"How much experience do we get?" And other obnoxious table questions

[Khi'Khi]

What are some questions your players or your GM seem to always ask that just drive you up a wall?

Mine's in the title. I can't stand when we finish an epic fight, the GM is trying to narrate, set a cinematic pace, or drop some plot development, only for one player to break the mood with "Do we level up yet?" Or something to that effect. It makes me want to respond with "Oh, shut it! Every time you ask I subtract 100 experience!"

[Darth Ultron]

I think mine might be the vague ''Can my character do something or try something''.

I hate when players ask this, as it is such a waste of time, as the answer is always ''yes'' . It often takes so long to train players that they can have a character try to do anything they want....and they don't have to ask ''if'' they can try before they try.

[RazorChain]

What are some questions your players or your GM seem to always ask that just drive you up a wall?

Mine's in the title. I can't stand when we finish an epic fight, the GM is trying to narrate, set a cinematic pace, or drop some plot development, only for one player to break the mood with "Do we level up yet?" Or something to that effect. It makes me want to respond with "Oh, shut it! Every time you ask I subtract 100 experience!"

Seems that your player extrinsic motivation is decreasing their intrinsic motivation. Playing the game for rewards is more important to them than playing the game for fun. I'm sorry for you but the game you are playing has conditioned your players through it's reward system so they'll keep pulling that lever in hope for rewards.

Now you just have to recondition your players. They'll get their rewards when you start packing your bags, when you have stopped the game or they'll have to train or only gain a level in a downtime, not in the middle of an adventure.

[AMFV]

Seems that your player extrinsic motivation is decreasing their intrinsic motivation. Playing the game for rewards is more important to them than playing the game for fun. I'm sorry for you but the game you are playing has conditioned your players through it's reward system so they'll keep pulling that lever in hope for rewards.

Now you just have to recondition your players. They'll get their rewards when you start packing your bags, when you have stopped the game or they'll have to train or only gain a level in a downtime, not in the middle of an adventure.

Alternatively, gaining XP might be the part that OP's players find fun, more so than narration or what-not.

[RazorChain]

Alternatively, gaining XP might be the part that OP's players find fun, more so than narration or what-not.

Yes that's what I was saying, it's what I was referring to as a reward system, people want rewards, rewards are fun.

[AMFV]

Yes that's what I was saying, it's what I was referring to as a reward system, people want rewards, rewards are fun.

I was mostly trying to point out that "playing the game for fun" is true in both cases. If the thing I find most fun is plot development and narrative advancement, then I'd have the same issues as OP. Whereas if leveling up is what I find fun, then I'll have more fun knowing if I've advanced.

[RazorChain]

I was mostly trying to point out that "playing the game for fun" is true in both cases. If the thing I find most fun is plot development and narrative advancement, then I'd have the same issues as OP. Whereas if leveling up is what I find fun, then I'll have more fun knowing if I've advanced.

Extrinsic motivation means you do things for reward while intrinsic motivation means you do a thing because you enjoy them. If my players enjoyment of my game was centered around getting XP then I would be sad too

[Metahuman1]

"What's my X bonus again/What die do I roll?"


I don't mind if your brand new to the system.

I do however mind if we've been running this campaign for three months and you STILL can't figure out that D20 is always the one you use for skill checks and saves, and were really basic function's of the character have you constantly asking this question of me. (Seriously, how many times do you have to roll an attack or a save to figure out how to roll the D20, add and give me a total!)

[AMFV]

Extrinsic motivation means you do things for reward while intrinsic motivation means you do a thing because you enjoy them. If my players enjoyment of my game was centered around getting XP then I would be sad too

XP is NOT A REAL REWARD. It's made up, the same way that RP is made up. Those are both intrinsic. You aren't getting a shot of heroin every XP point you get, you aren't getting money for it. The rewards you're getting are the same as points in a football game. Those rewards are only meaningful in the context of the game. In the same exact way that RP and narrative advancement is not meaningful.

And it's totally fine that you don't intrinsically enjoy the experience of leveling up and planning, but the language you are using is VERY strongly implying that what you do enjoy is the superior option and the other is a counterfeit. As somebody who enjoys both that's bull****.

[icefractal]

Whether or not you're motivated by XP, there's no need to ask immediately after the fight. Are people really doing level-up in the middle of a session? Because that sounds like a great way to waste everyone's time. Figure out XP at the end of session, level-up between games, and avoid annoying interruptions.

