Sráidbhaile Level Independent XP Awards (3.5e Variant Rule)
Sráidbhaile Level Independent XP Awards[edit]
This variant replaces Table 3-2: Experience and Level-Dependent Benefits (page 22 of the D20 System) as a way of easing the DM's job of adventure design and the task of experience-point calculation at the end of a game session. This Variant is a compromise between the typical D&D Experience and Leveling system and the Level-Independent XP Awards variant.
Use the following table to determine when characters gain new levels, rather than Table 3-2 in the D20 System.
To advance to a new level beyond 20th, a character needs to gain double the amount of XP he needed to advance from two levels below his current level to one level below his current level. Experience resets at each new level.
For example, to advance from 20th to 21st level, a character needs to gain double the amount of XP he needed to advance from 18th level to 19th level. Since he needed 171,000 XP to go from 18th to 19th level, he needs 342,000 XP (171,000 x 2) to go from 20th level to 21st level.
| Character Level | XP | Class Skill Max Ranks | Cross-Class Skill Max Ranks | Feats | Ability Score Increases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1st | - |
| 2nd | 1,000 | 5 | 2-1/2 | - | - |
| 3rd | 3,000 | 6 | 3 | 2nd | - |
| 4th | 6,000 | 7 | 3-1/2 | - | 1st |
| 5th | 10,000 | 8 | 4 | - | - |
| 6th | 15,000 | 9 | 4-1/2 | 3rd | - |
| 7th | 21,000 | 10 | 5 | - | - |
| 8th | 28,000 | 11 | 5-1/2 | - | 2nd |
| 9th | 36,000 | 12 | 6 | 4th | - |
| 10th | 45,000 | 13 | 6-1/2 | - | - |
| 11th | 55,000 | 14 | 7 | - | - |
| 12th | 66,000 | 15 | 7-1/2 | 5th | 3rd |
| 13th | 78,000 | 16 | 8 | - | - |
| 14th | 91,000 | 17 | 8-1/2 | - | - |
| 15th | 105,000 | 18 | 9 | 6th | - |
| 16th | 120,000 | 19 | 9-1/2 | - | 4th |
| 17th | 136,000 | 20 | 10 | - | - |
| 18th | 153,000 | 21 | 10-1/2 | 7th | - |
| 19th | 171,000 | 22 | 11 | - | - |
| 20th | 190,000 | 23 | 11-1/2 | - | 5th |
Regardless of a character's level relative to the rest of the party, he gets the same numerical XP award, so the math at the end of the night is a lot easier. Table 2-6 on page 38 of the D20 System is no longer used. Monsters just have flat XP awards, which are divided up among the participants.
For example, a frost worm (CR 12) is worth 7,800 XP. If four characters defeat it, they each earn 1,950 XP (7,800 divided by 4), regardless of their level.
| Monster CR | XP Award |
|---|---|
| 1 | 300 |
| 2 | 600 |
| 3 | 900 |
| 4 | 1,200 |
| 5 | 1,800 |
| 6 | 2,250 |
| 7 | 3,150 |
| 8 | 3,700 |
| 9 | 5,000 |
| 10 | 5,700 |
| 11 | 7,000 |
| 12 | 7,800 |
| 13 | 10,200 |
| 14 | 10,800 |
| 15 | 13,800 |
| 16 | 14,400 |
| 17 | 18,300 |
| 18 | 20,000 |
| 19 | 21,850 |
| 20 | 22,650 |
For monsters beyond CR 20, simply double the XP reward for a monster of that CR minus 2. For instance, a CR 22 monster is worth twice as much as a CR 20 monster, or 45,300 XP.
Behind the Curtain: Sráidbhaile Level Independent XP[edit]
DMs who use this variant gain flexibility in two areas: individual monster design and encounter design. Because you're assessing specific XP awards to monsters, you don't have to restrict yourself to the numbers that appear on the table. If you think a monster you've designed is CR 7-1/2, you can simply give out 3,425 XP for defeating it. At higher levels, the numbers on the table should suffice because it's hard to discern a meaningful difference between a CR 18 monster and a CR 18-1/2 monster. But at lower levels, the flexibility is potent because you can fill in the gap between CR 1 and CR 2 (which otherwise represents a 100 % power increase) and between CR 2 and CR 3 ( a 50% power increase).
This variant also makes it easier to design encounters with mixed groups of monsters. Rather than combining monsters of different CRs, then consulting a table to figure out what the Encounter Level (EL) is, simply add up the XP award for each monster until you reach the XP total you want. For example, if you want to create an average encounter for 15th-level characters, put enough monsters in the encounter to total roughly 58,000 XP (the amount the PCs would earn for a single CR 15 monster).
As with the standard experience point system, the DM should closely watch the experience awards for large numbers of weak creatures, which often provide little or no meaningful challenge to characters.
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