PF, combat, quests, exploration and XP

[Alcore]

When the party beats a CR 1 encounter do you say;

"The party gains 400 XP" (which is the total)
-or-
"The party gains 100 XP" (which is the amount each receives)


Cuz it hit me; in kingmaker when you explore a hex you get 100xp (book 1 pg59) for exploring. It says and i quote "With each hex of terrain fully explored, the party earns 100 experience points." And again with quests found inside the story (same book, pg13, bottom left corner above Name) it says "All Northern Greenbelt Quests are worth 400 XP when completed."


But encounters are different. You have a CR value which gives a total XP. Core rule book even has a table for how much to give pending on party size. It's inaccurate by rounding though....


Do i give 100 per hex or 25 per hex?

[rs2excelsior]

I'm not sure about the kingmaker book you're referencing, but the way I do it for encounters, I total up the XP value of the encounter, divide it by the number of players, sometimes round it off in their favor if it comes out to an annoying value (I'm not going to tell them they get 833.33 XP each) and say that you each get Y xp. The way you phrased it, I'd assume that value of XP for quests/exploration is meant to be divided among the party. So if each exploration is 100 XP, everyone gets 25 in a 4 character party, 20 in a 5 character party, etc.

Of course, if you're DMing, you're free to adjust the XP gain as you see fit, so long as you and your players are all on the same page.

[Malimar]

I have never in my life announced the party's total XP gain. It's just not a relevant value. The only thing that matters is what each character gets. (But I also don't ever say "the party gains" -- I only ever say "each character gains".)

Also, 100 divided by the number of players is an insultingly piddling amount of XP as a reward for anything.

Buuuuuuut Pathfinder is weird and makes some weird assumptions about XP, so they could easily have intended for you to divide it.

[Alcore]

But I also don't ever say "the party gains" -- I only ever say "each character gains".) the problem is i do. I say " the party gains 100xp" and each character adds 100. Occasionally i have to explain but after awhile they get it.




Buuuuuuut Pathfinder is weird and makes some weird assumptions about XP, so they could easily have intended for you to divide it.

Indeed. It is weird. Take random encounters; it doesn't say to keep increasing the chance with each failure but since most DMs know 3.5 they do as 3.5 even though it is not RAW to increase it anymore.

If i keep the sirit of the law by giving each 100 per hex i should remain consistent with quest XP. Which is 3,100 for exploration and 3,200 with just side quests. Well into level 3 with no main quest or encounters.



Hence my soul searching here....

[Elricaltovilla]

I did away with the hex exploration xp and even the quest xp and got no complaints. I think the more useful metric is that book 2 expects your PCs to be 3-4th level at the start of it. The final book of Kingmaker is supposed to end around 17th level. That info should help you pace things better.