Freebie Experience Points and Hollywood
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 4:32 pm
Howdy, Folks.
I have an idea for freebie experience points and a Hollywood Scenes. I borrowed the idea from my friend Fred and it is not my own.
Anyways, once you get your PC's together and let them get along with each other, you as the GM pulls out some kind of interesting character trait of each of them and reward them with 25 XP (50 if they knock it out of the park) everytime they perform that trait.
Example: Bob is a Noble OCC. He is the leader of the party and is convinced the other PC's work for him (in fact theyv'e been hired by daddy to make sure he doesn't get killed). He is the stereotypical rich kid with delusions of grandeur (even though he is adopted and the 6th son so has no chance of taking the throne). So every time Bob acts like a pompus ass, even to the detriment of the party (e.g. while speaking to a knight that has information to save the party or lead them where they need to go, he verbally berates him for not honoring his status, or refusing to stay at an inn that they can afford because it's "Below Me to stay in such...squallid conditions") he gets 25 XP. Moreover, it's on the spot experience, which is contrary to my GM style where I award XP at the end of each session so sometimes the PC's get a chance to level up mid-session.
At early levels, this adds up quickly to help in leveling up, which is why I like it, as I can throw more difficult monsters, villains, and otherwise badguys at them faster. It also encourages good roleplay and playing in character.
The other one is Hollywood Scenarios. Hollywood Scenarios are where the rules are tossed out the window and the Laws of Physics are replaced with the Laws of Hollywood Physics. The PC's encounter something way more difficult than they're prepared for (e.g. 4 2nd level PC's accidently anger an adult great horned dragon). When the Hollywood Moment starts, I "pause" the game and tell them it's a Hollywood Moment. As a smoker, I tell them to find a way out of the situation (escape, kill the beast, rally an army, etc) and they have until I go outside and finish my cigarette to decide. When I come back in they explain the plan to me. The more creative and ridiculus (yet feasable in Hollywood) the plan is, the higher success rate they get (in all actuality, as long as they're doing more than just conventional by-the-rules planning, they will succeed...or fail incredibly in a way that gets them away from the situation). The party will receive a bunch of experience points (usually around 1000 or so), and then they will vote to see who had the biggest part in the plan. The person that had the biggest part in the plan gets an additional 250-500 XP.
In the end, remember, it's a roleplaying game. Our players are doing things that 99% of us will never do anything even close to. Let's add some fun and make some amusing and rewarding house rules. Does anyone else have any fun rules they've incorporated to encourage good roleplay, add imagination, fun and humour to a game?
I have an idea for freebie experience points and a Hollywood Scenes. I borrowed the idea from my friend Fred and it is not my own.
Anyways, once you get your PC's together and let them get along with each other, you as the GM pulls out some kind of interesting character trait of each of them and reward them with 25 XP (50 if they knock it out of the park) everytime they perform that trait.
Example: Bob is a Noble OCC. He is the leader of the party and is convinced the other PC's work for him (in fact theyv'e been hired by daddy to make sure he doesn't get killed). He is the stereotypical rich kid with delusions of grandeur (even though he is adopted and the 6th son so has no chance of taking the throne). So every time Bob acts like a pompus ass, even to the detriment of the party (e.g. while speaking to a knight that has information to save the party or lead them where they need to go, he verbally berates him for not honoring his status, or refusing to stay at an inn that they can afford because it's "Below Me to stay in such...squallid conditions") he gets 25 XP. Moreover, it's on the spot experience, which is contrary to my GM style where I award XP at the end of each session so sometimes the PC's get a chance to level up mid-session.
At early levels, this adds up quickly to help in leveling up, which is why I like it, as I can throw more difficult monsters, villains, and otherwise badguys at them faster. It also encourages good roleplay and playing in character.
The other one is Hollywood Scenarios. Hollywood Scenarios are where the rules are tossed out the window and the Laws of Physics are replaced with the Laws of Hollywood Physics. The PC's encounter something way more difficult than they're prepared for (e.g. 4 2nd level PC's accidently anger an adult great horned dragon). When the Hollywood Moment starts, I "pause" the game and tell them it's a Hollywood Moment. As a smoker, I tell them to find a way out of the situation (escape, kill the beast, rally an army, etc) and they have until I go outside and finish my cigarette to decide. When I come back in they explain the plan to me. The more creative and ridiculus (yet feasable in Hollywood) the plan is, the higher success rate they get (in all actuality, as long as they're doing more than just conventional by-the-rules planning, they will succeed...or fail incredibly in a way that gets them away from the situation). The party will receive a bunch of experience points (usually around 1000 or so), and then they will vote to see who had the biggest part in the plan. The person that had the biggest part in the plan gets an additional 250-500 XP.
In the end, remember, it's a roleplaying game. Our players are doing things that 99% of us will never do anything even close to. Let's add some fun and make some amusing and rewarding house rules. Does anyone else have any fun rules they've incorporated to encourage good roleplay, add imagination, fun and humour to a game?
