Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg
XP rate and expected totals is definitely variable since more than ever different GMs can give out very different amounts of XP.
And, for different things. For example, I don't relate to what you wrote above about a rate based on frequency of play, since play sessions don't necessarily reflect anything about the PCs in the game world, and I want XP to represent something in the game world, not the players' world.
I think more in terms of what stats represent what sort of character with what level of talent, training and experience?
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This is what experience means to me but on the flip side there's a distance between the details of what the PCs actually do in the world and what happens in the stories you play at the table. As every player knows, GMs usually compress time during long-distance travel but the PCs can be training during that time. We don't simulate every practice session, every conversation, and every moment of inspiration.
Also, similar activities can produce wildly different amounts of learning. There's a huge difference between beneficial
"deliberate practice" and non-beneficial activities. I.e. XP from activities shouldn't be deterministic, it will vastly depend on whether the activities actually teach the actor something. From this perspective, it might be more realistic to award weighted random amounts of XP since there's no way to know whether a combat actually teaches a character anything. I'm not in favor of this though.
What it boils down to for me is that XP systems are a matter of taste and it depends on what "feels right" for the players and the GM. As the RAW states, "it's a GM decision."
My personal preference is "what makes sense for the story" and "what is the most entertaining and fun." I have no problem, for instance, with the PCs having adventures "off camera" in between stories and taking all that XP and just smooshing it out to 100 XP per session :). Likewise for cash. I see cash and XP rewards as approximations of what the PCs earned in-game, on and off camera. I'd be happy with a session-based cash reward system for that matter.
Many of my preferences as a GM (and player) are obviously different from yours, Skarg, but I'm sure I'd have a ton of fun playing at your table!