Where do your chars put their XPs?

[mhd]

In a somewhat typical fantasy campaign, where do your players tend to put their precious new points?

 

I'd be especially interested in the more skill-heavy characters, as it's not really that hard to drop a boatload of points in martial abilities or spells. But after a while, your "rogue" might hit the skill limits for his favorite shticks. Do your characters tend to branch out after that or even before it happens?

 

How are your "ground rules" for that in general? If you've got something like "no sudden awakening of magical abilities after campaign start" (aka. "Hogwarts has no correspondence classes") or "no (quasi-)supernatural combat feats", point distribution is affected, of course. Requring training is an important factor, too. If you would need to spend a few weeks in the academy to get a new spell but don't have the opportunity for that, some wizards might spend points on more immediately attainable abilities, e.g. raising their Stealth/Climbing.

[Lucius]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

In the same section of the sheet where Base Points and Complications are recorded.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

the palindromedary notes that Lucius thinks of it as "Liabilities and Player's Equity"

[Old Man]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

3- and 5-point levels (for mundanes) or new spells (for spellslingers). It's usually pretty easy to get an immediate return on relatively few XP this way. The only other really cost-effective place to put the points is in STR, but that's often hard to justify from a character concept standpoint.

[bluesguy]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

I went through this with my campaign. Magic is weak and hard to learn. So skills and combat ability is 'king'. Here is how I have handled skills in my campaign world. Also I run a campaign 50/50 campaign of combat to role playing. This also has a big impact on what people spend points on.

 

The way is has played out, is that the players are making sure to work on the combat skills and improve them but they are also investing a lot of points in non-combat skills. Knowledge Skills (general, area, city, etc), professional skills, and other skills. One of the characters decided - "my character should have deduction and some kind criminology skill" (whatever you want to call that in a fantasy environment). He basically came up with some plausible explanation, saved the points & spent them at the appropriate moments. So now he is a cross between a Hawk from Spencer for Hire and Sherlock Holmes . Makes for some interesting role playing and adventures in a town of cut throats.

 

Another character has decided that his character is going to be THE weapon smith in town. So he is buying up all kinds of knowledge skills around weapon smithing. He already had some basic skills and abilities. His character's background fit the premise so I have been allowing him to buy up skills along the way.

 

Another character keeps buying up all her presence based skills because she is going to 'talk people' into what she wants. She has bought all the ones she has to human max. She also is constantly adding to her KS about people, places, things & legends.

 

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Our FH games tended towards high starting points, so most of our characters were mostly concept complete at creation. This led to the majority of XP's being saved till the end of a campaign arc and being spent during character downtime.

[Zen Archer]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Depended on the campaign.

 

The longest-lasting one was skewed heavily towards magic to the point where spellcasting was a must, regardless of your initial character concept.

[drunkonduty]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

I'm just starting a campaign (1st session this weekend.) I'm expecting to see most points go on contacts, fencing manouevres, area and culture knowledges and, when possible, spells. In the game magic is rare, powerful and dangerous to both the sorcerer and the target feel, as per. Call of Cthulu.

 

I intend to limit the amount of XP that can be put into skills to 1XP per skill per session. For things like contacts and perks more XP can be assigned per session if it fits what happened. eg: PC saves a young nobleman from a horrible fate, they can get that nobleman as a contact at the end of session even if it's a 5 point contact.

 

I'll let you know in a few sessions if my predictions are in anyway accurate.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

My players tend to branch out in all sorts of crazy directions. I tend to run very high powered, magic drenched Epic Fantasy campaigns. In my last one, one of my players put XP toward a small Variable Power Pool to represent her ability to summon and command primary elementals to manipulate the elements in small ways. She also expanded her Martial Arts a bit, added to her skill levels and bought up some skills. Another player put his skill levels to bolster his skills at first (including purchasing some Overall Skill Levels!) but eventually he put the majority of his XP into a Multiform that allowed him to tap into the dragon's blood that flowed in his veins (he was half dragon) and transform into a Dragonhalf. The other regular player in that game put most of her XP toward buying more spells. She was the dedicated mage of the group and became quite versatile after a while.

[Nolgroth]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

If I were playing in a game and were playing a rogue that pretty much maxed out his central "core" skills, I would probably save quite a few points to start my own guild (Followers). Of course I would let the GM know my intention and let him vet the idea before I actually committed to it. Contacts, Favors and other social perks would be my next priority.

 

Sadly, I am not playing right now and I am not playing a rogue. Or a warrior, mage, cleric, barbarian, monk, paladin, etc. Heck, I am not even running a game at the present.

[Orion]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Ground rules:

1. Characteristics rarely change. What you start with is what you get. You aren't going to get stronger or faster just because you cleared the bandits out of the abandoned mine, nor is your intelligence going to go up. You might get a couple points of presence because you have spent time working with the baron and sheriff and learning how to run a manor and rule the peasants, but that's it.