[Slipperychicken]

As a player, I ask about experience, treasure, or other rewards when I think the GM may have forgotten to calculate or award it. Usually the question is a few minutes later, little nudge like "Uhh hey, GM_Name, did you calculate experience for these guys?" or "Should we have gotten XP for that battle?". Though it can sometimes wait until after the session's over, I just worry whether I'll forget to even ask by then.

What annoys me is people who have played the same game for years, but still don't get the basics. My group has been playing 5e on and off since 2014, and they still need to be reminded, every single roll, that proficiency adds to attack rolls, skill, and ability checks and not to damage. A similar thing happens with shadowrun. Does it really take some genius-level intellect or great dedication to remember this kind of thing?

[Hyooz]

I find that asking about stuff like experience after a fight tends to come from people new to the DM. I tend to handle XP and that sort of thing at the end of sessions, which people adjust to fine, but if I have some new people that don't know that, I'll get the question and just let them know "oh yeah, you got XP, I'll let you know how much at the end of the session."

For me, it's not a specific question, but more of a series of questions/rolls anytime I describe a room. I know it comes from different gaming styles, but if you walk into a room and I describe what's in it, that doesn't mean we need to spend the next 20 minutes with "I search the tapestry *rolls*." "I search the bed *rolls*." "I search under the bed *rolls*." "I search the... *gunshot*"

Especially when you aren't searching for anything in particular.

[Jay R]

Extrinsic motivation means you do things for reward while intrinsic motivation means you do a thing because you enjoy them. If my players enjoyment of my game was centered around getting XP then I would be sad too

Most people are motivated by both. Nobody can play D&D motivated only by Xp, because it would be much easier to simply stay home and make a character sheet with "1,000,000 xps" written on it.

So, since virtually all players are playing with both motivations, when the enjoyment of the encounter is over, it's perfectly reasonable to turn to the other goal of xps.

The only "annoyance" in this example is that some player was past the enjoyment of the encounter a few seconds before the DM was.

No big deal. They're enjoying the encounters, or they wouldn't come back.

The game is a success. Be proud.

[Douche]

Not exactly in line with the thread but I hate when people want to do shopping during game time. It's so time consuming and boring for everyone. Even worse if they want something custom. I prefer to do shopping and/or inventory management stuff through text message/email. Then I just tell my players to screenshot the text to verify the item later on (which also saves me the effort of having to print them magic items)

I had this one DM, I would always try to do this with him - which was exacerbated by the fact that he gave us stupid amounts of gold, and I was the party treasurer so I felt responsible to spend it. I'd text him "Hey, I want to buy boots of Spider Climbing" and he'd be all "I like to roleplay shopkeeper encounters" which ultimately was just grating for everyone, and I feel like the other players resented me for taking up so much game time even though I was buying magic items for their benefit. Plus the shopkeeper encounters lasted maybe 30 seconds before it devolved into "I want to buy X, Y, Z" "Okay, roll investigation to find a shop that has it. Okay it'll be 4000 gold" which sounds expedited but in reality it still takes way too goddamn long when it could all be resolved via text message.

[Psyren]

XP is NOT A REAL REWARD. It's made up, the same way that RP is made up. Those are both intrinsic. You aren't getting a shot of heroin every XP point you get, you aren't getting money for it. The rewards you're getting are the same as points in a football game. Those rewards are only meaningful in the context of the game. In the same exact way that RP and narrative advancement is not meaningful.

And it's totally fine that you don't intrinsically enjoy the experience of leveling up and planning, but the language you are using is VERY strongly implying that what you do enjoy is the superior option and the other is a counterfeit. As somebody who enjoys both that's bull****.

Agreed with this. Though I will say that our games are just "okay, you all level now" and we can pretty much tell when it's about to happen (usually after a climactic battle or major plot thread getting resolved) so nobody needs to ask.

Not exactly in line with the thread but I hate when people want to do shopping during game time. It's so time consuming and boring for everyone. Even worse if they want something custom. I prefer to do shopping and/or inventory management stuff through text message/email. Then I just tell my players to screenshot the text to verify the item later on (which also saves me the effort of having to print them magic items)

This is fine with an experienced group, but handing newer players some gp and turning them loose on an item list can go wrong in a dozen ways, if they even bother to do it. So I can see value in shopping while everyone is together. They should be trying to do it at the beginning or end though.

