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Old 10-17-2013, 04:32 AM   #41
Michael Cule
 
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

When playing GURPS I will give a base two points to the whole party (or more if I'm feeling generous or it was the end of a major plot arc) plus one point for each bit of awesomeness that occurred: great bits of dialogue, playing a character trait well, cunning plans, jokes that got the whole table laughing. I will ask people to remind me of awesomenesses that I may have forgotten. It's my decision as GM but people should have input.

I have thought about the proposal to put all the points in one pool to be divided equally and then modifying it for good or bad roleplaying but that's just something that would lead to player-on-player bitterness. You can't control other people's idiocy except by driving them from the table and that's a point I don't want to get to too often.

One of my players did say that he liked the rule from the BUFFY game that allowed the whole group to vote on who should get a bonus point for best contribution to the evening: what I called the Most Valued Player award. I might try to incorporate that into my next GURPS game.
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Old 10-17-2013, 10:32 AM   #42
arnej
 
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Darklim View Post
One of his techniques, directly applicable to GURPS, is the reward-by-proxy: giving a single point to each character, and tell them that they can award it to anybody, except themselves.
+Justin Aquino was using something like this in his Modern Fantasy game. We each got 2 points for participation, and then one each to give to another player.

It worked really well. It helped remind me that so-and-so had covered my six when I had to do that risky move, or that I had done some amazing vehicle dodges during the getaway.

I think it helps keep players involved when the spotlight is elsewhere. They are looking for where that point gift should go.

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Old 10-17-2013, 11:09 AM   #43
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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 good roleplaying,
  • For excellent roleplaying,
  • For poor roleplaying,
could you explain or at least try how you use these principles objective as a measure for XP Awards?


Quote:
[*]For partial failure, or significant setbacks in a multi-session adventure: -1 or -2points. [*] For disastrous failure of the mission: -4 or -5 points.
why?

Quote:
[*] For a character portrait: 3 points.
which means a gifted Artist with time gets freebies?


Quote:
[*] For each additional page of expanded character history: 2 points per page.[*] For each short story written about your character: 3 to 5 points.
i refuse flatly to read anything more than one Page Long, better it be less.
I care nothing of a PCs history i care about his Persona, Goals, ethics

Quote:
or ruleslawyering
to often I experienced the the so called ruleslawyering Player was right, so i would be very hesitatingly accept to Play with someone who did such a Thing.
It is neither the role nor the right of one Player to educate other Players, may he be the GM or not.

If necessary such Problems are better talked out and/or fixed with Group rules a social contract so to speak.
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Old 10-17-2013, 11:12 AM   #44
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

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Originally Posted by Loukas View Post
I don't like it. I tend to give everyone a flat 3 pts per session, and that's not fair to the good roleplayers. ?
why not, thatīs exactly what i do except one Character had extraordinary experiences in the session.

The good Roleplay IMNSHO is the least useful measure to give out XP, at worst it punishes such Players who donīt Play along the tastes or expectations of the GM
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Old 10-17-2013, 11:15 AM   #45
simply Nathan
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

I awarded 5 points per adventure completed (not per session attended), and one time I bumped a player down by one point for being disruptive and trying to sidetrack the quest with stupid jokes and antagonism. He later went on a solo quest to retrieve the single character point.
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Old 10-17-2013, 11:46 AM   #46
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sword-dancer View Post
could you explain or at least try how you use these principles objective as a measure for XP Awards?
  • good roleplaying - playing the character as his stated personality, making sure he's aware of all his quirks/disadvantages/advantage, etc.
  • excellent roleplaying - playing the character so convincingly that I lose sight of the player. Doing things as the character would do them even if this means other players are going to have to clean up the mess, etc.
  • poor roleplaying - forgetting disadvantages/quirks/etc. even when I remind you multiple times, doing things wildly out of character, antagonistic roleplaying with other players when there would be no reason (i.e., bringing real world issues into a game).

Regardless, if you show up. You get at least one point.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sword-dancer View Post
why?
Because I give my PCs plenty of character points to buy both abilities and be awesome in game play. So if someone hoards his points and doesn't try to stop the big bad from unleashing deadly animated lava lamps on the populous...well you get the idea. Before every campaign I tell the players exactly the kind of things I expect, they tell me if they don't like that/want it/etc., and then we go from there. This is more for intentional ball dropping rather than bad dice rolls. Again, it's a artifact of a earlier time when I did have antagonistic players or I was still recruiting from the outside. I rarely have new players anymore because really, seven is over my limit to begin with.

