On issues of game balance (which combat XP rewards are certainly a part of), I tend not to legislate from the tech bench. The status quo is to go with canon where feasible, so we have a solid and readily referable base to ground ourselves. There are certainly cases in which it makes sense to make "house rules" to better support PW play, but that "house" should be all of ALFA, and IMHO, that call should be made by the DMA, ideally with some kind of agreement among Admin/HDMs. We're between DMAs again, though not for much longer I believe since the election is already in progress. I'll revisit the issue with whichever candidate is elected and see about adjusting things if it is deemed appropriate.
For the record though, partying up carries tremendous benefits; both in overall enjoyment from an RP/character development/story perspective, and survival odds (someone is there to bandage/heal/assist your PC if an unlucky roll knocks you out). So, as I see it, players who choose to solo because of the party XP situation are in pretty dubious territory. Playing our PCs IC, all the time, is what we're all supposed to be here for. Ditching other PCs to kick up combat rewards seems like pure meta to me, honestly. I'd certainly like to find a reasonable compromise that doesn't reward or "encourage" misbehaviour, though.
XP in multi-leveled party
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AcadiusLost
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Why would DMA be the decider? Shouldn't it be Lead?
As for "soloing is meta," XP itself is meta. So, participating in a DM'ed session for the xp is also meta. Recording chat logs for xp is meta. Logging in and doing nothing for the rp script is meta. Refusing to help someone on a static because you've already done it and therefore won't get any xp for it is meta. Anything involving xp is meta.
Knowing the bleed rules is meta. Having bleed rules that break immersion (must bandage in five seconds!) induces meta behavior. Punishing grouping by nerfing xp induces meta behavior.
Choosing your feats and skills is meta. Multiclassing is meta. Logging in knowing there are other players or a DM on is meta. Playing the game is meta.
But dude, it's just a game. Make it fun and people will play it; make it miserable and people will choose Game B instead. *shrugs*
As for "soloing is meta," XP itself is meta. So, participating in a DM'ed session for the xp is also meta. Recording chat logs for xp is meta. Logging in and doing nothing for the rp script is meta. Refusing to help someone on a static because you've already done it and therefore won't get any xp for it is meta. Anything involving xp is meta.
Knowing the bleed rules is meta. Having bleed rules that break immersion (must bandage in five seconds!) induces meta behavior. Punishing grouping by nerfing xp induces meta behavior.
Choosing your feats and skills is meta. Multiclassing is meta. Logging in knowing there are other players or a DM on is meta. Playing the game is meta.
But dude, it's just a game. Make it fun and people will play it; make it miserable and people will choose Game B instead. *shrugs*
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oldgrayrogue
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I think it was Vendrin who suggested a while ago when this topic came up to simply split the XP equally between the party members regardless of level (sorry if it wasn't you). I think this is a simple solution that makes good sense. Everyone shares the risk and the rewards evenly. It encourages partying up, because lets face it, you are always more likely to survive when adventuring in a party than when doing so solo, but your XP does not diminish to nothing based on level.
There are a few other things that can be done, completely outside of XP, to encourage partying up. I would love to see certain static quests, or just static content, unable to be completed without a balanced party, with necessary class skills and attributes to complete. Like there are traps and locks to get through so you need a rogue. Or there is a hidden path that only a ranger with high survival and tracking can find, or a puzzle that only a wiz or rogue with a high INT roll can have a chance of getting through to even get into an area to complete a quest, or a big boulder in the way that only a high strength PC can hope to move other than with a lucky roll by someone else. You get the idea. This type of stuff encourages partying up, encourages RP and makes the static content much more meaningful IMO. It also generally makes it impossible to blow through all the statics like in 2 RL days because you have to plan, recon, explore, discover what you need to complete it, then go meet people and party up to do it.
So yeah an equal XP split and some skill and attribute based static content should foster partying.
There are a few other things that can be done, completely outside of XP, to encourage partying up. I would love to see certain static quests, or just static content, unable to be completed without a balanced party, with necessary class skills and attributes to complete. Like there are traps and locks to get through so you need a rogue. Or there is a hidden path that only a ranger with high survival and tracking can find, or a puzzle that only a wiz or rogue with a high INT roll can have a chance of getting through to even get into an area to complete a quest, or a big boulder in the way that only a high strength PC can hope to move other than with a lucky roll by someone else. You get the idea. This type of stuff encourages partying up, encourages RP and makes the static content much more meaningful IMO. It also generally makes it impossible to blow through all the statics like in 2 RL days because you have to plan, recon, explore, discover what you need to complete it, then go meet people and party up to do it.