[Slipperychicken]

For me, it's not a specific question, but more of a series of questions/rolls anytime I describe a room. I know it comes from different gaming styles, but if you walk into a room and I describe what's in it, that doesn't mean we need to spend the next 20 minutes with "I search the tapestry *rolls*." "I search the bed *rolls*." "I search under the bed *rolls*." "I search the... *gunshot*"

I think it's possible to get players to accept a different way of doing things. My GM would likely just stop me, ask if it's my character's intention to search the whole room, make one roll to represent the entire searching process, and move on.

[King of Nowhere]

"What's my X bonus again/What die do I roll?"


I don't mind if your brand new to the system.

I do however mind if we've been running this campaign for three months and you STILL can't figure out that D20 is always the one you use for skill checks and saves, and were really basic function's of the character have you constantly asking this question of me. (Seriously, how many times do you have to roll an attack or a save to figure out how to roll the D20, add and give me a total!)

mine too. And that player of mine who does it has been playing for two years now.

that, in addition to "but I have a 12 [notice: she still hasn't learned the difference between ranks and modifiers] in knowledge: arcana" or "but I have dexterity 15" when talking about something completely unrelated. like "make a spot check" "rolls" "you failed" "but i have intelligence 20 +5 so I have 25 [notice: also the distinction between a stat and its modifier is a bit hazy]"

[Geddy2112]

I don't mind being asked about loot, treasure, EXP, or similar questions. I do mind being interrupted mid sentence for such. Really, I hate being interrupted, regardless of the situation. This could be anything from "I roll X" in the middle of my sentence, or "what do the bodies have on them" when I was just about to describe it. I don't mind if players ask me these things, or describe their character actions, but wait for me to finish. When the DM is talking, shut up and listen.

I will say that I second the "what do I add to attack?" and similar questions unless the player is new. This really infuriates me when this kind of question is brought up in the middle of roleplaying-you could ask this anytime but you chose a tense roleplay moment to figure out your strength modifier?
We recently booted a player from our group because of their inability/unwillingness to learn. After six months at our pathfinder table(with a year or so experience in 5e) the player could not figure out what a standard action was, or how to determine their attack roll. Combined with asking this to interrupt the DM or other players, they were unanimously kicked.

[Mr Beer]

I don't mind being asked about loot, treasure, EXP, or similar questions. I do mind being interrupted mid sentence for such. Really, I hate being interrupted, regardless of the situation.

This.

Once I finish describing exactly how the Emperor of Doom topples from his throne and falls into tiny sinister clockwork pieces or whatever, go ahead and ask me how much XP you get. Just don't do it mid sentence.

I wrap up in a short paragraph anyway. I guess if I acted out a full Hamlet-length soliloquy for every major villain death, it might get old.

[BWR]

I think mine might be the vague ''Can my character do something or try something''.

I hate when players ask this, as it is such a waste of time, as the answer is always ''yes'' . It often takes so long to train players that they can have a character try to do anything they want....and they don't have to ask ''if'' they can try before they try.

I choose to interpret this question as "are there any obvious reasons that my character is aware of but I as the player am not why my intended course of action would fail or have undesirable consequences?"
Maybe my players are different than yours, because this has so far been the correct interpretation.

[Airk]

XP is NOT A REAL REWARD. It's made up, the same way that RP is made up. Those are both intrinsic. You aren't getting a shot of heroin every XP point you get, you aren't getting money for it. The rewards you're getting are the same as points in a football game. Those rewards are only meaningful in the context of the game. In the same exact way that RP and narrative advancement is not meaningful.

And it's totally fine that you don't intrinsically enjoy the experience of leveling up and planning, but the language you are using is VERY strongly implying that what you do enjoy is the superior option and the other is a counterfeit. As somebody who enjoys both that's bull****.

Yes, exactly, this. There are no rewards in RPGs that are actually extrinsic. They are all just part of the activity. At "worst" XP gives you a way to measure how well you are doing.

[Jay R]

Yes, exactly, this. There are no rewards in RPGs that are actually extrinsic. They are all just part of the activity. At "worst" XP gives you a way to measure how well you are doing.

Also, it's her responsibility to track it. The player might be asking, not out of a greedy desire for points, but from a mature approach to meeting her responsibilities to the game.

[Guizonde]

"what's the npc's name?"

