Some may ask: won't lowering the XP requirements make it easier (faster) to level our characters?
The answer is no. We're doing two things to slow this back down: (1) we're reducing XP awards (from killing creatures, building skills, etc.) and (2) we're introducing a new pooling system to reflect exactly how much XP you can earn at any given time.
Those of you familiar with simular experience systems (such as those found in Haelrahv, Ultima Online, DragonRealms, etc.) call this an experience pool. The pool is an in-between container for XP that you've just earned. Before it becomes actual XP, it stays in this pool / container and slowly leaks out into your actual XP over time, simulating the real-life learning model that we all have the capacity to only learn so much at a time before our brain becomes muddled and confused.
New experience that has been recently earned is called Training Experience (TE) and actual experience is called Knowledge Experience Points (KE or XP).
This goes on to permit that characters with higher Intelligence scores will be able to digest new information (TE) faster (both in speed and in greater chunks of TE into KE). Exactly how large the capacity of your mind is before it becomes full is measured by your character's level and Wisdom. Ah, the value of Intelligence and Wisdom; fighting classes, beware -- it may be a good time to start paying attention to these ability scores.
In general, this experience system will make it much easier to 'go fill up the pool' and then relax and rest with friends, giving more time to the role-player in all of us.