Awarding xp only for treasure

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Dorian
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Awarding xp only for treasure

Post by Dorian »

All,

I tried searching the forums for this and found nothing so I apologise if this was already answered.

In my games I like to award XP for gold spent. I'm new to basic fantasy and need some help getting the ratio adequate.

How much xp should I award per gold peice if I do not award XP for monsters slain? The book recommends setting the xp at one to one with gold, but that's as an addition to xp awarded from battle.

I was thinking two to one possibly. My thought being that a fighter has gained 1000 xp by the time they can buy plate armor at 500gp.

Basically I want to keep the correct pace and not shower with so much treasure that the mechanics are shot.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
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chiisu81
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Re: Awarding xp only for treasure

Post by chiisu81 »

Dorian wrote: Basically I want to keep the correct pace and not shower with so much treasure that the mechanics are shot.
But won't a game with an advancement system solely relying on gp spent necessitate "showering" the players with treasure? What character levels are your games going to be? A 6th-level Fighter would have to spend 32,000 gp to advance to level 7.
Dorian
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Re: Awarding xp only for treasure

Post by Dorian »

Showering with gold is subjective I guess. The point is this, the more xp rewarded per gold peice the less gold required. The key is getting the ratio correct.

I would be okay with a fighter having spent 32000 gold over the life of the campaign leading up to level 7. That could take two years of gameplay and I think that perhaps it should.

In my games there's a lot to dump cash on. Customized armor, crafting specialty items, land purchases, sailing vessels, seige engines, etc.

Consider that a magic user has to drop 1500 gold just to transcribe a third level spell. That's excluding what it took them to acquire the spell.

Maybe nobody here has tried this yet.

Again, the help is appreciated.
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Metroknight
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Re: Awarding xp only for treasure

Post by Metroknight »

Just a small suggestion.

Work up some basic info and rules then apply for a workshop thread so you can turn this into a supplement. There are some people that might be interested in this.
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SmootRK
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Re: Awarding xp only for treasure

Post by SmootRK »

In my mind, treasure (including magic items) is reward in of itself. So I don't bother with calculating XP on treasure.

That said, XP only for monster killing at the by-the-book rates, is woefully slow... so I compensate with session XP regardless of what gets killed/defeated or treasures found or whatever.

I tend to also build in "goal rewards", so when certain things are found/discovered I reward XP. I try to make these rewards centered on campaign/world details when I can. So when they discover some bit of campaign lore or major events that go beyond the current dungeon, then I give rewards. This keeps the players engaged in the world/events a bit more, and not just focused on what beast is in the next room.

cheers. just my 2cents
Is it really the end, not some crazy dream?
Dorian
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Re: Awarding xp only for treasure

Post by Dorian »

I like the idea of creating a supplement for this. I'm definitely onboard and thank you for the suggestion.

If you're willing to read a little further I'll explain why this reward system has benefits.

The idea is that this system results in a more believable and immersive experience for the players.

In reality people advance themselves by investing in their profession and their communities. The more that one invests in themselves, their tools, and their communities, the more capable and prestigious they become.

From a professional standpoint this supports the advancement tables for the various classes. Some careers are inexpensive and have a low barrier to entry, you advance quickly and inexpensively but at some point you are much less powerful than those in expensive careers who advance slowly.

It's easy to imagine how expensive it is to train in magic versus being a theif. But the long term rewards of these career choices are very different.

And everything just flows naturally when rewarding xp for gold spent.

When a bard purchases an expensive lute bearing the glowing blue symbols of a civilization long deceased, he has better tools and becomes a better bard.

When a theif invests in their guild they have more prestige, make more connections, learn secrets and become a better theif.

And imagine how powerful the wizard that builds an ivory tower on sacred ground.

These are simple examples to get your imagination fired up.

If you read this far thanks for humoring me.
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Dimirag
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Re: Awarding xp only for treasure

Post by Dimirag »

The GP<->XP ratio should be one that sets both the level and wealth increase speed that you like for your setting, my only (and minor) concern is that classes that rely more on the expenditure of gold could earn XP at a faster rate, or that characters could be forced to expend money to advance in skill...

I would maybe convert half of all the XP gained in an adventure and place it as easily obtainable treasure, and the other half let it to be earned.

A kind of way to achieve your ratio is basing on time...
You said 32.000gp over 2 years to get to level 7 (coming from 6th level, otherwise it would take 64.000gp)

For simplicity's sake lets go with the second value: 64.000 over 2 years of gaming for 1 character for 7 levels
Lets say a game takes 4hs and is played once per week
4 times per month
48 times per year to reach half gp cost
32.000gp/48 games = 666gp per game, per character.

Or...
2 years (96 sessions) for 1 level (32.000) = 333gp

You can play with these values to see what fits better to our game style
Sorry for any misspelling or writing error, I am not a native English speaker
Drawing portfolio: https://www.instagram.com/m.serena_dimirag/
Ragnar
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Re: Awarding xp only for treasure

Post by Ragnar »

My friends DMs our game, and he came up with a cool system. He lets players spend whatever money they want on training. When they do this, they get the exp instead.

I like it for two reasons. First, it gives them a choice. Do you want the gold or the exp? Second, it has led to interesting party dynamics. Sometimes they act very greedy, like Daffy Duck stomping the genie yelling Mine! Mine! Mine! However, at other times they work it out, understanding that giving somebody else a bigger cut off treasure will let them level up, and the party's overall survival chance increases. This is really interesting to see play out.

I guess there's also a third thing. It removes a TON of excess gold, and you know the DM is going to remove it one way or another!
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