So yeah an equal XP split and some skill and attribute based static content should foster partying.
*points at ayergo* He's already doin' that. The answer is penguins.oldgrayrogue wrote:There are a few other things that can be done, completely outside of XP, to encourage partying up. I would love to see certain static quests, or just static content, unable to be completed without a balanced party, with necessary class skills and attributes to complete.
I've only been playing on TSM a couple of months and I think there is a dire, dire problem with the way xp is handled in a party.
When I joined the server I was really, really excited about:
- hardcore ruleset
- reliance on different skills and abilities among players to survive in a super challenging environment
- teamwork and high adventure
...mostly because I haven't found these things on other servers.
What I found, instead, is players purposely adventuring completely alone because there is no benefit whatsoever to playing in a group, with the exception of survival (which can be accomplished just as easily and for similar rewards simply by not leaving town). These players have found ways to survive on their own without the help of other players despite all the odds against them.
Some haven't survived. Some have died, almost always on their own, because there is simply no point whatsoever in partying up. It benefits no one to be in a party. Adventuring and exploring with a group renders no experience, no gold, nothing. It is a waste of time, time that can be far better spent by learning how to survive alone in order to gain those rewards.
I had assumed, choosing to play a cleric (even though it's not a class I have any experience in) I was providing a huge service to other players and could look forward to many hours of teamwork and support. In fact, no one ever, ever, wants me to join them unless they're "RPing" in town. There are no expeditions into the wild to discover new places, no dangerous journeys into dungeons and caves, nothing. No one wants to take a massive xp hit, xp being as precious as it is on this server.
Occasionally some players are so bored that they do take me along. They do not, however, need me. The higher level players (and by high level I mean like... level five) have learned what's dangerous and what's not; they know how to survive on their own without any help at all. They've had to; there's no way they'd be that level if they'd been partying up. They have plenty of their own healing. I know one player for certain who multiclassed just so they didn't have to rely on anyone else and could better solo. It's not their fault; being in a party on this server carries no reward whatsoever.
Most people party up to do the initial RM and HH quests because they get the reward regardless of who's in their party. After that, forget it. Time to solo.
This is not what I was looking for when I joined the server.
This all might sound terribly harsh which it's not intended to be. It's really a little thing but it happens to be a huge one for me personally. I dig all the players and DMs on the server, I think they're great. Had a briliant time with wayne and others in the past week. Have fun playing my character. Like the setting and the mod, LOVE the balance, and everything is thumbs up.
Except this. With the exception of a DM quest here and there, TSM feels like a single-player game to me.
Giving everyone in a party the same xp they would get if they were soloing would completely fix this problem. I'm not saying give more xp to people in a party, I'm saying give way more xp to people in a party. Soloing should be the thing that's without reward.
It's completely and utterly backwards.
When I joined the server I was really, really excited about:
- hardcore ruleset
- reliance on different skills and abilities among players to survive in a super challenging environment
- teamwork and high adventure
...mostly because I haven't found these things on other servers.
What I found, instead, is players purposely adventuring completely alone because there is no benefit whatsoever to playing in a group, with the exception of survival (which can be accomplished just as easily and for similar rewards simply by not leaving town). These players have found ways to survive on their own without the help of other players despite all the odds against them.
Some haven't survived. Some have died, almost always on their own, because there is simply no point whatsoever in partying up. It benefits no one to be in a party. Adventuring and exploring with a group renders no experience, no gold, nothing. It is a waste of time, time that can be far better spent by learning how to survive alone in order to gain those rewards.
I had assumed, choosing to play a cleric (even though it's not a class I have any experience in) I was providing a huge service to other players and could look forward to many hours of teamwork and support. In fact, no one ever, ever, wants me to join them unless they're "RPing" in town. There are no expeditions into the wild to discover new places, no dangerous journeys into dungeons and caves, nothing. No one wants to take a massive xp hit, xp being as precious as it is on this server.
Occasionally some players are so bored that they do take me along. They do not, however, need me. The higher level players (and by high level I mean like... level five) have learned what's dangerous and what's not; they know how to survive on their own without any help at all. They've had to; there's no way they'd be that level if they'd been partying up. They have plenty of their own healing. I know one player for certain who multiclassed just so they didn't have to rely on anyone else and could better solo. It's not their fault; being in a party on this server carries no reward whatsoever.
