Friday 15 July 2011

Learning From Our Mistakes: Non-Combat XP


So I was having a conversation with someone I randomly met on Minstrel Hall this morning, and they presented an interesting idea. What if characters got experience just for attempting the things their class does?

For example, every time a thief tries to use one of his skills, he will automatically get a small amount of experience, something like 7 XP. He might not succeed, but realistically he would remember why he failed, and therefore would gain a little bit of knowledge about what not to do again. This could work with many characters, such as a ranger's track ability, or even a magic-user every time they were to cast a spell. Add XP modifiers to the task attempted based on difficulty/level of the spell.

This could work well for a campaign that you don't necessarily want to be heavy on the combat end. It would actually encourage characters to behave more like their class. Of course, you would place requirements, such that the task be attempted in a legitimate situation (not just for the sake of the XP) and always have some minor consequence for failure.

It also makes monsters a hell of a lot scarier when they show up. A character that has been progressing without combat will suddenly be more reluctant to charge in blind and risk their character's life.

I'm not quite sure how to implement this yet, but I think this person may have been on to something. It might end up being a wildly different experience than your standard campaign, but it also might be quite interesting.

Additionally, I have always handed out XP for good role playing. I like to encourage that aspect of the game.

No comments:

Post a Comment