When Do You Hand Out XP?

[THACZero]

When do you award XP? I don't mean what for (I use GP and Monsters as per usual), but how long do you wait after the treasure or kill to give it to the players? Daily, end of the session, end of the adventure? I tend to do this ad hoc, but I am lookming for ideas and the reasons behind them.

[Terrex]

When do you award XP? I don't mean what for (I use GP and Monsters as per usual), but how long do you wait after the treasure or kill to give it to the players? Daily, end of the session, end of the adventure? I tend to do this ad hoc, but I am lookming for ideas and the reasons behind them.

Calculate and assign between sessions. Most of our sessions end at a home base, so this allows for choices related to training, etc.

[genghisdon]

between sessions or at the end of the game session

[Jeffery St. Clair]

In our face-to-face game at the FLGS, I dole out XP at the end of the night - you're never sure exactly who's playing the next week so that works best. In my online play-by-post, I usually hand XP out when the characters "get back to town," although in longer scenarios I have given XP mid-adventure when I know it'll make a difference to some of the PCs, since I don't use level training online, anyway.

[Blackadder23]

I give out combat XP at the end of every session. But to earn treasure XP, they have to get it safely back to a town.

[Falconer]

End of the session (which 95% of the time does end in town).

[TRP]

At every reasonable point, and that is usually when the adventurers return to civilization. Treasure XP is always awarded in civilization, magic item XP is awarded upon the first use of the item and combat XP (usually the least XP of all) is awarded during any break in action greater than one day.

[darnizhaan]

I think they should get it when they are back in a safe, comfortable environment. That is usually the town, city, or tavern they use as a base. In any event, when they feel they have survived the expedition and are in a area where they don't feel they are in any immediate danger. I don't think a dungeon qualifies, but if it was a hexcrawl and they stopped at an inn, then I would give them the xp then.

[THACZero]

I think I will hand out treasure XP in town and monster XP during breaks in the party's raiding. I like the idea of rewarding magic item XP on first use, too.

[Chainsaw]

We calculate XP awards once the group has returned to their base in town, but it's mostly to keep the game running quickly and smoothly. I don't want to be bothered with calculating XP awards periodically throughout the session. Besides, if they have enough to gain a level, they can't technically gain it (in my game at least) until they train back in town anyway.

[Vile]

When they get back to base and divide the loot.

[AxeMental]

In theory its the second the players PC performs a task that earns it. But in reality we don't calculate squat until the PCs are finished with the dungeon and safely back to town.

[TRP]

It's not important when XP is awarded. Until the character has the opportunity to train to achieve the next level, XP is just a bunch of numbers. A DM could just as well give out XP every second.

[T. Foster]

When they get back to town (or suitable town-proxy like a high level character's stronghold or the Keep in B2, but not just a camp in the wilderness right outside the dungeon). Which means if they find magic items but use them up before getting back to town (e.g. drinking a potion, casting a spell off a scroll, firing a magic arrow, etc.) they don't get any XP award for that item. It also means that party-members who die mid-adventure don't suck up a share of the party XP from the period before they died (though they do affect the challenge rating adjustment for the part of the adventure where they were alive/present).

[rastus_burne]

When do you award XP? I don't mean what for (I use GP and Monsters as per usual), but how long do you wait after the treasure or kill to give it to the players? Daily, end of the session, end of the adventure? I tend to do this ad hoc, but I am lookming for ideas and the reasons behind them.

I do mine at the end of the session. I find it's easier to hand it out in one lump rather than after each encounter. Definitely better than saving it up for a whole adventure and whamming the party with a huge XP dump.