Yes, here we are again. After everything the players have been through since leaving Praszka, I’d say it’s a good moment for awarding some XPs and proceeding with character development.
I will slightly streamline the process here; if you want a more step-by-step method for awarding XPs you can check the previous instance at the end of day 5 of the campaign. And of course, the rules for developing a player’s character can be found in the Player’s Manual at pages 40-41.
EXPERIENCE POINTS
Let’s go through the pertinent questions:
- Did you participate in the game session? You get one XP just for being there
I’m playing solo, and it’s unpractical to count single sessions, so 1 XP for everyone for making it to here.
- Did you follow your moral code despite significant risk to yourself or your group?
The players, helped by the 1/116th Cav, dealt a major blow to the Sheperd’s Flock in the region, helping WARREN and all civilians in the area. One more XP for each player.
- Did you risk or sacrifice something significant to realize your big dream?
Nobody really made significant steps towards their big dream (again, I purposely set broad-scoped big dreams for all players). No XPs here.
- Did you travel through at least one hex on the travel map that you had not visited before?
From Praszka to Dobrodzień, then Camp Flock and back, the players have travelled for roughly 120km. Following the previous Learning from Experience, I’ll award 1 XP for off-road travel, another XP for having found Dobrodzień and the 1/116th Cav, and a third XP for their ‘visit’ to Camp Flock. (according to the rules, you can get 1XP only per question, but I’m looking at days 6 through 13 of my campaign here)
- Did you overcome one or more dangerous events, using violent or non-violent means?
The attack on Camp Flock, Forest Fight, the Battle of Knight Castle and Mental Ambush. I think it’s enough for another XP.
- Did you risk your life for the PC who is your buddy?
No XPs for this one. I went back and checked The Battle of Knight Castle, but because of how the players were paired, they were not directly supporting their assigned buddy (didn’t think of that at the time).
Final count: everyone gets 6 XPs. They can save them for later or use them to increase their skills, as long as they have successfully used them in the session (or in my case, in days 6 through 13):
- LED saves his points.
- NASCAR uses 10 XPs to increase his RECON level from D to C. He has used it successfully in preparation for Forest Fight and Mental Ambush, so he can increase it.
- DONNA increases her RANGED COMBAT skill from D to C consuming 10 XPs. She has used it successfully in The Battle of Knight Castle, and the increase brings her more on par with the rest of the group.
- ALEX saves his points.
COOLNESS UNDER FIRE
“After each session in which you made a CUF roll and succeeded, you have a chance to increase your CUF. Roll the base die for your CUF. If the result is a 1, increase your CUF one step. The maximum CUF score is A” (Player’s Manual, page 40)
LED and NASCAR are at CUF A and cannot further increase the level. DONNA and ALEX have both succeeded in at least one CUF roll during the Battle of Knight Castle:
- DONNA rolls CUF [D6] = 3 -> no increase
- ALEX rolls CUF [D10] = 3 -> no increase
MORALE
“At the end of each session, you should jointly in the group assess if your unit morale has changed as a result of events during the session” (Player’s Manual, page 41)
Your morale increases one step if:
- Your unit has been in combat and defeated its enemies
- You have helped other people in some material way
- Your unit has travelled at least one hex on the travel map toward your goal
- The PC in the unit with the highest Command skill level has increased their skill level.
The first two have happened. Plus getting rid of the Flock presence in the area should provide a boost.
Your morale decreases one step if:
- A member of your unit has been killed or fatally wounded
- A member of your unit is starving at the end of the session
- A member of your unit is dehydrated at the end of the session
- A member of your unit is sleep deprived at the end of the session
- A member of your unit is hypothermic at the end of the session
None applies, at least now at the end of Day 13. Yet in the past days some of my players have been sleep-deprived more than once (mostly LED and ALEX), and seeing the burning farm on day 9 and the execution of the hostage at the beginning of The Battle of Knight’s Castle definitely count in the negative.
Final call: I think there’s more positives than negatives, so unit Morale can go up one step, from C to B.
A note about Morale: the questions provided in the Manual to decide whether or not unit’s Morale changes are focused on the players and the players alone. Yet I think the campaign, and the story, can benefit from including the world the players travel through, and the NPCs they meet along the way, when assessing a change in Morale.
FINAL COMMENTS
I’ll reiterate: according to the rules, XPs are awarded at the end of each session. I play/write my solo campaign when I have time, sometimes for half an hour, other times for an afternoon: my sessions’ length is very inconsistent. Also, an afternoon of playing might equal to a single shift in-game.
I’ve therefore decided to award experience points conservatively, trying to figure out when my cast of characters has accumulated enough travel, encounters, combat and the like to justify the experience gained. Basically, it’s one instance in which the mechanics take second place to the narration.
The characters’ creation process has an inherent element of randomness, and I’m spending XPs in order to have more rounded characters: sometimes by simply elevating a skill that sees frequent use, other times by increasing one that has a low rating, but is paired with a Specialty the character gained during creation.
It’s the second XPs awarding of the campaign, and so far the skills increased were low enough to require only 5 or 10 experience points to get to the next rating. As my focus shifts to skills already at C or B ratings, progression will slow down even further.
I am completely fine with that, as it is a nice mirror of reality: it takes relatively little time to get good at something, and a lifetime to master it.