Most people party up to do the initial RM and HH quests because they get the reward regardless of who's in their party. After that, forget it. Time to solo.
This is not what I was looking for when I joined the server.
This all might sound terribly harsh which it's not intended to be. It's really a little thing but it happens to be a huge one for me personally. I dig all the players and DMs on the server, I think they're great. Had a briliant time with wayne and others in the past week. Have fun playing my character. Like the setting and the mod, LOVE the balance, and everything is thumbs up.
Except this. With the exception of a DM quest here and there, TSM feels like a single-player game to me.
Giving everyone in a party the same xp they would get if they were soloing would completely fix this problem. I'm not saying give more xp to people in a party, I'm saying give way more xp to people in a party. Soloing should be the thing that's without reward.
It's completely and utterly backwards.
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Mikayla
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To make a contrasting post - I hit level 5 ages ago (TSM/NWN2 time) and in all the time and adventures it took to reach level 5 I only solo'd twice I think. Everything else was a group effort, and my PC regularly chides people for doing anything alone save for bathing and going to the outhouse. She's let up on traveling the roads alone, mostly because she has to do it, but as far as going into the hills, swamps, forests or caves? NEVER GO ALONE. People who go alone, die. Thats her experience anyway. That said, she does have a new solo "hobby" since her lover was killed, and that is going into the flower grove alone to kill all the gnolls as brutally as possible. But thats about the only thing I am willing to solo on TSM, and I have more hit-points and AC than 90% of the folk out there.
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ewayneself
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My thoughts
My thoughts, such as they are, are these. Please forgive me if I sound a little "academic". I've been in Theology class all morning.
Hughes brings up an interesting set of points, to which I can say only that the main benefit of partying up is this:
Partying up attracts positive DM attention.
Speaking only for myself, I can tell you that I am far more likely to jump on and DM a group than I am to DM an individual. I hope the rationale for this is obvious: it spreads the enjoyment around to more people, since they're able to share the experience.
Another important reason not to solo is this:
Soloing attracts negative DM attention, if any at all.
If I log on and see people soloing, I am apt to simply ignore them. I will assume that these people have found a way to enjoy TSM without benefit of the DM or other players and, while playing ALFA as a single-player game is not how I would spend my free time, more power to them. I think most people would still prefer to play in groups whenever possible, and may solo to add a little spice here and there.
If I log on and see the same people soloing all the time, I am likely to make things more difficult for them. Again, speaking only for myself, I am of the opinion that going it alone should be deadly and should be done with the same rp standards as playing in groups. It vexes me when soloing is approached without fear and trembling, or when it's done with the complete absence of any noticeable rp.
I don't think changing XP rewards is the solution. I think what we need to solve is a situation wherein players perceive (rightly or wrongly) that the lion's share share of xp comes from killing monsters, not from exploring town and countryside, solving mysteries, thwarting/making mischief, and otherwise engaging with story and world and fellow PC.
Again, speaking only for myself: The difference in XP reward for killing Static Monster X as a soloist or as a party member should be negligible compared to the reward for discovering a new NPC or saying a poetic prayer to your deity or moving a plot forward by engaging in research with fellow PC's.
Hughes brings up an interesting set of points, to which I can say only that the main benefit of partying up is this:
Partying up attracts positive DM attention.
Speaking only for myself, I can tell you that I am far more likely to jump on and DM a group than I am to DM an individual. I hope the rationale for this is obvious: it spreads the enjoyment around to more people, since they're able to share the experience.
Another important reason not to solo is this:
Soloing attracts negative DM attention, if any at all.
If I log on and see people soloing, I am apt to simply ignore them. I will assume that these people have found a way to enjoy TSM without benefit of the DM or other players and, while playing ALFA as a single-player game is not how I would spend my free time, more power to them. I think most people would still prefer to play in groups whenever possible, and may solo to add a little spice here and there.
If I log on and see the same people soloing all the time, I am likely to make things more difficult for them. Again, speaking only for myself, I am of the opinion that going it alone should be deadly and should be done with the same rp standards as playing in groups. It vexes me when soloing is approached without fear and trembling, or when it's done with the complete absence of any noticeable rp.
I don't think changing XP rewards is the solution. I think what we need to solve is a situation wherein players perceive (rightly or wrongly) that the lion's share share of xp comes from killing monsters, not from exploring town and countryside, solving mysteries, thwarting/making mischief, and otherwise engaging with story and world and fellow PC.
