What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

[panton41]

I've considered no EP handed out piecemeal and the characters only advance based on in-game events (including the time-use form if applicable). I'm not sure how well that would go over because I've never actually ran a game like that.

[Kalzazz]

I give out XP based on existence, accomplishment and game time, but usually it winds up being 3-5 per session, based on how long/challenging the session

I on very rare occasion give out a bonus XP for doing something cool

[namada]

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[patchwork]

Usually, I give 2 points for showing up, 1 point for remaining in concept/in character/advancing the story, and 1 additional point to the person I feel did the best job. Thus, only one player is getting 4 points per session; the wallflowers get 2 and the actively engaged get 3. My sessions tend to be about 8 hours.

I find this gives the level of feedback and motivation I want. Clear examples over a few sessions of what sort of character behavior I'm looking for and what I'm not, yet the "winners" aren't really that far ahead of the "losers" - they seldom feel like they're being punished since 2 xp is almost as good as 3...

I don't give xp for backstory or portraits or bluebooking anymore because I find it doesn't encourage participation so much as Mary Sue attention-seeking types. Don't get me wrong, I want to read a backstory, but "Thank you, good job" is all the reward I'm putting out for it.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by patchwork

Usually, I give 2 points for showing up, 1 point for remaining in concept/in character/advancing the story, and 1 additional point to the person I feel did the best job. Thus, only one player is getting 4 points per session; the wallflowers get 2 and the actively engaged get 3. My sessions tend to be about 8 hours.

I find this gives the level of feedback and motivation I want. Clear examples over a few sessions of what sort of character behavior I'm looking for and what I'm not, yet the "winners" aren't really that far ahead of the "losers" - they seldom feel like they're being punished since 2 xp is almost as good as 3...

I don't give xp for backstory or portraits or bluebooking anymore because I find it doesn't encourage participation so much as Mary Sue attention-seeking types. Don't get me wrong, I want to read a backstory, but "Thank you, good job" is all the reward I'm putting out for it.

All of that is close to what I do. I have two main differences:

* I give only one point for showing up. It's two points for sessions where low-key stuff happened and three points for big dramatic sessions.

* I may give the bonus point to more than one player, if more than one player had good dramatic scenes or came up with clever ideas. (I have, once or twice, given a bonus point to a player who didn't attend, but whose character I played and got a really crucial roll for at a dramatic point—but they didn't get the group points, because they weren't there.)

Bill Stoddard

[Mr_Sandman]

I usually give all my players the same amount, from 2 to 5 per session. I base the amount mostly on how much happened in the session. If the players were pro-active, took charge, and got a lot accomplished then it's towards the higher end. If they were timid, spent most of the session considering and debating their next move, and not much got done, then it's lower.

I haven't done much if any individual experience point awards recently. I'm thinking of starting to give them out during play for really fun role-playing or generally doing something awesome that makes the game more entertaining. No more than one or two a session.

[mook]

Reading over these more detailed systems, my players probably hate me. Personality-wise, I've never been fond of individual rewards, so for many, many moons I've given all players the same amount.

I'm currently running two monthly games, so that amount is generally 10 points per game (when we played weekly, the average was 3 points per game, so I was hoping to keep the progression close to the same despite playing less frequently). For nights that just stand out as above average, or completion of a long-running goal, I might bump it to 15.

Naturally, this has made their in-game progress pretty "quick," but no one seems to mind.

[Keiko]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

That's cool. But I'm not, because its allowing the player to participate as their character outside of the game environment which allows them to expand their own story.

I give experience points for similar things but usually only if they're shared with the group (offered, no one has to view them). I think it helps create a sense of participation for the players in the overall story of the game and makes it more entertaining and fun for the others involved. Fiction (stories and background material) generally has to be check over by the gm though though.

[Keiko]

Originally Posted by Grouchy Chris

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?"

I've found this works pretty well.

[Green-Neck]

I pretty much always hand out 5 points per session. We tend to play 200 point characters for about 6 sessions, so it's enough to pump up certain areas without ending up somewhere crazy.
I don't penalise bad behaviour, or reward good behaviour- I tend to find good role-playing is it's own reward, and poor behaviour is usually results in hazing from the other players.
Also as a player I have had a good session spoiled by being penalised just one point, when I thought my roleplaying was within character. Or perhaps I'm just a sook.