DMs: Do you award roleplaying experience?

[WarKitty]

So DM's...how many of you reward roleplaying experience? How much of the experience total is it? And how do you determine how much to give out to whom?

[Tengu_temp]

I prefer to keep everyone at the same level, so I don't award any RP experience. Instead, when I feel a player does not roleplay enough for my tastes, I give him the David Bowie Is Very Disappointed In You look.

[Glimbur]

I tend to give roleplaying XP partially to balance out XP gain per character in a given session. My party tends to split up a lot. The other DM's and I are considering changing to a fiat based leveling system. The only issue with that is there's an Artificer, and he might want extra XP for crafting and such. We'll ponder that.

[Diarmuid]

I think they're a good idea in theory, but in practice they usually just end up skewing the party as one or two players generally seem to end up with the most bonuses and no one likes to fall behind.

[Scarey Nerd]

I give large amounts of RP exp, because it forces my players to roleplay well if they don't want to be left behind. If I had a particularly poor roleplayer I would keep it even, but I'm blessed in my players.

[Beelzebub1111]

Thunt has a good system that I will be adopting soon:

In my games, I awarded 100 xp for talking to NPCs at some length and with some level of in-character conversation. You can see here that The Hummingbird had a couple of conversations.

The 125+100 xp is in two parts. 125 for impressive roleplaying (this goes beyond standard conversations with NPCs) plus 100 for performing a class based action. Since she was a rogue, picking a pocket qualified her for this. If she was a cleric, healing someone’s wounds would have gotten her the XP. This bonus could never be awarded more than once per game and was only given if the action had some kind of beneficial effect. For instance, if a wizard realised that the game would be ending soon and so cast Magic Missile at a tree in an attempt to quickly grab that 100 point bonus, he’d be out of luck.

[Quietus]

I do give out roleplay experience, generally around 50 XP per character level - roughly 5% of a level in a given night if I feel the player did a good job of keeping focused, stayed on track (in terms of the game, not in terms of "following my railroading"), did something interesting, or was otherwise impressive. It doesn't make a big difference in terms of party balance, because the amounts are relatively low, but when players gain experience essentially for simply playing the game, it encourages them to play more, and be more in-character.

In play-by-post, I'll give more; A CR-appropriate encounter is worth roughly 75 exp per character level, per character, but I'll give 100 or more for a well-played encounter, because it involves putting so much more effort into each individual post, and because PbP moves much slower than tabletop gaming. For important scenes, I'll award even more, like if the PCs need to make a good impression, but have some hindrance (like being dirty violent hobos) to doing so, and they pull it off well - it's not unheard of for me to give out 150 XP/level for situations like this.

[bokodasu]

I don't in D&D, but I do in other systems. (I think I am going to institute the snack-based bonus my current DM uses, though.)

It just seems easier in chip-based systems - yay, you get a chip right now 'cause you did that awesome thing! As opposed to "you get 100xp at the end of the session, which will have an effect in 4-6 weeks". The immediate reward seems to spur more effort from others at roleplaying, too - they see a chip, they want a chip too! By the time that 100 extra xp makes a difference, nobody remembers why any more - they just notice that Player X who keeps hogging the spotlight is a level above them now.

[valadil]

I reward good roleplaying. It's something I want to encourage. I want the players to feel that if they're interested in talking about plot, they can do that and still do well in the game. They shouldn't have to pick fights in order to level up.

I usually give out a bonus when the players are acting in character. If they express their PCs opinions and take actions that only that PC would take, they get XP. If they talk to NPCs only long enough to get the infodump, that's not worthy of any bonus.

I give a certain amount of RP XP at each level. It's 10% of the amount required for that level. My players hit 8 at 13000 and will reach 9 at 16500. It's a 3500 point level, so each unit of RP XP is worth 350. This formula was entirely arbitrary, but it's been about right thus far. I want them to appreciate the bonus, but not offset anyone in the group by more than a level.

I also reward XP (same value) when a PC's bakstory comes up in the game. Double the bonus if I use backstory to screw the PCs. This is how I reward players for writing lots of backstory I can use, without attaching an XP result for each page. I also like giving out this XP over the course of the game instead of as a lump sum at character creation.

