It seems that there are several ways that the Quest Level
portion of xp is awarded.

Naturally mine is the correct implementation and everyone
else is wrong and should change to apply it the same way I
do. :)  But more importantly I think we should be
consistent.

I've included the Quest Level section from the GM Guide
below for reference.  I believe there are two main areas of
difference:

The first difference is whether it is the same amount each
night for the session or whether it varies per night based
on what the party is doing.

The second difference is Quest Level vs Danger Level.  Some
people refer to this component as the danger level and
consider it a bonus for facing dangerous situations as a
balance for the risk of losing xp through death.



1) While I think that this is supposed to be a fixed amount
based on the declared level of the adventure, there are many
reasons why it should vary.

If a high level party goes on a high level adventure and
spends 5 nights talking to the local townsfolk, 2 nights
getting rid of the dragon, then 5 nights helping to rebuild
the town and catch the local pick-pocket, have they earned a
high level award for 12 nights or should it only be for the
2 nights they spent dealing with the dragon and a low level
award for the remainder?
My argument is that the adventure was to deal with the
dragon which only a high level party could do, if they
managed to deal with it quickly then good for them they
shouldn't be penalised for that.  Should we be rewarding the
party that drags the main encounter out for as long as
possible more than the one that deals with it quickly and
efficiently?

Should every party get bunny level award for the first night
which is usually spent doing introductions, talking to the
employer, and getting organised?  Any bunny level party
could do the same thing, no skill was required, no danger
was faced, why should they get a medium or high level award
for that?  The same with the last session which is often
spent debriefing and doing the treasure split.
If a low level party member uses an item they picked up on
their last adventure to summon a balrog and the party spends
the night trying to survive the encounter, should they all
get a high level award for that night?
My answer to both is no, the adventure has an average level.
 That level may be changed from what was announced once the
GM finds out who their party is, some nights will be harder
and some easier but the overall level of the adventure and
characters required for the adventure is what the award is
for.


2) I feel that this is more clear cut.  The award is quest
level, not danger level.  It is quite explicitly written up
to state that the quest level is a combination of level of
complexity, level of skills & magic required AND level of
danger faced.
If we base this purely on danger level then we are
encouraging D&D hack and slash style adventuring where you
get the best reward for facing the most dangerous bad guys
you can find.
I like that this allows a high level adventure without a
combat.  An adventure can still be high due to the level of
skill and magic and hard work required to solve it, without
having to throw a couple of balrogs in to make it dangerous.


I think we should keep this section as it is written and
play it as a fixed quest level award for the session.  This
is what is was intended to be, an additional chunk of xp
that increases as your level increases so that high level
characters are encouraged to go on high level adventures
rather than waltzing through low level ones and so that they
get to raise more than one spell by one rank after an
adventure.  To allow visible improvement after each
adventure and make it more satisfying for the players.

There are arguments for why the award should be based on
danger and why it should vary each night, I'll leave it to
those who support those views to expound on their merits and
I'll go with the majority descision on how it should be
applied.

But more importantly I'd like to achieve agreement to play
it one way or the other consistently.  The difference in xp
from 2 gms, one awarding a consistent amount based on quest
level and the other awarding a varying amount based on
danger is significant.
If you were to go on the same adventure with different GMs
the difference in xp should be based on their opinion of
your role-playing and contribution not based on how they
play the quest level award.

Cheers, Stephen.
(Hoping he hasn't opened too big a can of worms)

------------
Quest Level
POTENTIAL AWARD: 0-1500 EP / Session
This category is awarded based solely on the
difficulty and complexity of the quest. The adjudged
level of difficulty and risk should be announced at
the beginning of the quest and the Game-master
should endeavour to abide by this level. This means
not making things harder when the party is able to
overpower the quest and also not being easy on
younger and less experienced characters when the
quest seems too tough for them.

QUEST LEVELS:
[0 EP Very Low Level]
The characters will be confronted with little personal
risk, with death unlikely, low ability opponents, e.g.
animals, low experience NPCs. Problems will have
readily obtainable solutions with little, low Rank
magic involved.
[300 EP Low Level]
The characters will be confronted with some
personal risk with opponents of some ability, e.g.
humanoid monsters, NPCs with some experience.
Problems will have obtainable solutions with some
low Rank magic and a little, medium Rank magic
involved.
[600 EP Medium Level]
The characters will be confronted with definite
personal risk, and possible death, with opponents of
equal ability, e.g. lesser undead, monsters,
experienced NPCs. Problems will require thought
and include magic, though little magic above
medium Rank.
[900 EP High Level]
The characters will be confronted with high personal
risk, including the likelihood of death, with tough
opponents, e.g. greater undead, devils, very
experienced mages. Problems will be difficult and
involve much magic and/or ingenuity, but not entirely
high Rank magic.
[1200 EP Very High Level]
The characters will be confronted with death,
possibly irresurrectable, with very tough opponents,
e.g. powerful groups, individual dragons or Powers.
Problems will require thought, ingenuity and magic
to solve and will involve any (and probably all)
magic.
[1500 EP Extreme Level (Certain Death or World-
Saving)]
The characters will be confronted with almost certain
death, probably irresurrectable, with virtually
unbeatable opponents, e.g. groups of Powers,
Empires. Problems will be all but unsolvable and will
involve any and all magic plus stuff not readily
possible within the rules.


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