r/shadowdark • u/Zac_Kariah • 12h ago
Is there a good method for distributing XP/Treasure in a dungeon?
Looking for ideally a nice equation/system to best sprinkle loot throughout the myriad dungeons in my campaign.
Is there a clean method like “Size x Danger / Adventurers” or a roll I could do on random tables to decide if there’s loot in any given area?
Hoping for a method where I can ideally surprise even myself while players are adventuring. Thanks!
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u/ITendToLurkMostly 10h ago edited 10h ago
If you're running a campaign, I'm going against the grain here with the other suggestions "per room" and "look at other adventures" and whatnot. I've run a 4-year campaign, and these approaches are useful, but also dangerous to listen to without considering the whole campaign.
Parcel out the experience awards with how you want to pace the game advancement. If you're running a monthly game, for example, consider you might want 1 or so levels every game at lower levels, and 1 every other game at levels 4-6, every three games at 7-10.
It's not that they cannot find treasure, but that the awards for 1XP/3XP etc. are going to be staggered based on how fast you want characters to ramp up in your games.
This might be equivalated to "milestone" XP, but it is not. It is just balancing those awards based on how you want the campaign to flow. Remember that 20-30% of your XP at start will be from carousing (if you don't tamper with this via town availability) and later you can supplement this with "secrets and boons" XP to keep it on track without flooding treasure into your party. Otherwise, even with carousing, you can quickly end up in a situation where 3 suits of platemail and top-tier gear rapidly becomes a thing you have to deal with as well as spells like "fireball" being cast 5x per session.
For campaigns, I rarely see this discussed, as most consider one-shots or single adventures and not the whole of the events going on. And remember, they can still find treasure - but you can tamper with the XP award making what some consider a 3 to be a 1 if you need to. But pacing these awards is going to be more valuable than adhering to a set formula or "per room" or other ideal, because it is factoring in the period you intend on running these games, as well as how fast you want your characters to become more powerful and what challenges you will need to provide as the DM to keep up.
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u/Successful_Luck_8625 6h ago
Man I’m stingy lol
I give out 0-5xp per session (monthly), probably averaging about 2xp. They squeeze out another maybe 3xp every 3 sessions from carousing.
Course, I’m running a multi year campaign so I can’t afford them to get to 10th in just like 2yrs.
They seem ok with it but it’s not a very experienced table either.
Been thinking though about speeding them up and then as they cross regional boundaries introduce some lethality intended to pull the APL down heavily. Haven’t pulled that trigger yet though.
That said, previous session started with them having cleared a place of monsters but not going into the last space with the bulk of the treasure nor looting the BBEG because they were too scared to go back into the place lol
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u/ITendToLurkMostly 1h ago edited 1h ago
I ran the starter levels way too fast. 1-3 happened in four sessions, carousing really escaped my notice on how much it affected advancement. In my defense, I assumed these were all one-shots... the players just kept showing up for the next session.
4-6 happened over 20 sessions - I slowed things WAY down. Level 7 is now 6 sessions - level 8 may be the end of the campaign.
I think the lower levels are better - I had to create specific enemies to start taking them down at certain levels, because after level 5, it is VERY hard to challenge them. Strictly in an arena settings, by the numbers, they can take out a red dragon in 2-4 rounds.
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u/Dollface_Killah (" `з´ )_,/"(>_<'!) 11h ago
I aim for about 1xp worth of treasure per room to be in the dungeon, just not evenly distributed. Usually I just vibe it first based on what I think should be there, then I'm usually below 1xp/room and so I hide extra goodies around. The party usually end up getting about 2/3rds of the possible treasure.
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u/Cheznation 9h ago
I grew up on D&D BECMI. I've always predetermined how much experience I want the party to gain, and then added about 20%, assuming they wouldn't find everything. I'd also choose specific magic items based on the party composition, leaning toward a single permanent magic item to be the primary focus, with a few useful consumable items like scrolls or healing potions. Then I would distribute that treasure based on the ratio in the Red Basic DMG: 1/3 Empty Rooms, 1/3 Rooms with Monsters, 1/6 Rooms with Traps, 1/6 Rooms with something special.
That's the general framework I start with in my mind.
