EbonH4wk
2018-05-08, 04:01 PM
I've been struggling with XP advancement. With the traditional method, I find my group is too driven to solve problems with their swords. With Milestones, they are driven to rush through dungeons and quests (and don't take any time to enjoy the mysteries around them!). I recently read the UA 3 Pillar System, and I was intrigued. I fine tuned it a bit though, hopefully to encourage a more diverse approach to gaining the next level... hopefully encouraging them to enjoy the material I have prepared! Note that the Social component ties into the Social Conflict system I have been using. It is in a separate thread, but please feel free to have a look.
Earning Experience Points
You gain experience points through activities that identify fantasy adventuring: exploration, social interaction, and combat. In this system, you need 100 Experience Points to Level Up regardless of your level. Each of the 3 categories has a maximum of 40, so it is essential that the group engage in all three components of fantasy adventure. When you level up, any extra experience points are discarded, and the “counter” resets to 0 (at which point you need another 100 Experience Points to level).
Characters are categorized by a Tier of play based on their level.
Tier 1: Character Level 1-4
Tier 2: Character Level 5-10
Tier 3: Character Level 11-16
Tier 4: Character Level 17-20
Exploration
You gain XP for claiming magical objects & treasure, dealing with traps & hazards, and exploring places of interest. Finding a treasure or exploring a location appropriate to your tier earns you 10 XP, plus an additional 5 XP for each tier above your current tier, or 5 XP less for each tier below. Traps have a Tier as well, based on the DMG scale of Inconvenient, Setback, Dangerous, and Deadly. Overcoming a trap of your tier earns you 10 XP, plus 10 XP for each tier above, or 5 XP less for each tier below.
Treasure Hoards
Valuable treasures and magic items are assigned to tiers as follows:
Tier 1 Hoard: Contains up to 50 to 500gp in valuable coin and objects, and/or uncommon nonconsumable magic item(s)
Tier 2 Hoard: Contains up to 5,000gp in valuable coin and objects, and/or rare nonconsumable magic item(s)
Tier 3 Hoard: Contains up to 50,000gp in valuable coin and objects, and/or very rare nonconsumable magic item(s)
Tier 4 Hoard: Contains up to 50,000+gp in valuable coin and objects, and/or legendary nonconsumable magic item(s)
Sites of Interest
Locations aren’t fitted to tiers by any hard and fast rule. Rather, a location’s tier depends on its importance in the campaign. To be “explored”, a location must have it’s secrets revealed. It is not enough to simply stand at the entrance. If the party is prepared to answer such questions as the following, the location may be deemed Explored.
Who: What creatures dwell within? Is an individual or organization in charge?
What: Define the nature of the place. Is it s military outpost? A dungeon? A village?
Where: Can the group provide travel directions, and information regarding navigating through the place?
Why: Why is this place important to the campaign? Or perhaps confirm that it isn’t?
Social Interaction
You gain experience points for socially encountering NPCs for the purpose of acquiring information, resources, or allies. When you do so, the experience you gain is based on the campaign relevance of both the NPC and the Terms of the exchange. It is important to note that success is not the main requirement for this XP, but an interesting and well roleplayed exchange is. Social Encounters are assigned to tiers as follows:
Tier 1: Social exchange with no Social Conflict. A non-specific NPC or creature. Terms that are unconnected to the campaign
Tier 2: A specific (named) NPC or creature. Terms are more than just peripherally relevant to the campaign task at hand
Tier 3: An important campaign NPC or creature. Terms are important to progress of the campaign task at hand
Tier 4: A powerful and key campaign NPC or creature. Terms are critical and essential to the group’s overall campaign success
Half of the XP award is based on the NPC(s) involved, and the other half is based on the Relevance of the Terms. Tier 1 NPCs and Terms are worth 0 XP each. Tier 2 are worth 2 XP each. Tier 3 are worth 4XP each. Tier 4 are worth 7XP each. Winning a Social Conflict adds an XP bonus equal to the group’s remaining Disposition at the conclusion of the Conflict. To get the total reward, combine the 2.
