Reward System Examples

[Anaximander]

I am in the process of writing up a kind of world book about the super heroic Champions campaign I am creating.  I am planning to use the Hero System and am borrowing elements from the Champions.  In cases where I think the rules are unclear or am using my own interpretations of the rules, I am planning to include systems mechanical explanations within my write-up in order to make character creation simpler and more reward and also to deflect any potential conflict caused by differing interpretations of the rules. 

 

For my part, when I am trying to learn a new RPG system, I like reading an explanation of a rule followed by an example or two of what is meant by that.  Unfortunately, the core books don't really do well at targeting areas that could be better understood with an example or two.  For the most part, I am fairly intelligent and creative and have worked out examples that work for me.  I figure the most important part of a game isn't interpreting the rules accurately but interpreting them in a way that is fair, equitable, and understandable.

 

I have never actually played or ran Hero.  I have only fantasized about running and playing it, and there are some areas where I feel that my lack of practical experience hurts my understanding of how to run a Hero and, therefore, hurts my attempt at explaining.  In particular, I have a fairly good idea of what I want to reward, but I am unsure how reward XP works practically.  That is, I am not sure how much to reward for what level challenge.  I would like to do a combination of fixed and bonus rewards, but I don't want to be so generous that my campaign becomes unbalanced in only an adventure or two.

 

I would appreciate it if experienced Hero GM's would provide examples of what actions and activities they give rewards and examples of how much reward you would give.  The request is not limited to those GM's who run super hero campaign.  Thank you in advance.  This would help me greatly.

[bluesguy]

I like to see characters grow slowly.  My Champions games are extremely episodic, are usually single session or rarely two sessions long.  So I typically give between 1 and 2 XP per session for the group of characters that participate.  i.e. Everyone gets the same XP for the session.

 

1 XP for showing up and participating (pretty low threshold).  2 XP if everyone has a great time - memorable moments; quotes; use of skills/powers in an unusual way; use powers in a very comic book way; etc.

 

I might give an extra XP to a single player if that player really played their character well.

 

Since 80% of my players depend on me to update their character sheets and the others have to wait for me to send them their HDC files; I am the only one who know totals and if I awarded extra to anyone.

 

I encourage players to plan out the skills and powers they would like to buy and to talk with me about them over time that way we are prepared for any big changes.  I also recommend that everyone 'save' a few points every session or so; that way they have a big pool of points if they have a 'radiation' accident which gives them new powers.

[eepjr24]

I am in the process of writing up a kind of world book about the super heroic Champions campaign I am creating.  I am planning to use the Hero System and am borrowing elements from the Champions.  In cases where I think the rules are unclear or am using my own interpretations of the rules, I am planning to include systems mechanical explanations within my write-up in order to make character creation simpler and more reward and also to deflect any potential conflict caused by differing interpretations of the rules. 

 

For my part, when I am trying to learn a new RPG system, I like reading an explanation of a rule followed by an example or two of what is meant by that.  Unfortunately, the core books don't really do well at targeting areas that could be better understood with an example or two.  For the most part, I am fairly intelligent and creative and have worked out examples that work for me.  I figure the most important part of a game isn't interpreting the rules accurately but interpreting them in a way that is fair, equitable, and understandable.

When you say "core books", to what are you referring? I find the 788 pages of 6e1 & 2 to have examples for quite a large number of situations.

 

- E

[Tholomyes]

That's pretty much how I like to do it too. 1 XP a session, usually, 2XP if it seemed like a particularly momentous occasion, either in character or just an especially fun session. One thing I'd add is that I tend to do a mix of episodic sessions and plot arcs, so for the end of a plot arc, I'd up that to 3-5 XP, depending on the length and importance of the arc (and maybe for mid-arc climaxes I'd throw in an extra XP point or two, if it's a longer or especially pivital arc). The important thing I've found is that it seems fair and proportionate to the impact of the session. For the first bit, that might vary depending on the group: giving a player extra XP for good role playing works well for many situations, but if I have a group where one or more players are new to RPGs or the specific genre (players used to D&D dungeon crawls trying to figure out a Supers game, for instance), it might not seem fair to do so [with the adendum, so long as they're trying; I may end up doing so if it seems like the players might need a bit of a nudge towards the genre conventions of the game]. For the second bit, it's a bit more of an art than a science.

