Bonus XP

[Hachristo]

Hello friends

I'm going to be starting a game soon where I plan to award bonus XP to players. If you're unfamiliar with bonus XP, it's basically a small amount of additional XP given to specific players as a reward for doing something creative or interesting, in role play or combat. I've altered the concept to be less hostile to my more casual players; basically everyone gets the same bonus XP, but I let everyone know exactly who contributed and by how much to this total bonus XP, just to give everyone an idea of what they've contributed without giving them a tangible penalty or bonus. I don't anticipate any balance issues due to this change (it basically just becomes slightly more XP for everyone, which I can easily adapt to), but I wondered if anyone here had any wisdom on the possible psychological drawbacks to a system like this. Any constructive feedback would be appreciated.

[One Step Two]

One suggestion I would like to add, is small amounts Exp for making the gaming group laugh out of character. Not to encourage distracting people from the game, but anything that keeps up the friendly atmosphere of the group, that way it purely isn't all about in-game only rewards for some people who might not be quick on their feet in the moment, but might have something fun pop into mind.

[Biggus]

The only problem I can see is with the telling them exactly how much everyone contributed part. If somebody rarely or never is able to make a significant contribution (not through lack of trying, but through lack of talent or expertise) it might get a bit depressing for them. I like One Step Two's idea of including things other than actual gameplay, most people can contribute something.

[Roel]

Hi Hachristo,

I have done this for years (bonus xp for going the extra mile with nice session recaps, bring assets such as a miniature, basically any contribution to the game from the players other then just playing) and I found it a great motivator for people to invest a bit more in the game.

I think it is wise that you reward the party rather then the individual, otherwise the extra curricular work might start to feel mandatory to keep up. I have never kept track of who did what, I didn't want to shame the more casual players into contributions.

Also, I found that it worked better to give standardized amounts of XP for similar things, and not use XP to grade the quality of the work itself. Reward the effort, not the talent. I found that rewarding talent inhibits the less creative players more, who usually already are more timid about contributing in my groups.

My bonus XP's usually ranged from in the teens for minor things to a few hundred for something major. (like a player buying appropriate mini's for the whole group, which was a very cool upgrade from random minis).

In the end it is about motivating effort and involvement, and there is no point being stingy.

Hope this helps somehow.

[Mordante]

I'm almost the direct opposite in my 3.5 games. In the last few years I have never given XP when I was DM nor was I given XP when I was playing.

[nedz]

The big risk is that you end up playing favourites, or even just giving that impression and being open to that accusation.

It depends on the group, but this can backfire.

[Zombimode]

If you really want to do this then involve the players. Make it a group decision, not a DM decision.

Here is what I would do if I would ever consider handing out bonus XP:


the players decide (vote) who gets the bonus XP - if anything the DM would only be a tiebreaker
let it be a fixed amount - the players decide who gets this, not how much
bonus XP can be given one time at maximum for any session


In other words the players decide who did the coolest/greates/bestest thing this session. That players character get the bonus XP.

Edit: and of course: I would discuss this with my group if they actually want it

[Cruiser1]

the players decide (vote) who gets the bonus XP - if anything the DM would only be a tiebreaker
In other words the players decide who did the coolest/greates/bestest thing this session. That players character get the bonus XP.
Edit: and of course: I would discuss this with my group if they actually want it
One issue with this is that players often play favoritism among their real life friends, and will vote for them as opposed to casual players or whoever is most deserving. For example, you just need to get over half of the players in an "alliance", and that alliance can always vote to give themselves the bonus XP, and prevent the other players from ever getting any. Of course, if you have over half the players allied together, they can also vote to get voting for bonus XP implemented in the first place. :smallwink:


I've altered the concept to be less hostile to my more casual players; basically everyone gets the same bonus XP, but I let everyone know exactly who contributed and by how much to this total bonus XP, just to give everyone an idea of what they've contributed without giving them a tangible penalty or bonus.

I think it is wise that you reward the party rather then the individual, otherwise the extra curricular work might start to feel mandatory to keep up. I have never kept track of who did what, I didn't want to shame the more casual players into contributions.
Bonus XP has been talked about before on this forum, in which people shared their (often strong!) opinions on the matter, such as in the following 19 page thread containing over 500 posts. Combat XP (barring level differences) is already divided equally among players and isn't proportioned to whoever did the most damage or such. Therefore, it's not unreasonable for bonus XP to be handled on a party level as well, or even things like character death. After all, in a cooperative party, the Fighter dying isn't the Fighter's fault as much as the party's fault (e.g. the Cleric didn't buff the Fighter enough, the Wizard didn't do divination enough, etc): https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=15880948&postcount=310

[alex_van_d]

One of the best ways that we did bonus XP was an idea I stole from somewhere else.

At the beginning of every session every player was given 5 tokens. Each token was worth 5xp. (Something fairly trivial, but could add up over time.) The players could not keep their tokens. They could only give them away. And they could give them away for any reason they wanted.

Mostly they tossed them at eachother when they did something cool.

It was a very interesting time. I think I may try it again some day.

[Quertus]

I've done this. So, here's my take.

A universal amount is generally a good idea - it's not a grade, it's a thumbs up.

It's not just a GM thing. In fact, maybe *only* the players suggest events as worthy of XP. It's not a vote (officially) - only the GM decides to give XP or not… but if lots / most of the players are all like, "yeah, that *was* cool when", then it's worth XP, whether the GM thinks it is XP worthy or not. Which means "made the group laugh" has already "won the vote", already earned XP, even if the GM didn't get the joke. Which is why I, personally, will mention certain events like this, or quickly say "yes" to things that it's already obvious that the group enjoyed. But hearing player feedback on player-nominated ideas helps prevent the GM playing favorites, and helps the group see what the group enjoyed.

Like a player-run recap, this technique helps cement the good times in the players' memories. The XP are simply a Pavlovian reward to encourage the association between good behavior and feeling good.

EDIT: and, yes, it also encourages spotlight sharing, by rewarding the group for times that someone else was in the spotlight and did something cool.