Goal XP by /u/Havelok

# Goal XP
Experience points in Role Playing games are
often used to encourage different styles of
play. The typical XP system for 5e rewards
players for slaying foes or adhering to rigid
story milestones. This alternative XP system
is designed to encourage players to think
deeply about their character's desires and
motivations, rewarding meaningful role-play and player
agency via in-character goal creation.

On a personal note, I enjoy running games with a strong
narrative focus in an open world How do you get your players
to care about their own story? How do you get players to not
wait be lead around by the nose by the "story" the GM has
planned for them? Goals!

## Rules
### Overview

- Players Create Goals for their Characters that earn XP 
- Goals increase in XP value every session
- Accomplish a Goal, get XP

Players must grapple with their character's internal motivations, as if they don't, they don't progress.

### Basics

Each character has 3 Goal slots. At the beginning of each session, a Player **may** create goals that their character wishes to achieve. For a Goal to be considered valid it should take at least 1 session of play to complete, or, alternatively, a significant amount of effort to achieve.

A newly created Goal is worth 1XP, unless a player wishes to create a goal mid-session, in which case it is worth 0XP and the GM can offer alternative rewards such as Inspiration or Hero Points for the Goals premature completion.

The value of a Goal increases at the beginning of a new session (to a cap of 5xp, or one level's worth), and the player is rewarded with XP equal to the Goal's value when the Goal is successfully completed. When a player reaches 5XP, their level advances and they reset to 0XP.

The creation and completion of Goals are of course evaluated by the GM and are subject to GM fiat.

>These numbers can be easily tweaked to alter the rate of progression. The values above are meant for those who enjoy a level up approximately every 3 sessions. To slow progression you can of course increase the XP required per level or reduce the cap on how much XP a Goal can store.

### Step By Step

At the beginning of each session and out of character, the group goes over their character's Goals and shares them with the group if they wish (it is of course in good form to have a secret Goal that is only shared with the GM when appropriate).

If a player has a Goal on their sheet that was present last session, the goal increases in XP value.

> Goals should be Action Verbs. **Attack, Save,Find, Visit, Destroy, Enter** etc. They should also be clearly attainable and have a clear resolution, so that the GM can reward you.

During the discussion, The players should consider the possibility of making (or discarding, or other players joining) a Group Goal, a Goal that all members of the party share so that they might all benefit from its completion. They should also evaluate how the goals are affecting their characters.

Goals are "in character" and should ideally be reflected in a
character's actions and behavior. If a character has a high XP
Goal they should very much want to do that thing and may ask
other party members to do the task. If they have to abandon a
Goal they should be appropriately irritated or pissed as in
some cases it is the equivalent of giving up a vital dream or
aspiration.

## Example
### Agathon the Centaur
Agathon the Centaur is a Soldier that fought in the Last War. He would like to see his boot camp again and find an old war "buddy", a medic that left him bleeding on the field due to rivalry, and enact revenge. The group is also looking to venture into a nearby ruin to search for a lost child.

#### Goals:
1) Find Gandry the missing boy (1XP) (Group)
2) Get revenge on Bartus, my old medic (3XP)
3) Visit my old Boot Camp (4XP)

The group decided to find the missing boy just this session, so it became a group goal and was only worth one XP. The desire to visit his old stomping ground and to get revenge on Bartus is steadily growing into a dire need, and as soon as they find this boy, Agathon plans on taking the group aside and asking for their aid. If he doesn't receive help, he might give up on his Goal (erase it) and become embittered, or otherwise roleplay his displeasure (optional but encouraged).

A typical player does not keep all three Goal slots filled, as (honestly) it's pretty difficult to think of three things a character wants to accomplish at a time. However, groups often eventually get the hang of group Goals, so the first slot is often occupied by the Goal at hand. If the group were to borrow one of Agathon's Goals such as "Get Revenge on Bartus", they could all choose to write in one of his Goals as a Group Goal once they completed their mission of finding the lost child or had a free slot.
>Goals adopted by other players begin at 1 or 0 XP just like any other goal and DO NOT inherit the XP value of the borrowed goal. `

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## Issues and Questions
When this system has been shared before, some users had questions and concerns about certain issues that might come up in play.

