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Old 10-15-2013, 10:26 AM   #11
Kromm
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

My current secret-agents campaign follows a somewhat strange model:
  • The Agents of the Company were hand-picked by hidden patrons who used an expensive, high-end selection process to filter through thousands of already above-average candidates to single out a handful who were unusually able, fit, intelligent, talented, and broadly trained. Thus, the PCs started with a big budget (250 points) that let them afford almost all of the stuff the players wanted.

  • Though one could argue that the PCs' baseline capability verges on unrealistic, I wanted their growth rate to be plausible. Thus, they get no per-session awards, only 10 points for completing a mission (sometimes given as 5 points at a clear midpoint plateau and another 5 points at the end), which can only be spent during the downtime between assignments. They occasionally get 1-2 points from in-play training opportunities, too. The last time I did the math, this averaged out to about 0.9 points/session.
This has worked just fine for us. I don't think I've ever had a player grumble about the growth rate, because each PC has a good range of abilities at reliably high levels, and because I don't scale up bad guys . . . the various criminals, terrorists, and rival spies the heroes encounter haven't grown any tougher since Session One.
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Old 10-15-2013, 10:53 AM   #12
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

In my group I give 4 per session and if a player does something awesome I'll give an extra pt. If they do something disruptive -1 pt. If they go against their char's concept/dis-advantages they could get nothing that session.

Also, for mission fanalies I'll give an extra 2 pts.
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Old 10-15-2013, 11:03 AM   #13
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

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Originally Posted by Ghostdancer View Post
I personally find that if I continuously reward my players for things like building their character story up and the like that they get into the habit of doing it and really get into it so that they do it now without me even asking. Most of my players use points for buying successes (and when PU5 came out, a butt-load of stuff in there). Most of the time they don't even upgrade their character abilities unless the story calls for it.
I ran a Buffy the Vampire Slayer campaign (set in Alta California in 1810) where the Watcher's player never used a single eep to improve his character in any way. Instead he put them all into drama points, and used them mainly to keep his character alive and occasionally successful. It was very Buffylike!

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Old 10-15-2013, 11:18 AM   #14
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

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Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
My current secret-agents campaign follows a somewhat strange model:
  • The Agents of the Company were hand-picked by hidden patrons who used an expensive, high-end selection process to filter through thousands of already above-average candidates to single out a handful who were unusually able, fit, intelligent, talented, and broadly trained. Thus, the PCs started with a big budget (250 points) that let them afford almost all of the stuff the players wanted.

  • Though one could argue that the PCs' baseline capability verges on unrealistic, I wanted their growth rate to be plausible. Thus, they get no per-session awards, only 10 points for completing a mission (sometimes given as 5 points at a clear midpoint plateau and another 5 points at the end), which can only be spent during the downtime between assignments. They occasionally get 1-2 points from in-play training opportunities, too. The last time I did the math, this averaged out to about 0.9 points/session.
I've done something a little like this last in my Worminghall campaign: Periodically I have the players roll to figure how many hours of instruction they get per month, and I have them assign those hours to different spells and skills and work out who they're studying with. This seems to get them more involved with the scholastic framework of the campaign.

Bill Stoddard
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Old 10-15-2013, 11:36 AM   #15
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

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I ran a Buffy the Vampire Slayer campaign (set in Alta California in 1810) where the Watcher's player never used a single eep to improve his character in any way. Instead he put them all into drama points, and used them mainly to keep his character alive and occasionally successful. It was very Buffylike!

Bill Stoddard
This is my favorite style of play and I'm lucky that my gamers like it too. They have more fun being awesome than having awesome powers. :-)
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Old 10-15-2013, 01:43 PM   #16
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

I hand out the same amount of points for everyone who shows up and plays, though that amount varies from session to session and campaign to campaign. If the characters are in an action-packed sequence that lasts several sessions they will get a jumbo award at the end of it. I never hand out penalties and rarely hand out special bonuses for play quality; it is hard enough to get a group of adults together every week for GURPS without disincentives to play. I give large bonuses to people who do extra things like keep adventure logs, flesh out character back stories, generate helpful resources like combat charts or equipment reminder/description sheets for ultratech gear, etc.
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Old 10-15-2013, 02:15 PM   #17
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

