Treasure as XP

Has anyone tried to house rule awarding XP based on how much treasure the characters pull out of a dungeon, like in D&D Basic?

I don't see how that would differ from the parcel system that rewards treasure based on XP gained.

It emphasizes goal-oriented exploration over the "kill everything" approach.

If you get treasure based on XP, and you get XP by killing things - then your best bet is to kill all the things.

If you get XP from getting treasure, then just killing all the things isn't necessarily the best approach.

In fourth edition you get all the xp from an encounter regardless of whether or not its defeated through combat, skill challenge ect. Of course thats assuming the room based dungeon design 4e prefers. With all the treasure, encounters and xp located in each room.  

I suppose if you were making a more labyrinthine dungeon with multiple routes to the treasure room and secret passages that evade large groups of monsters. Then yeah you would probably have to give out the xp based on the number of parcels gained rather than through encounters defeated just to maintain balance. Or do what the Dungeon adventures do and throw random encounters at the party later to make up the xp difference.

In the early editions of D&D that awarded XP from treasure, the award of XP for gold was IN ADDITION to the XP awarded for killing stuff. So if you killed the dragon, you got the XP for that. Then, for each gp you brought out of the dragon hoard, you also go XP.

The 4E parcel system doesn't award treasure based upon XP. The system is designed to "parcel out" what the "standard treasure" that should be awarded across a given experience level would be. This is designed to keep the distribution of magic items (and gold to buy magic items) at the anticipated pace of the level-based math of the characters. The DM is under no obligation to award all of the treasures listed in the parcels, nor are they limited by it either. So in 4E the awarding of treasure is not at all affected by the awarding of XP, or vice versa.

That all being said, I think the point of the whole post is looking for a system to essentially "train the players" that they don't have to "kick down the door, kill the monster, take the loot" like so, so many D&D players (myself included) were taught to think is the way the game is played.

I think that one of the key things (and this was mentioned) is that in 4E, the XP award doesn't come for killing a monster. It is awarded for overcoming the encounter in such a way that they don't have to face it again. If the party can sneak past the orcs guarding the entrance, that's fine. But if that means they have to either sneak past them to get out later (or fight them), then the encounter was not overcome (and so no XP). But, if the players use diplomatic means (or maybe deceptive means) to get into the city through the main gates, even though the guards and looking for them, they likely have overcome the challenge and should get the XP award, even though they didn't fight and kill the guards.

There are lots and lots of ways I've seen suggested to encourage the players to consider other methods besides the "hack and slash" method so often employed. And though I agree with some and not with others, I know that all groups are different, and so every group will respond differently to different methods of "reshaping" their tactics.