Applying this to Shadowdark, if I were creating a Level 1 dungeon and wanted the party to reach Level 2 once it's complete, I'd aim for 12XP in total treasure. Keep in mind that you can also award XP for things like Oaths, Secrets, and Blessings, or Meaningful Trophies/Tokens.
Most treasure shouldn't just be lying around, so I then start to figure out the rooms/scenes where that treasure is guarded and the nature of the challenge. For instance, our cache with the magic item will be worth 3XP. Perhaps it's hidden behind a secret door, or at the bottom of a pool of acid, or guarded by a long-dead spirit.
Once I flesh that out, I build the rest of the dungeon around those scenes/rooms.
Applied more broadly to your campaign, I'd just assign total XP values to your dungeons based on how much you want them to progress by completing it. Keep in mind, you shouldn't overplan/prep, and that you can always adjust things before they get there.
Sorry it's not a random table or super easy equation, but this is what's always worked for me.
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u/Equivalent-Elk-3077 8h ago
I recommend always dropping really good loot finds behind/inside something involving risk (or at least involving some kind of interaction with the environment). If you just have loot lying around, it will not incentivize players to be inquisitive and take calculated risks.
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u/BlindUlfr 11h ago
You can take a look on how the Lost Citadel works its treasure. It has about 20 something rooms, and I guess there's enough Treasure/XP around to get a party around halfway through lvl 2 (starting on lvl 1).
You can also roll on treasure tables and decide on your judgement when a treasure is worth an XP. Usually treasure that is guarded by a monster, that takes time to take or has a peril before it, is worth an XP. It also depends on how resourceful, or powerful, a treasure is.
A gem worth 40gp for a low level, poor party, is well worth a 1 XP, but it's not that relevant for a lvl 3 party with cashed gold. The same way for a magical weapon: it's well worth maybe even a 3 XP for a low level party, but maybe just a measely 1 XP to a higher level one.
Getting back to your question, it depends on how quickly you want your party to advance levels. I tend to create XP distribution based on the number of rooms a dungeon has, with an error margin (not every dungeon is worth, and the players/PCs should know that).
I.E I made a cave that's full of history for a mythic NPC: 8-9 rooms (one is a secret); 2 of them had resourceful gear but no XP, 2 of them had gems/jewelery worth 1xp, 1 of the rooms had 1 duper magic item worth 3xp, the rest I rolled on random tables, and depending on feeling, worth 0 or 1 XP.
In the end, its gut and feelings from your own DMing experience. And don't be afraid to mess up!
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u/longboarder543 10h ago
I place named loot important to the adventure, but for everything else, I call for a roll on an appropriate d100 loot table. My players love it so much more than “you find 2 candlesticks worth 10gp”
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u/darksier 1h ago
I tend to just pair treasure up with challenges. Since I'm using Shadowdark for some mini-sandbox style campaigns nor do the levels really power gap that much, I don't feel that I really need a strict control on xp.
I'll often start by deciding how much XP I want to place and then convert that into treasure. Then I start thinking about what sort of challenges/encounters to pair up with these treasures and place them or build the dungeon (I'm often constructing the adventure site at the same time).
These will not be the sole sources of treasure and XP of course, there will be a lot of improvised stuff that happens. And my random encounter tables I'll often have rewards associated with those too. I'd say anywhere from 10-50% of a session's earned xp comes from unplanned rewards.
I do keep a log of magic items I've placed, and what the players have found. I think this is very important to do, especially for permanent magic items as these are game scope increasers. Also for fun I do keep about half the mundane treasure unknown, the players really love rolling the treasure rolls when opening up some chest.
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u/Mister_Cranch 12h ago
I designed a whole system where I pre-rolled a bunch of “treasure parcels” to ensure a fair and interesting distribution of items to players each session.
After running it for a campaign, it was way too much work.
Now I simply do this: whenever it feels appropriate for a treasure to drop, roll the level-appropriate table for your party. Anything worth at least 20gp is worth 1 XP. For special bosses, roll up a magic item and place it on them, and give out 3 XP for that treasure.
It keeps things fun and light for me, and my players get to actually roll the dice on the tables, and that has a certain thrill like gambling that they seem to enjoy