Troll Lord Games

I have been finding it hard to get a campaign going beyond first level.

I'm no stranger to role-playing or running extensive campaigns. I ran a pretty lengthy campaign last year, but since the switch to Castles and Crusades, my players don't seem to be able to progress past lvl 1.

Well, that's not exactly true. We did once get a rogue to lvl 2. But the rest of the party is lagging behind constantly. It seems that you get so little experience for monsters that are so hard to kill because you are so weak. Character fatalities aren't common (Except for our illusionist, bless her heart), but we do have a lot of incapacitation. And our paladin and illusionist always lament on their XP requirements for lvl 2.

I can't say I blame them. Well, the illusionist anyway. She has no good spells in the "make me live longer please" department, and until lvl 2 she her survivability is that of a leech in a salt flat.

I don't want to give handouts of XP, but my players lose interest because of their lack of progress. How can I get them to level faster but still adhere to the rules regarding experience points? Is there some monster that has a high xp value but is relatively easy to kill?

Well, there's nothing "official" that will provide high XP for little risk. The game is built on the assumption of increasing returns for increasing risk. If there were such a monster, it would be in error and would be fixed.

To resolve your problem, I recommend several methods:

1) Your post didn't say if you're awarding XP for treasures found. If you are not, I highly recommend doing so. The XP values provided for monsters assume that this is the case, so without that supplemental treasure XP, you are falling short on XP awarded. Treasure XP, in my experience, comprises the bulk of earned XP. This would have a huge impact on your game.

2) If awarding XP for treasure doesn't sit well with you, you'll need to make up for the loss in other ways. Many folks use roleplaying awards. A couple of searches or a post asking for help in the Rules forum can get you some ideas about how to handle this. Another method is to add a 10% bonus to all awarded XP for monsters. This would speed up advancement as well, but you'd need to watch that % to make sure it adequately replaces treasure XP.

3) Throw in some magic items with limited use but help survivability. A wand for the illusionist, some semi-permanent healing or protective magic (a staff, for example), or a nice cache of potions will go a long way toward helping a party survive.

If none of these things help, start looking at your CK style and the playing skill of the players. If they are novices that seem to make a lot of risky decisions, toning down the strength of your encounters would be appropriate until they get their sea legs. One good way to ensure fairness is to make sure that stupid monsters occasionally make stupid decisions.

I hope this is helpful. If you need additional ideas, feel free to post a topic in the Rules thread and the community will be happy to pitch in to help.

- Fiff
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Sir Fiffergrund, Lord Marshal of the Castle and Crusade Society.

He Who Hides Behind The Elephant's Back

Another thing to consider, at least for the lowest of levels, is this:

Do not split XP earned amongst the party. If an encounter nets 500 XP, award it to all involved, rather than some partial reward. It will tremendously speed up level advancement.
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If it matters, leave a message at the beep.
Serl's Corner

I, of course, agree with Fiff.
BTW, I understand your Illusionists woes. I tried playing a C&C Illusionist for the first time at Troll Con this year and was frankly a wasted effort. They're too weak as listed and the few spells that made a 1E AD&D Illusionist worth playing it seems the C&C version doesn't get until higher levels.
When you say your party isn't leveling, what sort of level increase do they expect? How often is it actually happening?

If they're wanting a level per session, that's just not going to happen without a lot of house ruling. If its every 8-10 sessions that's not good either.

HTH!
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Always remember, as a first principle of all D&D: playing BtB is not now, never was and never will be old school.- Tim Kask, Dragonsfoot

Illusionists really shine as multi-classes. A rogue/illusionist is NASTY.

I would suggest finding a multi-classing technique that works for you (there are several available) and allow its use in your game.
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Sir Fiffergrund, Lord Marshal of the Castle and Crusade Society.

He Who Hides Behind The Elephant's Back

I award story arc experience. I do not give out xp for treasure or magic.

My story arc xp can basically be summed up as the total possible xp from set encounters (encountered or not) halved then divided amongst the party. But only after the story arc is completed or a suitable ending is reached. This can be significant and allows for quicker low level advancement.

Another method i have used is to add up the total xp awarded at the end of a story arc, multiply it by 25% and give each character that at the end of the arc.

I also give out ad hoc awards during the game for good play. This varies but is usually 1-4% of the total required for the next level. This method encourages good role play but sometimes slights those players who do not roleplay as well. I do however award effort.

I also deduct xp when someone is an azz