 

One thing to consider, based on your concern about rewards becoming unbalancing, is if you use Active point/DC/whatever caps or guidelines, is that extra points doesn't necessarily mean those guidelines shift. It's going to be a lot less unbalancing if that XP goes into breadth, and it feels more organic, too, that experience doesn't necessarily make you any stronger or faster, but is more about adding a few more tricks to the character's toolkit.

[sinanju]

I like to see characters grow slowly...

 

1 XP for showing up and participating (pretty low threshold).  2 XP if everyone has a great time - memorable moments; quotes; use of skills/powers in an unusual way; use powers in a very comic book way; etc.

 

...I also recommend that everyone 'save' a few points every session or so; that way they have a big pool of points if they have a 'radiation' accident which gives them new powers.

 

Where, exactly, are they supposed to get "these few points every session or so" if they're getting, at most 2 points per session?

[Anaximander]

Thanks for the help.  The answers raise a problem for me, though.  The rather 1 or 2 XP per session would upset the apple cart I want to use to reward behavior in the campaign.  Basically, I want a reward system that has two reward tracts.  One tract is completing campaign goals and using good sportsmanship to do it.  The players I have to deal with aren't good team players in real life, and they are worse in game play, and I was hoping to establish a reward system that would reward good sportsmanship.  I hate having to resort to such social engineering tactics in order to get a good game, but the small NE Oklahoma city that I live in isn't exactly burgeoning with roleplayers in general let alone good ones; so, I was thinking of reward system that 60% for winning and 40% for being good player, but with only 1 or 2 XP per session that would be difficult.  As a possible solution, I have thought about instead of going with 1 experience point (XP) = 1 creation point (CP) I might try 100 XP = 1 CP and grant about enough to equal 1 or 2 CP a session but with options of being slightly over or under depending on player behavior.  How does that sound as an idea?

[eepjr24]

I would two tier it. 1 xp per session for reaching goals, which is lost only if your character does something contrary to the campaign goal. Another xp can be gained for good sportsmanship, teamwork and other desired qualities.

 

Then for the second tier, use Hero Action Points. You didn't say what version of Hero you are using, but if it is 6e you can read up on them in 6e2 287 and 6e1 415. I would make some minor tweaks to the default HAP rules. Give them 1d6 per session for free and then during the session keep a tally per player for reward. Each time they do something you see as desirable, put a tick mark next to their name and at the end of the session the total is the number they start the next session with, plus the normal 1d6 and any that they saved.

 

If they power game it too much (or you perceive that as being likely), use the blind HAP rules on 6e2 289.

 

- E

[Tasha]

I award XP as per the book. 1 point for being there 2pts for a successful game +1 for good roleplay (So usually 3 per session). I give bonus xp as I see fit. Usually I allow the Players to award a bonus xp to the MVP of the session. Hero system characters IMHO don't get more powerful, but they tend to gain in broad capabilities. So I don't worry about giving xp.

If I were in a game that only awarded 1-2 xp I would start to wonder what I was doing wrong. I always played with GMs who were fairly generous with XP.

[Hugh Neilson]

I may be a contrarian on the "social engineering" side. If the players are highly competitive, rather than collaborative, then individual xp or other rewards seem to have a fair chance of exacerbating, rather than mitigating, this competitiveness, which translates into "not playing well with others". OTOH, if all rewards are team rewards - we expect 1 xp per session, 2 if it's a really good session, and a bonus for exceptional events, tying all of these rewards into team goals might stimulate more cooperation and less competition.

 

For example, 1 xp is the base for a session. +1 xp where the team performed well and every character got a turn in the spotlight means individual performance does not mean "winning", and may even detract from "success" if a couple of players hog the spotlight. This may stimulate the stronger, more experienced players actively looking for opportunities for the other characters to shine, instead of their own.

