Post by sixdemonbag on Aug 6, 2017 0:30:10 GMT -6
We all know XP is the means by which characters increase ability and influence. But, what are the specifics in game-terms? I was curious about this question and I couldn't find any similar threads. So, I decided to find out myself. Maybe someone else will find this exercise interesting or perhaps even useful.
Before we break down each of the three classes, how is XP gained? Well, in the 3lbbs, there are two primary methods: treasure and defeating monsters. Experience points are awarded at a 1 GP = 1 XP exchange rate. This is pretty straightforward.
Via example, when monsters are defeated (not necessarily killed, an important distinction) they provide 100 XP per HD. Now, this rate is changed over the course of future publications to the point where it becomes fairly arbitrary. (See the SR article and Greyhawk supplement for some possible alternate values.)
Interestingly, since the DM controls the amount of treasure available AND the amount of XP given for defeating monsters, we can safely say that PC advancement is solely at the Ref's discretion. Thus, the ref ultimately controls the rate at which PCs progress and is, in fact, campaign-specific. For a class and level-based RPG, that's fair enough.
Next, in the 3lbbs, XP ONLY affects character level. A little surprised, I had to verify this claim. Maybe I'm blind, but I couldn't find any mentions of XP affecting anything other than class level.
This made my life easier since I could now focus on mentions of PC level (named or numeric). In other words, XP is singularly tied to PC level with no other outside influences. My focus is now on class "level" and not "XP," per se, as it appears in the text.
Right off the bat, I noticed a huge problem. "Level" has a zillion meanings in the 3lbbs, as we are well-aware. A simple text search through my WotC PDFs (control-f, FTW!) proved woefully insufficient. Levels refer to: dungeon, spell, monster, class, falling distance (look out below!), life energy, fighting and magical ability, etc. Egads!
So, manually reading through each booklet it is!! Yay! I jest, but this was actually quite fun. However, I did go cross-eyed while skimming a few times, so it's very possible I missed some instances. Please feel free to alert me to anything I overlooked.
At the outset, while working backwards, another genuine surprise: Volume III has no mention of class level having any mechanical effect! This volume mostly concerns dungeon and wilderness creation, along with some mass combat guidelines. However, containing ZERO references was still not predicted. Bright side: less work for me. OK, moving on...
Volume II has only two tangible effects that I could find: 1.) being subjected to (and performing) multiple attacks and 2.) controlling intelligent swords. The former is somewhat controversial depending on the definition of "normal men" and whether this applies only to monster attacks and/or Chainmail. If defined as any character with 1 HD or less, then it counts. Otherwise, it doesn't apply. I'm counting it for now (more below). The latter bit about intelligent swords is actually very important and something I have never considered before now.
NOTE: Every time I read through the 3lbbs, I notice something new. I don't have a good theory as to why this is the case.
Onward...
Volume I, as I figured, has almost all the information I was after (aside from the two particulars in Vol. II, above). This was indeed expected.
Finally! What follows is a class-by-class breakdown of the effects of XP with some observations thrown in at the end. Enjoy!
Fighting-Man
- "Prevailing" against intelligent swords in "key situations"
- Multiple attacks against "normal men"
- "Build castles" at name level
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spell resistance*
Magic-User
- Being subjected to multiple attacks
- Multiple attacks against "normal men"
- Manufacture "anything magical" at name level
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spell resistance*
- "Number of spells of each level"
- Spell effectiveness**
- Spell "research"
Cleric
- Being subjected to multiple attacks
- Multiple attacks against "normal men"
- Build a "stronghold" at name level
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spell resistance*
- "Number of spells of each level"
- Spell effectiveness***
- Turn undead
* Wall of Fire/Ice, Confusion, Charm Monster, Death Spell, Insect Plague, etc.
** Duration, range, bypass Wizard Lock, chance to Dispel, damage, creatures affected, weight limits, sanity retention, Balrogs!, etc.
*** Quantity of water/food created, Raise Dead time limit, etc.
Some casual observations
Effects common to all classes: multiple attacks, hit points, to hit scores, saves, and spell resistance.
Binary effects (i.e., either you have it, or you don't. These don't "progress" in the usual sense. Think "feats."): Baronies, subject to multiple attacks, magic item creation, and spell resistances. Some of these are endgame goals. For the Magic-User, it's creating magic items. For the rest, it's building an army and controlling territory.
To form a condensed list, let's do some minor pruning. First, let's assume multiple attacks are for monsters only and only against weak NPCs (PCs aren't "normal"). Then, let's combine all the spell-related stuff into "Spellcasting." Lastly, let's leave out the binary "feats" and endgame stuff. Now we have this:
Condensed Breakdown:
Fighting-Man
- "Prevailing" against intelligent swords in "key situations"
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
Magic-User
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spellcasting
Cleric
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spellcasting
- Turn undead
When pruning endgame, binary, and multiple attacks, we are left with a nice, concise list of those things affected by XP as PCs level up.
If interested in endgame activities, then XP for gold is a must. It's crucial, in fact, as it provides the sole means of acquiring lands, armies, and magic creation.
If not interested in endgame activities, then XP for gold is less important. XP could be awarded, instead, for any GENUINELY CHALLENGING combat or creative spellcasting as determined by the Ref. Just be warned: no murder hobos allowed if there is no eye on the endgame. Otherwise, just make the rule: XP for gold ONLY and wandering monsters occur on a 5 or 6!! That'll show 'em.