Again, speaking only for myself: The difference in XP reward for killing Static Monster X as a soloist or as a party member should be negligible compared to the reward for discovering a new NPC or saying a poetic prayer to your deity or moving a plot forward by engaging in research with fellow PC's.
XP was calculated differently then, and statics were worth a *lot* more. I got to almost level 4 fairly quickly without soloing *ever,* back when the server first went live. Roll up a 1st level PC and see how much harder it is now.Mikayla wrote:To make a contrasting post - I hit level 5 ages ago (TSM/NWN2 time) and in all the time and adventures it took to reach level 5 I only solo'd twice I think.
@wayne The option to make combat worth 0 xp and multiply the rp script by 5 or more to make rp'ing and exploring the most valuable activity to engage in is always available.... If you really want to kill soloing and encourage grouping and rp'ing, just kill combat xp, and make up for the loss.
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oldgrayrogue
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As stated, I think the reason people choose solo instead of group adventuring is the disparity between the XP reward for solo as opposed to group adventuring. Divide the XP rewards among a group equally and there is less incentive to take the risk of going solo because there is less disparity. The proportionate bump in reward is simply not worth the increased risk. Up the XP for parties too as Hughes suggests so that you get close to, if not equal XP, for partying up as opposed to going it solo. Other ways to promote party play, as I suggested above, and as pointed out by Wayne should be explored as well.
And Hughes old pal, retire that cleric and play a ranger like you were meant to and I promise to party up with ya whenever your logged on =)
And Hughes old pal, retire that cleric and play a ranger like you were meant to and I promise to party up with ya whenever your logged on =)
What level is Thoron? If I made a new ranger he'd be level 1.oldgrayrogue wrote:And Hughes old pal, retire that cleric and play a ranger like you were meant to and I promise to party up with ya whenever your logged on =)
How much xp would I get?
(On the many, many occasions we weren't in a DM quest, that is.)
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Mozinwrath
- Skeleton's Knuckle
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A classic debate, torn straight from the pen and paper games. The hack'n'slash campaign, or the drama queen's journal?
DM styles vary. I understand trying to pin an equation down so everything's fair, but in the end it's a judgement call anyways. I think some of the frustrating elements come from the "random" interactions that the DM/DM's group wasn't intending. If I wander into a campaign dialogue for a session group, I have one of two options- roleplay or head elsewhere. While it may speed that groups progress not having time wasted re-telling current events, it may not always be an IC decision. On the other hand, I could try to add my two cents at the expense of those players, who may only have a limited time to actually get anything done. And if I chose to bend the ears of those people, typically in the end, you get nothing for it. There isn't "unintended interaction" xp awarded to random passerbys.
As for the soloing. I've died so many times as so many classes, soloing isn't worth the time or effort (as intended I believe). Whacking six kobolds yields far less than a decent roleplay interaction. And eventually, your going to run out of things to kill for xp or get yourself whacked.
While I don't disagree with the party xp complaint, I think that spreading out what little xp gains come from static/monster kills would only make it worse. Grouping is great if you have a DM available, but it only serves as flavor if there isn't one available. And it seems there are more customers than bakers at times, and you start seeing cliques-leaving those on the outside looking in.
Now, I prefer a decent roleplay session to chasing a kobold to the Sword Coast (ugh). But the truth is that unless there is a DM to see it, you might as well just talk to yourself. THAT is what makes soloing seem attractive.
Other than that, party xp from a DM'ed session is allocated by them (I think) and far outshines anything a monster kill group would get- even with the xp being shared.
That's enough outta me, but remember- These are my opinions, and I too, am entitled to them.
DM styles vary. I understand trying to pin an equation down so everything's fair, but in the end it's a judgement call anyways. I think some of the frustrating elements come from the "random" interactions that the DM/DM's group wasn't intending. If I wander into a campaign dialogue for a session group, I have one of two options- roleplay or head elsewhere. While it may speed that groups progress not having time wasted re-telling current events, it may not always be an IC decision. On the other hand, I could try to add my two cents at the expense of those players, who may only have a limited time to actually get anything done. And if I chose to bend the ears of those people, typically in the end, you get nothing for it. There isn't "unintended interaction" xp awarded to random passerbys.