So if a group tracks down a minor but named campaign NPC, and seeks a piece of information that is important to progress their current campaign task, the total XP award will be 6 XP, plus a bonus equal to the party's remaining Disposition (if they win the Social Conflict)
Combat
You gain XP for defeating monsters in combat, whether by slaying them or leaving them in a state in which they pose no threat. The XP you gain for defeating a monster is determined by the Encounter Difficulty (as per the DMG). You gain 5 XP for an Easy Encounter, 10 XP for a Medium Encounter, 15 XP for a Hard Encounter, and 25 XP for a Deadly Encounter. Encounters that don’t qualify as at least Easy Encounter Difficulty, are worth 0 XP
Earning Experience Points
You gain experience points through activities that identify fantasy adventuring: exploration, social interaction, and combat. In this system, you need 100 Experience Points to Level Up regardless of your level. Each of the 3 categories has a maximum of 40, so it is essential that the group engage in all three components of fantasy adventure. When you level up, any extra experience points are discarded, and the “counter” resets to 0 (at which point you need another 100 Experience Points to level).
Characters are categorized by a Tier of play based on their level.
Tier 1: Character Level 1-4
Tier 2: Character Level 5-10
Tier 3: Character Level 11-16
Tier 4: Character Level 17-20
Exploration
You gain XP for claiming magical objects & treasure, dealing with traps & hazards, and exploring places of interest. Finding a treasure or exploring a location appropriate to your tier earns you 10 XP, plus an additional 5 XP for each tier above your current tier, or 5 XP less for each tier below. Traps have a Tier as well, based on the DMG scale of Inconvenient, Setback, Dangerous, and Deadly. Overcoming a trap of your tier earns you 10 XP, plus 10 XP for each tier above, or 5 XP less for each tier below.
Treasure Hoards
Valuable treasures and magic items are assigned to tiers as follows:
Tier 1 Hoard: Contains up to 50 to 500gp in valuable coin and objects, and/or uncommon nonconsumable magic item(s)
Tier 2 Hoard: Contains up to 5,000gp in valuable coin and objects, and/or rare nonconsumable magic item(s)
Tier 3 Hoard: Contains up to 50,000gp in valuable coin and objects, and/or very rare nonconsumable magic item(s)
Tier 4 Hoard: Contains up to 50,000+gp in valuable coin and objects, and/or legendary nonconsumable magic item(s)
Sites of Interest
Locations aren’t fitted to tiers by any hard and fast rule. Rather, a location’s tier depends on its importance in the campaign. To be “explored”, a location must have it’s secrets revealed. It is not enough to simply stand at the entrance. If the party is prepared to answer such questions as the following, the location may be deemed Explored.
Who: What creatures dwell within? Is an individual or organization in charge?
What: Define the nature of the place. Is it s military outpost? A dungeon? A village?
Where: Can the group provide travel directions, and information regarding navigating through the place?
Why: Why is this place important to the campaign? Or perhaps confirm that it isn’t?
Social Interaction
You gain experience points for socially encountering NPCs for the purpose of acquiring information, resources, or allies. When you do so, the experience you gain is based on the campaign relevance of both the NPC and the Terms of the exchange. It is important to note that success is not the main requirement for this XP, but an interesting and well roleplayed exchange is. Social Encounters are assigned to tiers as follows:
Tier 1: Social exchange with no Social Conflict. A non-specific NPC or creature. Terms that are unconnected to the campaign
Tier 2: A specific (named) NPC or creature. Terms are more than just peripherally relevant to the campaign task at hand
Tier 3: An important campaign NPC or creature. Terms are important to progress of the campaign task at hand
Tier 4: A powerful and key campaign NPC or creature. Terms are critical and essential to the group’s overall campaign success
Half of the XP award is based on the NPC(s) involved, and the other half is based on the Relevance of the Terms. Tier 1 NPCs and Terms are worth 0 XP each. Tier 2 are worth 2 XP each. Tier 3 are worth 4XP each. Tier 4 are worth 7XP each. Winning a Social Conflict adds an XP bonus equal to the group’s remaining Disposition at the conclusion of the Conflict. To get the total reward, combine the 2.
So if a group tracks down a minor but named campaign NPC, and seeks a piece of information that is important to progress their current campaign task, the total XP award will be 6 XP, plus a bonus equal to the party's remaining Disposition (if they win the Social Conflict)
Combat
You gain XP for defeating monsters in combat, whether by slaying them or leaving them in a state in which they pose no threat. The XP you gain for defeating a monster is determined by the Encounter Difficulty (as per the DMG). You gain 5 XP for an Easy Encounter, 10 XP for a Medium Encounter, 15 XP for a Hard Encounter, and 25 XP for a Deadly Encounter. Encounters that don’t qualify as at least Easy Encounter Difficulty, are worth 0 XP