How to handle non combat xp in bg:ee?

ajwz

I wonder how bg:ee will handle its non combat xp.

1. Thief bonuses for picking locks and disabling traps - Obviously this didnt exist in bg1 originally. The bg2 bonuses: 400xp per lock, 1350xp per trap at the lowest thief levels are obviously too high. However since they scale up depending on your thief level, they might automatically scale down as well.
If some xp bonus is given, wouldnt this cause faster than appropriate levelling at low levels? And no xp is given this could lead to some problems in point 2...

2. Mages scribing scrolls. This seems like a much bigger problem than the thief issue. Spell level x1000 is WAY to high to be appropriate for BG1. However, if no experience or much lower experiance is given for this, then characters will be incentivised to not learn any spells, or only learn the 2 or 3 they actually need until they import thier characters into BG2:EE, which seems to break the roleplaying experience a bit

3. Quest XP - I wonder if they will start using this in BG1? I see it as a much more effective system than just a lump sum of xp split x ways between party members, particularly at the higher levels you can reach (7 or 8 say). I admit it probably doesnt matter at all at levels lower than about 5.
If they keep the xp rewards identical assuming you have a 6 player party for xp, should it be swapped to quest xp in the original campaign? And if not then what about using it in the extra content quests?

Cheesebelly

It's an interesting question actually. If it gets handled at all (and not just removed) it can be interesting to see what results the guys might achieve.

For locks and traps : I guess it would make sense if you got 10% of the BG2 experience per level, for a maximum of 100% by level 10 (meaning that a lock that normally would give you 400 XP would give you 40 on level 1)

Another way would be to make it slightly more balanced with a rule to follow. For example, experience gained for opening a lock = the amount of lock picking skill needed + 50, or 100. So for example, if you unlock a lock that requires 20 lock picking, you get 70 experience, or 120, whichever sounds better. That of course would require some serious tweaks but I guess it would be balanced.

Spell reading is a bit trickier though, as you can actually erase and relearn a spell. The formula could be the same, giving 10% of the experience per level, with a beginning of 100 at first level for first page spell, for a total of 100% at level 10. And if at all possible, remove the option to cancel a spell, or if you can cancel it, cancel it permanently (so a spell that was removed from your book can never again be learned.)

I guess the trick is figuring out the correct balance.

ElectricMonk

I do wonder about this. Leaving all these XP rewards at their SoA levels would be insane in my opinion, so I'm hoping that they either remove them completely or do something along the lines of the suggestion made by @Cheesebelly

lockmund

To Cheesebelly: I just have a hard time seeing a Nalia-character getting less XP than an Imoen-character for removing a trap or picking a lock. I still agree with everyone that the XP must be limited or else the cap will let druids reach level 11 (200.000 XP) and fire elementals and Heal would unbalance BG1.

Cheesebelly

@lockmund Well, it's not a necessity that those spells will make it to BGEE actually. Either way, I am confident that mr. Oster and crew will do a good job deciding what to do.

I also admit that the point you provide makes sense - why would Nalia, and equally good thief in some perspectives, receive less experience than Imoen just because she decided to become a mage earlier. I haven't thought thoroughly I guess