 

It would help to have a more specific sense of the behaviours we're trying to reward, and those we're trying to discourage. That may sound like training mice to run a maze, but practically, that is what trying to tailor rewards to specific behaviours is. For example, if you want to drive characters to more role play and less combat focus, giving extra xp for great combat tactics and not for exceptional role playing outside combat is a poor answer. So is making combat the best, if not only, means of achieving character and story goals.

 

Additionally, I'm never that confident extra xp is the sole, or even primary, reward. If the players enjoy a highly competitive game, their enjoyment will drive that behaviour whether they're getting xp or not. Would you play in a dull, uninteresting game rather than a vibrant and exciting one because the boring GM heaps xp on you so you can buy new abilities and be more powerful and bored?

 

Tasha's post above highlights another issue - managing expectations. If I'm expecting to earn 3 - 5 xp per session, and I'm getting 1 - 2, there's a disconnect. Is +1 for good roleplay expected of a typical, or even sub-standard, game - "Oh, that's my DNPC - I better go and rescue her", or is it an off the charts example of a character-defining moment, so someone gets that extra point maybe once or twice a year of weekly play, if that?

 

Depending on the group, "bonus xp for good play" risks becoming "bonus xp for doing what the GM wants", and MVP awards become popularity contests (or worse, a team gaming the system starts voting the underpowered character since we don't have to carry him once he can, say, bum his defenses up to campaign norm).

 

One frequent suggestion is bonus xp to a specific purpose. The characters rescued a Senator's family from the clutches of Viper? In addition to the usual xp, perhaps they all add a Favour or Contact with the Senator to their sheets. If the players are both competitive and all about combat, this non-combat ability glaring at them from their character sheets may motivate them to see a non-combat solution on occasion, if only so those aren't "wasted points".

[JackValhalla]

Award XP by the book. It's incredibly easy to unbalance a game by awarding more XP. 

 

BUT

 

the game has allowances for adding Perks to existing characters without spending XP. You should see their faces light up when you tell them to add a Favor or Contact onto their character sheets. They can see concrete results of gameplay and cooperation and sportsmanship when they get to add new entries on the character sheet. 

 

As for encouraging teamwork between them, that's a favorite subject of mine. Match them up against a weaker team that has all taken the Teamwork skill. Have them coordinate attacks, watch each other's backs, hold actions to act simultaneously, juggle Knockback to set up your players for a takedown, stuff like that. Show the players how it's done, defeat them soundly, then give them time to lick their wounds and figure out what happened. Idealy they'll realize what the deciding factor was and they'll start using the same tactics themselves, not because they're such great people but because it works. After a while they'll start doing it for the right reasons as well. 

[Spence]

My system is pretty simple, though I admit it has been a while since I ran a Supers game beyond a one shot demo. 

 

I use the book chart of experience as a base. 

 

Except the negative items.  Not getting XP because of bad roleplaying is punishment enough and I never understood “Adventure was a terrible failure”.  Win or lose/succeed or fail, a PC learns from them all. 

 

When I run an actual campaign I always have at least three plot lines in play.  Usually one major plot and two subplots.  I give bonus points to PC’s that do something to advance a plotline/plot-point or resolve a threat.

 

Advance minor plotline/plot-point           +1

Advance a major plotline/plot-point:       +2

Resolve “deadly” super-threat:               +1

Resolve “extreme” super-threat:            +2

Tie’s in Complication:                             +1

 

 

I know that these technically fall under the chart, but I like the clarification in my mind.

 

Typically, in my games a PC will get from a low of 2 to a high (rare but it does happen) 5. 

Not all players will get the same experience, but everyone at least gets 1.

[Hugh Neilson]

Depending on the type of play desired, rewarding players for creating a plot could also be beneficial. Setting a goal for themselves, perhaps arising from prior sessions, is more proactive.

[mallet]

I have found that "real world" concerns effect how much xp I now give in my campaigns.