1. *How do I get players to make Goals at the beginning of a campaign?*

When using a Goal system it's best to start the campaign In Media Res, such as placing the party in peril or in some dangerous situation. They will likely have a traditional "quest" given to them by an NPC that they are working on, and this can be their goal. You can guide them by saying "you all probably want to _____".

After that, it's up to them to think of what their character desires. When players can't think of anything, they often become "helpful", aka, their Goals become Help ___do ___, piggybacking on other players goals, or encouraging group goals. Discussion about Goals at the table is critical for this to happen though.

2. *What happens if there is a player that is hoarding goals and/or is very effective at min/maxing the Goal system? They often end up at a higher level than other players.*

One player hogging the goals can definitely be a problem in some groups. Often this player is a "Spotlight Dick", and may need some reigning in.

Solution 1: Apply diminishing returns to any party member above the average level of the group. If everyone is level 5 and one player is level 6, reduce the maximum XP of his goals by one until he is back in line with the group. If he is two levels ahead, reduce it by two, etc. You could also do the same, but to how much XP it takes to level instead.

Solution 2: Enforce the Group Goal enforcement rule, found below.

3. *Everyone always wants to pursue their own goals, never does any group goals, or never shares goals with other party members.*

If you feel like this is becoming problematic, you an apply the optional Group Goal enforcement rule, which is to reserve the first slot of the three for Group Goals only. To use this slot the player's character must have the goal in common with at least one other player. You might also need to encourage players to be more open about their goals if alot of players are clueless as to what other PCs want.

4. *I want other players to also be rewarded when someone completes a big, juicy, 5XP goal. Is that allowed?*

If only one member of a group has a max XP goal and they complete it, I sometimes reward other players with 1 XP, especially if the goal might push one player above the level of the others. It will speed up progression a bit however, so if you plan on doing this you might want to slow progression in other ways.

5. *I want XP progression to resemble official DnD in that it grows more difficult as the players level. How do?*

Start the XP required per level at 3, and increase it for every level beginning at level 4. At level 4 a level requires 4 XP, at 5, 5XP, 6, 6XP, etc.

> Goals should be **Specific**, they should be **Attainable**,
and they should be **"Dos"** rather than "Don'ts", eg
"Don't fall in the chasm" is an iffy goal, "Get to the
other side of the chasm" is a better goal. Below is a
more complete guide to good **Action Verbs**.

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## Folk Psychology and System Design

This XP system is designed to encourage players to be continuously thinking about what their character wants from the world, themselves, and other characters. By integrating essential progression into this process, it puts RP at the forefront of the tabletop roleplaying experience.

The Three Goal slots exist to limit the number of goals a player can collect over time, and make decisions about what should and should not be a goal that earns the character progression important and meaningful.

The Limit on total XP gained by any one goal is meant to limit the player's power to leave a goal on their sheet for months and months and have a ridiculously large progression payout by the end. If you find you have players that still like to do this, I encourage you to lower the maximum XP limit on goals.

The increase in XP value per session is meant to encourage players both to think long term and be rewarded for play regardless of the specific actions they take in game to achieve their desired goal.

The requirement for Goals to be "difficult to achieve" is a protection against players making goals such as "pick up that can" and gaining single points of XP or alternative rewards effortlessly.

The recommendation for Players to discuss their goals at the beginning of the session and receive 1XP immediately for goals formed during this time is a alternative approach to the very useful "last time on..." review portion of a Tabletop RP session. In this case, the players have every motivation to discuss what happened last time, as it is critical to forming new goals for future events or discussing current goals that the party wishes to achieve. The GM can also continue to participate in the summary, of course.

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