Session Length – A game session is defined as 4-6 hours of role-playing when dealing with adventures that occur over multiple sessions. It is possible to have entire adventures between the sessions belonging to a single, longer adventure. It is also possible that only a short amount of time in a given session is spent on the longer adventure, while the characters deal with other things going on. mount of time spent on the longer, more drawn out adventures, so that he can properly award experience.

Adventure Result – This award is based upon whether or not the character successfully accomplished the main goal of the adventure. They either did, or they did not but can still fix things in the next session, or they failed to complete the adventure in a manner that cannot be fixed.

Encounters – During the course of the adventure, the characters will have encounters. These could be planned encounters, such as the players having to negotiate with a trader for some information, or it could be a random encounter with a wandering monster. Either way, each encounter adds to the total value of the adventure. Successful means that the goal of the encounter was accomplished. The information was gained, the monster vanquished or chased off, etc.

Heroic/Dramatic Actions – Characters that perform heroic or dramatics actions that add to the overall enjoyment of the game gain additional experience points. Also, if the actions pose a serious risk to the health or life of the character, beyond the standard risks involved in adventuring, they can get yet another bonus to the experience points earned.

Accomplishing Goals – In order to complete an adventure, the characters will have to complete one or more goals associated with that adventure. The character that completes a given goal gains experience points for doing so.

Players should also be encouraged to draw up a list of personal goals for their characters so that the GM can give them opportunities to accomplish them. Personal goals should never be normal mundane activities. They can, however, include things like “joining a specific organization”, but only when the joining requires some special condition to be met, such as needing the recommendation of an existing member, and existing members never give recommendations except until the candidate proves themselves in some capacity.

Plot Elements – A campaign is made up of numerous adventures. During the course of the campaign, there will be many plot elements that the characters follow. Some will lead to specific adventures, while others will sometimes fade away. The players themselves are often a good source for plot elements that are incorporated into the ongoing adventures of the campaign.

When a player provides the GM with something that can be made into a plot element, the GM should reward the player by doling out additional experience points for it. If the plot element is formed out of something from the player’s character’s past or from an aspect of the character that might otherwise be considered a flaw of the character, so much the better because it will help tie the character, and thus the interest of the players to the game in a stronger fashion.