Back when my group played together as teenagers we would play once (sometimes twice) a week so I stuck with the "as written" guidelines for xp, 1-3 a session, and that worked well because we were playing a lot and playing often.

 

Now, many years later, with families, jobs, etc... we sometime are only able to meet and play maybe once a month and I've found, and my players agree, that getting only 1-3 xp once a month makes character development a very, very slow process. Sure it is the same as always, but psychologically it feels very slow. So now days I am much more lenient with giving out xp, I just have stricter guidelines on what they can be spent on. The caps raise slowly, so like other have posted above, the xp goes into tricks, spin-off powers, skills, etc... And you know what? I wish this is how I would always have done it. The character feel more organic in their growth, they have cooler abilities and powers and are more well rounded. 

 

So I would say don't be scared of giving out more xp, just keep a sharp eye on the caps and let the characters evolve and develop in new and interesting ways. Besides, this is Hero, if it starts to get unbalancing you can just make the bad guys tougher by giving them more xp and abilities. 

[Anaximander]

Sorry it took so long to respond.  Busy week.  Thanks for all of the advice, and after reading it all and applying some of my own ideas and stuff I have learned from my management classes, I have reached a conclusion on how I think I should handle it.

 

Taking the advice that since I control spending, I can minimize abuse from excessive reward.

 

I will use the 1 pt participation reward per gaming session.

 

I will reward a variable amount of points for plot forwarding as Spence suggests with a little more thrown in when completing an actual adventure.

 

For the good sportsmanship reward, I am going to apply information from my business classes grant 1 pt per session that can be lost for bad sportsmanship.  Experts explain that people fear loss more than they desire gain.

 

And, if I decide to give rewards beyond that, I would do things like give HAPs, free contacts and favors, and resource points.

 

Regarding for the allowance of creativity, I am strongly in favor of that idea.  My campaign world is designed with a good deal of elasticity so as to make room for background choices with just enough restrictions to make my campaign world cohesive.  I also don't mind players retconning in additional background skills in play if they have the points and it makes sense relative to their background.  An example of that is,

 

Now, I just I just need to re-write it; so, it doesn't read as sloppily as I just wrote it.

 

Thanks again for the help.

[bluesguy]

I also find Perks and Favors a great way to provide some 'extra' XP for good role-playing and moving the plot along.

[bigdamnhero]

I award XP by Episode/Adventure/Issue/Whatever, which tend to stretch over multiple sessions. The baseline is still 1 XP per session, but I find grouping 2-4 sessions together makes it reward good behavior. That way most players will get at least +1 bonus XP per Episode, but the inflation doesn't get out of control. I'll reward anything from good tactics, being hugely successful, making an enemy into a friend, good teamwork, and of course for great roleplaying. These guidelines aren't written up, which lets me swag it without worrying about players "expecting" to get a bonus XP because they did X. The point is to reward the behaviors you want to see more of.

 

When I send out XP, players only see what they got, not what everyone else got, so we don't get into equity issues. I have seen some GMs publish what everyone gets as a way to inspire everyone to do better, but that feels a bit too In Your Face for me, and fortunately with my current player group that isn't necessary. OTOH, if your main goal is to promote teamwork, then maybe everyone gets the same XP regardless of individual performance, based on how well the team does together?

 

Depending on the group, "bonus xp for good play" risks becoming "bonus xp for doing what the GM wants"

Very much this. It's a fine line...

 

For the good sportsmanship reward, I am going to apply information from my business classes grant 1 pt per session that can be lost for bad sportsmanship.  Experts explain that people fear loss more than they desire gain.

Hmm...yes, but I find most gamers resent losing base XP more than they enjoy getting bonus XP. I'd say use with caution. If it's something like a major dick move, shooting a teammate in the back or whatever, then docking a point for bad sportsmanship is probably appropriate. But if it's going to be a more vague "you guys didn't work together very well..." then I'd recommend the carrot over the stick.
YMMV.

[Manic Typist]

I'll reward anything from good tactics, being hugely successful, making a friend into an enemy, good teamwork....

