A while back I wrote a blog post about changing the leveling system in D&D Fifth Edition into a Gold For XP system. It was all theory.
After, a year and a half of playing a weekly game using this system, I can actually talk about it’s effects on player behavior and give some concepts a GM might want to consider when running a game with this system.
Basically I think it engages players to engage with the world in a different and, for me, a better way. I think having a more diegetic mechanism to trigger level advancement is more exciting than XP abstract meta-currency.
I don’t know if Gold is perfect for this, as it certainly encourages a kind of scheming play style, where everything is a potential money maker. My players, for example wanted to sell their urine as a type of beast repellent(because it actually worked in combat one time, not because they’re total jerks). I love it because you’ll be surprised by some of the creativity that comes from it, but there’s some draw backs too. Like not wanting to spend money on food, because that money could go to Level 3 and the spells that come with it.
I think the mechanics of the game are pretty important here, and highlight how Gold For XP isn’t some panacea mechanic that makes a game more immersive. One also has to understand how the reward of leveling up conditions a player to want certain things. There are many rewards for hitting certain level thresholds in 5e, so players feel very encouraged to hit certain levels so the game becomes “fun”.
In a game like Shadowdark, the benefits of leveling up are randomized and in some cases the benefits are small. For example you have to roll a 10 or 11 to add +1 to your attack rolls. Which is to say you have a 13.888% chance of improving the chances of your attack rolls by 5%. So I wonder how my style of Gold For XP advancement would change players behavior with that kind of mechanical reward on the line.
I should note, Shadowdark’s gold for XP system isn’t really like mine though. Mine is more of a literal, you need to spend this amount of money over a certain amount of time to advance. Whereas Shadowdark is not dissimilar from “Kill Monster For Experience”, except XP is rewarded for finding treasure and you’re rewarded more points for the treasures quality(just as you’re rewarded more XP for slaying a dragon vs. a goblin).
I’ll probably have to explore thatt for another post for another time.