Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to World Of Geb. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Read description before voting
Half-value Share of Party Experience 1 (25%)
Voluntary Portion of Employer's Experience 1 (25%)
No Experience (Advance by Training Payments) 2 (50%)
Total Votes: 4
NPC Experience
Topic Started: Dec 21 2011, 02:26 PM (238 Views)
DM Dusk
Member Avatar
Dungeon Master
 *  *  *
NPC Experience Awards

- This does not apply for any hired henchmen such as men-at-arms or servants, who receive no experience in any case.

- This does not apply for allied non-player characters who are not hired by the party, who will always gain experience as a half-value share when applicable.

- This applies only for hired adventurers/loyal retainers, who have a defined employer/master player character, and who can gain experience.

Option One
A "half-value share of party experience" is the same as an experience share gained by a player character who is involved in a game session, but the player is absent.
In this case, the party experience is divided down to half-shares, then any remainder re-added to the pool of full shares before they are divided.

Example:
Three party members and one hired NPC have completed an adventure, during which the party earned 1600XP (Experience Points).
Individual Experience is calculated as follows:
The pool is divided by 8, to give half-shares (4 party members = 8 half-shares).
Half-shares are worth 200XP. The NPC is awarded his share of 200XP.
There are now 7 half-shares, which are re-totalled into 1400XP.
The new total is divided by 3, to give full shares (3 PCs = 3 shares).
Full shares are worth 467XP. Each PC is awarded his share of 467XP.
Awarded shares are multiplied by individual XP Bonuses.
New XP Totals recorded, any New Levels applied.


Option Two
A "Voluntary Portion of Employer's Experience" is a much simpler process. Party experience is divided into full shares, ignoring hired NPCs, then further divided by players.

Example:
Three party members and one hired NPC have completed an adventure, during which the party earned 1600XP (Experience Points).
Individual Experience is calculated as follows:
The pool is divided by 3 to give full shares (3 PCs = 3 shares).
Shares are worth 533XP. Each PC is awarded his share of 533XP.
One party member has hired the NPC as a retainer. He chooses to deduct 133XP from his own share, and award it to his NPC. His personal share is now worth 400XP.
Awarded shares are multiplied by individual XP Bonuses.
New XP Totals recorded, any New Levels applied.


Bottom Line

Half-value shares keep the party reward rate more equal, while dividing a portion of XP voluntarily allows other party members to advance above those who have retainers, should he choose to allow his retainer to advance.

Ultimately I don't mind which method you choose, which is why I feel this should be up to you, the players.

I'll encourage you all to have a discussion on this below before any votes are cast, as I imagine some may wish to reason with each other on this.

EDIT: See Dougal's post below for Option 3.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Pylon
Member Avatar
Secret Police
 *  *
Would it not be possible to have it so that they can receive voluntary exp from the whole party? (Capping a certain amount per adventure)
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Alex
Member Avatar
Derp-Knight Extraordinaire!
 *  *  *
I'm for the half share, it makes more sense. Afterall, if someone's fighting alongside you, they'll be getting a similar amount of exp as you, and not just donated the extras.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Ludwig
Member Avatar
Prestige Poster Level 3
 *  *  *
Personally, I'm for no XP shares and increasing hire fees and making players negotiate contracts in terms of treasure shares, etc. If a player has accrued enough to afford a retainer, fair play to him. It's no different than if he bought a magic item or a weapon. However - the NPC's share of party loot will impact on party xp as it deducts from treasure totals.

As far as levelling up hired NPCs go, I think it would take far less book keeping that a hired NPC can level up if they or the employer pays for the training at a 'guild-hall' or other appropriate organisation - costs based off the xp total for the NPC's next level. That means the only thing needed tracked is gold and the NPC's level.

What it boils down to is that I'm not a fan of limiting player xp because they've decided to spend their hard earned gold (and portions of their future income!) on someone to shoot a bow and give them covering fire rather than a suit of full plate armour. I feel it makes for unrealistic decisions (lets not hire some help in tracking down this hydra! We won't find the experience nearly as fulfilling if we employ this 3rd level elven ranger to help us hunt the beast! Lets go it alone so that we learn something from being self reliant!) and turns players off adding folk to the party who otherwise might improve the roleplaying experience and allow the GM to offer more advice or gameworld lore during gameplay (see this swamp? Tales say this is an ancient spawning ground of the hydras. Legend says there is an ancient female that lairs in the centre, guarding a mountain of hydra eggs...) than if the party decided to go it alone.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
DM Dusk
Member Avatar
Dungeon Master
 *  *  *
Hiring adventurers do always request a share of loot (typically a lower percentage than a party member would get) rather than the flat rates of a servant or man-at-arms. In this case, it would make sense for them to gain XP as you've proposed (earned treasure only).

