Gaining Experience

In the Starfinder RPG, characters advance in level by overcoming challenges ranging from combat situations to diplomatic encounters. All of these are symbolized by experience points (XP). Many GMs choose to simply keep a list of all the encounters PCs overcome during a session, add together the experience points, and award them in a lump sum at the end of the session. That way, if characters earn enough XP to gain levels, you won’t have to pause the game while they level up their characters, and you can instead let them do so between sessions.

Every opponent, trap, or obstacle the PCs overcome (including starship combat and vehicle chases) is worth a set amount of XP, as determined by CR. Purely roleplaying encounters are generally assumed to have a CR equal to the Average Party Level, but you may award XP as if it were higher or lower, depending on difficulty. Note, however, that encounters with a CR of less than the APL – 10 merit no XP award, as they’re too easy. Similarly, using starship weapons against a settlement or driving an asteroid into a planet may kill thousands, but in such instances, the party should generally not receive XP or wealth, as these massacres are neither heroic nor challenging. Experience gained in a fight comes not from enemy death but from expertise acquired as a result of combat, which such impersonal situations lack.

To award XP, take your list of defeated encounters and find the value of each encounter’s CR under the “Total XP” column on Table 11–3: Experience Point Awards. Add up the total XP values for each CR and then divide this total by the number of characters. The result is the amount of XP each character earns. For a slightly less exact method, you can add up the individual XP awards listed in the table for a group of the appropriate size. In this case, the division between characters is done for you.

In addition, don’t be afraid to give players extra XP when they conclude a major storyline or accomplish something important. These “story awards” can consist of any amount of XP. While

a good rule of thumb is to award twice the XP for a CR equal to the group’s APL, you can also customize your story award amounts to help your players’ characters reach a particular level for the next adventure you want to run.

Table 11–3: Experience Point Awards

CR	TOTAL XP	INDIVIDUAL XP (BY NO. OF PLAYERS) 1–3	4–5	6+
1/8	50	15	15	10
1/6	65	20	15	10
1/4	100	35	25	15
1/3	135	45	35	25
1/2	200	65	50	35
1	400	135	100	65
2	600	200	150	100
3	800	265	200	135
4	1,200	400	300	200
5	1,600	535	400	265
6	2,400	800	600	400
7	3,200	1,070	800	535
8	4,800	1,600	1,200	800
9	6,400	2,130	1,600	1,070
10	9,600	3,200	2,400	1,600
11	12,800	4,270	3,200	2,130
12	19,200	6,400	4,800	3,200
13	25,600	8,530	6,400	4,270
14	38,400	12,800	9,600	6,400
15	51,200	17,100	12,800	8,530
16	76,800	25,600	19,200	12,800
17	102,400	34,100	25,600	17,100
18	153,600	51,200	38,400	25,600
19	204,800	68,300	51,200	34,100
20	307,200	102,000	76,800	51,200
21	409,600	137,000	102,400	68,300
22	614,400	205,000	153,600	102,400
23	819,200	273,000	204,800	137,000
24	1,228,800	410,000	307,200	204,800
25	1,638,400	546,000	409,600	273,000