[RPG] Do PCs gain experience from a fight that they lost

dnd-5eexperience-points

If the PCs lose a fight but do not die (e.g. imprisoned), do they gain experience points from the battle?

Best Answer

Only from the monsters they defeated.

You gain experience when you defeat a monster (emphasis mine)

When adventurers defeat one or more monsters - typically by killing, routing, or capturing them - they divide the total XP value of the monsters evenly among themselves.

[Dungeon Master's Guide page 260]

Even if you lose a fight, any monster you defeated during the fight would grant experience. The ones you don't defeat (i.e. the ones who imprisoned the party) would not.

The challenge isn't always just combat

Sometimes other factors provide XP, which will also be awarded if the player's defeat that aspect of the encounter.

Some examples are:

  • Traps and/or hazards that give XP
  • Encounters where "defeating" the monsters involves escaping rather than beating them in combat (or some other challenge)
  • Social encounters that qualify as a sufficient challenge
Related Topic