How experience works in Avernum?

[satate_master]

I’ve looked around the forums for an explanation but I didn’t find a clear explanation. So I was wondering if someone could sum up how experience works for each of the Avernum games. Since from what I’ve seen it is different for each one.

[Alorael at Large]

Whenever you gain experience from any source, the experience is divided evenly among all characters in your party. It doesn't matter who strikes the last blow. (Summoned creatures and allies who kill enemies don't give you experience, though!)

 

In A1 and A2, experience penalties and bonuses for traits are applied to each experience point you gain. For example, if you have two characters in your party and kill a monster that gives you 100 experience, each character gains 50 experience. If one of those characters has a 20% experience penalty, he is most likely to gain 40 experience instead, but it is possible for him to gain all 50 points, or no points at all.

 

In A3 and BoA, this rather bizarre bell curve experience system was dropped for a much more logical system where the penalty or bonus is applied to the entire experience gain. In the above case, the character with a 20% penalty will gain 40 experience with no chance of variation.

 

Also, the calculation for how much experience a monster is worth is based on either the highest level in your party or the average level. A party with three level 1 characters and 1 level 40 character killing a level 20 monster would very likely gain only a tiny amount of experience divided among all characters, so having a significant level difference can make your party level up extremely slowly.

 

—Alorael, who hopes this explains everything reasonably. If there are more irregularities he isn't aware of them.

[Lilith]

Quote:

Originally written by Genderme:
In A3 and BoA, this rather bizarre bell curve experience system was dropped for a much more logical system where the penalty or bonus is applied to the entire experience gain. In the above case, the character with a 20% penalty will gain 40 experience with no chance of variation.

Not quite -- what actually happens (at least in BoA) is that a character with a 20% penalty gains the same amount of experience, but requires 20% more experience to gain a level.

[Drakefyre]

Yes, Thuryl is right and it applies to Avernum 3 as well.

[satate_master]

It seems to me that the Avernum 3 experience system match’s quite closely to the Exile system, while Avernum 1 and 2 use a more randomized approach.

 

So what happens if in Avernum 1 or 2 you take only a disadvantage? Do you get a chance of gaining an experience point twice, are you given extra experience, or something else?

[Alorael at Large]

The system works the same way for penalties and bonuses. If you have a bonus to experience you can get anywhere from the regular amount of experience to twice as much experience, with regular * bonus percentage being the most common result.

 

Avernums differ from Exiles in that experience is distributed evenly. A priest who never kills a single monster will be at the same level as the rest of your party (assuming equal penalties/bonuses to experience).

 

—Alorael, who tries to keep his party's penalties and bonuses more or less balanced to avoid having markedly different levels at the ends of the games.