Abandoning Gold for XP

[ripx187]

I do reward for treasure, but logicly I feel that using your skills is what improves them. If you fight a monster this improves your skill. I know that many folks who are reading this believe that combat should be avoided, but I don't see how a party can go into a guilded hole full of monsters and successfully sneak around. 

That said, I have another issue. I don't run monsters as written, I just make up the stats as I play most of the time. I could use the XP charts from AD&D to fix this problem, especially 1st Edition, there really is no change except the longer explanations. I do want to use a training rule, but I've got to figure out my baseline. Traditionally, I think that 1st level is baseline. This is a common level for NPCs, but I really want to advance that. Looking at professional soldiers, I think that 3rd should be average, with officers being a level or two higher. 

How high can one advance without any training? I'm not sure. Perhaps 5th level? I do want a couple of caps where the players must pay a professional to train them to advance.

[El Borak]

Combat and sneaking around are not the only two options. Everyone assumes that all of the monsters in a dungeon are inhabitants of the dungeon, but that is not the case some monsters are adventurers too!

[The Perilous Dreamer]

I always figured that the treasure was an "*accurate" measure of how well they were at using their talents and abilities. I also do not use XP for kills, but I do award XP on a case by case basis for creative play and solutions that do not involve killing. Sometimes it is more of a "let's take the time to figure this out kind of encounter."

*accurate measure IMC, I cannot speak to other campaign in that regard.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Jan 7, 2019 14:55:39 GMT -5 ripx187 said:

How high can one advance without any training? I'm not sure. Perhaps 5th level? I do want a couple of caps where the players must pay a professional to train them to advance.

I have always viewed it as on the job training, learn by doing and the advancement and perks connected with the advancement as being a feature of a magical world. On the other hand many fiction books, have characters that are connected with a military or militia, paid or voluntary and it is constant practice and sparing with one another that brings improvement in sword-craft and other weapons.