An XP System That Reinforces Engagement With the Game

A while back, I was wracking my brain to think of another way to give XP. I wanted something that encourages players to play the game, go adventuring, and be heroes, that doesn't rely exclusively on gold and killing monsters. I wanted characters to be able to earn XP for doing cool things (in addition to looting dungeons, of course), but it needed to make sense.

I originally looked at the Feats of Exploration system from Jon at 3d6 Down the Line (which is actually a really good XP addon, you should buy it if you run lots of dungeons. I am not affiliated in any way) but that is geared more specifically to dungeon crawls, and I knew I wanted something a bit more universal.

The Whole Point of XP

So, I sat down and thought “what is the point of XP?” Aside from gaining levels, I mean. Well, the point of XP is to provide a motivation for engagement with the game and the world. In most OSR games, the largest factor of PC growth is treasure found and brought to a safe place. This encourages players to delve dungeons, and return home safely. That is the core loop of character development in the game. It's simple, sweet, and gets the job done. I DO NOT want to do away with that. I do, however, want to add to it.

What Should We Give XP for?

The two questions I needed to ask myself were: “what should be important to PC development other than collecting treasure and killing monsters?” and “what behaviors do I want to encourage from my players?”

The answer to this was “IMPACT”. I want the players to have an impact on the world around them. Well, how do we encourage the players to interact with the world?

For me, there are two satisfying answers to this: faction play, and heroism. Here is my justification for both of these:

• Faction play is the players’ chance to leave a permanent mark on the people or areas they are engaging with. This usually takes planning, time, thoughtfulness, and often, combat. Awarding XP for it gives the players the green light to engage with the people and conflicts they find important rather than floating through the world explusively looting dungeons. In my opinion, significantly altering the social landscape of an area is worthy of XP.

• Heroism, in my opinion, is important. I think most GMs would agree with me that we sometimes wish our players would engage with opportunities to commit heroic acts, but they so often follow the money. Of course, there are many players who will take the moral high road even if it means slowing their progress (and we love those players), but giving XP for it removes interparty conflict regarding “wasted time”. Also, I think players deserve XP for it anyway.

The System

So, here’s what I’ve come up with.

XP for Impact - factions and heroism

Interacting with factions, as well as acts of heroism, can have big implications for in a campaign. When you intentionally make choices that affect a faction, or commit heroic deeds, you earn XP.

There are three categories of impact: Minor, Significant, and Major.

Minor Impact

Factions example: Mildly hinder or aid a faction.

Heroism example: Saving an inconsequential individual, helping find something lost.

Significant Impact

Factions example: Hinder or help a faction in a way that greatly aids or deters them. Complete destruction of a minor faction.

Heroism example: Save a group, save an important person, stop a seriously bad event.

Major Impact

Factions example: Completely destroy a powerful faction or bring a weak faction into a significantly higher echelon of power.

Heroism example: Save someone of royal/regional importance, save an entire region or kingdom, stop a cataclysm.

Use the chart below to calculate Impact XP by multiplying the Impact tier and the combined level of all party members (retainer levels are halved).

The XP for the imact is then divided among the party the exact same way it normally is.

Faction play and heroism XP can be given at the same time. For example, say the party drives away a band of goblins that have been terrorizing the area (faction play, maybe a small argument for heroism) and in the process they rescue the blacksmiths daughter from their goblin prison (definitely heroism). In this case, the party would get XP for a minor act of heroism, and a minor (possibly significant, depending on the circumstances) faction play.

XP for Treasure

For every 2 gp brought back to a safe haven, 1 XP is earned. This can be in the form of money or treasure items, but not magic items.

This is the same as in other OSR games, but with a Gold:XP ratio of 2:1 instead of the typical 1:1. I did this to slightly slow the progression back to a normal pace.

XP for Combat

No changes here, run it as usual.

Conclusion

I have playtested this XP system a bit, and it has gone over really well. Players have chosen to have meaningful involvement in towns, and among factions, because they are aware that their progression is no longer at risk if they spend half a session working on non-wealth-generating activities. I am, so far, very satisfied with it, and it has been months since I’ve last make any tweaks to it.

Let me know what you think!