As for the soloing. I've died so many times as so many classes, soloing isn't worth the time or effort (as intended I believe). Whacking six kobolds yields far less than a decent roleplay interaction. And eventually, your going to run out of things to kill for xp or get yourself whacked.
While I don't disagree with the party xp complaint, I think that spreading out what little xp gains come from static/monster kills would only make it worse. Grouping is great if you have a DM available, but it only serves as flavor if there isn't one available. And it seems there are more customers than bakers at times, and you start seeing cliques-leaving those on the outside looking in.
Now, I prefer a decent roleplay session to chasing a kobold to the Sword Coast (ugh). But the truth is that unless there is a DM to see it, you might as well just talk to yourself. THAT is what makes soloing seem attractive.
Other than that, party xp from a DM'ed session is allocated by them (I think) and far outshines anything a monster kill group would get- even with the xp being shared.
That's enough outta me, but remember- These are my opinions, and I too, am entitled to them.
"I watched with glee while your kings & queens
Fought for ten decades for the gods they made
I shouted out,"Who killed the Kennedys?"
When after all, it was you & me"
Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones
Fought for ten decades for the gods they made
I shouted out,"Who killed the Kennedys?"
When after all, it was you & me"
Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones
This discussion is getting a bit muddled as far as DMs are concerned. My problems arise when there's no DM around. Which can be fairly often.
So please, I'm talking about (and I think the OP is too) times when there's no DM around.
What I'd hoped to find on TSM was a place where I could log in and -- if no DM is running an adventure just for us -- group up with some pals and hit the road. Go explore a dungeon. Find out what's along the mountain path. Investigate an old ruin.
And I want to do it as team - the fighter fighting. the cleric healing. the wizard casting spells. the rogue finding traps. and, yes - roleplaying all the time. And I always thought that players who played in this fashion were the ones who get it - and were to be rewarded for it.
No one ever seems to want to do this, since there's nothing to be gained by it.
It's simple. Reverse the way combat XP is awarded and this kind of great adventuring will be going on all the time.
So please, I'm talking about (and I think the OP is too) times when there's no DM around.
What I'd hoped to find on TSM was a place where I could log in and -- if no DM is running an adventure just for us -- group up with some pals and hit the road. Go explore a dungeon. Find out what's along the mountain path. Investigate an old ruin.
And I want to do it as team - the fighter fighting. the cleric healing. the wizard casting spells. the rogue finding traps. and, yes - roleplaying all the time. And I always thought that players who played in this fashion were the ones who get it - and were to be rewarded for it.
No one ever seems to want to do this, since there's nothing to be gained by it.
It's simple. Reverse the way combat XP is awarded and this kind of great adventuring will be going on all the time.
As an aside, I try to run little things when dm's aren't on...last week I and another went exploring an old ruins. I've seen many places when a dm hasn't been on and shared with other players the experience...sometimes they involved combat, sometimes they don't. I try and lend a had to those new players when asked. I try discuissing things with other players, sharing information, when dm's aren't on, so as to keep people up to date with what my pc knows, as well as getting more info. from them. I haven't been saving and sending in logs for xp, but I might start soon, as there are many different plots running at the moment of which I am on the outskirts of. The DM's are doing the best that they can with the time they have, and I applaud them for it. Sometimes things need to be tweaked, like the morale script, but in the end I think we are better off when systems like these are put into place, but that does take away from dm time.
A few things we can do as players...
1. Ask the dm's if there is anything we can do to help. Weather it is tooling items, making a store, doing corrections to the server, or if you're not that good with toolsetting, making dialogue in a word program for NPC's and sending it in to be copied/pasted to the NPC. Or testing, as Al recently put up a test server for some things players have been vocally wanting for a bit...test the systems you want beforehand so others don't have to go changing it once implemented.
2. Get up with other players out of game. PM the players you want to play with and coordinate times to get together. As stated before, research time for what the dm's are running is never waisted time...weather it is reading a book on a subject to glean more IC knowledge than your PC already knows or discussing with a knoweldgeable woodsman the habits and habitates of a certain being. Your PC doesn't automatically know everything there is to know about, say, a rust monster, unless they are extremely familiar with them. Learn your enemies.
3. As stated, run something on your own, get together with others and go to an area of interest...you don't always need a dm to do things. Send those logs to dms for possible later use. Don't expect the dm's to always throw things your way or to involve you all of the time, be proactive while they aren't on to give them something to work with at a later date!
A few things we can do as players...