Your idea for levelling NPCs is an interesting one, and as such I've added it to the poll options.

[ Disclaimer on the poll results: I expect the discussion to yield more than the poll itself and debate between you guys will be more deciding than the poll results themselves, as opinions may move back and forth. ]
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
DM Dusk
Member Avatar
Dungeon Master
 *  *  *
Pylon
Dec 21 2011, 08:03 PM
Would it not be possible to have it so that they can receive voluntary exp from the whole party? (Capping a certain amount per adventure)

I can foresee this only resulting in party squabbling- between players who want their men to advance vs. everyone else who wants XP for themselves.

To further complicate things, would all NPCs even get equal nominated XP amounts, or are they sums per person?

Hence, I discarded this option before drawing up the poll- too much (out-of-character) squabbling drags down a game.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Alex
Member Avatar
Derp-Knight Extraordinaire!
 *  *  *
I must admit, I do like the exp for gold training idea Dougal's put forward.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Ludwig
Member Avatar
Prestige Poster Level 3
 *  *  *
I suspect there will be less squabbling if folk are paying for their own hirelings to advance too.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Pylon
Member Avatar
Secret Police
 *  *
Dougal's idea makes a lot of sense to me. I'm fully behind it.

Exp is just so much more valuable than gold and out of character I would be loathe to keep someone around who is draining it from me.

I'm especially against the NPC getting a half party share, if someone has hired an NPC that I don't think is necessary I don't want my advancement to be suffering because of some loser I can't get rid of. (Onkel)
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Alex
Member Avatar
Derp-Knight Extraordinaire!
 *  *  *
Alright, i'm convinced by Dougal's idea. That's three of us sofar.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Leonard
Member Avatar
Prestige Poster Level 1
 *
Seems logical to me.

And Steven, you weren't there.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Pylon
Member Avatar
Secret Police
 *  *
Leonard Leafwalker The Third
Dec 27 2011, 09:26 PM
Seems logical to me.

And Steven, you weren't there.

Dougal has told me about it at length, I think I have a firm understanding of what the situation was.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
DM Dusk
Member Avatar
Dungeon Master
 *  *  *
Onkel doesn't serve as an example of experience-draining, as advancement doesn't apply for hirelings of his type (non-combatant servant). If it counts as resource-draining though, that is a matter of opinion on value-for-money.

I don't think that discussion needs to be revisited here though!
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
DM Dusk
Member Avatar
Dungeon Master
 *  *  *
It seems like a ruling has been made:

NPC Advancement

Hired Retainers do not receive Experience as a member of the party. Instead, they advance only when their employer pays for them to be trained/improved at an appropriate establishment - typically within a town or city.

The cost of advancement is equal to their next level's experience points in gold, and their current level of experience in months.

Example
Ezio's Retainer, Luigi, is a First Level Fighter. Ezio goes to a Duelling master in Roma, and pays for Luigi to be raised to level 2. This will take one month, and cost Ezio 2000gp.

A discount is applicable for training, equal to the Retainer's equivalent Experience Bonus (calculate as if they were a player).

Example Continued
Ezio's second Retainer, Maria, is First Level Fighter. She has a Charisma of 14, giving her an XP Bonus of +5%. When Ezio returns to the Duelling master in Roma, it will cost him only 1900gp (2000x0.95) to have Maria trained to level 2, but will still take one month.
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Pylon
Member Avatar
Secret Police
 *  *
DM Dusk
Jan 4 2012, 04:54 PM
It seems like a ruling has been made:

NPC Advancement

The cost of advancement is equal to their next level's experience points in gold, and their current level of experience in months.

This is why I though it was longer than a month per level, is it?
Offline Profile Quote ^^^
 
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Game Mechanics · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Misty Woods created by Helena & Cory of ZNR