Player Bonusses

[pbdr]

I'm a fairly new DM, but experienced player.

My group of players are all very new, this is their first 3.5 game and first in 20 years period....

The last few sessions things have really started to click and work smoothly The players have started to pick up that extra bit of roleplaying and doing well in battle, etc.

I kind of want to give them a "bonus", just to say good job. Not a magic item, but a character boost.

Bad idea? Suggestions? (maybe a free feat?)

[Slipperychicken]

You could simply congratulate them OOC, then keep playing and trying to improve. In D&D, a fun game is the best reward there is :smallsmile:. Nobody should feel like you have to bribe them to play the game well.

[CaladanMoonblad]

Alternatively, you do a series of "Fate smiles upon you" moments in game;

1) such that the local people in a village treat the heroes as one of their own, perhaps buying them drinks,
2) such that walking along the road, their Spot check (DC 10) reveals that someone had left a picnic lunch ready to eat,
3) such that after a rainstorm, the heroes witness a magnificent rainbow similar to this (http://browse.deviantart.com/art/Rainbow-17448481).
4) hand out a small piece of paper with "Fate Smiles Upon You, so long as you hold this card, your PC gains a +1 bonus to every d20 saving throw"

When Fate smiles upon someone, things get easier, better, etc.

[Barsoom]

Just have some NPCs comment about how awesome they have for having solved problem X or having vanquished foe Y.

[Amnestic]

I like giving minor situational feat boosts for certain quests and adventures and the like, depending on how they performed (both quality and nature) during it - stuff like minor boosts to social skillchecks with a certain set of people, maybe a lower price at the Magic Mart in one town, things like that.

Another option is to crib off the Action Points (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/actionPoints.htm) variant rule, but rather than have them gain points every time they level up, give a point for some really good roleplaying or something along those lines.

[KillianHawkeye]

What we do sometimes in my group is hand out little tokens or slips of paper that can be turned in for a one time reroll or automatically stabilize instead of dying. This lets the players get out of a scrape or a bad situation once in a while, but it doesn't have a huge impact on overall game balance. It is literally just an insurance against bad luck.

[Medic!]

It's a double-edged sword, no question about it. If you do give something in-game, make it expendable, and make it very minor (so it'll actually be expended.)

Had a player once who was RPing exceptionally well with his rogue, and upon discovering that he had a year to live, went out to uh...rub elbows with the uh....night life.

As a reward I gave him a 24hr minor morale bonus. From that point on every session started with, "I take the prettiest wench upstairs...what's my bonus to this time?" :smallfurious:

[Slipperychicken]

Just have some NPCs comment about how awesome they have for having solved problem X or having vanquished foe Y.

Honestly, this one is better than most mechanical benefits. It makes the players feel better than a bonus will, and might lead to more roleplaying. Also lets them feel more like heroes.

Maybe an NPC child would run up to them with some flowers and say "You're the heroes, right? Thanks for saving mommy." Of course the parent (who the PCs recognize they saved a while back) is standing nearby as the child walks back to his/her arms. The PCs might even roleplay a bit with the child and parent.