If a character handicaps themselves in some way (weighted clothes, training weapon, etc.)...

If a character handicaps themselves in some way (weighted clothes, training weapon, etc.), should they gain more experience from the battle?

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No.

You get experience for resolving situations, not playing hard mode. That's just shit for /v/ faggots.

If you manage to save yourself with intelligent application of jury-rigged tools you get more, but all you get for going into that is an upraised eyebrow and mayyyybe a good story.

I don't think so, but I do believe in allowing players to "choose" their difficulty in other ways:

-Players may go into the dungeon with less equipment and supplies (especially armor which is quite heavy), but can move faster carry out more loot.

-Players may recruit NPCs to help in the dungeon, so that fights will be easier and they can help carry loot, but those NPCs themselves require shares of XP and treasure (as if they were each half a party member). Dungeons are deathtraps, so without that level of compensation, no NPC, not even a mercenary will even entertain the notion of following a PC into a dungeon.

-The further out from civilization you wish to go for treasure, the more intense your logistical challenges will be, but the rewards will be greater too... if you succeed. You will be more likely to get lost, monsters will be stronger further out, various specialists will be needed (such as a navigator, armorer, and so on), you will need mercenaries to protect the inevitable camp near the dungeon, you will need beasts of burden to haul out your treasure, and so on.

-Within dungeons, players may descend to a dungeon-level far beyond their abilities if they choose. This brings the chance to see greater treasures, but the monsters they see may be far more dangerous than the PCs can handle.

Depends on the level of the handicap.
Using a Blindfold? You bet your stupid ass.
Weighted clothes? It'd better be cripplingly heavy.

Also depends on the system.
Some do it better than others.

I guess I'll have to use "that"

As long as the system supported balance between non-uniform levels, then yeah, I'd go for it. That one scene in DBZ where goku drops some of his clothes off and they fucking break the crust still sends shivers down my spine when I see it.

If a player overcomes a particularly difficulty challenge in combat, or goes about combat in a suprising way I'll give them extra exp.
If a low strength character makes great rolls to bodily pick up an enemy, then huck it off a cliff, then he's getting extra.

If you intentionally gimp yourself, then no probably not. unless you're trying to do nonlethal, a wooden training sword can still split somebody's wig.

You want to do "that"?

Nope, that just encourages players to find the optimal level of self-nerfing and metagaming in the middle of important action. Bonus exp should be given for things that make the game run better, not as some trophy for doing stupid stuff just to show off.

That said, if my players want pointlessly hard fights, I have a "danger room" that they can visit that has a bunch of super-difficult fights. We use it when everyone wants to play but I don't have a full session ready. It's not part of the plot, just an exercise in combat against very challenging foes. If the party loses they lose all their hit dice and emerge in a safe space at 1 HP. If they win the exp rewards are cut to 1/10th normal because I don't want them spamming it to level up.

They get prize tickets for winning the hard fights, and can turn in the prize tickets for loot only useable in the danger room or for a chance to take on hidden challenges.

This sounds like some video game sidequest.

I award XP to players for roleplaying more substantive handicaps.
Like when a player decided to roleplay their vampire character with OCD (they managed to roleplay it really well without annoying everybody or derailing the game)

Yup. It's entirely gamist without apology. I use it around 5-10% of sessions. It's a good way for the party to stretch their legs or to test new strategies when they're at their home base during downtime.

It doesn't come up when the actual game is going on. My players are all old hats and work really well together, so this is something I always do so they can test themselves.

Sounds like it would be good for getting new people to know their modifiers or dice pool too so combat would be less confusing for them durring actual play

Haha, it could be if I simplified the monsters, that's not a bad idea for my side game if that ever gets off the ground, thanks.

H-he's fast

it needs to be more than just a handy cap it also needs to be role playing

Why is it that whenever I see a post with that kind of art style, it's always a retarded post?

>Bonus exp should be given for things that make the game run better, not as some trophy for doing stupid stuff just to show off.

What if the point of the game/battle is doing stupid stuff to show off? Like a gladiatorial combat?

yes

Nope.

If they have a flaw that impairs their ability to fight, maybe.

Once you realise that awarding XP for battles is dumb, then have every encounter where their Flaw screws them over and makes everything harder be awarded with more XP if they manage to overcome that impairment.

what comic is the character in OP's pic from?

She's from Veeky Forums explained, a comic that doesn't really explain anything but is cute.

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