100xp per Hit Die?

[Galadrin]

I'm curious, has anyone actually used the old OD&D rule of rewarding 100xp per Hit Die of monsters defeated? I'm seriously considering using it for my Swords & Wizardry game, as it appears to have some neat effects:

1) Early levels come more quickly (which brings about the vital "re-rolling" of hit dice that is so important at low levels)

2) Combat is favored early on (100xp per orc!) while tact and wits should be used at high levels (only 1000xp for a red dragon!)

3) Scary monsters are just scary, no bonus XP for their extra powers (Vampires should be avoided!)

4) Treasure XP is more important at higher levels (turning warriors into classic pulp swords & sorcery robbers)

So, have you thought about using it? If you have used it before, how has it affected your game?

[Master Of Desaster]

I don't have the S&W treasure tables in my head right now, but IIRC you would usually gain a lot from JUST stealing the treasure and not fighting your opponents.

The reason is that there are large amounts of sellable things amongst those treasures.

But the rest of your conclusion sounds pretty reasonable.

[Alcamtar]

I've used it in B/X. No problems here, did pretty much you you expect it to do. We didn't play to a high level though. For us, it helped speed through that ultra-deadly first level and reach a more survivable point. The expectation was that it would make low levels more survivable, but slow down to a normal rate in the mid-level sweet spot, and then slow waaaay down during the high level endgame.

Personally I'd still give bonus XP for powers. An easy way to do this is to simply treat each special ability (asterisk in B/X) as an extra HD for XP purposes. So if characters fight a 2 HD troglodyte and you make use of the chameleon ability but forgot to use the stench attack, give 300 XP. OTOH you could make a strong argument for the idea that higher level monsters are expected to have special abilities just like the PCs do, so no XP bonus is warranted. (In that case I'd award half experience for a 7 HD zombie with no special abilities, and normal XP for a 7 HD vampire).

Edit: Forgot one other benefit of 100XP/level is that you can reduce treasure at low levels and keep the PCs hungry longer, postponing the big treasure hauls for higher levels.

[weasel fierce]

yeah, it'll be a different feeling game but thats okay. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

Its easy to just add a hit die or two to the total for various special abilities