*and a thousand dm's just head-desked simultaneously*

i've gotten really fast at improvising names to respond to this question, some with more success than others. "maurice the barkeep"? plausible. naming his son "puke"... eeeeeh, less so.

i occasionnally help out dm's, which leads to oddball names such as "frankalice" (awesome npc who lived on as the name for my follow-up character), "john-wrench the techpriest", and "sir ellipse" (viz, his name is always skipped before it's pronounced).

unfortunately, it's true for my friends as much as my npc's. my nicknames tend to stick like gum in a carpet. one of my dm's is still giving me grief for naming one of his bad guys "easy target" (even if it was true). hell, i nicknamed my pf dm "boss" shortly after meeting him, since he's got a very business-like tone of voice. without him saying anything, even his childhood friends have started calling him that.

said boss usually deflects the "name the npc" question directly to me nowadays. he just rolls with it so long as it's vaguely suitable and not overly vulgar or shocking ("groin-attack" gorski was a bit too unsubtle for a dwarf bouncer).

[Faily]

"what's the npc's name?"

*and a thousand dm's just head-desked simultaneously*

Ding-ding! We have this thread's winner.

While there are some questions that irk me, I've mostly gotten past the point of making too much a big deal out of it, but "name of the random NPC" will always be one that makes me and other GMs I know pull their hair in frustration.

[Tinkerer]

Ding-ding! We have this thread's winner.

While there are some questions that irk me, I've mostly gotten past the point of making too much a big deal out of it, but "name of the random NPC" will always be one that makes me and other GMs I know pull their hair in frustration.

This one doesn't bother me much now since I started carrying a list of NPC names with me. Before that though it got me every time.

[Jama7301]

I've gotten "What's my thing that does the thing..." from a player before. That was a fun minute to suss out, full of me listing things with them answering "yeah" or "no" and "wait, what's that one again"?

[Jay R]

"what's the npc's name?"

*and a thousand dm's just head-desked simultaneously*

Not mine. I usually already have a medieval or fantasy background for the location, so I have plenty of available names.

The NPC is supposed to be Welsh? Ewan, Llewelyn, Gwydion; Angharad, Tanwystyl, Eilonwy.

Nordic? Erik, Unferth, Hrothgar, Sigurd; Astrid, Gunnhilda, Sieglinde.

Middle Eastern? Ali, Jafar, Hazim, Abraham; Fatima, Sheba, Judith.

Halfling? Halfast Bolger, Fredegar Oldbuck; Rosie Proudfoot, Belladonna Burrows.

[FreddyNoNose]

What are some questions your players or your GM seem to always ask that just drive you up a wall?

Mine's in the title. I can't stand when we finish an epic fight, the GM is trying to narrate, set a cinematic pace, or drop some plot development, only for one player to break the mood with "Do we level up yet?" Or something to that effect. It makes me want to respond with "Oh, shut it! Every time you ask I subtract 100 experience!"

XP is none of their business.

[RazorChain]

Most people are motivated by both. Nobody can play D&D motivated only by Xp, because it would be much easier to simply stay home and make a character sheet with "1,000,000 xps" written on it.

So, since virtually all players are playing with both motivations, when the enjoyment of the encounter is over, it's perfectly reasonable to turn to the other goal of xps.

The only "annoyance" in this example is that some player was past the enjoyment of the encounter a few seconds before the DM was.

No big deal. They're enjoying the encounters, or they wouldn't come back.

The game is a success. Be proud.

Sure that's why I said it seemed that their motivation for reward seemed to be stronger than their enjoyment of the game, implying that they indeed had both. IME XP has never been awarded until the session is over.

[johnbragg]

What are some questions your players or your GM seem to always ask that just drive you up a wall?

Mine's in the title. I can't stand when we finish an epic fight, the GM is trying to narrate, set a cinematic pace, or drop some plot development, only for one player to break the mood with "Do we level up yet?" Or something to that effect. It makes me want to respond with "Oh, shut it! Every time you ask I subtract 100 experience!"

This is 3X specific, but I'm going to plug my experience houserule anyway. There are no XP, basically. You level up after 10 Average Difficulty Encounters. Hard encounters count double, easy encounters give you half. (This is faster than the WOTC-suggested 13 1/3, but makes the accounting easier).

So at most, the player is asking if this encounter was Easy, Average or Hard.

But that doesn't help when the player asks "IS there any loot" while you're giving the cinematic description of just exactly how the defeated Big Bad crumbles, sometimes revealing a new plot hook.