Experience Points

Minimum Character XP is now: 150 xp

In this campaign, XP is tracked individually per character. There is no fixed XP per session, and people who join the campaign later (or create several characters, or die and have to make a new character) will have less XP available. Not necessarily no XP though; we'll occasionally raise the minimum XP of the campaign, so that all characters with less XP than that increase.

The default session and adventure awards in Exploits are based on a model where each dungeon is one adventure, taking a handful of sessions to clear. This clearly isn't the case here, since the whole campaign is one dungeon and the players are required to return to town each session. So penalizing the players with -2 XP for "Left dungeon less than half explored" each week seems counterproductive.

Only the highest value fixed reward (those without a plus or minus in front) in each section counts. The added rewards (those with a plus or minus in front) are added to the total.

Battles
Fighting for the sake of fighting does not usually give XP. Bypassing enemies to explore deeper into the dungeon can be just as good as plowing through them or intimidating them into running away. However:

  • Permanently dealing with a miniboss (a named/unique creature): 2 points
  • Permanently dealing with a boss (up to one per area): 3 points
  • Clearing a faction out of the dungeon: 3 point.

Exploration
Exploration is the second most important thing about dungeon delving (after loot). So there is potential for a lot of XP here.

  • Being the first group to explore a new room: 1 point.
  • Setting up a Waypoint significantly further into the dungeon: 2 points.
  • Opening a way down to a deeper level or into a locked off area: 3 points.
  • Five planned encounters in a single session: +1 point.
  • Being the first group to reach a new region: +2 points.
  • Finding at least one secret room: +1 point.
  • Adding a map to the wiki or expanding a map with new areas12: +1 point.

Yes, opening a way down and being the first to reach a new region is worth 5 points. If for some reason multiple groups reach the same new area in the same session they both get the reward.

Loot
Making a profit means selling enough stuff to pay for your living expenses for the last week, every consumable spent during the session, all necessary repairs and healing, recharging power items, and any other expenses you might occur. Note that loot you decide to keep doesn't count for these purposes, and that profit is individual per character. It is up to the player characters to find a fair way of dividing up loot.

  • Make a profit: 3 points
  • Bringing back some loot, at least half the expenses: 2 points
  • Less than half the expenses: 0 points.
  • Recovered at least one "quest item": +1 point.
  • Recovered at least one item marked as "epic loot" in the GM's notes: +1 point

Recovering quest and epic items gives a bonus to the whole group, not just the one who found it/kept it.

Awesomeness
Each session the group votes on one player who deserves an extra XP. Whether this is for excellent roleplaying, bribing the group with sweets, or for saving the party in a rough spot, is up to the players. The GM does get a vote in this and can break any ties, but otherwise the player with the most votes gets the XP.

  • Something especially cool, funny, or unexpected happens that we'll be talking about for weeks: 1 point.
  • Most valuable player: +1 point.

The most XP it is possible to get comes from a session where a boss (3xp) that was blocking the way down deeper into the dungeon (3xp) is defeated and the fight was really frikking cool (1xp), allowing the group to reach a new area (2xp), explore 5 rooms (1xp), including a secret one (1xp), where they found both epic loot (1xp) and a quest item (1xp), and everyone returned with a profit (3xp), and the progress was mapped (1xp). For a grand total of 17xp, or 18 if you're the MVP (1xp) that session.

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