XP: the means by which most RPGs confer improvements upon the characters, earned through their achievements in play. Experience Points (XP) are given at regular intervals to reward the players for taking part in the game. We’re all, I think, familiar with the idea.
The question has always been, “What’s the best way to go about awarding XP?”
The answer lies in what you want to achieve. If you want to encourage any given behaviour then that is what you reward. Thus, if you give XP for killing monsters and finding treasure you’ll focus the players on those two activities.
There is no right or wrong way to reward players in your game. There are simply more or less effective ways to encourage the behaviours that you want to see. For example, seeking to encourage more “roleplay”, i.e. acting in role, instead of the more common descriptive style of play, I’ve introduced suggestions for XP multipliers. Taken straight from “Gamemastery“, these bonuses have had a dramatic effect on the behaviours of the players and the quality of the game.
Experience from Fantasy
- 50-100XP for a small personal goal or small achievement, such as thinking to record something important or prepare something useful. In the last session, one player got 50XP for thinking of making 2 torches from some wood and rotten rags off a looted creature; another got 100XP for recording the details of runes on a doorway.
- 100-250XP for completing a short-term personal goal, such as found on the player’s Roleplaying Sheet, or a story goal in the current adventure.
- 250XP+ for longer-term personal goal or a major story goal, such as something that would have taken multiple adventures to achieve.