Most gaming systems allow the distribution of some type of award, often times called Experience Points or abbreviated XP. Every system is different but the basic concept will often be similar to this. XP is gained a number of ways. XP is awarded for great ideas, role playing a character, passing an alignment challenge (even if it means initially sacrificing something to maintain that important aspect), encouraging others to role-play, pilfering if you're a thief, etc, etc, etc, etc. If you study the sample DM Session Log post [see post entitled DM Responsibilities], you'll very quickly understand when and how those XP acquisition opportunities may be implemented and why maintaining a log is so important. If you don't remember what the characters did, how then can you award them appropriately? There are several different ways to award XP. This example is the character by character approach. The area that most people are familiar with in gaining XP is over coming an encounter, and that is not just combat but also outwitting the adversary, out thinking the monster, or solving the puzzle. That is just one small part of gaining XP. If that is the only way that a character thinks that they can receive XP, their character will not advance in level at the proper rate, and you will soon see other characters gaining much, much more XP by comparison. So how is this possible? Remember, that not every session is the same. Depending upon the situations that arise, or the danger that players find themselves in, some characters may earn more experience than others one time, and then not earn anything another time. That's just the nature of the game and shouldn't be taken personally. Most importantly, characters shouldn't throw in the towel after experiencing that first proverbial "bump in the road", but rather emulate the activities of high XP earning players, live to fight another day, and play smarter. There is plenty of XP opportunities, so be patient, their time to shine will come if they only persist and persevere. All players can earn XP by utilizing their skills, sometimes only as long as it benefits the group in some way . In other words, randomly using skills for no apparent reason does not earn XP for simply exercising that ability. For instance, if a character is using a boat-handling and navigation skill, and they made a successful skill check roll, they could not only be able to sail that particular boat but also earn XP in utilizing that skill. Be sure characters either offer a skill during the course of an adventure (to create an XP opportunity), or quickly utilize a skill when an opportunity presents itself. Not being prompt to earn potential XP, allows other characters to claim it should they have similar skill sets. So, it's important for the players to stay engaged, pay attention, and take what is rightfully theirs, otherwise someone else will ! Some systems also allow certain classes to gain additional XP, like a fighter may receive additional XP for every level of strength of every monster for each of their characters level, which can pay big, every time they are engaged in combat, etc. Be sure to add these extra perks to those classes that qualify. Another way to award the players, is to combine all the earned XP by the entire party and then split it among all of the characters. I find this works, as long as you start off using this method and don't switch mid-stream. This approach is beneficial, especially when some classes are high XP earners and others are not, like spell casters, who often times need a tremendous amount of XP to level. Fighters can take a simple battle and pump up the XP earned so that everyone in the group can benefit and have something by the end of the session. Similarly, when swords don't do anything, and the spell casters have their day, and as a result, the fighters will benefit from the spell caster's XP acquisition as well. It goes both ways. It's a group activity, so why not? I use this one liner to encapsulate the distribution at the end of every DM Session Log post. Party lump sum XP with all aspects considered (including but not limited to) session survival, skill usage, role-playing, alignment checks, etc: TBD If the only thing that happened during the session was basic exploration, give them all something for surviving, living to fight another day. Even if it's 100 per person, their time is worth something. Another, totally different approach is to not distribute XP at all, and just level everyone at the same time, every time. I don't use this approach, as in my opinion it doesn't foster good role-playing and character usage, but I have heard of this system used by some DMs. Lastly, by posting your DM Session Log the players will see what they did, where they earned their XP and this will encourage them to do more of the same.
