tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post5094597076276291567..comments2024-02-27T01:17:39.925-08:00Comments on The Nine and Thirty Kingdoms: The Trouble with ExperienceTalysmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-30078573629250764522013-01-11T18:04:51.799-08:002013-01-11T18:04:51.799-08:00Exactly. Like the mana of Polynesia (in contrast t...Exactly. Like the <i>mana</i> of Polynesia (in contrast to the much more limited concept prevalent in gaming), which is a description of something like how <b>much</b> a person inhabits the world. A king has a lot of <i>mana</i> just by being a king, but a craftsman has <i>mana</i> by being a skilled craftsman, a warrior by being successful in battles, and so on.faoladhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691952430041394614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-57038953591882456752013-01-11T10:26:01.115-08:002013-01-11T10:26:01.115-08:00"I'm happiest with the name that Pendrago..."I'm happiest with the name that Pendragon gave to its equivalent concept, "Glory"."<br /><br />Yes, that is how I treat Experience Points and Levels in my games - as measures of fame and legendary standing. That is why epic carousing, egotistical boasting, and conspicuous consumption all boost XP rewards. That is why important people are high-level NPCs. And that is why I'm thinking of making everyone's Prime Requisite Charisma - high Charisma accentuates the glory of adventuring. <br /><br />But, as with Glory in Pendragon, XP and Level are not just measures of reputation, but something more basic, essential to the 'physics' of the fantasy world.Andy Bartletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06683770320671028815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-25930604205432153522013-01-09T10:54:26.111-08:002013-01-09T10:54:26.111-08:00Part of the issue seems to me conceptualizing the ...Part of the issue seems to me conceptualizing the word "experience" too narrowly. Remember that originally, levels was the short term for "life levels" or "energy levels" - hence "energy drain" is loosing levels. Experience points represent a gain in confidence, bravado and "life energy" through success. Vanquishing foes and getting rich surely is a great ego booster, encountering certain forms of death can just as surely strip all that away.DHBoggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02170439175265397893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-16833110302700413812013-01-09T02:02:04.961-08:002013-01-09T02:02:04.961-08:00You are dancing around the point.
Experience poin...You are dancing around the point.<br /><br />Experience points are your score; you gain levels for earning enough points.<br /><br />Gold is how you keep track of the high score.-Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02331863932906631618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-7940124228247440442013-01-08T20:52:40.600-08:002013-01-08T20:52:40.600-08:00i grant xp for spending gold - different classes s...i grant xp for spending gold - different classes spend on different things - warriors buy war manuals, training, castles; wizards buy labs, books, rinkets, sorcerers binge on drugs and orgies and incence, priests on holy stuff etc<br /><br />if i could learn by killing uni staff instead of study doesnt that make me some kind of vampire?Konsumterrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18170560484656800416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-71899775416398445702013-01-08T18:07:45.305-08:002013-01-08T18:07:45.305-08:00I'm happiest with the name that Pendragon gave...I'm happiest with the name that <i>Pendragon</i> gave to its equivalent concept, "Glory". It makes the concept more explicit, and turns away the idea that character advancement is tied to any alleged "skill" - which also alters the understanding of "character class" as being something other than a package of skills.faoladhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691952430041394614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-50878189911596716272013-01-08T17:30:46.677-08:002013-01-08T17:30:46.677-08:00Or, I should have mentioned, (C) if you play a lin...Or, I should have mentioned, (C) if you play a linear game where players don't have much choice and rewards aren't tied to player skill. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-15065125338839615832013-01-08T17:28:15.545-08:002013-01-08T17:28:15.545-08:00I like your four point-value examples. I think the...I like your four point-value examples. I think the XP for treasure is less about individual awards for cashes found and more about what dungeon level you were in when you found it. <br /><br />When you delve into Dungeon Level 2 you're taking a big risk. The traps the beefier, the monsters tougher, and wandering monsters can be really bad. Finding 400 GP in an empty room sounds easy and cheap in isolation, but to get to that room you had to brave other dangers. After all, there might have been plenty of dangers you faced with no monetary reward at all!<br /><br />Finally, if the XP is a reward for playing the game well, and if we agree that player skill is more important than character skill (as in, what you do with your Fighter-1 is more important than the fact that he rolled 6 HP instead of 8), then XP should reward player skill. In this case, player skill is reflected in gaining treasure instead of fighting monsters. Anyone can just walk in and start rolling for initiative. It takes player skill to lure the monster away and sneak in while it's eating the poisoned deer's corpse. <br /><br />As for calling it "experience points", Gygax suggested that new players should always start at level 1 and work their way upward, but experienced players could start with a higher level PC if the other PCs were so high that a 1st level would be a huge burden. Being able to use cool new abilities was a reward for the player, for his achievements in using his character well! Maybe it's not the experience level of the character we're talking about, but experience of the player. In that sense, awarding 500 points for stealing a treasure whether you kill the 100-point monster or not makes sense. The player of low skill will be unable to find a way around fighting the monster: either fight it and get the treasure or you don't get the treasure. An experienced player can think of a way to get the treasure anyway, so he has a choice of whether to fight the monster or not simply on the merits of its 100-point value. The experienced player must think: is this worth the real-time to do the fight? Or would I get more out of this game session by moving deeper into the dungeon? Is it worth the in-game time, which is balanced against various in-game resources like wandering monster checks, stamina, illumination. It is worth the risk that I would use up resources on this fight that I would need for something more important later?<br /><br />The player who has a character with more XPs has experienced more as a player. <br /><br />If he starts a PC at too low level for his player experience, his skills will make up for it and his PC's faster successes will allow him to gain XP faster. <br /><br />This kinda falls apart if you (A) force all players to start at level 1, or (B) allow newbie players to start high-level PCs. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-61194884011847707832013-01-08T16:59:55.490-08:002013-01-08T16:59:55.490-08:00I grant experience points for 'experience'...I grant experience points for 'experience' more than coin for points. There are different level of points gained depending on the encounter. Most of its arbitrary, but it usually makes sense in my mind. Kinda like the old west wanted posters...$200 Dead, $400 Alive. One encounter if the players keep the guy alive and find out more information they will get more experience points. Most of the time the players come up with something and they would get extra points for doing something well. But I like to think of experience points as experience earned and learned.Gothridge Manorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11371740532802642972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-19621716256648072013-01-08T16:54:25.298-08:002013-01-08T16:54:25.298-08:00Good point .. "achievement points" perha...Good point .. "achievement points" perhaps?Roger G-Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594440701279968693noreply@blogger.com