Monster XP

[jason.richardson]

Hey,

I wanna playtest this game, but none of the monsters have any XPs listed. Am I missing something?

[Sizzaxe]

Yeah, it seems after a pdf search that they didn't list them in the beta. I geuss since it's a playtest it's not _too_ critical, I mean I can kind of wing it. But it would be nice to have an idea of XP challenge value so we don't err too much one way or the other.

[Aplus]

You may want to check out Microlite20 for super-simple XP rules. If you find they make leveling too fast, adjust accordingly.

http://www.microlite20.net/node/3

Personally, I don't count XP, I just award levels based on completed adventures, or sometimes even just sessions played, so it's a non-issue for me.

As an alternative, you could always check the d20 SRD for monster XP values, but I think those values might be kind of high if using the DCC advancement tables. If I used those I would probably award 1/2 the listed XP.

http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/monsters.htm

[Devil Swine]

Well it can have a huge impact. I would think that the exp's for monsters in DCC would more than not reflect AD&D's instead of 3.5 but what if im wrong.

I doubt I am but heck I have been wrong before!

[Aplus]

If nothing else, I'm sure it will be addressed in the adventure starter pack.

[Talath]

With the threshold of achieving level 1 being 100 experience points, I wonder if the DCC RPG was meant to be used with the pre-3e XP rules. You know the sliding scale, 5 XP for a 1 HD monster, 15 for a 2 HD monsters, and so on and so forth, although I don't know if what values I have posted are entirely right.

[Devil Swine]

With the threshold of achieving level 1 being 100 experience points, I wonder if the DCC RPG was meant to be used with the pre-3e XP rules. You know the sliding scale, 5 XP for a 1 HD monster, 15 for a 2 HD monsters, and so on and so forth, although I don't know if what values I have posted are entirely right.

If this is not the way I will be shocked.

[moes1980]

With the threshold of achieving level 1 being 100 experience points, I wonder if the DCC RPG was meant to be used with the pre-3e XP rules. You know the sliding scale, 5 XP for a 1 HD monster, 15 for a 2 HD monsters, and so on and so forth, although I don't know if what values I have posted are entirely right.

Well, we know that one session should be about enough to level from 0 to one, and that there should be 15-20 0 level pcs for that first adventure, so, that means you need 100xp times 15-20 to get an xp budget for a level 0 adventure!

But than again, it is soposed to take a year of regular play to reach 5th level, and it only takes a few thousand points to get there (I don't remmeber exactly, but I know the average for reaching 2nd level is about 1000). Sooo, I don't know. Since its play testing any way, I would say just run a few sessions at each level, and test out play at each level. mix it up with monsters and see what happens, if you accedently tpk, no worries, just do a redo or something. I woul'dnt try to start out a big campaign right now any way since in a few months the main rules will be out and starting the campaign over will probably be a good idea (though of course, starting a new campaign wouldnt be neccesary, but it might be prefered depending on what changes.)

[Talath]

Well, we know that one session should be about enough to level from 0 to one, and that there should be 15-20 0 level pcs for that first adventure, so, that means you need 100xp times 15-20 to get an xp budget for a level 0 adventure!

You make a good point. If we are to take anything from the reported play tests, the players usually retain 1 or 2 characters after the first adventure is finished. Depending on the number of players, we're probably looking at a number anywhere from 6 to 12 (3 to 6 players, maybe?) characters, maybe less, but effectively half to three quarters the number you need.

[jason.richardson]

If nothing else, I'm sure it will be addressed in the adventure starter pack.

Where do I get this adventure starter pack?

[Kruvil]

If nothing else, I'm sure it will be addressed in the adventure starter pack.

Where do I get this adventure starter pack?

Free RPG Day at a game store or a week later as a PDF here.

[Sizzaxe]

Since its play testing any way, I would say just run a few sessions at each level, and test out play at each level. mix it up with monsters and see what happens, if you accedently tpk, no worries, just do a redo or something. I woul'dnt try to start out a big campaign right now any way since in a few months the main rules will be out and starting the campaign over will probably be a good idea (though of course, starting a new campaign wouldnt be neccesary, but it might be prefered depending on what changes.)

That +12 HM

I'm thinking the purpose during the beta stage is not to start long term games or pcs, but to mix it up and try and "break" the game a little. Sort of like vid game testers do. The Free RPG day module evidently has a 0 lvl adventure and a 5th lvl scenario. So I think it's to give a feel for the various aspects of the system at various levels and see what works and what doesn't.

Which is another good reason to not feel like you have to convince your regular gaming group to switch religions or anything. Approach it like, hey here is this interesting/kewl/crazy new game. It's in playtest/beta mode right now, let's give it a go for a few sessions and see what it's like.

In that kind of scenario xp is secondary at best. But if you want the playtest period to be your starting point for a DCC campaign then I would go with the early D&D model of xp awards. The operative word there is stingy. Or less harshly, sparingly.

[jeff]

I was thinking of awarding XP equal to the monster's hit points. For example, a goblin with 5 hp is worth 5 xp.

[Michael Pfaff]

I'm interested to see how XP works in DCC. I don't plan to reward XP for killing monsters, but instead for recovering loot and exploration/discovery.

[reverenddak]

I've played with and without XP, and I've come to conclude that XP works best for me. It sets a standard and I go from there. If a campaign drags I can accelerate XP easier with math then justifying abitrary level jumps. Plus I like rewarding characters for role-playing, attendance and character backgrounds.

I'm sure XP will be based on HD. But it'll depend on the scale that the levels go. If a 2HD is twice as tough as a 1HD, it's easy enough to double from there. But what about 3HD monsters? are they 3x as tough as a 1HD monster or 2x as tough as a 2HD. I'll probably use d20/OGL XP for now.

[jmucchiello]

I was thinking of awarding XP equal to the monster's hit points. For example, a goblin with 5 hp is worth 5 xp.

That is amazingly simple.

[reverenddak]

I was thinking of awarding XP equal to the monster's hit points. For example, a goblin with 5 hp is worth 5 xp.

That is amazingly simple.

What about HP x HD? It's simple enough, and scales a lot better.