Earn Additional Experience Points Through Spending Gold

March, 2014
http://elliottalehouse.blogspot.com/

The AD&D rules grant experience points for wealth found and taken with you back to civilization. These supplemental house rules allow
you to earn even more XP from that same wealth by spending it once you do get it back to civilization. Each week you can spend wealth
in pursuit of one or more personal interests while you are in a civilized location. These areas of interest are:
Living the Good Life
Youve got money in your belt pouch and spending it generously makes you feel good. You custom-order and wear the latest fashions
while youre in town. You hire a carriage whenever you need to go somewhere. You employ porters to carry your purchases as you travel
around town. You hire a linkboy to light your way if youre out after dark. You tip freely, you buy rounds of drinks and you pick up other
peoples tabs when you go out to eat. You drop coins in the beggars cup and you anonymously pay an old widows past-due rent. This
pursuit is the safest because there are no potential side-effects but it gives only half the XP value of the money spent. Engaging in this
pursuit leaves you no time to follow any other interests for that week.
Carousing
You love a good party and you spend freely to throw one. You surround yourself with drinking buddies and they invite their friends too.
You hire entertainment of all sorts to make your carousing even more lively. Food and drink are served up in abundance, theres music
and debauchery, and its all on your dime. This pursuit has guaranteed side effects (many risky) but it also grants the most XP.
Gourmandising
You spend your money on the finest food and drink you can find. The menu is never good enough, you pay extra to have something
made special. You hire a gourmet chef to prepare your meals. You throw elaborate dinner parties featuring several courses of exotic
dishes, imported wines and rich desserts. You bribe your way into being invited to banquets hosted by others with similarly rich tastes.
Philanthropy
You donate freely to a cause or group with which you are somehow associated. You fund a public works project in your childhood hometown or that of your current residence. You pay for renovations on a church dedicated to your religion. You start a scholarship to the wizard school you attended. You send money back home to assist the needy members of your clan. This pursuit is not simply donating money
to the anonymous poor, you must have a personal interest or affiliation with the recipients of your largess.
Research
You pay money to gain access to private libraries and spend your time browsing through dusty old books, tomes and scrolls. You rent a
laboratory so you can conduct experiments which also require costly components. You pay learned sages to share their knowledge with
you. While not very glamorous, this pursuit has a higher potential to unlock game-altering side effects.

How It Works
Consult the table below to see which pursuit(s) your character can follow each week and how much time and gold must be spent on them.
The gold must be paid up-front and the time must be consecutive. Any interruption in the schedule results in no experience earned but the
gold is still spent. You must also spend the full amount for each population tier, no partial payments. Except for Living the Good Life,
you earn one Experience Point for each gp spent. Each time you engage in a pursuit the GM secretly rolls the dice called for and consults
the appropriate Side Effects table.* Your character may not immediately become aware of any side effects resulting from his pursuits.

Earning XP Through Pursing Personal Interests

Personal
Interest

Hamlet
Pop. 100-400

Village
Pop. 401-900

Town
Pop. 901-12,000

City
Pop. 12,001+

Restrictions &
Other Notes

Living the
Good Life

50 gp
1 week

200 gp
1 week

500 gp
1 week

1000 gp
1 week

Grants only half XP for the gp spent. No sideeffects but you cannot pursue any other interests for the week.

Carousing

100 gp
1 night
Roll 3d6

300 gp
2 nights
Roll 2d10

750 gp
3 nights
Roll 1d20

1250 gp
4 nights
Roll 1d20

Lawful Good & Ranger characters may not

Carouse. Dwarves get 10% bonus XP and are
immune to disease result on the side-effects
table. This is the riskiest interest to pursue.

Gourmandising

50 gp
2 hours
Roll 4d4

200 gp
4 hours
Roll 4d4

500 gp
6 hours
Roll 3d6

1000 gp
12 hours
Roll 3d6

Gnomes and Halflings get 10% bonus XP

when pursuing this interest.

Philanthropy

50 gp
2 hours
Roll 4d4

200 gp
4 hours
Roll 4d4

500 gp
8 hours
Roll 3d6

1000 gp
12 hours
Roll 3d6

This pursuit is not available to characters of

any Chaotic alignment.

Research

50 gp
1 day
Roll 4d4

200 gp
2 days
Roll 4d4

500 gp
3 days
Roll 3d6

1000 gp
4 days
Roll 3d6

Available to all Magic-Using & Priest classes

(of any INT score) and all other characters
with a minimum 13 INT score. You cannot
Research and Carouse during the same week.

*Alternately, let the player roll. The GM and the player may still wish to keep the results secret from other players.

Philanthropy Side Effects

Research Side Effects

Dice Roll Results

Dice Roll Results

3

Your donation offends the pride of the receiving institution,

you may not practice Philanthropy towards this group again.

You uncover information which a local secret society prefers

remain hidden. An assassin is sent against you.

Your generosity provokes envy in the leader of a local church.

Gain a upper-class NPC enemy.

You have annoyed the sages with your pesky, incessant

questions. You may not conduct research here again.

6-7

Your information-gathering arouses suspicion in a local person

of authority. Gain a mid-level NPC enemy.

Your generosity has attracted the attention of a thieves guild.

8-13

No side effects

6-7

The player believes he has rolled a result of 14-15 but in fact the
information he acquires is inaccurate to one degree or another.

14-15

A grateful recipient of your generosity provides you with information that is useful in your current (or a future) quest.

