Awarding XP
XP is awarded to all characters who survive an adventure and return to safety. Awarded XP is calculated from treasure recovered and monsters defeated.
Recovered Treasure
Treasure that PCs bring back from an adventure is the primary means by which they gain XP—usually accounting for ¾ or more of the total XP earned.
Non-magical treasure: Characters gain 1 XP per 1 gold piece (gp) value of the treasure.
Magical treasure: Does not grant XP.
Defeated Monsters
XP is awarded for monsters defeated (i.e. slain, outsmarted, captured, scared away, etc.), depending on their Hit Dice and special abilities. See the table below. Base XP: The XP value of a monster is determined by its Hit Dice.
Bonus XP / ability: A monster’s XP value is increased for each special ability it has. Special abilities are indicated by asterisks following the monster’s HD rating.
Monsters with bonus hit points: Monsters whose HD are notated as a number of dice plus a fixed hit point bonus (e.g. HD 4+2) are more powerful and are listed separately in the table. For example, a monster with 2 HD is worth 20 XP, but a monster with 2+2 HD is worth 25 XP.
Higher HD monsters: For each HD above 21, add 250 XP to the Base and Bonus amounts.
Extraordinary peril bonus: A monster defeated under especially dangerous circumstances may be treated as one Hit Dice category higher on the table.
| Monster HD | Base XP | Bonus XP / Ability |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 1 | 10 | 3 |
| 1+ | 15 | 4 |
| 2 | 20 | 5 |
| 2+ | 25 | 10 |
| 3 | 35 | 15 |
| 3+ | 50 | 25 |
| 4 | 75 | 50 |
| 4+ | 125 | 75 |
| 5 | 175 | 125 |
| 5+ | 225 | 175 |
| 6 | 275 | 225 |
| 6+ | 350 | 300 |
| 7–7+ | 450 | 400 |
| 8–8+ | 650 | 550 |
| 9–10+ | 900 | 700 |
| 11–12+ | 1,100 | 800 |
| 13–16+ | 1,350 | 950 |
| 17–20+ | 2,000 | 1,150 |
| 21–21+ | 2,500 | 2,000 |
Division of Experience
The XP awards for treasures recovered and monsters defeated are totalled and divided evenly between all characters who survived the adventure—this includes retainers (see Retainers).
Awarded XP is always divided evenly, irrespective of how the players decide to divide the treasure.
Bonuses and Penalties
The referee may optionally award extra XP to characters who excelled (e.g. single handedly defeated dangerous foes, saved the day with clever tactics) or less XP to characters who contributed little (taking their class and alignment into account).
