FAQ 3.1: How are Experience Points awarded here?

1. Daily login XP: Every day in which you log your character into the chat, you receive a certain amount of XP, based on your level. You receive 25 XP per day at 1st and 2nd level, and 5 additional XP for each level beyond that. This experience is automatically tallied by the character registry, and added to your sheet instantly upon login.
2. Roleplay XP: Every so often, the DMs take a look at who happens to be playing on a given night, and award an extra 25 XP accordingly. It doesn't happen every night, but usually a few times a week, and it tends to reward those who play most consistently. This XP is not given for adventures, just common roleplay.
3. Recommendation XP: We have on this site a procedure by which characters can be rewarded by their fellow players for exceptional roleplay. To award another player for particularly good roleplay in a social scene, send a PM in the forums to one of the DMs, including an excerpt of the scene (you can just send the last screen's worth of text), along with a clear note on who is being recommended and when the scene took place. Recommendations from other players are worth an additional 10 XP per character level.
4. Adventure XP: During DM-run adventure scenes, in addition to the potential XP sources above, each participating character earns an amount of XP up to 25 XP per character level per session. This amount varies based on participation, quality of roleplay, good ideas, etc. at DM discretion. (The Player DM Rules have some insight on how this is tallied.)
5. DM XP: Players may decide they like the idea of running their own adventures on occasion. We encourage this, and have a system set up for such things (see Player DM Rules). Players who run adventures gain maximum XP as if their characters were participants, 25 XP per level per session, for the character of their choice. (see Player DM Guidlines)

Note that XP is not given here based on the methods in the books. Whether you defeat a great wyrm dragon or a band of orcs, or nothing at all, has no effect on the amount of XP you get for a given session of play. (Some DMs may occasionally give a small "danger bonus" for overcoming challenges far beyond your level, but that is totally at the DM's discretion.)