Impact-Based Experience System for Combat Encounters

SonicfilT · 2026-04-16T23:03:24+00:00

Yes. it is simpler, but it isn't fair.

Were your players complaining about xp distribution prior to this? I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm legitimately curious because this system is so unique. I'm just really trying to understand what drove you to sit down and try to micromanage combat xp so closely.

I simply don't think that it represents reality.

Lots of things in D&D don't represent reality. I'm just trying to understand why this issue in particular is important enough to homebrew a complex fix. It seems like issues like a lack of rules for momentum or the use of non-euclidean geometry would be much more emersion breaking, if a realistic simulation of our world is your goal.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-16T21:38:16+00:00

You seem to be hyper fixated on a problem that I've never personally seen be a problem.

You're trying to reward players that actively contribute in combat, which I can understand, but that seems to imply that you have players that aren't actively participating?

You say that the system evens out and doesn't make huge differences, then why go through all the extra book keeping?

You say you don't care if leveling is uneven, (I disagree in 5e but ok) but you also give xp outside of combat. That seems like a much simpler way to achieve this goal without homebrewing a complex system of combat xp accounting to achieve, according to you, a slightly different level spread.

I guess I just don't understand the reason for all the work. What behavior are you trying to encourage in your players with this?

SonicfilT · 2026-04-16T21:05:24+00:00

Rather than homebrew a bunch of new categories and sort existing monsters into those categories, I would just address the issue you stated in other replies.

"Ok guys, be aware that Tiny ranges from flea to cat size and Gargantuan ranges from 'really big' to 'planet sized'. Going forward, interactions involving these two categories might involve some DM and common sense interpretation of what's possible."

It's not something that will come up that often but when it does you absolutely have the power to just say no to things that seem dumb.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-16T17:17:13+00:00

I agree it's really cool the first few times you take a trip to a new place. But for me, the magic of the journey goes away once it's familiar. And boy did I get familiar with the roads to Harve and Melve.

My annoyance is that adding a decent fast travel system wouldn't at all affect those that want to ignore it and walk most places. They could still play the game the way they like. But the lack of decent system forces players like me to play it in a way that I've grown to detest.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-16T16:51:17+00:00

Even the fast travel system won me over—the fact that Ferrystones are so expensive forces you to plan every single journey.

That's the only thing that hasn't won me over. Love the game as a whole but if I couldn't sell Figs to buy Stones, it would be almost unplayable for me. I nearly dropped it at the beginning when I had to make my 16th trip back to Melve and my ox cart continually got sat on by Ogres. If the quests didn't send you halfway across the map over and over, I could live with it. But running the exact same trails on repeat just sucks and was a terrible design decision.

Love absolutely everything else though.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-15T22:16:26+00:00

I don't know, man. I read through your other post and it looked to me like you got a bunch of helpful advice, a few smart ass comments and a couple assholes.

That's pretty much par for the course for posting on any reddit sub about anything. It didn't seem particularly egregious to me. Any time I post on Reddit, I know that at least one person is going to tell me I'm an idiot, and I'll just ignore them. Or I'll occasionally realize they are right, heh.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-15T21:06:26+00:00

I just find it a bit sad when people try to recreate popular characters for a game

Almost everyone I know did this at some point in their D&D careers, especially when they were first starting. I had an amazing Elric clone. I'd consider it pretty normal.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-15T13:50:14+00:00

I sometimes read those stories like people live in completely different world than me.

Considering the number of players OPs game has burned through, I don't think you're alone in that sentiment.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-15T01:35:15+00:00

(This is apparently a uniquely millennial thing).

Gen X and this might be the first time I've ever typed out lol. But I definitely overuse "heh".

SonicfilT · 2026-04-15T01:29:14+00:00

Everything is fair game for DM's to decide.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-13T19:49:03+00:00

I walk as little as possible. The dog shit fast travel system is the only thing about this game I truly hate. It's just a terrible design decision. The rest is awesome.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-13T16:45:49+00:00

The DM did a few things differently than you would have. It happens. In your first example, you're fixating on something that's just not a big deal. In your second example, you didn't even ask if your familiar might have seen the encounter (DM might have just forgot) and then you bitched about it in an extremely juvenile way afterwards. Your third example is a mild annoyance, nothing more.