[some guy]

This is my method for awarding XP:
1. I usually start with the standard XP according to CR.
2. I add or subtract a certain amount if I think a battle was harder/easier (I don't take lucky/unlucky rolls or smart/dumb player tactics in account with this step.
3. I give a certain amount if the group finished a quest or plotline.
4. I give a certain amount if the group amazed me with roleplaying or other things.

The last three steps are completely arbitrary, I usually look to my players' current xp, if I want them to level a bit faster I give a bit more XP and vice versa. I usually keep the mechanism behind my XP awarding a secret, mostly because there is no real mechanism behind my rewards.

EDIT: I kinda like the XP awards of CoC d20; 300 xp multiplied by the avarage character level, divided by the number of characters, per story goal resolved.

[Emmerask]

So DM's...how many of you reward roleplaying experience? How much of the experience total is it? And how do you determine how much to give out to whom?

I mostly give out roleplaying xp from time to time if someone really stood out and did some truly great roleplaying. It´s not much but a small bonus just to acknowledge that he or she did great that session

[Duke of URL]

As noted above, I don't like awarding roleplaying XP because it unbalances the party levels, and skews the game to those who manage to grab the spotlight. Some people are simply better at it than others, and it can break group cohesion if it looks like one or two players are being "favored" by the DM (even if they deserve it, based on stated criteria).

I prefer finding an intangible way to reward good RP. Maybe add a side-quest based on that character's backstory (or the specific player's personal interests) if it won't unduly disrupt the game. Or, in a more light-hearted fashion, my Idiosyncrasies system -- distinctive actions/RP get a completely non-tangible but fun bonus.

From the "tangible" side, I'd rather "fudge" rolls by adding extra circumstance modifiers for exceptional RP or cleverness than give extra XP. The whole party benefits, and the extra effort makes that player a little more likely to be the hero, without any serious game balance issues.

[Kantolin]

Over half of my experience given is 'roleplaying experience', but that's slightly a misnomer - I don't give you mroe experience for roleplaying more, I generally give experience for 'I roleplayed during this evening'. So it becomes more 'every run you get XP' more than anything else, minimizing 'I kill it for XP' sequences.

[Godless_Paladin]

I'm not a big fan of skewing the XP progression, especially since it can backfire for the people supposedly being rewarded (see "XP is a river"). Besides, my players get all kinds of other rewards for being clever RPers anyways. And my group consists entirely of very clever RPers anyways... I don't need to bribe them.

If you do insist on giving RP rewards, I suggest having a system whereby it is not controlled entirely by the favoritism of the DM. That is to say, you have something like a ballot box where people vote for people who are not themselves as the best RPer than session, or some such thing.

[dsmiles]

Yes, but my group consists of all relatively talented roleplayers, and I reward their creativity in coming up with imaginative solutions to problems (rather than roleplaying their characters well). They all stay at pretty much the same level (plus or minus 2) so I have no problems there. I do it to encourage more attention to story, than to the 8 1/2" x 11" piece or paper in front of them.

[Project_Mayhem]

I havent played a game with xp for quite a while now.

I tend to play with rp focused players anyway, so I'd be more likely to try to encourage a non-rp'y character to open up more

[shadowkiller]

No but I give circumstance bonuses to checks for good RP. One of my favorites is bonuses to bards who actually sing.

[Morph Bark]

I used to do it in a pair of previous campaigns, but stopped doing so. These days, we go by "whenever seems like a good time to level up, there you go".

[Godless_Paladin]

No but I give circumstance bonuses to checks for good RP. One of my favorites is bonuses to bards who actually sing.

Ah, I remember writing songs, poems, and so forth for my hobgoblin dirge singer. Good times. Never got a circumstance bonus to anything for it, though.

[Kylarra]

I don't play games with exp in that sense anymore, but since I play mostly WW stuff, they get bonuses for stunts which is kind of like getting roleplaying exp, I guess.

[Elfin]

Generally, my players tend to do a fair amount of RP, so I usually don't. In one game, though, the party (for various reasons) had quite different levels of XP, and so I resorted to XP awards as a way to help balance things out: and while it worked just fine, in hindsight I think there are probably better ways to deal with a situation like that.

[Oracle_Hunter]

I think they're a good idea in theory, but in practice they usually just end up skewing the party as one or two players generally seem to end up with the most bonuses and no one likes to fall behind.

QFT.