8-13

No side effects

14-15

You identify an unknown magic item currently in your possession or will recognize one you acquire in the future.

Your donation gets diverted to a fake charity, no XP awarded.

16

You now have a favorable reputation with the locals. Gain +1

to any reaction roll while in this town.

17

Your generosity receives favorable notice from the local elite.

Gain an upper-class or noble ally (75/25 chance).

18

You generosity is recognized in a public ceremony. Gain the

benefits of dice rolls 14-17 and also 10% off all local purchases.

Carousing Side Effects

16

Your research is especially productive, gain a 10% bonus XP

and same benefit as the 14-15 dice roll.

17

You impress the sages with your superior intellect. The money
you spent on this research is refunded and you receive the
same benefits as the dice roll result of 16.

18

You discover a long-lost document of great value, roll 1d10: 1-2

Magic-User scroll, 3-4 Cleric scroll, 5-6 Magic potion recipe,
7-8 Treasure map, 9-10 Deed to a town lot or parcel of land

Dice Roll Results

1

A bar bet gone wrong sets the tavern on fire. Roll 1d6: 1-4 Heavy
damage, 5-6 Burnt to the ground. Roll 1d6: 1-3 Nobody knows it
was you, 4-5 One person knows it was you, 6 Everyone knows

One of your hired party guests turns out to be the daughter of

a local official. Gain a powerful, upper-class NPC enemy.

You make a complete fool of yourself, no XP awarded. Make a

CHA check or be permanently banned from the establishment.

You step outside to relieve yourself and are beaten and robbed.
Lose d20x10 gp and you are reduced to half your hit points.

Bawdy antics result in a painful disease in your naughty bits.

Gourmandising Side Effects

Dice Roll Results
3

You get into an argument with a dinner companion. Gain an

NPC enemy of moderate to high standing, roll 1d6: 1-3 Middle
Class, 4-5 Upper Class or Clergy (75/25 chance), 6 Nobility

You are served a badly-prepared dish and get food poisoning.

Take 1d6 damage per your level, Save vs. Poison for half. If
your saving throw result is a 1, make a CON check or die.

You are unfamiliar with local dining etiquette and embarrass

yourself. No XP is awarded and you cannot dine here again.

Drunk & disorderly. Authorities haul you off to jail, bail is set at
d10x10 gp. If you cant pay, spend 7 days on the chain gang.

6-7

You suffer the wages of gluttony. Save vs. Poison or spend 24

hours alternating between your bed and the nearest latrine.

You spend the night gambling and lose d10x100 gp. If you cant
pay you are soon visited by a couple of menacing enforcers.

8-13

No side effects

You acquire a clingy, possessive girl (or boy) friend. There is

a 20% chance this person has powerful relatives or friends.

14-15

A dining companion provides you with information that could

be useful in your current (or a future) adventure.

You gain a reputation as a party animal. Future carousing here

costs double from all the mooches showing up to leech off you.

16

Your witty table conversation amuses your dining companions

and word gets around. Gain +1 to all reaction rolls while at this
location and also get 10% bonus XP.

10

Killer hangover, suffer a 2 penalty to all die rolls for 48 hours.

17

11

Your knowledge of etiquette saves a dining companion of high

standing from an embarrassing faux pas. Gain a noble ally.

Hangover, suffer a 2 penalty to all die rolls for 24 hours.

12

Your carouse is a hugely successful blowout, get 10% bonus XP.

18

13

Your carouse is a party of epic proportions, get 15% bonus XP.

You save a dining companion of noble birth from choking to

death. As a reward, this person will grant any reasonable request within his power and the favor need not be called in
immediately. Also gain the benefits of dice roll results 14-17.

14

A guest at your carousal is actually a wealthy merchant out

slumming. He refunds to you the money spent on this party.

15

You win a bar bet. Gain a hireling* for 1 month for free.

16

You gamble all night and your luck runs hot, win d10x100 gp.
There is a 25% chance the loser(s) cannot actually pay.

17

You are dared to attempt some outrageous stunt. If you make

either a STR and DEX check (players choice) 3 times in a row,
you succeed at it. Gain 1d100x10 gp in won bets.

18

A sentimental drunken fool swears youre his childhood friend

and gives you a gift, which turns out to be a misc. magic item.

19

The drunk you saved from a barroom beating is actually a noble

out slumming. Gain 1000 gp reward and a noble ally.

20

That which does not kill you Gain +1 CON permanently.

*GM determines professional skills, if any.

You must still

pay for Room
and Board!

Additional Notes
Broad discretion is necessarily left to the GM in deciding how
these side effects are to be implemented, especially if the results
interfere with your ongoing campaign. On the other hand, a particularly interesting result could introduce a new plot hook. At the
very least, these supplemental rules give your players a new and
(usually) profitable way to spend their money. They also provide
every character with something to do while in town. As an example, while one character is off training for his next level or confined to bed while healing, the rest of the party can engage in one
or more of these pursuits. Thus, in-game time that would normally
be spent accruing XP through adventuring is not entirely lost.
These supplemental rules were inspired by the following:
Pickens, Jon. D&D Option: Orgies, Inc. The Dragon #10 Oct. 1977: 5-6. Print.
Rients, Jeff. Party like its 999. Jeffs Gameblog http://jrients.blogspot.com/
Sorolla, Roger. Experience House Rules. Roles, Rules and Rolls. http://rolesrules.blogspot.com/