Earning Experience

[Hywaywolf]

treasure as xp and load it up

[SmootRK]

treasure as xp and load it up

I use a mechanic of gold to buy training (1gp=1xp), but not xp just for the acquisition... just a personal thing. Later in campaigns it becomes difficult sometimes to drain off gold, especially when characters don't really go down the 'build a fortress' path.

But yes, I try to dole out a tad extra in the beginning of their careers.

[Metroknight]

I've never gave xp for gold. I find to many other reasons to give xp. I give xp for in character humor the actually makes me rofl, not just the simple jokes but the ones that make you sit up and say "OMG did you just say or do that in character?". I also give xp for those that are willing to do a log book, they get xp for background (the better and more fleshed out it is the better the xp), they get the standard xp for the monsters they encounter (being killing them or avoiding them - the characters learn either way), they get xp for traveling through the wilderness since they usually have to use non combat skills and that encourages them to pick up skills that are useful other then another weapon). There are other little things that earn xp also.

All my players will testify that I'm extremely stingy with gold and magic items. I've been called a scrooge DM before but I find it is easier to trickle the gold in slowly at the beginning then have to figure out how to get it out of the players hands later. I also don't give out coins all the time, in one game the characters had a chance to get 2000gp (first level characters) but they had to figure out how to carry very fragile glassware over rough terrain with no transport. By the time they got to the nearest town they had about 200gp left in value. The rest of the broken stuff, they were able to sell to a glassmaker for acouple gold.

[Hywaywolf]

As a first level PC all I really care about is enough gold to buy the armor and weapons I need. Then later some horses and a wagon and hirelings to ten the camp, cook watch teh horses etc. A little gold at first level buys that as well as 2nd level xp. That same amount of gold in later campaigns barely even moves you along the level ladder.

But I did say earlier in this thread that I like GMs to go the route MetroKnight goes. XP for good play as a player not just good play as a PC (what you get for killing monsters and achieving goals), backgrounds and sticking to them even when it detrimental to your PC, travelling through wilderness or time spent roleplaying in town where you rarely kill anything or do any other normal XP gaining deeds. XP for making the game time more enjoyable - humor that everyone enjoys, leadership to keep things moving, etc.

I also think that DMs for PBP really need to use these ideas for XP since it takes years to play enough to gain a level the normal way

[SmootRK]

xp for roleplay can be good... but one must take care not to abuse it. It must be fairly easy to get awarded, and one must be even handed about it. Else, it becomes an award for the Thespians of a group, and an irksome imbalance against those who do not fancy themselves as amateur Renaissance-Faire characters. I don't play a game too heavy in theatrics. Though, I do enjoy when the game gets a good laugh for something in-game that occurs.

Good backgrounds, sticking to character defined objectives, and such are all great ways to encourage such role-play anyhow (and thus awards for such information being in the game).

[Hywaywolf]

roleplay isn't just using funny voices. Its also playing your PC like a real person rather than a game piece.

[SmootRK]

roleplay isn't just using funny voices. Its also playing your PC like a real person rather than a game piece.

I agree. Just exaggerated examples to illustrate my point.

[Metroknight]

It is a balancing act that takes experience to learn but just common sense and deciding how fast you want the characters to advance helps a lot.

[dymondy2k]

The BFRPG progressions can be fairly slow.. I also use gold as XP because that's how it was done in the 'olden days'. But I am also a bit stingy with treasure as well so its not a zoom! next level!