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A Mentor in Action
Introduction: What follows is a house rule in broad stokes designed to enable advanced player characters to donate experience points (or any comparable measure of character development) to other characters in an RPG campaign. The more experienced character does this by sharing their own wisdom with a less advanced character, discussing the events of a given game session in order to help the novice learn from their shared experiences. Doing so means the elder character has to a degree shifted their own focus from learning and developing new skills to thinking about the needs of their younger and less experienced companions. As a result, the less developed character accumulates experience faster while the more advanced character grows more slowly.
This is game rule intended to accomplish two things; it can enable low level characters to catch up with more advanced companions faster than they might otherwise do, and it can facilitate greater cooperation between player characters (giving some players a real sense of investment in the development of the characters belonging to other platers at the table).
The basic idea can be tweaked in a number of different ways, but I have tried to follow a few practical guidelines here. First, the effect should be a small bump, enough to make a significant difference over time, but not enough to substantially transform the nature of the average game session. Second, the effect assumes a degree of role playing significance. The characters must talk to each other to make this happen; it is not simply a spell effect, it is something that is going to shape the relationship between the characters in question. The ability further assumes that the characters have gained experience together, and the bonus is applied to that experience. It may not be used to donate experience already accused to a given character.
How does it work? First, a character declares her intent to mentor another character. Doing so enables the mentor to donate 10% of the experience she has gained in shared encounters with her mentee over the course of that game session. If the mentee accepts, and both characters spend time discussing the events of the game with one another, then the experience points for each character are modified accordingly. Characters may mentor more than one 1 character and characters can also accept mentorship from more than 1 character, but no character may ever donate more than half their experience points for a given game session, nor may any character more than double the experience she has gained from a given encounter or game session.
Obviously, this model assumes a conventional experience point model. Alternative systems of advancement may require modification of this approach and GMs may wish to alter the approach to taste.
Individualized Options: Special abilities and feat systems can be used to enhance mentorship in a few ways. Such options can be used to provide a net gain in experience whenever mentorship is used. This making some characters exceptionally good at guiding and teaching their companions. A feat or special ability can be used to double the experience gained by a mentee without adding to the cost to the mentor. Whether or not this can be repeated so as to give some mentors even more effectiveness is an open question. In the case of a point-buy system for special abilities, a mentor can be given the option to provide a 10% bonus without cost, but only when the mentee is purchasing abilities already known to the mentor (e.g. a specific feat, language, or skill well-known to the mentor). Of course, it is also possible for a character to gain special abilities enhancing the benefits they get from mentorship, but that benefit would have to be weighed against the cost of the ability itself. Whether or not the result is worth it for the player or even for a GM to provide the option is another question.
Variations
Dungeons and Dragons: To use mentorship, the mentor must be at least 2 levels higher than the mentee. The mentor donates 10% of her experience points for any encounters during that game session in which she and her mentee were both present. The Mentee thus gains 10% over and above her normal haul for the session. Possible feats include “Mentor” which boosts the experience points gained to 20% for the same 10% donation, or “Advanced Mentor” which increases the experience points gained to 30% for the same 10% donation and “Trainer,” which boosts the experience points gained for characters with the same class to 30% for the same 10% donation. *
Tunnels and Trolls: To use mentorship, the mentor must be at least 1 level higher than the mentee. The mentor donates 10% of her adventure points for any encounters during that game session in which she and her mentee were both present. The Mentee gains 10% over and above her normal haul for the session. *
Worlds of Hurt (my homebrew): To use mentorship, the mentor must be at least 2 levels higher than the mentee. The mentor donates 1 or 2 points from her experience gained for any encounters during that game session in which she and her mentee were both present. The Mentee gains 1 or 2 points (matching the amount donated). Possible feats include “Mentor” which boosts the experience points gained to 2 or 4 (i.e. twice that donated) for the same 1 or 2 point donation. Additional options are available. *
* All variations are subject to the following limitations. 1) No mentee can gain experience without talking extensively to her mentor about the events of the game session. 2) No character may donate more than half her total experience point haul for a game session. 3) No character may do more than double the original experience point haul through donated experience for any given game session.