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Non-Combat XP (D&D 5e)
- Helpful NPCs
- May 19, 2023
- 1 min read
Updated: Jun 27, 2023
Hello, fellow adventurers! Today, the Helpful NPCs crew are bringing you something that your game desperately needs: XP rewards for activities other than "killing monsters."
Ever had a feeling that the player characters deserved an XP during the game but felt frustrated that D&D 5e's advice is, well, underwhelming? ("Go with your gut" is a good guideline, but that could use a little mechanical weight to bolster it.)
That's why we designed this X-cellent, X-panded, and X-tremely useful XP chart for our home games! (More X-citing bad puns than the '90s X-Men cartoon!)
Now that I've got that blurb out of the way, I'll leave you to the charts.
Oh, I like it! I don't like using the Milestone system, but I do want to reward time investment, so I may incorporate something like this chart. Something I had started doing is awarding 10 XP for triggering any simple trap (borrowed from 3rd edition where traps had a CR), and awarding 10 to 50 XP for travelling to a significant new location (borrowed from games like Fallout). Another good reference is the XP rewards in Palladium games like Heroes Unlimited - it is very granular though, awarding XP for using skills; or coming up with a plan even if it doesn't pan out.
Very useful!