Doing quests, killing monsters, and adventuring in general all oftentimes lead to tangible rewards for characters, from experience points to monetary wealth.
Experience
Experience points – abbreviated as ‘EXP,’ serves as a tally of how close a character is to gaining the next level. Characters gain a level after obtaining 10 EXP, which is awarded as follows;
Backstory: A kind GM might award a point of EXP for a solid backstory, filled with possible ‘hooks’ for them to use to engage you and your character into the story.
Combat: To defeat your foes, whether through direct combat, a successful plan, or other means awards experience. Sometimes sneaking past foes will award less or none of this EXP, as they were not 'defeated,' merely temporarily overcome….however, outsmarting your foes to avoid conflict generally counts as deserving of an EXP reward, at the GM's discretion. The amount of EXP gained is based on both the size of the enemy party and how tough the strongest monster in that party is:
If the party’s level is higher than the levels of the monsters in the enemy party, the EXP awarded is reduced by 1 per level difference (to a minimum of 0 EXP gain).
Quests: Completing a minor mission or side quest will award one point of experience, and finishing a longer story arc or a major quest will award up to five points. The rate of giving out quest experience is dependent on the GM; frequent quest EXP allows leveling to happen more quickly in general.
Sessions: At the end of every single gaming session, all players who attended will be awarded 1 point of EXP. Just for showing up! The exact definition of a session will surely vary from group to group. Friends meeting up for their weekly game will probably define a session as the time the group gets together to the time the game ends for the night. If the medium for play is email, message boards or instant-messenger programs, however, the definition of a session might be one in-game day, or until the party completes their current mission.
Backstory: A kind GM might award a point of EXP for a solid backstory, filled with possible ‘hooks’ for them to use to engage you and your character into the story.
Combat: To defeat your foes, whether through direct combat, a successful plan, or other means awards experience. Sometimes sneaking past foes will award less or none of this EXP, as they were not 'defeated,' merely temporarily overcome….however, outsmarting your foes to avoid conflict generally counts as deserving of an EXP reward, at the GM's discretion. The amount of EXP gained is based on both the size of the enemy party and how tough the strongest monster in that party is:
- 5+ Lesser Monsters awards 1 EXP
- Combat with Standard Monsters award 1 EXP
- Combat with Notorious Monsters award 3 EXP
- Combat with Boss Monsters awards 5 EXP
- Combat with a Superboss awards 10 EXP
If the party’s level is higher than the levels of the monsters in the enemy party, the EXP awarded is reduced by 1 per level difference (to a minimum of 0 EXP gain).
Quests: Completing a minor mission or side quest will award one point of experience, and finishing a longer story arc or a major quest will award up to five points. The rate of giving out quest experience is dependent on the GM; frequent quest EXP allows leveling to happen more quickly in general.
Sessions: At the end of every single gaming session, all players who attended will be awarded 1 point of EXP. Just for showing up! The exact definition of a session will surely vary from group to group. Friends meeting up for their weekly game will probably define a session as the time the group gets together to the time the game ends for the night. If the medium for play is email, message boards or instant-messenger programs, however, the definition of a session might be one in-game day, or until the party completes their current mission.
Gil
A party’s main source of Gil is from successfully defeating monsters. It may also come in the form of treasure obtained during the course of an adventure, or money given to the party by NPCs and other allies in exchange for services and other tasks. Instead of a formula, the amount of Gil a single character earns over the course of a level is based on their standard item tier, as noted here:
Tier 1 (Levels 1-4): 500 Gil
Tier 2 (Levels 2-8): 1,500 Gil
Tier 3 (Levels 9-12): 5,000 Gil
Tier 4 (Levels 13-16): 15,000 Gil
Tier 5 (Levels 17-20): 50,000 Gil
Tier 6 (Levels 21-24): 150,000 Gil
Tier 7 (Levels 25-28): 500,000 Gil
Tier 8 (Levels 29-30): 1,500,000 Gil
If a GM wants to scale the Gil earned out more based on level the first level for each tier earns roughly 50% less Gil, second earns roughly 25% less Gil, third earns roughly 25% more Gil, and forth earns roughly 50% more Gil. Level 9 for example would only grant about 2,500 Gil when following this scaling while level 12 would grant 7,500.
Tier 1 (Levels 1-4): 500 Gil
Tier 2 (Levels 2-8): 1,500 Gil
Tier 3 (Levels 9-12): 5,000 Gil
Tier 4 (Levels 13-16): 15,000 Gil
Tier 5 (Levels 17-20): 50,000 Gil
Tier 6 (Levels 21-24): 150,000 Gil
Tier 7 (Levels 25-28): 500,000 Gil
Tier 8 (Levels 29-30): 1,500,000 Gil
If a GM wants to scale the Gil earned out more based on level the first level for each tier earns roughly 50% less Gil, second earns roughly 25% less Gil, third earns roughly 25% more Gil, and forth earns roughly 50% more Gil. Level 9 for example would only grant about 2,500 Gil when following this scaling while level 12 would grant 7,500.
Items as Rewards
GMs looking to make their campaigns a little tougher than usual might choose to give a good portion of the recommended wealth in the form of equipment, consumable items, synthesis components, or other rewards. Even so, we recommend that at least 50% of a character’s wealth per level should be in the form of straight currency. Likewise, GMs who employ lots of mean tricks against their players (such as constantly destroying their gear or denying them Components) might increase the overall wealth per level by as much as 25% to compensate for this.
Synthesis Materials
Whether obtained from a successful use of the Scavenge skill upon felling a dangerous enemy, found deep within an ancient treasure chest, or simply gifted by the GM at the end of a long and difficult story arc, Components are the base components from which powerful equipment can be made without spending a single gil.
Components are used in place of money when attempting to Synthesize an item. The catch is that at least one of the created items properties must be related to the item being used for synthesis and the level of the item is based on the standard item level of the party when they gain this item. For example, a Tier 4 ‘Cursed’ Component could make a Curse Touch sword and could be earned from defeating ghosts while at level 15. Just like with money, a failed synthesis roll destroys the Component.
Components are used in place of money when attempting to Synthesize an item. The catch is that at least one of the created items properties must be related to the item being used for synthesis and the level of the item is based on the standard item level of the party when they gain this item. For example, a Tier 4 ‘Cursed’ Component could make a Curse Touch sword and could be earned from defeating ghosts while at level 15. Just like with money, a failed synthesis roll destroys the Component.
Other Rewards
Sometimes players are awarded with things other than items, experience, or monetary compensation. If goals get completed it often leads to some form of Destiny being rewarded. Similarly, quests and side quests may advance characters on the path to completing their lifelong goals, gather allies and make contacts for future endeavors, grant access to a specific Esper for summoning, or more.