Points awarded for defeating foes, finding treasure or achieving goals, which accumulate until a character gains a level and becomes more powerful. In original D&D much of a character's experience came from treasure recovered, rewarding cunning over combat; later games shifted rewards toward fights, quests and story milestones.
Origin
Introduced by Gygax and Arneson in Dungeons & Dragons (1974), building on the level-up system Arneson used in his Chainmail-based games.
Quick answers
- What does "Experience points" mean?
- Points awarded for defeating foes, finding treasure or achieving goals, which accumulate until a character gains a level and becomes more powerful. In original D&D much of a character's experience came from treasure recovered, rewarding cunning over combat; later games shifted rewards toward fights, quests and story milestones.
- Where does the term "Experience points" come from?
- Introduced by Gygax and Arneson in Dungeons & Dragons (1974), building on the level-up system Arneson used in his Chainmail-based games.
