How do you decide the exp reward for NPCs?

[Jandolar]

What I'm asking is what method do you as a DM use to decide the EXP value for an NPC. The monsters are easy, it's already written into the core rules, but in my mind NPCs are different. They are almost always cunning and calculating, have a set agenda (i.e. kill the entire party) and have a better than average knowledge of combat and damage dealing.

With a large party of PCs (5-9 players) I typically take the minimum EXP that the NPC has to have at his/her current level (i.e. a 6th level fighter has 32,000 EXP minimum), knock off the last zero and award the PCs with that amount (in the fighter example above the PCs would get 3,200 to split). With smaller parties of PCs I have a different formula for it, also have a different one for parties of 10 or more. My largest party of PCs to date is 14 that I ran for almost a year in college.

How do you do it??

[Solomoriah]

Level = Hit Dice, then add a special ability bonus (or two) for magic-users or clerics. That's the standard way to do it.

[Dimirag]

Does that appears on the rules? it could be nice to have it on the rules.

[-1warrior]

As Solo said, though I may add in some special XP if the circumstances under which the NPC was defeated are especially difficult. However, I would separate is from the XP directly from the NPC. Also, if the NPC has any racial abilities (if they are a Demi-human), I would add in a bonus for that.

[Solomoriah]

Does that appears on the rules? it could be nice to have it on the rules.

Hmm. It might not. I'll check when I start the final revisions to the Core Rules next month.