XP in Supported Encounters

an appropriate CR for the PCs. For example, an adventure might have three trolls outside the cave entrance, then an antechamber with six ghouls, and finally a crypt with an evil cleric and two rogue bodyguards. The DM makes sure that the rooms’ challenges are neither too hard (a high-level lich in the crypt) nor too easy (a pair of skeletons in the antechamber). But on a fluid battlefield where the PCs have greater freedom of movement, they’ll often encounter enemy foot soldiers that simply can’t touch powerful PCs.

When awarding experience for an encounter, remember what the “C” in CR stands for: challenge. In other words, the PCs earn experience points only if the battle was a challenge for them. If you have to throw more than eight to ten creatures at a group of four PCs, watch the ensuing combat closely. If the PCs aren’t taking any damage and they aren’t expending significant resources to overcome the enemy, that melee isn’t worth experience points. Just because you aren’t awarding experience points for a battle doesn’t mean you should discourage characters from wading into the enemy ranks. Battlefield adventures have other rewards besides experience—victory points and recognition points, for example. And don’t underestimate the vicarious thrill of laying waste to horde of enemies. As long as you give the players plenty of opportunities to choose meaningful, challenging encounters, it’s okay to let them blow off steam against enemy grunts from time to time and show off a little. If you’re seeing smiles around the table, you’re doing your job as DM. XP IN SUPPORTED ENCOUNTERS

Another difference between adventures in a dungeon and on a battlefield is the amount of support the PCs receive. In most dungeons, the PCs are on their own, exploring at their own pace and fighting with only their own resources. But on the battlefield, PCs are part of a larger organization. If their mission is important, they’ll often get covering fire from nearby archers, a barrage from friendly catapults, or even the proverbial cavalry to rescue them from a horde of enemies. Tangible support from NPCs makes the PCs’ jobs easier, so they’re able to take on tougher challenges. Accordingly, getting help from the rest of the army affects the experience point award for overcoming a particular challenge. Because support can take many forms, it’s better for the DM to make a judgment call rather than rely on a hard and fast rule. In most cases, support is either minor or major. Minor support reduces the XP award for a battlefield encounter by 10%. Major support reduces the XP award by 25% (or more, at the DM’s discretion). Basically, if the support gives the PCs a small advantage, it’s treated as minor support; if it has the capability of dealing (or healing) significant amounts of damage, it’s major support. Some examples of each kind oif support are provided below.

Minor Support (–10% XP) • Minor medical aid (low-level cleric or druid supplying some healing) • Suppressive fire from artillery or archery (arrow volley keeps enemies from advancing) • Magical or fantastic insertion (giant eagles drop the PCs behind the wall of the castle) • Magical or fantastic extraction (army-issued scroll of teleport) • Magically altered advantageous terrain (entangle spells)

Major Support (–25% XP or more) • Major medical aid (mid-level cleric providing extensive healing and other restorative powers) • Damaging artillery or archery (siege engines or fireballs raining down on enemies) • Magical terrain alteration capable of damaging enemies (Evard’s black tentacles)

Those lists intentionally don’t include one common form of support: NPCs who fight alongside the PCs. It’s generally easier to describe NPC-versus-NPC attacks in general terms, rather than rolling for each blow; as a DM, you have enough to keep track of just interacting with the PCs. Whenever you spend time at the table figuring out what happens when one NPC interacts with another NPC, none of the player characters have the spotlight. Avoid leaving the PCs out of the action whenever possible. It’s easier to just describe how the NPCs are faring during the battle, updating the players every round (or more often if the PCs are watching events closely). If the PCs have charged into the orc army lines along with a company of human knights, you might say, “The orc troopers are wavering under the cavalry assault, and a few of them break ranks and flee.” A few rounds later, you might say, “A few orcs remain in melee combat with you, but the rest are running, and the cavalry is giving chase.” At the end of the encounter or game session, you need to account for the PCs’ allies. The presence of friendly NPCs reduces the number of enemy NPCs “overcome” by the PCs on a CR-by-CR basis. Then calculate the PCs’ experience point award based on the reduced number of NPCs. For example, if four 5th-level PCs charge into battle alongside four 2nd-level fighter NPCs, slaying bugbears left and right, you can figure that each of the NPC fighters is roughly as effective as a bugbear (a bugbear and a 2nd-level fighter are both CR 2). During the battle, don’t roll for attacks between the fighters and the bugbears; simply describe two of the bugbears and two of the NPC fighters falling in battle (or more, or less, as you like). When you calculate the experience point award for the encounter, reduce the number of bugbears by four to account for the presence of the NPC fighters. In short, use the lists above when the PCs get tangible support that doesn’t involve actual combatants on the PCs’ side. If the PCs get help from NPCs who fight at their side, reduce the number of enemies they get credit for overcoming in order to compensate for the help.