2. If the character isn't spending significant time training or studying, then skills don't increase.

3. The storyline controls both the rate of change and the types of changes allowed. If it doesn't fit the established story and character background, it can't happen.

4. Most importantly - XP truly has little meaning or purpose, and increasing power and skill is not why we game.

 

So a character says they will spend time over the next three months learning a new weapon. At the end of that time, I'll let them have familiarity in it, regardless of whether they have any XP saved up. I don't care whether they've killed a horde or orcs every day (many XP), or just sat around the tavern in between practice sessions (0 XP). I'll give out contacts and knowledge skills free. Save the princess from the evil duke - she's a contact, and you know a lot more about the high-level politics of the kingdom. Want the city watch commander as a contact, but don't want to bother playing out a storyline to get it? Ok, I'll make up a short story about how it occurred and how much time it took. Once that is worked into the overall timeline, you are good to go.

 

To me, XP is just a way to control the rate of change in characters, and that is better handled through the storyline that is developed with their participation. I treat XP like the point awards on the tv show "Whose Line Is It?" - pull a number out of the air and award it at random times. Sometimes you get 1 XP, sometimes you get 1,000,000 XP.

 

But, to the underlying meaning of the original question, the characters tend heavily towards improving skills. Wizards learn more spells, or how to cast the current ones better. Warriors learn tactics and strategy for controlling small groups of combatants, and learn more about the fighting styles of their opponents. Everyone develops contacts in the local area, and hopefully builds up their business, whether that business be politics, religion, lording it over the peasants, or just creating new ballads and ditties about the duke and his serving girls.

[Cancer]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Defenses, SPD, and when there's enough points left over, attack powers that can get past or through opponent defenses. I tend to start with way more investment in skills than ever gets used in-game, so it's catch-up forever in terms of survival and then any combat effectiveness.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

My current Paladin has spent points about 50/50 between pure combat abilities and non combat. I'll try and be specific to gained abilities;

 

Combat abilities:

Martial Maneuvers (I developed a martial art before the campaign started specific to the characters country of origin)

Combat Skill Levels

Combat Skills & Talents (off-hand defense, Defense Maneuver, Two-Weapon Fighting, Rapid Attack)

Stun, Endurance, Recovery, & Body (spaced far apart and in small increments at a time)

Strength (just for STR Minimum)

Some Paladin abilities: Smite Evil (Deadly Blow), Aid Presence (Inspire Courage), Rebuke Undead (as a PRE Attack)

 

Non-Combat abilities

Perks (Military Ranks, Religious Perks - Paladin)

Area Skills (the campaign is set in a static region, so the AKs are easier, but a traveler could pick up many of these at a decent level)

Knowledge Skills (heraldry, and since the Paladin was an in game transition Religion)

Interaction Skills (Oratory was purchased after game start)

Presence

Some other Paladin abilities: Divine Health (Immune to disease), Divine Grace (Luck)

 

Some skills were improved upon on both sides of that, always ones used or noted they were being learned.

 

The character has gained in capability, but also in breadth of abilities.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

I like buying things in bits and pieces. So 8- Familiarity, then 2 point skill, then full Char-based skill.

 

One I use a lot is SPD with an activation roll, initially 3 points for +1 SPD on 8-, then gradually buy up the roll. Where the same limitation applies to multiple rolls, I've bought to, say, 12- , then spent no xp next session but bumped the roll to 13-. Roll in PS 12 to determine next turn's SPD.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Ground rules:

1. Characteristics rarely change. What you start with is what you get. You aren't going to get stronger or faster just because you cleared the bandits out of the abandoned mine, nor is your intelligence going to go up. You might get a couple points of presence because you have spent time working with the baron and sheriff and learning how to run a manor and rule the peasants, but that's it.

2. If the character isn't spending significant time training or studying, then skills don't increase.

3. The storyline controls both the rate of change and the types of changes allowed. If it doesn't fit the established story and character background, it can't happen.

4. Most importantly - XP truly has little meaning or purpose, and increasing power and skill is not why we game.

 

So a character says they will spend time over the next three months learning a new weapon. At the end of that time, I'll let them have familiarity in it, regardless of whether they have any XP saved up. I don't care whether they've killed a horde or orcs every day (many XP), or just sat around the tavern in between practice sessions (0 XP). I'll give out contacts and knowledge skills free. Save the princess from the evil duke - she's a contact, and you know a lot more about the high-level politics of the kingdom. Want the city watch commander as a contact, but don't want to bother playing out a storyline to get it? Ok, I'll make up a short story about how it occurred and how much time it took. Once that is worked into the overall timeline, you are good to go.

 

To me, XP is just a way to control the rate of change in characters, and that is better handled through the storyline that is developed with their participation. I treat XP like the point awards on the tv show "Whose Line Is It?" - pull a number out of the air and award it at random times. Sometimes you get 1 XP, sometimes you get 1,000,000 XP.

