Why even bother with XP?

Question

Our group has run into irreconcilable differences of opinion, unfortunately. One of the players was not present for our first session of a new campaign and was not awarded any XP for that session.

The GM was new as well and decided to award XP as recommended by the published adventure module. XP was actually new to the group, the previous (and only up to that point) GM we'd had simply informed us when we'd leveled up.

The player that was absent considered this unfair and the DM didn't agree and considered it unfair to the other players to give XP to someone who wasn't present (regardless of the reasons).

I feel the GM has the right to run the game how they see fit and the exchange between them was frank but polite, but I don't know that the XP award method was clearly communicated before the game started because… well we hadn't really started yet.

I feel this question is slightly different then How do I deal with absent players missing out on levels or XP? because the question seemed to be addressing occasional or serial absences while this one is about coming in after the campaign has started.

So, if all XP can potentially do is cause bad feelings, why bother with it? Why shouldn't the DM just track XP 'behind the scenes' and tell the players when they level up?

Answer 1

This one is heavily down to opinion and group dynamics, and there isn't a black and white "this is how it should be done" answer.

Some groups prefer to ensure they're all at the same level - personally I now do this by removing XP altogether and leveling the group up when it feels a good point to do so, but if you're using XP that means keeping everyone relatively close together.

Other groups are quite happy with XP being used as individual rewards, and unhappy if they see others receiving the same reward when they were not there.

In this particular case, it seems to be a communication issue - it seems like a safe assumption that it hadn't been clarified how XP was going to be handled, if you had not been made aware yourself.

Whether each person GMing for the group should handle things their own way, or whether the group as a whole should have a single agreed mechanism (for handling absentees, or for XP as a whole) that everyone sticks to, is again a matter for individual groups to decide. There's no overall right or wrong way to handle it. I'd suggest everyone sitting down and sorting it out for once and for all whether it's a GM call or a group house rule everyone sticks to. Sitting down and talking it over as a group is almost always the best solution to any issue.

Answer 2

This brings 2 scenarios to mind for me.

• First, you start them at 0 XP and allow them access to 'bonus' xp to catch up (awarded for excellent Roleplaying for example.)
• Second, you could just award them "absentee XP". There are a few different thoughts on how to do this, but my personal implementation is that anyone who is not present for a game that awards XP gets 75% of what the present players receive.

The problem with the first option is trying to work in that bonus XP for the guy who is a little behind. If you are going to offer bonus xp for something like good role playing, that option has to be available to everybody for it to be fair. Of course, if it is available to everybody, those that shine in that area will likely get bonus XP more often than others and eventually out level the group. However, Starting the player who missed the game at 0 seems the most fair to those that were present and participated.

The idea behind the second option, absentee XP, is that the person who missed the game is not rewarded as well as those that are present, but still rewarded enough that they won't all too far behind the group unless they have a problem with chronic absence. I use the 75% xp method so that if the player ends up falling behind I know that I should likely talk to them about why they are missing so many games. (Obviously you'd take into account how quickly they fell behind, and how many games in a row they missed with out warning, or good excuse.)

There are other ways of doing the absentee XP thing as well. One method that I have heard of and like, yet haven't tried is: Make the absent player play in a number of games equal to their absence before gaining back their XP. So let's say Bobby misses 2 games in a row and in those 2 games you hand out 500xp to each player. When Bobby comes back to the game he needs to play 2 consecutive sessions before you award him that 500xp he missed (he still gets the xp for the nights he is there, you only with hold his absentee XP until he catches up in attendance). This method is trying not to punish the absentee player too much (and cumulatively it it better than just giving 75% of the XP for the nights the player is missing). It's all about showing the players that if you show up you get rewarded on time, while at the same time allowing those that miss games here and there to remain at the same power as the rest of the group.

Remember, these are games that are meant to be fun. No one wants to be left behind, and in some cases it's actually really important that you keep everyone at the same power level. Having an option for absentee players to catch up is important, and the buffer between them showing up to games and getting that XP to catch up ought to be enough of a push for them to make an effort to show up to games. I mean, no one wants to be gone for 3 weeks, and in the 3 weeks it takes them to get that xp they missed all of their friends level up! Sure they will still level, but they will have to watch their friends playing with new abilities while they cannot.

Answer 3

It would definitely be unfair if the absentee gets the same experience with the other players.

Absentee's character may get underpowered, but he still needs to be punished. Otherwise, the other players may get angry with the injustice and the group may see more absent players since there is no punishment for missing the game. Missing a session's worth XP may seem like a harsh punishment, but without any discipline, it will just create a mindset like, "Well, I was busy. But I still get the XP so it should be okay"

The player shouldn't have been absent. It's his fault for missing the game, and if he reacts badly to not being given any XP, it might be the hint of a potential troublemaker player.

There are other ways of gaining XP than killing monsters. If GM gives out bonus XP points for roleplaying, accomplishing tasks, etc; and if the player is dedicated, his character won't be underpowered.

If he isn't okay with receiving no XP because nobody told him about it, then it is time to create a rule which everyone agrees on. If other players are okay with it, he may be given just a slightly lower percentage of the XP but next time, there shouldn't be any pat-on-the-back punishments. Absentees can make it difficult for everyone to enjoy the game and your best bet is a punishment for it.

Also, don't forget to set up a game calendar that everyone agrees on. It's also not fair if the GM just makes up session dates and expects everyone to be free those days.

It seems I sounded like one of those fascistic DMs. Let me clarify. XP is something you should spend effort to earn, so you will feel the sense of accomplishment when you level up. I'm not telling DMs to control their players through fear and intimidation, I'm telling they simply shouldn't reward XP when the player hasn't done anything. Not only it cheapens the value of XP, also not all players will be okay with it when they realize their hard work means nothing. Also, players won't be able to bond if there are arguments about absentees and the game will played with a weird tense atmosphere.

As a reply to the edited question, I would also suggest the XP pool method. It works like this, nobody has an individual XP, all the XP gained is shared by the players and everyone has the same amount of XP. When someone creates an item or casts a XP-consuming spell, the XP is taken out of the pool. So, it turns into a group decision. When somebody gets rewarded for good roleplaying, that XP is added to the pool. It tends to work better in harmonious groups where people know each other well. Efficiency of punishments and methods depend hugely on the players.