1. Ask the dm's if there is anything we can do to help. Weather it is tooling items, making a store, doing corrections to the server, or if you're not that good with toolsetting, making dialogue in a word program for NPC's and sending it in to be copied/pasted to the NPC. Or testing, as Al recently put up a test server for some things players have been vocally wanting for a bit...test the systems you want beforehand so others don't have to go changing it once implemented.
2. Get up with other players out of game. PM the players you want to play with and coordinate times to get together. As stated before, research time for what the dm's are running is never waisted time...weather it is reading a book on a subject to glean more IC knowledge than your PC already knows or discussing with a knoweldgeable woodsman the habits and habitates of a certain being. Your PC doesn't automatically know everything there is to know about, say, a rust monster, unless they are extremely familiar with them. Learn your enemies.
3. As stated, run something on your own, get together with others and go to an area of interest...you don't always need a dm to do things. Send those logs to dms for possible later use. Don't expect the dm's to always throw things your way or to involve you all of the time, be proactive while they aren't on to give them something to work with at a later date!
Zyrus Meynolt: [Party] For the record, if this somehow blows up in our faces and I die, I want a raiseSwift wrote: Permadeath is only permadeath when the PCs wallet is empty.
<Castano>: danielnm - can you blame them?
<danielmn>: Yes,
<danielmn>: Easily.
"And in this twilight....our choices seal our fate"
Just a note for my two cents:
One of the best XP reward systems I've ever played with, was on another NWN2 server. I never got a chance to figure out all the mechanics of how they made it work, so bare with me. But, when Player A went out and killed something, let's say he gets 10xp. When Player A and Player B teamed up, the XP for the kill was adjusted for the CR of the party, so let's say Player A was higher than Player B, and the kill XP became 6 xp.
BUT: The biggest difference was, even though now in this party you got less xp because of the CR, you also got BONUS xp for being in a group, this bonus xp was scaled on how many people were in the group. So in game, it appeared something along these lines.
A group of 2 would get:
6 xp for the kill
2 xp for the group bonus
A group of 5 would get:
3 xp for the kill
10 xp for the group bonus
Of course these are numbers I'm just throwing out there, I've no idea how it worked, but I know that the more people that were in your group, the more bonus xp you would get, EVEN if you were getting 1 xp for that kill, a group of 7-10 players were getting something like 15-20 xp for the bonus. This was distributed equally to ALL in the group, regardless of level. On this particular server, the end result was there were huge armies of player characters roaming the lands, but they have a lot more players than are currently in ALFA. My point being, grouping up was rewarded, while sliding xp for the kill remained true to pen and paper games.
In 3.5e rules, its all about group averages and challenge ratings, the system we're using here does not seem to be kosher with true D&D, at least in my interpretation. Though, I'm sure some will argue with me.
I'm hoping a system similar to this can be researched and perhaps be implemented in the future.
One of the best XP reward systems I've ever played with, was on another NWN2 server. I never got a chance to figure out all the mechanics of how they made it work, so bare with me. But, when Player A went out and killed something, let's say he gets 10xp. When Player A and Player B teamed up, the XP for the kill was adjusted for the CR of the party, so let's say Player A was higher than Player B, and the kill XP became 6 xp.
BUT: The biggest difference was, even though now in this party you got less xp because of the CR, you also got BONUS xp for being in a group, this bonus xp was scaled on how many people were in the group. So in game, it appeared something along these lines.
A group of 2 would get:
6 xp for the kill
2 xp for the group bonus
A group of 5 would get:
3 xp for the kill
10 xp for the group bonus
Of course these are numbers I'm just throwing out there, I've no idea how it worked, but I know that the more people that were in your group, the more bonus xp you would get, EVEN if you were getting 1 xp for that kill, a group of 7-10 players were getting something like 15-20 xp for the bonus. This was distributed equally to ALL in the group, regardless of level. On this particular server, the end result was there were huge armies of player characters roaming the lands, but they have a lot more players than are currently in ALFA. My point being, grouping up was rewarded, while sliding xp for the kill remained true to pen and paper games.
In 3.5e rules, its all about group averages and challenge ratings, the system we're using here does not seem to be kosher with true D&D, at least in my interpretation. Though, I'm sure some will argue with me.
I'm hoping a system similar to this can be researched and perhaps be implemented in the future.
Status: Is being beat up by paranoid DMs
Outlook: Is going to miss ALFA
Outlook: Is going to miss ALFA