 

But, to the underlying meaning of the original question, the characters tend heavily towards improving skills. Wizards learn more spells, or how to cast the current ones better. Warriors learn tactics and strategy for controlling small groups of combatants, and learn more about the fighting styles of their opponents. Everyone develops contacts in the local area, and hopefully builds up their business, whether that business be politics, religion, lording it over the peasants, or just creating new ballads and ditties about the duke and his serving girls.

 

Sounds...dull. I want my characters to go from zero to HERO! I want it to mimic epic fantasy where characters start out as near-powerless farm boys to become uber wizards and ultimate warriors.

[Orion]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Sounds...dull. I want my characters to go from zero to HERO! I want it to mimic epic fantasy where characters start out as near-powerless farm boys to become uber wizards and ultimate warriors.

 

Different strokes and all that - making me play a zero for any length of time is a good way to get me to leave the campaign, or to not even join one. I have little interest in becoming uber powerful, so gaining combat skills means little to me. A mid-level character is far more interesting and fun to play for me. As long as my character is competent, it doesn't bother me that they stay the same for the entire campaign. I'm usually far more interested in stuff like moving up the political hierarchy (manor heir -> manor lord -> sheriff's man -> minor baron), or implementing long term goals than I am in combat effectiveness.

 

I also don't do epic fantasy in game. I rarely even read the stuff any more. Low or no magic, minimal monsters, and historic fiction is more my thing.

[mhd]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Isn't epic fantasy where a bunch of farmboys become ultimate heroes pretty rare? Sure, *one* farmboy, but most often because he's the Chosen One, and then gets his abilities pretty much in one fell swoop, not bit by bit, slaying one orc at a time.

 

Not that genre emulation is all that important, the RPG trope on its own has its own merits, although personally I have a bigger fondness for the "fantasy effin vietnam" section of it than the "quest for immortality" end.

 

One player in my group recently told me that he does like that structure, but for a different reason - it's not so much about the starting power (he likes some oomph), but about having a more vague character at the beginning, so that there are more ways to go from there.

 

Personally, with the usual Heroic point values I have no problem with that, as you can always put enough points in some generic abilities or characteristics, and do the "skilled" stuff later on. So you might start out as a "zero", but as a Vanya, the ox-carrying zero.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Different strokes and all that - making me play a zero for any length of time is a good way to get me to leave the campaign' date=' or to not even join one. I have little interest in becoming uber powerful, so gaining combat skills means little to me. A mid-level character is far more interesting and fun to play for me. As long as my character is competent, it doesn't bother me that they stay the same for the entire campaign. I'm usually far more interested in stuff like moving up the political hierarchy (manor heir -> manor lord -> sheriff's man -> minor baron), or implementing long term goals than I am in combat effectiveness.[/quote']

 

All this would mean to me is that my character, who I envision as a nobleman with high physical stats and great combat prowess, will start out as a high characteristic peasant and buy his way up the ranks, since he can't start as a low stat nobleman and build his stats up with xp, or with mid-level stats and a minor title, both of which will improve over time. I'm not a big fan of reducing options.

[Escafarc]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Every time I see this thread I keep thinking that someone is gaming at Pee Wee's Playhouse.

[Old Man]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Different strokes and all that - making me play a zero for any length of time is a good way to get me to leave the campaign, or to not even join one. I have little interest in becoming uber powerful, so gaining combat skills means little to me. A mid-level character is far more interesting and fun to play for me. As long as my character is competent, it doesn't bother me that they stay the same for the entire campaign. I'm usually far more interested in stuff like moving up the political hierarchy (manor heir -> manor lord -> sheriff's man -> minor baron), or implementing long term goals than I am in combat effectiveness.

 

I also don't do epic fantasy in game. I rarely even read the stuff any more. Low or no magic, minimal monsters, and historic fiction is more my thing.

 

True enough.

 

Not that I'm opposed to low fantasy games at all, I just prefer Epic/High fantasy. Always have. I love it when my players come up with crazy abilities for their characters to develop as long as it fits into the campaign setting and I can work it into the storyline somehow (which usually isn't too difficult). Myself and my regular players are fans of epic fantasy and we read it regularly. The good thing about that is that they understand how the structure of such fiction works and they work rather well with myself as the storyteller to weave epic tales of derring do together. For my players, it's not really about the quest for power or immortality, but about telling a story of epic proportions where the heroes have to overcome incredibly large obstacles and defeat impossibly strong villains to save the realm. I love that kinda stuff and have yet to outgrow it.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Where do your chars put their XPs?

 

Typically, from the last time I ran FH, players tend to improve their experience in improving their character's schtick, and tend not to diversify much. This works for me on the basis that I like PCs being distinctive, having their own specialties and schticks, and minimal toe-stepping-onning.

 

The swashbuckler worked on more swashbuckly things ... fencing martial arts, levels, Leaping w/Acrobatics check, increasing Acrobatics, Climbing and such

The barbarian worked on his toughness and ability to take damage and shrug things off.

The crossbowman worked on his accuracy and developed trick-shot powers.

The exception was the whip-wielding duelist, who opted to pick up some ice- and warrior-magery tricks.