xp reward for magic items

[doominicus]

Hi to all. I am curious to know how do you CKs handle it.
Do you allow a xp reward for the user of the magic item and, again, a reward when he/she will sell it?
Do you allow a full reward or only partial?
Or do you give xp only when the PC sells the magic item? And in what percentage?

Somewhere (I think in dragonsfoot forum) I have read a Q&A with Gygax where he stated that he gave xp for using and again for selling.

[ThrorII]

I do not give xp for magic items. The item is reward in itself. The PC's are expected to use the items to increase their power and be able to defeat larger threats (and thereby earn greater xp and wealth).

If a PC sells a magic item, they get the gold value only, no xp.

[serleran]

Considering as I have abandoned the concept of XP wholesale, I'll have to say... no.

However, if I were to use XP, again my answer would be no. The item is the reward, sure, and I would consider a XP award for using it (after discovering what it was and how to use it) but not the gold value as XP. Triple awards are not my thing.

[doominicus]

well, when I played, long time ago, as a DM with D&D BECMI (aka Mentzer ed), I was used to give the full value of xp of the magic item to the character who sells it. This brought to strange episode in game: a PC after an adventure in a dungeon, dound a very powerful magic sword. I thought he was happy to wield such a mighty sword in combat, but instead he went to the first weapon&armour shop and sold it. I tried to make him change his mind about that telling him that the buyer wasn't honest and understimated the item. Nothing to do: he sold it to gain xps and reach a new level.
Now I am inclined to do this: I will give the full xp of the magic item to the user but devided in a lot of session, the sessions or the battles in which he uses the item. I think that every portion of the gained xp must be tied to the quantity of xp needed to reach the next level. (perhaps 1/20)
By doing this I avoid the behaviour of PCs that sells magic items to gain xp, and I avoid situations where PC uses a sword +4 to kill a giant beetle and they want the full amount of xp immediately and then they throw away the magic item or sell it in order to find another and gain again xp.
That only will take a little more bookeeping from me, but it may work.

[Breakdaddy]

Ive done it both ways. When I want a game wherein leveling occurs frequently, I dole out xp for gold, magic items, and neato mosquito ideas. When I want a game wherein leveling is less frequent I only dole out xp for the neato mosquito ideas (on top of the normal XP rewards for dispatching monsters or cleverly avoiding having to do so!).

[Arduin]

Do you allow a xp reward for the user of the magic item and, again, a reward when he/she will sell it?

No on both.

Do you allow a full reward or only partial?

Neither

Or do you give xp only when the PC sells the magic item? And in what percentage?

Nope.

In my game, having a magic item makes it easier for a PC to succeed and thus, easier to gain XP by defeating/overcoming challenges.

[Lord Dynel]

Pretty much what Thror said. I don't allow for an XP point award for magic items. Getting one is enough award, in my opinion. I used to do it, a long time ago (back in BECMI and in 1e AD&D) but I stopped sometime during 1e. Even then, when I did do it, it was only after they decided to keep the item and use it. If they sold it, they wouldn't get XP for it. I would add it in, subtlety, to their XP so they wouldn't know they were getting a big chunk.

doominicus, if you want to give out XP for the items go for it but if I were you, I'd make sure they decide to keep the item and use it in order to gain the XP award for it. Maybe three sessions or so of using the item before giving the reward?

[MormonYoYoMan]

Does anyone make the PCs spend their XPs any more? The old Arneson method, which I've used, was:

1. One has to go back to the guild or whatever and buy some training;
2. Then the XPs are "spent" in training, and reset to zero.
3. To make the next level, one REALLY had to gather XPs.

[TheMetal1]

Only place I've seen the spending of XPs is for creation of Magic Items, learning a specific Skill as outlined in Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh.

[MormonYoYoMan]

Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh.

(sigh) ...lost and gone forever...

[CKDad]

I seem to be in the minority here. I award the XP for magic items to the group, as long as they figure out what it is and actually make use of it.

[doominicus]

hey lord dynel, I think that ,if I apply my new method, the pc need more sessions than three before they get the full xp from the item: every session the pc uses the item, he gets a 1/20 pf xp for the next level. these xps are subtracted from the total xps of the item.

[Volomyre]

I'm another one who doesn't award XP for magic items. If I were going to change that I would probably use CKDad's method.

[Lord Dynel]

hey lord dynel, I think that ,if I apply my new method, the pc need more sessions than three before they get the full xp from the item: every session the pc uses the item, he gets a 1/20 pf xp for the next level. these xps are subtracted from the total xps of the item.

I think that would work just fine, doom. I'd probably make it 10 sessions, were it me, but 20 would work well, too. Kind of like a bonding process.

[doominicus]

I think that would work just fine, doom. I'd probably make it 10 sessions, were it me, but 20 would work well, too. Kind of like a bonding process

I have thought of giving less xp for nore sessions because I hope the PCs shall find themselves in a situation like this: "must I go on fighting with this sword or have I to switch to this new two handed magical sword?" If the xp stock of the old weapon is not emptied and they switch to the new weapon they don't get the rest of the old weapon xp, but they begin to get the new magic weapon xp. Obviously, there's no way for the PC to know how much xp is the reserve of the old weapon

[Omote]

Do you allow a xp reward for the user of the magic item and, again, a reward when he/she will sell it?

Nah.

~O