It's listed as "Moderate 3," which I understand to mean it's a moderate encounter for level 3 players. This should grant them 30 xp. However the only creature in the room is a level 5 creature, which I thought would mean "party level+2," which should grant them 80 xp.

I thought the label on each area (moderate 3) was meant as a simple "this area will add up to this amount of xp" thing, but that doesn't seem correct looking at the experience granted. Am I misunderstanding how xp is calculated?

[Ruzza]

Tykane wrote:

I'm setting up Malevolence, getting ready to run it for four players, and I'm trying to map out how much XP per room they can get. But I'm having trouble understanding exactly how it works. If anybody happens to also have it, I'm looking at room B16 right now.

It's listed as "Moderate 3," which I understand to mean it's a moderate encounter for level 3 players. This should grant them 30 xp. However the only creature in the room is a level 5 creature, which I thought would mean "party level+2," which should grant them 80 xp.

I thought the label on each area (moderate 3) was meant as a simple "this area will add up to this amount of xp" thing, but that doesn't seem correct looking at the experience granted. Am I misunderstanding how xp is calculated?

The way it works is that experience is handed out evenly to all party members based on the opponent's level, not on what the encounter adds up to be. In the case of a party level + 2 creature, it would be 80 XP. You're looking at the chart for a "Moderate Accomplishment," which would be something like fulfilling a quest, not combat.

[Tykane]

Ruzza wrote:

The way it works is that experience is handed out evenly to all party members based on the opponent's level, not on what the encounter adds up to be. In the case of a party level + 2 creature, it would be 80 XP. You're looking at the chart for a "Moderate Accomplishment," which would be something like fulfilling a quest, not combat.

So although the room is labeled "Moderate 3," that actually has ZERO impact on XP? As in it's a "moderate" encounter for level 3 characters, but XP should be granted based on what's actually in the rooom - 80 xp based on a party level + 2 creature?

If that's how it works, seems a little confusing to provide XP tables for trivial, moderate, and major, use those labels on rooms, but then completely throw that XP chart out the door...

[thenobledrake]

Tykane wrote:

If that's how it works, seems a little confusing to provide XP tables for trivial, moderate, and major, use those labels on rooms, but then completely throw that XP chart out the door...

On page 499 of the core book are the tables for planning encounters, the difficulty ratings they have, and the determination of how much XP a creature is based on its level relative to party.

Included on page 508 is a repeat of that information and the addition of hazards, both simple and complex, to the scheme - and also the table you seem to have gotten stuck on which applies to anything that isn't a creature or hazard but is worth XP.

And all of the ins and outs of how each type of experience might be rewarded are covered in the paragraphs surrounding these tables.

Nothing has been thrown out any doors.

[Squiggit]

I mean, the XP budget for a moderate encounter is 80 XP and the encounter, labeled Moderate 3, has 80 XP worth of enemies in it. So, it sounds like they didn't throw anything out the door that's exactly as it should be.

[Tykane]

I think I see where I got hung up. I'm so used to seeing specific tags mean specific things that I keep seeing the "moderate" label as specifically meaning "moderate xp." But if I'm understanding correctly, the labels on rooms and areas are just generic guidelines with no effect on XP - everything is calculated based on the creatures (or hazards) within a room.

Thanks!

[nephandys]

Tykane wrote:

I think I see where I got hung up. I'm so used to seeing specific tags mean specific things that I keep seeing the "moderate" label as specifically meaning "moderate xp." But if I'm understanding correctly, the labels on rooms and areas are just generic guidelines with no effect on XP - everything is calculated based on the creatures (or hazards) within a room.

Thanks!

No that's not what they're saying. If you go to page 489 in the core rulebook you will see the Trivial-Low-Moderate-Severe-Extreme labels for encounters. Moderate = 80 XP, creature party lvl +2 = 80 XP, creature party lvl + 2 = Moderate encounter. On the same page with the creature levels when you look at Party Level +2 the description is Moderate.... The encounters are decided based on the creature xp but they all map onto the labels given. It appears like you're looking at a different set of tables.

[Tender Tendrils]

As has been mentioned, your confusion is from looking at the accomplishment table rather than the encounter xp table.

The accomplishment table is for handing out XP for non-encounter related accomplishments (such as convincing an NPC to do something or helping a cat out of a tree or finishing a quest or completing an investigation)

The Encounter XP table is for how much XP you get from an encounter.

In future, I would recommend that if it is your first time referring to a particular table, you fully read all of the text on the accompanying pages - that text is there for a reason and you can't interpret how the table applies correctly before reading it.

[Aw3som3-117]

Long story short, you're looking at minor, moderate, and major accomplishments and the XP they give [Link]
When the book is referencing the difficulty of the encounter as being "moderate" rather than trivial, low, severe, or extreme, as shown in the XP Budget rules here

[Ascalaphus]

How it would work if you were writing is, you say to yourself "I want a moderate difficulty encounter here". Then you see that that gives you a budget of 80XP to shop with.

Next you see that for 80XP you can buy a L+2 monster, so you for a Moderate 3 encounter you can put in a L5 monster and then that's done.