 

 

Interesting playstyle you encourage.

 

[Hugh Neilson]

When I send out XP, players only see what they got, not what everyone else got, so we don't get into equity issues.

I find players talk to one another. They may not sit down and compare xp, but they become aware in other ways. "Perfect use for my new X Ability" indicates they got enough to buy that ability. "My HD crashed and I lost three updates on my PC - what did we get for xp last month"?

 

Hmm...yes, but I find most gamers resent losing base XP more than they enjoy getting bonus XP. I'd say use with caution. If it's something like a major dick move, shooting a teammate in the back or whatever, then docking a point for bad sportsmanship is probably appropriate. But if it's going to be a more vague "you guys didn't work together very well..." then I'd recommend the carrot over the stick.

What is a "loss"? If you get 1 xp or 2 xp, both are gains. "Fear of Loss" tends to be "you can earn 2 xp instead of 1, but it's possible you'll actually lose 1 xp". Much like "this investment can generate a 5% rate of return, but it's volatile - you could lose 10% of your principal" may lead to selecting the guaranteed investment that returns 2% - that's often what "fear of loss vs potential for gain" studies often compare.

 

Defining "poor sportsmanship" is definitely the challenge, and we're back to whether we are rewarding good sportsmanship, or just rewarding actions the GM wants to see.

[bigdamnhero]

Interesting playstyle you encourage.

"Strike that, reverse it, thank you..."

 

Typo corrected, thanks. Turning friends into enemies happens often enough without rewards.

 

What is a "loss"? If you get 1 xp or 2 xp, both are gains.

Mathematically, yes. But if you were expecting to get 2 and only get 1, that's perceived as a loss; if you were expecting to get 2 and get 3, that's perceived as a gain. I understand the whole fear-based investing thing, but remember the primary objective here is to have fun, not to maximize returns. So as a general rule I prefer rewarding players for good behavior over punishing them for bad behavior, even if it the end result works out the same mathematically.

[JohnnyAppleseed098]

Usually, I ran my games where I almost never gave out bonus XP, but I gave 3-4 XP per session regardless. In games with lots of people, I give out more, smaller games less. Usually at the very end of the entire story, I will give awards to my players based on game performance, character concepts, best roleplayed, and others. That is when I give Bonus XP for the next campaign.

[Anaximander]

As far as taking a point away, I wouldn't take it away from the players as a group.  Usually, disruption is only being done by one or two players at a time, while other players are quietly simmering on the side so as to not cause trouble.  I would not take away the point from the group but only from the individuals causing the disruption.  Further, I tend to be a softy at heart; so, I am unlikely to take points away at the first infraction, but I just don't like players who use gaming as an excuse for social bullying and overall piggishness.  As a player, I have wanted to leave games where such things happened, and for my part, I prefer GMs that simply allow such shenanigans to continue without them doing something, and as a GM, I would like to run my game the way I would it it ran as a player.  That is, I want it ran a where players who want to play are actively encouraged and players who only want show their asses at the expense of everyone else are actively discouraged.  I suppose I could just simply disinvite the asses, but I like to give people a chance to change before I kick them to curb.  After all, someone of the asses might simply not know any better and creating an environment that promotes change could be good for them in the long run.

[bigdamnhero]

Ah, that sounds less like "some of my payers aren't good at working together" and more like "some of my players are assholes." That's...a tougher nut to crack, and I'm not sure docking a few points of XP is going to cut it. My usual response is simply to uninvite the assholes, but I'm lucky enough to live in a place with a lot of players to choose from. Sorry.

[Sean Waters]

Give one XP per session and let the players spend it on whatever they like.

 

Alternatively give 10 XP per ten sessions and let the players spend it on whatever they like.

 

You'd be surprised how different those two approaches are.

 

Don't reward good play, or even attendance, that is just storing up problems if you wind up with characters at all sorts of different ability levels.  If you feel the need to reward participation, and I can understand that, do it with perks; specifically contacts and favours, yes, with a 'u'.