How often do you level up?

[mmtbb]

Is there a general rule that dictates how fast a character progresses in C&C (I know the classes are all different)? Perhaps even a better question would be, is there a rule that dictates general xp amounts given for adventures per level?

I am trying to gauge a progression time-table

[serleran]

The XP rewards + XP charts = general rule. There is no formula like d20 where every 13.3 encounters utilizing 20% of party resources = level up. It might be 1 encounter (if you survive) or it could be hundreds if you're already higher level and facing weak opponents. Also, if you go with the 1 XP / GP earned, levels are much quicker.

So, any kind of "standard progression by time" would be a house rule, and in my opinion, a bad one as it diminishes the difference between characters and make them all the same.

[mmtbb]

serleran wrote:
So, any kind of "standard progression by time" would be a house rule, and in my opinion, a bad one as it diminishes the difference between characters and make them all the same.

Right, "standard progression by time" is not what I am looking for. This wouldn't work with C&C. The only reason a 13.3 encounter works with 3.x is because everyone has the same progression. I meant is there a general ballpark as to how many "xps" are given out per adventure per dungeon level (not character level)? If there isn't some kind of guildline, perhaps some experiences you guys and gals have had running a C&C campaign would give me an idea.

[moriarty777]

In the campaign I've been running for the past couple of years, the highest level character is now 6th or 7th level. We started the campaign with 1st level characters and, have done quite a bit over the past couple of years. I gave XP for critters, treasure, and a very modest amount in terms of completed goals and roleplaying.

I'm currently running the party though the Saga of the Witch Queen (the 1st Ed module from Goodman Games) and we're close to finishing the first part (Legacy of the Savage Kings). I expect the characters to be hitting close to have hit 8th level (at the very least) by the end of the Saga.

EDIT - I should indicate I've been running a game on average once every 2-3 weeks for the past 2 years... More often in the first year than the second due to schedule restraints. Obviously progression also seemed a bit faster in the first year than the second.
M
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[Treebore]

The best way to come up with estimates is to average out the class XP's needed and then determine how many XP's are likely to be earned during each encounter, session, or however you wish to break it down.

You won't be able to get any hard estimate like you could in 3E.

So if your party has a Ranger, Druid, Thief, and a Paladin, average their XP needs for each level and then estimate the likely XP awards, and that will enable you to do rough estimations.
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[serleran]

Quote:
I meant is there a general ballpark as to how many "xps" are given out per adventure per dungeon level (not character level)?

The closest to that would be the XP chart for monster awards (multiplied by the number encountered) plus the average treasure rewards for those monsters. The XP chart is on page 6 of M&T and the treasures are at the end.

So, if you have a dungeon with 100 kobolds valued at 3 - 9 XP each (due to HP variation) the average would be 6 XP (multiplied by the # of kobolds = 600) and you've already rolled out their treasure and get a whopping 3500 gp value for the tribe. That adds to the 600 before to yield 4100 total XP. Divide that by the 4-6 PCs in the party and you get roughly 1000 which is almost enough to hit 2nd level.

[Treebore]

Yeah, the way I find that out is go through the dungeon and add everything up.
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[clavis123]

I personally like a rate where PCs gain a level every 3-5 sessions or so. I use a flat per-session XP award, however, which is not appropriate for every group. Basically, I started with 3 sessions worth 600 xp each, and from there I started doubling the amount awarded every 3-5 sessions.

[finarvyn]

Let me start with a disclaimer...

1. I don't bother counting XP.

2. I run lots of shorter campaigns rather than one eternal one.

3. My party size is usually 6, which I think is rather large.

What I do is estimate the number of sessions for the campaign and decide how high the characters should advance and then try to gauge how often to advance characters based on those numbers.

For example, I wanted to run a C&C group through the GDQ mega-module sequence. I started the party off at 5th level (a decent start for my campaigns; I like low-level characters) and estimated that I would advance them at the end of each module. I figured they'd go in at 5th and come out at 12th, which is higher than any of my players had ever been able to advance in my games.

Of course, it turned out that it took more adventures than I had expected to go through each module. I ended up leveling them up at about the halfway point of a couple of the modules, so after 2-3 game sessions. (We haven't finished them all yet. It's a lot of modules and we got distracted on playing in anther campaign and I don't know if we'll ever go back to those characters or not.)

However, in some games I never advance the characters. I let them know that they're Heroes and are likely to stay about the same. Again, with the rate I switch games it's not a problem.

Hope that helps.
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[Morgrus]

Try this. 1.Forget the mechanics of the game. 2.Ask yourself what is a FUN set of encounters and go with that. Fiddly bits by by, stab the ork.
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[Breakdaddy]

I know at least one CK who looks at the highest XP requirement PC in the party and gives 1/10th of his XP required for next level every session.

[gideon_thorne]

mmtbb wrote:
Is there a general rule that dictates how fast a character progresses in C&C (I know the classes are all different)? Perhaps even a better question would be, is there a rule that dictates general xp amounts given for adventures per level?

I am trying to gauge a progression time-table

There's page 93 and 125 in the M&T, and page 122 in the PHB. And thats about as specific as it gets. ^_^

There are a number of instances of 'general advice only' like this, because every game is different. And its not very effective to get too specific on the details.
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[MattyHelms]

Just out of curiosity, how many of you reward XP for treasure? I'm guessing that the XP tables are build around that assumption.

-Matt

[DangerDwarf]

MattyHelms wrote:
Just out of curiosity, how many of you reward XP for treasure?

I do.

[serleran]

Quote:
Just out of curiosity, how many of you reward XP for treasure?

I don't. But, I don't give out XPs anyway.

[gideon_thorne]

MattyHelms wrote:
Just out of curiosity, how many of you reward XP for treasure? I'm guessing that the XP tables are build around that assumption.

-Matt

I give one xp per gold piece. Its the way I've always done it. It works, I see no reason to change. ^_^
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Peter Bradley