so which is your favorite?
>XP as Loot (Encourages exploration)
>XP as Slain Enemies (Encourages aggression)
>XP as Failed Rolls (Encourages engaging with the world in novel ways)
>XP as Narrative Beats (Encourages players to care about the plot)
>XP as Time (Encourages players to keep playing)
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Generally as milestones in progression, often by either forwarding the plot or character goals.
do you have your players preset/ write down their goals so that they actually have proof when they achieve them that that's what they were aiming for the whole time?
I usually just talk to them individually before the game and confirm with them their general goals and award them XP as I see fit.
Narrative beats potentially covers so much ground that it subsumes all other methods.
This is best in (game) life!
I dislike vague milestones because it feels less clear in what goals the players should seek and seems to railroad a tabletop game to playing like a show or book, which isn't something I think necessarily works in a player driven game.
Loot is nice to me because it's a *specific* goal that encourages getting into the mindset of selfish mercenary type PCs. In many games there's no reason to care about money unless high end equipment is very pricey and not easily stolen. XP-for-kills is okay but personally I prefer more open ended methods that allow stealth and RP as means to the sake end.
In the same vein for non-fantasy games I would like advancement to be based around unifying the gameplay with whatever flavour the genre wants to encourage:
>Pirate game
XP for loot + XP for each unmapped island or region explored
>Mesoamerican inspired game
XP for cocoa beans + XP for live captives sacrificed
>Norse game
XP in weight of silver, alongside a strong reputation system that incorporates holmgang and wergild
>Anime/JRPG inspired game
XP for monster kills + XP for lavish food
>Mecha
Mostly equipment based progression
>Cold war type espionage game
Here is an example of where I think mission or narrative based levelling works well, since they're not as suited to a sandbox
I know examples for these settings exist but this is what I prefer
"Slain enemies" really is just a specific form of "XP for overcoming challenges," which is generally the best way to handle a story about adventuring.
Fast talk the ogres into becoming mercenaries instead of killing them? You should get 3 Ogres' worth of XP. Kill them? Also 3 Ogres' worth.
Ultimately, though, XP systems depend on the tone of the campaign you want. This anon provides a good list of ways different XP systems can fit different games.
XP as however I the GM arbitrarily decide on no reliable basis whatsoever
this is the most true-to-life way of doing it; IRL, outside of rote repetition of a simple task, it's almost impossible to know how you'll improve on something.
Have a mythology game. Mythical Acts, like killing significant monsters, tricking powerful beings, obtaining rare objects and otherwise performing feats of an incredible nature cause my players to level up.
I used to run games, no longer do. The players did not play to get better PCs, they played because they liked the game. I gave out XP whenever they managed an obstacle, through whatever means: whether by killing the highwaymen, tricking them or what have you.
loot
As time. After the session players tell what their PCs are doing during down time and get a level up.
>XP as Time (Encourages players to keep playing)
this one is confusing because anon's like this
are interpreting it as "Game Time" but you could also interpret it as "Real Time"
like for every three hours we play you level up
All of the above honestly
Pretty much yeah.
I think time is the only one the group I'm playing with doesn't do.
Honestly XP for failure is growing on me, mainly because it does encourage more ups and downs during play rather than a pure focus on doing everything as efficiently as possible.
XP as failure is really fun because i've noticed that since our GM introduced it we've all been way more likely to make skill checks using our crappy stats.
like yes you are more likely to fail but that means you're also more likely to get XP
>XP for quest completion
>XP for turning up at the table
>XP for talking about the session on social media (real) (gay)
>XP for having a one hundred and eleventh birthday party (also real) (and a little gay)
>XP for sitting on your ass and going OMMM OMMM
I only do some of these
Currently I really like the Riddle of Steels progression system.
You have a 5 spiritual attributes which represents beliefs, values, and causes of your character. If you act on them, they increase. You then permanently spend those points to increase your character in some way, such as increasing your stats, or increasing your weapon proficiency rank. You're mechanically rewarded for playing your character "accurately". For example, an honorable knight concerned with chivalry and his love for the Princess, is mechanically rewarded (with character advancement) by acting chivalrously and being swayed by his love for the Princess.
More generally though, XP is the reward a game gives when the player exhibits the correct behavior. Old-DnD rewards you with XP for getting treasure, because the game is about dungeon crawling for treasure. If Old-DnD gave you XP for killing monsters, then players would be mechanically incentivized to just hunt down and slay monsters, rather than avoid them. The Riddle of Steel rewards you with XP for acting on your characters beliefs and values (often at the cost of practicality), because the game is about beliefs and values.
Basically, it depends on the System, but I like TRoS right now.
>>XP as Narrative Beats (Encourages players to care about the plot)
it encourages speedrunning the campaign
>All those moronic assumptions
>While implying you can only get one
In my shitbrew, characters get experience points per each expended resource (stamina/focus) that they recover by resting. They get bonus multiplier for the experience they gain when resting after achieving a goal they worked towards for a long time.
>D&D
Whatever the default assumption is, i don't really care much. I do enforce other requirements for leveling up though (timeskips and costs).
>Any game with arbitrary xp currency handing
Every time the characters accomplish something meaningful like turning the table, overcoming a significant challenge, moving forward, etc... also investing adequate time in training.
>Games with arbitrary milestone advancements
I lay down a set of prerequisites you have to fulfill to unlock an advancement like for example:
- you have to test your skills in a meaningful matter;
- you have to invest time in developing your skills;
- you have to figure something new about your skills (eg: trying to use the creatively);
- don't overexert your skill in meaningless acts;
... If you check all those marks you get your advancement after a reasonable timeskip apt for justifying it.
I physically threaten the GM for XP