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Originally Posted by Ghostdancer View Post
I use the following:
  • For showing up for the game: 1 pt
  • For good roleplaying, within the original concept of the character: 1 to 3 points per play session.
  • For excellent roleplaying, even if it imperiled the mission: 4 or 5 points per session. (doesn't stack with good roleplaying).
  • For poor roleplaying, ignoring or violating the stated personality or objectives of the character: -1 to -5 points.
  • For metagaming and/or ruleslawyering: -1 to -5 points.
  • For successful completion of the mission, or progress toward its completion in a multi-session adventure: 2 to 4 points.
  • For partial failure, or significant setbacks in a multi-session adventure: -1 or -2points.
  • For disastrous failure of the mission: -4 or -5 points.
  • For a clever action or solution to a specific problem, as long as it is in character: 1 point per character per action.
  • For a character journal for one episode: 2 points.
  • For a character portrait: 3 points.
  • For each additional page of expanded character history: 2 points per page.
  • For each short story written about your character: 3 to 5 points.
  • Game Bounties (this is doing things for me for the game itself, like you creating a template I need done, worked on a map, etc. I will send out emails and you guys can decide if you want to do them or not): 1 to 20 points
GhostDancers lines up with mine pretty well with a few caveats

I dont penalize for most metagaming and almost NEVER for rules lawyering. WITHIN REASON. You have a legitamate alternative reading of the rules Im willing to hear it. Normally those pleas are made during smoke-breaks or after actions.
The meta gaming is tough to control and identify sometimes so Im pretty prone to let it slide. It has to be blatant and continuous before Id penalize.
To be fair, Ive had the luxury of reasonable players.

I dont think I've EVER penalized for a mission being failed or things going pearshaped. Even when plans fail, as long as we're all having a good time, why penalize? Play on and the consequences (if any) can be played out in story.

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Old 10-15-2013, 02:17 PM   #18
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

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Originally Posted by Nymdok View Post
GhostDancers lines up with mine pretty well with a few caveats

I dont penalize for most metagaming and almost NEVER for rules lawyering. WITHIN REASON. You have a legitamate alternative reading of the rules Im willing to hear it. Normally those pleas are made during smoke-breaks or after actions.
The meta gaming is tough to control and identify sometimes so Im pretty prone to let it slide. It has to be blatant and continuous before Id penalize.
To be fair, Ive had the luxury of reasonable players.

I dont think I've EVER penalized for a mission being failed or things going pearshaped. Even when plans fail, as long as we're all having a good time, why penalize? Play on and the consequences (if any) can be played out in story.

Nymdok
I didn't always have good players. Took me a while to weed the bad ones out, but the rules still stand. I personally won't game with rules-lawyers for long. Those sort of people make the baby Jesus cry.
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Old 10-15-2013, 02:43 PM   #19
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

I give 3 points at the start of each session, in order to give the players the chance to spend them on things like buying successes. I'll give up to 5 points at the completion of a story arc.

If anyone does something extra awesome, I'll give bonus points to the whole group. Everyone benefits if one of the PCs is awesome, because I want everyone to help the others to be awesome. Awesomeness is good.

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But pointing out people for being "better" or "worse" players is hard for me. Maybe it's because my group is very new and I'm not confident enough to assume they'll take it the right way.
I like to get input from my players on this. You can just ask them, "Hey, did anyone stand out for roleplaying tonight? Anything you think deserves recognition?" Ultimately, the decision to award points is yours, but asking players about it can spur a good discussion.
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Old 10-15-2013, 02:51 PM   #20
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

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Originally Posted by Critical View Post
I hand out the same amount of points for everyone who shows up and plays, though that amount varies from session to session and campaign to campaign. If the characters are in an action-packed sequence that lasts several sessions they will get a jumbo award at the end of it. I never hand out penalties and rarely hand out special bonuses for play quality; it is hard enough to get a group of adults together every week for GURPS without disincentives to play. I give large bonuses to people who do extra things like keep adventure logs, flesh out character back stories, generate helpful resources like combat charts or equipment reminder/description sheets for ultratech gear, etc.
I haven't tried to run a game on a weekly schedule for twenty years now. I can get people to commit to a once-a-month schedule. I run two or three campaigns in parallel for different groups, because I'm more committed to gaming than most of my players are; I also play in a campaign one of my players is running.

I've given a penalty only once, but I give bonuses all the time. It seems to act as an incentive for my players, rather than a disincentive. YMMV.

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