When I Dm I have a pool of xp that my player's fill up in order to lvl up this way they don't have to be the one to kill the monster to get the xp and there is no Kill stealing
and it also avoids "why is he higher level than us"
But I can't help but wonder is there any other ways you guys keep track of xp.
an encounter has x amount of xp. when the group beats that encounter then you divide the xp among all the players that participated in that fight. the only way their xp gets different amounts if random xp rewards for roleplaying/exploration and other things the DM can award xp for. which is on a per PC basis and not group based. it isn't my responsibility to keep track of everything. if they don't write down some XP or an item it is their loss.
I've never heard of the XP being awarded to whomever landed the killing shot, before - or at least I've never seen a gaming group where that's done.
There's a zillion ways of keeping track of advancement: there's classic XP; there's XP with DM awarded bonuses for things you want to promote in your game; there are milestones as written in the DMG; there are milestones as many people say they use them, where the DM attaches leveling up to particular story events; there is Session based advancement, where the Characters level up every X gaming sessions; there's GM Fiat, where the GM basically says "OK, that feels like enough story, let's go up a level"; there's individual XP awarded based on Player selected in-game goals.
Each one changes the game slightly, has certain effects on Player behavior, and makes the game feel different. The question as to whether or not an advancement system works for the kind of game that you want.
But in all cases ( where there are actual experience points to track ), that's the domain of the Player: Hey Bob, you got 350XP, write that down!
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I like your idea of an XP pool, so that the whole party can level at once, but I play in a situation where I am not entirely sure who will show up for a session or not. So, I prefer to give out XP to everyone who was involved in the fight, dividing it between everyone who took part.
My players have learned to be very eager for the XP payouts, so that's more incentive not to miss a session and get behind the others. ^^
And yeah, everyone who was involved in an encounter or event should get XP, there is no 'kill stealing' in D&D. That's a (bad) video game concept.
Edeleth Treesong (Aldalire) WoodElf Druid lvl 8 Talaveroth Sub 2 Last Tree StandingTabaxi Ranger, Chef and Hoardsperson lvl 5, Company of the Dragon Team 1 Choir Kenku Cleric, Tempest Domain, lvl 11, Descent Into Avernus Test Drive Poinki Goblin Paladin, Redemption, lvl 5, Tales from Talaveroth Lyrika Nyx Satyr Bard lvl 1, The Six Kingdoms of Talia
When I Dm I have a pool of xp that my player's fill up in order to lvl up this way they don't have to be the one to kill the monster to get the xp and there is no Kill stealing
and it also avoids "why is he higher level than us"
But I can't help but wonder is there any other ways you guys keep track of xp.
an encounter has x amount of xp. when the group beats that encounter then you divide the xp among all the players that participated in that fight. the only way their xp gets different amounts if random xp rewards for roleplaying/exploration and other things the DM can award xp for. which is on a per PC basis and not group based. it isn't my responsibility to keep track of everything. if they don't write down some XP or an item it is their loss.
Giblix got it.
I've never heard of the XP being awarded to whomever landed the killing shot, before - or at least I've never seen a gaming group where that's done.
There's a zillion ways of keeping track of advancement: there's classic XP; there's XP with DM awarded bonuses for things you want to promote in your game; there are milestones as written in the DMG; there are milestones as many people say they use them, where the DM attaches leveling up to particular story events; there is Session based advancement, where the Characters level up every X gaming sessions; there's GM Fiat, where the GM basically says "OK, that feels like enough story, let's go up a level"; there's individual XP awarded based on Player selected in-game goals.
Each one changes the game slightly, has certain effects on Player behavior, and makes the game feel different. The question as to whether or not an advancement system works for the kind of game that you want.
But in all cases ( where there are actual experience points to track ), that's the domain of the Player: Hey Bob, you got 350XP, write that down!
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I like your idea of an XP pool, so that the whole party can level at once, but I play in a situation where I am not entirely sure who will show up for a session or not. So, I prefer to give out XP to everyone who was involved in the fight, dividing it between everyone who took part.
My players have learned to be very eager for the XP payouts, so that's more incentive not to miss a session and get behind the others. ^^
And yeah, everyone who was involved in an encounter or event should get XP, there is no 'kill stealing' in D&D. That's a (bad) video game concept.
Edeleth Treesong (Aldalire) Wood Elf Druid lvl 8 Talaveroth Sub 2
Last Tree Standing Tabaxi Ranger, Chef and Hoardsperson lvl 5, Company of the Dragon Team 1
Choir Kenku Cleric, Tempest Domain, lvl 11, Descent Into Avernus Test Drive
Poinki Goblin Paladin, Redemption, lvl 5, Tales from Talaveroth
Lyrika Nyx Satyr Bard lvl 1, The Six Kingdoms of Talia
+1 If you award XP based on who got the "kill" how does your bard ever level up? Or any other primarily control/buff/debuff caster?