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View Full Version : Experiance versus story based leveling



BobVosh
2008-12-22, 05:59 AM
Pretty much obvious. I'm just curious how many people perfer getting exp, or just being told when to level up.

Actually, boths sides of the screen speak up.

As a DM I usually perfer to hand out exparience, simply because I don't have to worry about forgetting to tell people to level up.

As a player I liked being told "go to level X."

Keeps the game moving in the way the DM wants. While I don't approve of railroading I can understand with wanting certain things at certain levels. Also this way you don't end up with some people laggin behind because they misheard/forgot to write XP for a level.

So just curious what your reasons are, or if ya have even thought about it.

Starsinger
2008-12-22, 06:10 AM
A problem with telling people when to level up, is that some people like to spend their XP crafting things, or making Wishes, and thus they get a free ride if you tell people when to level.

On the other hand, if you go for accountant style XP, you risk running into the problem (doubly so if everyone has different XP totals) of someone losing their sheet, or forgetting to record their XP.

With that said, I prefer telling people when to level up, as I'm one of those players who tends to forget to write my XP down, or misplace my character sheet.

Morty
2008-12-22, 06:16 AM
Well, telling people when to level up certainly helps to avoid the hassle with counting XP and the trouble when someone, or everyone, forgets to write down the XP they got. On the other hand, giving XP and leveling based on it makes it easier to calculate challenges and makes players feel rewarded. And of course, telling people when to level up works only in level-based games.

Grail
2008-12-22, 06:59 AM
I give XP, but don't give it to the players. I keep the XP totals and let players know when they level up based upon what they've got. If they craft items/cast spells with XP requirements, then they use it from an unknown resource.

Roderick_BR
2008-12-22, 07:05 AM
I'm with M0rt. Handing XP makes players feel rewarded, but story based leveling makes for easier stories. I guess it depends on how you are playing the campaign. A game with lots of battles, tactices, and players seeking challenges all the time works with XP. Games with more storytelling and puzzles (like play by mail, play by post, or even free styling games on a table) can use the story leveling better, since no one needs to worry about the math.
Personally, I like more the battle based ones, and like to manage XP and stuff.

Xefas
2008-12-22, 07:24 AM
There are Pros and Cons for both, so I generally just decide which one would be more beneficial before I start a campaign.

My biggest problem with handing out Levels instead of XP is that I can't give out bonus XP for exceptionally creative ideas in the problem-solving or roleplaying departments.

The biggest boon I find associated with handing out Levels is that my Players no longer care about squeezing every single XP they can out of a situation. They don't force half-assed roleplaying out of themselves to try to be amazing and dramatic then fail horribly, they don't make up crazy random bull**** plans to try to sound creative with the problem-solving, and they're a lot more inclined to circumvent challenges altogether if they can, rather than confronting every single thing they have the slightest opportunity to for the extra XP.

AslanCross
2008-12-22, 07:50 AM
What Starsinger said. XP isn't only for leveling up. That said, it helps for both the DM and the players to keep track of XP. I audit my players' sheets once in a while.

Neithan
2008-12-22, 07:53 AM
I give XP, but not for defeating enemies, but for overcoming obstacles. Looking for trouble and beating some monsters up won't get them any XP, but making up creative plans to avoid a fight does.

Epinephrine
2008-12-22, 07:59 AM
My players really like XP. It's a gratification thing - a few days after a session they get a session summary, a list of the treasure (for them to keep track of more easily), and the XP they received (as well as the running total - they can subtract from it if they've crafted stuff, but so far that's not an issue).

I debated going with the story-based leveling, but the players get too much joy out of seeing numbers.

AslanCross
2008-12-22, 08:01 AM
Okay, related question: How DOES one assign an Encounter level for a non-combat obstacle? Traps have CRs, but the 3.5 DMG assigns encounter levels to natural events like earthquakes or hailstorms. How does that work?