Milestones

Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide p. 261

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. If you want to reward your players for their progress through an adventure with something more than XP and treasure, give them additional small rewards at milestone points. Here are some examples:

• The adventurers gain the benefit of a short rest.
• Characters can recover a Hit Die or a low-level spell slot.
• Characters can regain the use of magic items that have had their limited uses expended.