Duels = Individual XP?

[Miriad]

If a character duels against an NPC. Does he get individual XP or should the rest of the party be included in the calculation? Assume the party simply watched.

[dascarletm]

If a character duels against an NPC. Does he get individual XP or should the rest of the party be included in the calculation? Assume the party simply watched.
I say give them the XP

Out of game justification:
Unless your party likes to have XP discrepancies it could turn into a "No, I shall fight it alone! More XP for me!"-fest

In game justification:
They are watching, they are learning, it was an experience, XP gained.
It makes as much if not more sense as having a character make one ranged attack in the combat then hiding for that delicious sweet XP.

[Gwazi Magnum]

Tricky...

My first reaction was to say only him but count it as roleplaying experience.

But if it wasn't an roleplayed duel but an actual combat encounter where he won combat single handedly so there's a CR that translate to exp, I might end up suggesting give it to him anyways but give the players a little extra roleplay experience for other things they did that session.

Though this sadly is the kind of situation where if the players are willing to cause a massive war over experience and who deserves more it can cause a huge conflict.

For example:

If your group is the kind that gets angry over who gets what experience, the watching players might be angry that one player gets something they didn't.

But if you give it out to everyone the one dueling may feel cheated out on.

On a personal level if this kind of conflict did break out I'd side with the duelist, but if your group is responsible enough to let it slide and recognize they'll have their own personal glory moments later in the campaign then feel free to just give the experience to the duelist alone.

[Gwazi Magnum]

I say give them the XP

Out of game justification:
Unless your party likes to have XP discrepancies it could turn into a "No, I shall fight it alone! More XP for me!"-fest

In game justification:
They are watching, they are learning, it was an experience, XP gained.
It makes as much if not more sense as having a character make one ranged attack in the combat then hiding for that delicious sweet XP.

Let's be fair though, a group who is after experience alone to that extent either

a) Is a time bomb for them to fall apart because they see each other as experience tools than other players and characters

or

b) Are better off in a wizard of the coasts d&d encounters group which is nothing but combat.

[Deathslayer7]

I would give experience to him, but beware of other PC's who might just want to duel for more experience.

Though I'm not sure how much I would give him. Giving him the full amount would well push him ahead of the others. But then again it also depends on what level he is currently at.

Higher levels it doesn't make as much a difference.

Personally I dislike the exp system and tell my PCs to level up after they have accomplished a certain amount of goals.

[Krobar]

This is part of the reason I never just announce to the group "you all get xxxx experience." I write down the total for each character on a small, folded slip of paper and hand it to the player, and I insist there be no discussion about experience point awards or leveling. After all, why would a character know anything about "experience points" or "levels"?

When someone else in my group is DM'ing, as we do sometimes switch off so that we all get to play and DM, we follow the same rule.

[Chaosvii7]

Depends on the situation. If by "duel" you mean an organized duel or a gladiator match or a street fight performance, then probably not, because those yield revenue and their reward would be getting paid for fighting somebody. If it's a plot-centric fight, like a samurai dueling somebody for honor, it could be the evil lord of a rival clan, or even his former master, or a no-holds-barred bout to the death with the general of an evil army in a last stand against the forces of evil, then yes, totally.

I think dueling is a bit of a grey area in the rules because it's a performance art, but it really boils down to flashy combat, something that a performer might not be so good at, or something that there's professionals for that don't even qualify as performers. So depending on which of those two areas it better suits(performing for attention or vying for glory), I would either give them their daily bread or experience. If it crosses both lines...then I could be persuaded to give them both, but it would take a sale to me to convince me.

[Azif13]

I always set XP individually for each character and I take the calculus before them, so they can remember me if I forget something and they can see what I award and what not. If they fight alone they get the xp alone and that's all. I have always had players with overall good behaviour, though, so I haven't had problems with that, but it might have been one if they weren't that way...

[Slipperychicken]

If they didn't help out, they don't deserve XP. Otherwise, what's to stop that crowd of NPC spectators from eating equal shares of the XP too? Why not let those kids playing marbles two blocks over get it too? They experienced it, after all, they heard the screams.


It's a matter of fairness. If you help win the encounter, you get a share of XP. If you just sit back, relax, and watch other people do all the work, you didn't help and you don't get XP. To the victor goes the spoils.

[OzymandiasX]

In the case of a duel, it may not give any XP other than roleplaying, if it wasn't a real life and death threat. (ie. You can't level up by just sparring with your friends a lot)

Or everybody gets experience. This is because (a) it will become a total nightmare trying to calculate exp differently for every encounter that wasn't participated in equally by everyone and (b) awarding individual XP will encourage party members to split up and do things individually, making all of the other players sit around... and this rewards the most selfish of players while penalizing those who try to make things fun for a team.

[Jerthanis]

It depends on what criteria I stated I was using for XP distribution at the beginning of the game. Most of the time, I give group XP based on session completion and story goals accomplished, and so if the goals of the whole party are completed by winning a duel involving only one party member, obviously they all get the experience. If the XP criteria is based on how much danger they personally experience, then I'd give xp only to the people whose lives were put into danger.

If my XP criteria that I started the game with isn't explicit enough to make a call one way or the other, I'd default to giving it to everyone because they already had to sit through a scene where they weren't in the spotlight. To make spotlight holding also grant more experience could possibly encourage bad behavior.

[OzymandiasX]

To make spotlight holding also grant more experience could possibly encourage bad behavior.This. is true

[JusticeZero]

The fighty guy getting in a 1 on 1 should get XP.. but.. it shouldn't be any more than, say, the bookish bard gets for a really awesome library crawl where they find some really neat and juicy info. Everybody should be getting XP for their subplots and for doing their job well, and not everyone's job is "beat people up".

[Gnome Alone]

other PC's who might just want to duel for more experience.

A potential font of hilarity if it turns out like the Simpsons episode where Homer glove-slaps duel challenges only to run afoul of a Southern gentleman.

[dascarletm]

If they didn't help out, they don't deserve XP. Otherwise, what's to stop that crowd of NPC spectators from eating equal shares of the XP too? Why not let those kids playing marbles two blocks over get it too? They experienced it, after all, they heard the screams.


It's a matter of fairness. If you help win the encounter, you get a share of XP. If you just sit back, relax, and watch other people do all the work, you didn't help and you don't get XP. To the victor goes the spoils.

True, but to be fair random NPCs and PCs are on another plane of existance (and I don't mean the Great Wheel). Where PCs can learn and gain knowledge from seeing two fighting styles go head-to-head NPCs (especially some poor ol' farmer) would just see some guys fighting. I'd not split the XP, but I'd give the onlooking PCs some portion of XP.

Which leads me to the fairness I'd think some people, not myself personally, would find it unfair to be forced to watch PC Bob get all the spotlight and fun, and then on top of it get XP while they get none.

It's all group taste. I would rather play your way Slippery, but some may not.

[Cirrylius]

Only one character should gets xp in a duel, provided it's to the death. I wouldn't let it happen often, since it'll eat up time while the other players sit around waiting, and could potentially lead to a large xp imbalance in the party. Plus, if the character is significantly higher level than the NPC, or if it's a battle to first blood, I'd make it a small amount of roleplaying xp instead. But if a player is willing to risk his character's life in single combat, he should get to reap the reward.