Experience

Players Handbook (page 106)

Experience is the measure of a character's ability in his or her chosen profession, the character's class. Each player character begins the campaign at 1st level with no experience points accumulated. Thereafter, as he or she completes adventures and returns to an established base of operations, the Dungeon Master will award experience points to the character for treasure gained and opponents captured or slain and for solving or overcoming problems through professional means. Characters with high scores in their major characteristic ability area might be entitled to an experience points bonus (see CHARACTER ABILITIES). When a sufficient number of experience points have been gained, the choracter will gain an experience level (see CHARACTER CLASSES). It is important to keep in mind that most humans and demi-humans are "0 level". They do not have the ability to gain experience levels. Player characters are unusual and superior.
Gaining experience points through the acquisition of gold pieces and by slaying monsters might be questioned by some individuals as non-representative of how an actual character would become more able in his or her class. Admittedly, this is so, if the existence of spell costing clerics, druids, magic-users, and illusionists is (unrealistically) granted; likewise, dwarven superheroes, paladins, elven thieves, half-orc assassins, and the like might gain real experience from altogether different sorts of activities. This is a game, however, a fantasy game, and suspension of disbelief is required. If one can accept the existence of 12' tall giants, why not the rewarding of experience points for treasure gained? While praying and religious-oriented acts are more properly the activities for which a cleric would gain experience points, this is not the stuff of exciting swords & sorcery adventure. So too, fighters need physical training and weapons practice, magic-users long hours of study in tomes of arcane lore, and thieves the repetition of their manual skills and discernitory prowess; but none of this is suitable to gaming. It is, therefore, discarded and subsumed as taking place on a character's "off hours".

Summarised by ChatGPT

In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition (AD&D 1e), experience point (XP) calculation was influenced by a combination of factors, varying slightly based on the class and the Dungeon Master's discretion. Here's a detailed breakdown of the standard approach:
1. Base Experience from Monsters

• Each monster defeated granted a base amount of XP as listed in the Monster Manual or the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG).
• Monster XP was calculated as:
• A fixed number of points for the monster's Hit Dice (HD) and special abilities.
• Bonus XP for particularly dangerous or unique abilities.

2. Experience for Treasure

• Characters earned 1 XP for every 1 gold piece (GP) worth of treasure acquired and brought back to a safe location (e.g., their base, town, or stronghold).
• Treasure XP was often the largest source of experience in AD&D, reflecting the high risk of adventuring to obtain wealth.

3. Class-Based XP Bonuses

• Characters could earn an XP bonus of +5% or +10% if their prime requisite ability score(s) (those most important for their class) were high:
• Prime requisite 15–16: +5%
• Prime requisite 17–18: +10%
• For example:
• A Fighter's prime requisite was Strength.
• A Cleric's prime requisite was Wisdom.

4. XP Adjustments for Roleplaying and Achievement

• The DM was encouraged to award additional XP for good roleplaying, clever problem-solving, completing objectives, or achieving goals beyond combat.
• Examples:
• Diplomacy to avoid a fight.
• Successfully negotiating with NPCs or overcoming challenges without violence.

5. Training Costs and Time

• Once a character accumulated enough XP to level up, they might need to undergo training to unlock their new level, which cost money (in GP) and time.
• Training costs and time were detailed in the DMG and often varied depending on the DM's campaign style.

6. Specific Rules for Thieves and Other Classes

• Certain classes, like Thieves, could gain additional XP by using their class abilities effectively (e.g., successfully picking locks or disarming traps).
• XP awards for other class-specific actions were encouraged but left to the DM's discretion.

7. Group XP Sharing

• The XP from monsters and treasure was usually divided equally among all party members.
• Some DMs allowed for adjustments if characters contributed disproportionately to the adventure.

Example Calculation
If a party of 5 characters defeated a monster worth 1,000 XP and collected 5,000 GP in treasure:

1. Monster XP: 1,000 XP ÷ 5 = 200 XP per character.
2. Treasure XP: 5,000 GP ÷ 5 = 1,000 XP per character.
3. Each character earns 1,200 XP (before any prime requisite bonuses).

DMG Guidelines and Discretion

• AD&D 1e encouraged Dungeon Masters to tailor XP awards to their campaign's needs.
• This could include rewarding teamwork, alignment-based actions, or other criteria relevant to the game's story.

House Rule

Every scenario will have a pre-defined number of experience points determined by the DM. This will be split amongst the surviving characters equally.
Special bonus experience points or other awards may be given for exceptional skill levels presented in role play (and not from dice rolling).

Experience Levels (All Classes using the same values)

Have decided to impose a blanket change across all classes so that increasing in levels is standard for all classes. Anyone moved up will just adjust from the next level.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Aerisian	2000	4000	6000	12000	20000	32000	64000	128000	256000	512000
Cleric	1500	3000	6000	13000	27500	55000	110000	225000	450000	675000
Druid	2000	4000	7500	12500	20000	35000	60000	90000	125000	200000
Fighter	2000	4000	8000	18000	35000	70000	125000	250000	500000	750000
Paladin	2750	5500	12000	24000	45000	95000	175000	350000	700000	1050000
Ranger	2250	4500	10000	20000	40000	90000	150000	225000	325000	650000
Magic User	2500	5000	10000	22500	40000	60000	90000	135000	250000	375000
Illusionist	2250	4500	9000	18000	35000	60000	95000	145000	220000	440000
Thief	1250	2500	5000	10000	20000	42500	70000	110000	160000	220000
Assassin	1500	3000	6000	12000	25000	50000	100000	200000	300000	425000