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Originally Posted by Sword-dancer View Post
which means a gifted Artist with time gets freebies?
As do gifted writers, computer programmers when I need something coded up, those with a head for numbers checking math, etc. One of out current artist's draws portraits for every PC and major NPC in my campaign, I'm going to reward that.

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Originally Posted by Sword-dancer View Post
i refuse flatly to read anything more than one Page Long, better it be less.
I care nothing of a PCs history i care about his Persona, Goals, ethics
We have different gaming styles then. My players love having as much data and detail as they can get there hands on. So, meh.


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Originally Posted by Sword-dancer View Post
to often I experienced the the so called ruleslawyering Player was right, so i would be very hesitatingly accept to Play with someone who did such a Thing.
It is neither the role nor the right of one Player to educate other Players, may he be the GM or not.
It's the GMs job to interpretate the rules as written for his campaign. I'm very much a Rule Zero GM; but more than that, anything I write, I write from that perspective. Again, our styles may differ.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sword-dancer View Post
If necessary such Problems are better talked out and/or fixed with Group rules a social contract so to speak.
I have one of those (of which this is a part of), and as I've stated previously, I tell the player what I expect a head of time and they do the same. I must be doing something right, since I usually have to turn people away from my group and have had excellent campaigns with excellent players for the last fifteen years or so, except for a few nutballs I've meet along the way. But those don't last long, I punt their rulslawyering useless butts to the curb. If they want to play that way, I let them, just not with me or mine.
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Last edited by Christopher R. Rice; 10-17-2013 at 01:10 PM. Reason: Missing Word.
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Old 10-17-2013, 12:09 PM   #47
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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
[LIST][*]good roleplaying - .playing the character as his stated personality,
and those could/should/ do not Change?

Quote:
[*]excellent roleplaying - playing the character so convincingly that I lose sight of the player.
If somebody is a better actor, he gets more Points or better fast-talker , or a more flashy talker for example

Quote:
Doing things as the character would do them even if this means other players are going to have to clean up the mess, etc.
and what is the difference to antagonistic playing or ball or torch dropping or Leeroy Jenkins?

Quote:
Because I give my PCs plenty of character points to buy both abilities and be awesome in game play
and that donīt mean they couldnīt lose?
Shouldnīt they could learn more from defeat than from victory?
Bad dice rolls, Errors in Judgement, Misunderstandings...


Quote:
It's the GMs job to the rules as written for his campaign.
could you explain that please?

Quote:
I'm very much a Rule Zero GM
You mean the GM is always right?
My rule Zero is not to Play in such a game any longer , the rules are for everyone on the table.


Quote:
We have different gaming styles then. My players love having as much data and detail as they can get there hands on. So, meh.
you could write your characters diary as Long as you want every day of his life , but i wouldnīt read it

Quote:
I must be doing something right, since I usually have to turn people away from my group and have had excellent campaigns with excellent players for the last fifteen years or so
Yes our gaming styles differ greatly.

Quote:
I tell the player what I expect a head of time and they do the same
I speak with them if they wanted to Play in which Campaign s iīm interested GM

Quote:
except for a few nutballs I've meet along the way.
i think some of them could fit better my style, than i would fit yours
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Old 10-17-2013, 12:13 PM   #48
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

Yup. Our style's totally incompatible. I'm going to bow out of this now before it gets too heated. Good luck to you with your gaming!
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Old 10-17-2013, 07:01 PM   #49
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

Lots of great ways to do it in this thread. I may have to adopt some of them.

For the past few years I've given a base amount for each session, with another amount for completing a story-line (usually 3-8 sessions). How much depends on the genre. Then I allow the players to vote for "Most effective character" and "Best (usually funniest) line."

Those points could easily bunch up. I keep track of them and if a character isn't getting "most effective" on occasion I know I have to mix up the story some to better to give them a chance at the spotlight. I've been really lucky that I've always had players who are really clever and funny so that point gets shuffled around the table pretty evenly.
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Old 10-17-2013, 07:08 PM   #50
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Default Re: What's your advice on how to hand out experience points?

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Originally Posted by Sword-dancer View Post
If somebody is a better actor, he gets more Points or better fast-talker , or a more flashy talker for example
Better actor, yes, certainly, and also better script improviser. I count it as the job of players to entertain me and each other. The player who does a better job of this gets recognition for it. But also the player who's not usually a good actor, but who comes up with a great bit of business in one session, gets recognition in that section. I'm not sure why you'd want not to encourage players to make an effort to do a good job at the activity that is the heart of roleplaying.

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