Individualized rewards in a cooperative game tends to end poorly, particularly when it is tied to Player ability rather than Character ability. Even if it doesn't skew the power levels, it can make the people who don't RP as well feel neglected and resentful towards the DM.

If you want to encourage RP, either design the game to do so (e.g. Bliss Stage) or use IC actions to draw out the reluctant RPers. You'll get better results out of demanding Players "say it in character" than tossing XP around to the drama majors

[Thinker]

I don't award roleplaying experience. Instead, I penalize those who don't roleplay enough. If the group can't point to at least one thing that your character did that was both awesome and in-character per hour, you are penalized 10% of your total XP. Yes, characters can delevel this way. It really encourages players to put roleplaying first. After all, that is why we play the game. I also penalize people who don't spend the first round of combat trying to avoid combat by either running or talking their way out of it, even if they were ambushed. Players are playing characters, not caricatures.

[Greenish]

One of my favorites is bonuses to bards who actually sing.

I'm pretty sure I'd get thrown out of the game if I tried. There's no way my voice has positive effects on anyone morale, ever.

[Tyndmyr]

I use an ad-hoc system, which basically works as follows.

Whenever the other players generally applaud the roleplaying or other actions of one for being generally awesome, appropriate, etc, I give a small XP award. It's typically significantly less than they would earn if the party took out an appropriate encounter for the level.

However, since it's done by general player agreement, there's little worry about favoritism, and the amounts are generally not so much as to be crippling to those who happen to get less for a bit. Players who are not in attendance will not get them, though. Fortunately, xp is a river.

[Crow]

At the end of our sessions, I give xp based on the quest and encounters, then we go around the table for each character and ask each player how much bonus xp (expressed in a percentage) each character deserves. This bonus xp can vary based on a lot of things, like how effective the character was, to how well the player played their character's emotions and such.

So yeah, we give roleplaying xp, but it is on the opinion of the players as a group.

This also gives the players a hand in determining how quickly they would like to see their characters level up.

[Psyx]

I think they're a good idea in theory, but in practice they usually just end up skewing the party as one or two players generally seem to end up with the most bonuses and no one likes to fall behind.

They wouldn't fall behind if they roleplayed as well as the best, though...


I always give it. 'Roleplaying game' kind of makes me think it's an important aspect of the hobby...

[Oracle_Hunter]

So yeah, we give roleplaying xp, but it is on the opinion of the players as a group.

Voting on XP awards is a novel concept to me. It certainly is a way to solve the DM Favoritism problem - though it might introduce unhealthy group dynamics in some parties by shifting the ire of the unrewarded from the DM to the other Players.

Not always, of course - but it might be a problem in more casual / less cohesive groups.

EDIT:
@Psyx - the main problem isn't a lack of RP, really, but a lack of RP that the DM likes. DMs are people, and people have preferences; I might like dramatic RP over comedic RP or vice versa. When the DM starts awarding prizes for RP he is likely to award more of it to Players who know how to please his idiosyncratic taste for RP over those who don't. This can result in the Player who does excellent RP feeling resentful because he isn't getting awarded for things that - in his mind - are just as good as the DM's Pet's RP even if he isn't actively being singled out.

[WarKitty]

They wouldn't fall behind if they roleplayed as well as the best, though...


I always give it. 'Roleplaying game' kind of makes me think it's an important aspect of the hobby...

You have to have a DM that's paying pretty good attention though, and is very clear on what roleplaying is. The best roleplayer is not always the one that gets the most attention or is the loudest. You can roleplay a quiet, reserved character and do a good job of it, without being in the spotlight a lot. Conversely I've seen a lot of players that "roleplay" by setting things on fire or otherwise causing rampant destruction.

I like the idea of roleplaying experience but in practice I find it very hard to adjudicate. I want to reward getting into the character and staying in it, not being loud and obnoxious. Similarly it also needs to be something that rewards pc's for functioning as part of a group, not trying to take the spotlight for themselves.

[Mordrigar]

Our DM gives us some charts for role playing bonuses. Each player gives to others experience points between -75 to 75. Of course we give those points hidden. Only DM knows who gives how much. (yes, we you could give a xp penalty too)
We give both for Role Play and Order. So everyone can get -150 to 150 bonus xp from each player. (We have 10 active players)
But the rule is: RP & Order bonus can't be higher than Quest&Combat bonus.