Please let me know what else I missed. Fight on!
Before we break down each of the three classes, how is XP gained? Well, in the 3lbbs, there are two primary methods: treasure and defeating monsters. Experience points are awarded at a 1 GP = 1 XP exchange rate. This is pretty straightforward.
Via example, when monsters are defeated (not necessarily killed, an important distinction) they provide 100 XP per HD. Now, this rate is changed over the course of future publications to the point where it becomes fairly arbitrary. (See the SR article and Greyhawk supplement for some possible alternate values.)
Interestingly, since the DM controls the amount of treasure available AND the amount of XP given for defeating monsters, we can safely say that PC advancement is solely at the Ref's discretion. Thus, the ref ultimately controls the rate at which PCs progress and is, in fact, campaign-specific. For a class and level-based RPG, that's fair enough.
Next, in the 3lbbs, XP ONLY affects character level. A little surprised, I had to verify this claim. Maybe I'm blind, but I couldn't find any mentions of XP affecting anything other than class level.
This made my life easier since I could now focus on mentions of PC level (named or numeric). In other words, XP is singularly tied to PC level with no other outside influences. My focus is now on class "level" and not "XP," per se, as it appears in the text.
Right off the bat, I noticed a huge problem. "Level" has a zillion meanings in the 3lbbs, as we are well-aware. A simple text search through my WotC PDFs (control-f, FTW!) proved woefully insufficient. Levels refer to: dungeon, spell, monster, class, falling distance (look out below!), life energy, fighting and magical ability, etc. Egads!
So, manually reading through each booklet it is!! Yay! I jest, but this was actually quite fun. However, I did go cross-eyed while skimming a few times, so it's very possible I missed some instances. Please feel free to alert me to anything I overlooked.
At the outset, while working backwards, another genuine surprise: Volume III has no mention of class level having any mechanical effect! This volume mostly concerns dungeon and wilderness creation, along with some mass combat guidelines. However, containing ZERO references was still not predicted. Bright side: less work for me. OK, moving on...
Volume II has only two tangible effects that I could find: 1.) being subjected to (and performing) multiple attacks and 2.) controlling intelligent swords. The former is somewhat controversial depending on the definition of "normal men" and whether this applies only to monster attacks and/or Chainmail. If defined as any character with 1 HD or less, then it counts. Otherwise, it doesn't apply. I'm counting it for now (more below). The latter bit about intelligent swords is actually very important and something I have never considered before now.
NOTE: Every time I read through the 3lbbs, I notice something new. I don't have a good theory as to why this is the case.
Onward...
Volume I, as I figured, has almost all the information I was after (aside from the two particulars in Vol. II, above). This was indeed expected.
Finally! What follows is a class-by-class breakdown of the effects of XP with some observations thrown in at the end. Enjoy!
Fighting-Man
- "Prevailing" against intelligent swords in "key situations"
- Multiple attacks against "normal men"
- "Build castles" at name level
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spell resistance*
Magic-User
- Being subjected to multiple attacks
- Multiple attacks against "normal men"
- Manufacture "anything magical" at name level
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spell resistance*
- "Number of spells of each level"
- Spell effectiveness**
- Spell "research"
Cleric
- Being subjected to multiple attacks
- Multiple attacks against "normal men"
- Build a "stronghold" at name level
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spell resistance*
- "Number of spells of each level"
- Spell effectiveness***
- Turn undead
* Wall of Fire/Ice, Confusion, Charm Monster, Death Spell, Insect Plague, etc.
** Duration, range, bypass Wizard Lock, chance to Dispel, damage, creatures affected, weight limits, sanity retention, Balrogs!, etc.
*** Quantity of water/food created, Raise Dead time limit, etc.
Some casual observations
Effects common to all classes: multiple attacks, hit points, to hit scores, saves, and spell resistance.
Binary effects (i.e., either you have it, or you don't. These don't "progress" in the usual sense. Think "feats."): Baronies, subject to multiple attacks, magic item creation, and spell resistances. Some of these are endgame goals. For the Magic-User, it's creating magic items. For the rest, it's building an army and controlling territory.
To form a condensed list, let's do some minor pruning. First, let's assume multiple attacks are for monsters only and only against weak NPCs (PCs aren't "normal"). Then, let's combine all the spell-related stuff into "Spellcasting." Lastly, let's leave out the binary "feats" and endgame stuff. Now we have this:
Condensed Breakdown:
Fighting-Man
- "Prevailing" against intelligent swords in "key situations"
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
Magic-User
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spellcasting
Cleric
- Hit points
- Chance to hit
- Chance to save
- Spellcasting
- Turn undead
When pruning endgame, binary, and multiple attacks, we are left with a nice, concise list of those things affected by XP as PCs level up.
If interested in endgame activities, then XP for gold is a must. It's crucial, in fact, as it provides the sole means of acquiring lands, armies, and magic creation.
If not interested in endgame activities, then XP for gold is less important. XP could be awarded, instead, for any GENUINELY CHALLENGING combat or creative spellcasting as determined by the Ref. Just be warned: no murder hobos allowed if there is no eye on the endgame. Otherwise, just make the rule: XP for gold ONLY and wandering monsters occur on a 5 or 6!! That'll show 'em.
Please let me know what else I missed. Fight on!
