Hi!

Been on the boards for years, finally on the verge of GMing just now. It's a play-by-post, with three players I've already gamed with. All good folks.

Looking at the XP rewards in the modules, they're kind of all over the place - I'm seeing up to 40 XP per 'act' (what they call 'episode') of an adventure! Now, the published adventures tend to be meatier than the films themselves - like, the published adventures are 'Heir to the Empire', while my adventures are more 'A New Hope' scale. You know, maybe three big combats, three important social scenes, and three puzzle-solvers. Intersperse this with lots of setting and character goodness. I do it like this because, it being a PbP game, I don't want the players to lose track of the plot over weeks/months of play.

But back to XP values: for perspective, I'd rather see the characters reach Signature Ability levels over twenty 'movie-size' episodes than over five MEGA episodes, you know? So my proposed formula is: 15 base 'thanks for playing' XP for a typical three-act adventure, modified thus:

• Individual ingenuity and achievement
  +1 XP: Player 'steps up to the plate', and is willing to take (calculated) personal risks to achieve the goal. Failure can still result in getting this XP, unless the character is taking outlandish risks just to get it.
  +0 XP: Player doesn't volunteer to act alone or stand out from the crowd, but will do so if prodded by the others.
  -1XP: Player refuses to take any personal risks and would rather see the mission fail than draw attention to himself.
• Group ingenuity and achievement
  +1 XP: Player 'passes the ball', and gives other players their moment in the spotlight. Player shares ideas about how the group can overcome obstacles, possibly reminding others of ways that they themselves can contribute.
  +0 XP: Player remains a 'lone wolf', uninterested in what the other players are doing. Player conducts himself in a manner that minimizes dependancy on or cooperation with party allies.
  -1 XP: Player jumps to the front and insists on doing everything himself, regardless of who might have a better solution or skill.
• Roleplaying
  +1 XP: Player plays in-character, true to Motivation, and writes posts that are insightful and entertaining to read.
  +0 XP: Player plays in-character, true to Motivation, but only in a barebones fashion and doesn't 'fluff out' the prose with emotion and/or descriptive detail.
  -1 XP: Player does whatever mission requires (or doesn't require), with no regard for character's attitude and/or Motivation.
• Sportsmanship
  +1 XP: Player is a team player, rolling with the punches, having a good time and encouraging others to do so as well.
  +0 XP: Player 'goes with the flow', accepting what fate offers but not actively encouraging a friendly dynamic.
  -1 XP: Player complains about bad rolls and berates others for doing things he thinks they shouldn't do.
• Wiki contributions
  +1 XP: Player keeps his character's page up to date, possibly including thoughts and backstories the other characters might not even be aware of.
  +0 XP: Player does not contribute to the wiki.
  -1 XP: There is no -1 in this category; I wouldn't like to penalize players for not contributing to something that doesn't interest them.

Now I should say, I don't expect my players to get a minus in any of these categories - they're more a deterrent for bad players, of which I've had a few in the past. So for my players, we're talking about 15-20 XP for a 'A New Hope' size adventure, here.

I'm pretty happy with the model, but unsure of the figures. So I ask you: should good players be happy with 15-20 XP for a 'New Hope' size adventure?

We run 15 to 20 xp per session (8-10 hour) in our group. Granted, we're large so it works better to have it a little lower. Still, 15 means you can buy any single advance in the game after 2 sessions. I find that if you start giving out 30+ experience a session, you start ending up with to many cases of "instant mastery". After all, 30xp is enough to go from 0 ranks to 3 ranks in a class skill, all at once.

I try to keep it between 5 and 10. I find it keeps my players invested in their characters longer when they get to.powerful players and gms stop caring about them and want more of a challenge.

I think there was a suggestion somewhere that 5xp per played hour (on average) was the recommended progression. I have no idea how that would translate to a PbP game, but 15-20 XP seems rather low for something of the scale of ANH.

We basically do 5xp an hour of actual game time, which I believe is the developer's suggestion. We also give a bonus based upon completing an adventure or great role playing.

I also do the 5 XP per hour for a live game. Though I adjust for actually time played. our typical session is 8 hours but i only award for 7 since time for breaks and food etc.. is taken. I will usually add an extra 5 for something really awsome during the game (but unbeknownst to the players I go in rotation so everyon ends up getting the extra xp).

For a play by post system I would assign xp for various goals. If they complete the main objective so many xp, a sub mission +x xp and simply award it when they acheive those goals. The amount of xp you reward will be up to you but i would advise starting with less it is easier to adjust up than to adjust down.

Great thoughts everyone, and thank you for replying.

I'm with the bulk of you in that the rewards shouldn't be excessive, for a couple reasons: one, because it certainly is easier to 'ramp up' than to 'ramp down'. Second because, as a new (EotE) GM, I don't want to have nine new talents thrown at me at the conclusion of each adventure... and since my players are new to EotE as well, I want them to appreciate and get the most out of every improvement they acquire.

I have to say that I, personally, am sort of against objective-based XP rewards. I can deal with failure, and I can deal with players flying off the rails; often, these make the story even better! And characters can gain just as much experience by goofing up as by bull's-eyeing that exhaust port. So, my criteria revolves around playstyle for the most part. So if y'all don't mind another question, what do you think of my XP model?

I think your XP model works fine. it is more difficult to use in the play by post style but it is definitely a valid approach.

Objective based rewards do not necessarily mean accomplishing something but could just mean reaching a certain point in the story weather through failure or success.

I think this is why I tend to use the xp per hour module because it works well whether the do what i was planning or not (usually not).

The main thing with any part of this game is to have fun. If your xp rewards are allowing the group to have fun keep at it. if you notice some discontent you may want to adjust or compensate with other rewards.