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Rehabilitating Resonance
I like what the resonance pool is trying to accomplish, but agree its implementation could be improved. I have an idea how to address the problems (with help from other forum posts and Starfinder) while also streamlining a couple of other parts of the game.
Point Pool Purgatory
Has anyone else noticed that hero points only get a half page treatment with no feat or class ability support? Its yet another (tiny) pool that you have to remember you have to use at the crucial moment. The same goes for the cleric channel energy pool. Finally, there is the other whopper point pool that collected all of the various class pools into one place, spell points.
I think part of the problem with resonance and these other pools is that there isn’t a clear in universe explanation of where all of the pools come from and how they are distinct from each other. One pool that represents inner strength, force of will, or whatever is easy enough to understand, but three plus breaks the in-game fiction.
Powers, Cantrips, Hero Points, and all that
On a related topic, has anyone else noticed that powers and cantrips are all but identical except one costs spell points and the other does not? Cantrips are really just powers that have a cost of zero. I think it would open up the design space more to merge these two concepts and allow for costs of powers/cantrips to have costs ranging from zero to 2 or more is special cases and make sure powers of a certain cost are relatively balances with one another. Give some of the power heavy classes like paladin back some at wills this way. This (nod to Starfinder) also points the way to bringing the various hero point “powers” into the same framework.
In the following post, I lay out an alternative that attempts to merge all of these ideas together to significantly reduce in game resource tracking and rationalize some rules elements that overlap heavily. Please Enjoy.
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Resonance, Hero Points, and Spell Points (and channel energy points) are replaced by one pool. For the sake of clarity here, lets call them reserve points.
- The base pool is equal to key ability mod (min 1) + level.
- Newly acquired powers increase the size of the pool. This could be either by the amount the power costs to cast, double that, or be specifically set and stated for each power in its description.
- A 10 minute or hour rest could replenish some portion of the pool. If this is implemented the base pool could be smaller like key ability mod + ½ level.
- Class abilities or feats could provide other ways to replenish the pool, ala the swashbuckler in 1e.
Consumables (ie potions and scrolls) do not use reserve points by default.
- You can increase the power of them by spending reserve points. For example, 1 reserve point could heighten the spell or power effect from the consumable to character level/2 spell level.
- No double dipping. Either an item uses reserve points or it has its own charges that never replenish. Outside of potions and scrolls, this should be sparingly used for iconic items like items containing wishes, necklace of fireballs, helm of brilliance, sovereign glue, etc.
Wands and Staves allow the user to spend reserve points to cast the spells they contain.
- Wands contain one spell or power. Staves contain more than one that may cost different reserve point amounts. They do not require an investment just to be usable.
- Spells would be auto heightened to the user’s level/2 or the minimum level of the spell, whichever is greater.
- Alternatively or in addition, spellcasters with the spell on their spell list can use a spell slot to activate the spell instead.
Items that confer a constant effect have a reserve point cost daily to be activated.
- Minor or utility items would not cost reserve points to activate (like a bag of holding or everburning torch)
- Item cost could scale with item level or potency for weapons. Alternatively, they could cost more or less reserve points based on item level vs character level. For example, any item 5 levels lower than your character level no longer requires a point to activate for the day. Items cost an extra point to activate for every 5 levels they exceed your level.
- Permanent effects from, for example, a permanency spell also reduce the character’s reserve pool to keep them activated the same way an item conferring that effect would.
- Staves that confer constant effects (like potency) would have a reserve point cost to activate those effects separate from point costs to cast spells from them.
Cantrips have a lot of design overlap with powers. Cantrips should be treated as a subset of powers and also cost reserve points for more powerful effects.
- This also implies that cantrips that cost reserve points will increase your reserve pool on days you prepare them.
- Powers/Cantrips will cost 0-2 reserve points.
Utility or flavor cantrips and powers would cost 0 reserve points (like prestidigitation, light, etc).
- Standard powers and cantrips that auto heighten to level/2 cost 1 point in most cases.
Hero Point Powers are now special universal powers that all PCs and important NPCs have access to from level 1.
- Auto stabilize should have a cost that scales with level to make it rare and epic. For example, half level or quarter level reserve points or the rest of the character’s points, whichever is less.
- Rerolling a d20 costs 2 points.
- Gaining an action could still cost 3 points. If the design goal is to make this more epic and rare, it could also be priced like auto stabilize above.
- If more non cleric healing is desired, there could be an optional power for those campaigns which allows PCs to heal hit points in exchange for reserve points. For example, 2 reserve points heals 1d4 per 2 character levels HP (self only).
Good thoughts. May not be entirely "the right idea" but they're good thoughts.
Re hero points and why I don't like them:
No one will ever EVER spend 2 points to reroll a save or 3 points for an extra action when 1 point SAVES YOU FROM DEATH.
To that end, I look at how Shadowrun handled Edge and the uses thereof. Spending a point: reroll dice.
Burning a point: save yourself from death.
Burning a point meant that your Edge pool was reduced by 1 permanently, which you could do even if you'd spent-out from doing re-rolls.
I agree about hero points, hence why I made stabilize more expensive. In any case there are certainly times when getting a reroll is crucial (charmed to attack allies) or getting one more action stops a tpk (I can get out the potion and just get to the fallen cleric but one more action means I can pour it down his throat).