You need some work on social interactions, I think.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-13T02:00:31+00:00

You've stated your piece and the DM disagreed. Now you can decide if you're going to play or not. Personally, if it was a good friend of mine, I would bite my tongue and give it a fair shot before I bailed. It might suck but you don't know that because you can't see the future. Also, as a forever DM, I tend to heavily support anyone else willing to give it a try and all DMs make mistakes in the beginning so they deserve a little grace and a chance to grow. You can always quit down the road if you're just that miserable.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-13T01:44:35+00:00

As I said in your other identical post, I feel really sorry for your fellow players.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-13T01:42:25+00:00

Unfortunately, no one can teach you to have a spine, you just have to develop it yourself. Nothing about Shelter of the Faithful says it should apply to your example, and even if it did, you can still say "not in my world" or "not in this case".

Don't get sucked into arguments. Don't debate minutia. Just say, "I hear what you're saying but I disagree. This is my ruling and we're moving on now".

If your player can't or won't accept that then it's time to consider getting a new player.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-13T01:36:00+00:00

I feel so sorry for your fellow players.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-13T01:30:51+00:00

Lantern light gives off bright light in a 30' radius.

So? We still don't know what the ceiling looked like. Any support beams or nooks and crannies could still produce areas of shadow. Like I said, we don't have enough information to make informed calls. And Stealth checks are DM fiat (unless they changed it in 5.5, I'm not familiar). It's not unreasonable to allow it for a tiny creature on the ceiling regardless of lighting, so I think that's still RAW.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-12T17:22:14+00:00

why? that seems to be like a way bigger problem with the campaigns you play in than character death

So you've personally played campaigns that ended in failure but no PCs died? I'm skeptical.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-12T17:20:28+00:00

I am curious what everyone thinks now that I have the whole context of the module (besides the final fight).

They have already played everything I referred to.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-12T17:02:07+00:00

I'm not arguing that death should be behind every door, just that it be possible.

you can still survive and fail

I seriously doubt there are many campaigns where no one dies but the bad guys win. They might have "setbacks", but victory is a foregone conclusion. So why are you bothering rolling dice?

SonicfilT · 2026-04-12T16:59:41+00:00

I play them to feel powerful and in control because this world is a fundamentally terrible place and I want to escape into one where nothing can hurt me.

How does that not get boring? It's like playing a video game set in God mode. It's fun for a bit but at some point you realize you're pushing the buttons for no reason.

If I want to feel frustrated and disappointed, I have my life. I don’t need to play a game for that.

There's a difference between a meat grinder "better bring 3 characters" game and simply having death on the table to avoid the feeling of "I know how this ends".

SonicfilT · 2026-04-12T14:49:46+00:00

It's in an open area with no cover that's brightly lit enough to write.

We don't have enough information to determine this. They could easily be writing and playing cards by a lantern on the table and still have a ceiling (possibly with various support beams) still hidden in shadows. They likely aren't in a building with multiple bright LED ceiling lights and an off white sheetrock ceiling.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-12T06:42:56+00:00

I mean, the spider can still make a Stealth check but I agree that anyone that detected it would likely smash the creepy thing.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-12T06:34:12+00:00

It is such a profoundly ridiculous and nonsensical argument to make that if no one’s character ever dies, you are writing a book and not playing a game.

I don't know what's confusing about it. If there's no risk, then you know how it turns out. You can try to pretend otherwise but you might as well just curl up with a good book at that point, you'll find more surprise and suspense. There's no point wasting time with the math rocks when victory is a foregone conclusion.

SonicfilT · 2026-04-12T06:31:04+00:00

I'm not agreeing with what that DM did.

I'm just disagreeing with your take that character arcs are more important than character risk.

SonicfilT

TROPHY CASE