Many games offer different approaches for solving a quest. Only XP through fighting counters the idea of roleplaying. I thought DnD would have evolved since the 80s.
D&D
has. The DMG has a (admittedly small) section on noncombat encounters, which says:
As a starting point, use the rules for building combat encounters in chapter 3 to gauge the difficulty of the challenge. Then award the characters XP as if it had been a combat encounter of the same difficulty, but only if the encounter involved a meaningful risk of failure.
There is also the "milestone" approach which is definitely appropriate for a story-based CRPG:
You can also award XP when characters complete significant milestones. When preparing your adventure, designate certain events or challenges as milestones, as with the following examples:
- Accomplishing one in a series of goals necessary to complete the adventure.
- Discovering a hidden location or piece of information relevant to the adventure.
- Reaching an important destination.
When awarding XP, treat a major milestone as a hard encounter and a minor milestone as an easy encounter.
