RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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I'll be starting the STAP in a few weeks (once we finish another campaign, which is taking longer than I thought.)
It'll be my first DM-ing with my new group and they're generally very strategic players. I've be doing my absolute best to make it a bit different and to promote a swashbuckling "Pirates of the Caribbean meets Call of Cthulhu" atmosphere. I'm busy painting a mountain of new minis, painting out floor plans and so on. I think that Action Points might be a great addition to get them to take more risks and get into the swing of it.
Has anyone got any stories of whether or not they have influenced their campaign for the better (or horror stories to change my mind)?
I'll be starting the STAP in a few weeks (once we finish another campaign, which is taking longer than I thought.)
It'll be my first DM-ing with my new group and they're generally very strategic players. I've be doing my absolute best to make it a bit different and to promote a swashbuckling "Pirates of the Caribbean meets Call of Cthulhu" atmosphere. I'm busy painting a mountain of new minis, painting out floor plans and so on. I think that Action Points might be a great addition to get them to take more risks and get into the swing of it.
Has anyone got any stories of whether or not they have influenced their campaign for the better (or horror stories to change my mind)?
I use hero points (a similar concept) in STAP and AoW. You're likely to be looking at multiple TPKs otherwise, unless your players are hopeless min/maxers and consistently lucky when they roll to boot.
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You're likely to be looking at multiple TPKs otherwise, unless your players are hopeless min/maxers and consistently lucky when they roll to boot.
or you find other ways to rectify the immense damage potential of the path. What I've found to work well to establish a happy medium between dead PCs and making the path too easy, is when they roll for healing (be it potions or spells) the DM rolls as well. and then the highest x dice are used (x depending on the potion/spell. I've been pleasently surprized at how it has kept my players away from the Obituaries thread. many times they have hit negitives, and would be dead if they ha to have taken their own rolls for the cure X wounds right before the fight.
I'm not familiar with Action Points. How do they work?
I'm a very "by the dice" DM, but that's lead to some unfortunate deaths in our most recent campaign. I'm looking to introduce something like fate dice or re-rolls, but am not sure how to do it either.
I was thinking of using something like the Force Points in the D20 Star Wars that gives them a d6 or something to add to their roll. Or perhaps something that allows for a dice to be re-rolled entirely.
I'm not familiar with Action Points. How do they work?
I'm a very "by the dice" DM, but that's lead to some unfortunate deaths in our most recent campaign. I'm looking to introduce something like fate dice or re-rolls, but am not sure how to do it either.
I was thinking of using something like the Force Points in the D20 Star Wars that gives them a d6 or something to add to their roll. Or perhaps something that allows for a dice to be re-rolled entirely.
I give 'em 1 point per adventure that gives them either +2 or a reroll (their option). Particularly brilliant roleplaying or skill checks (natural 20) occasionally give a bonus point, as does going up a level. Once a point is spent, it's gone. This is not what Action Points are; see the SRD for those.
Action point work by allowing players to roll a half dozen times per level an additional 1d6 to add into any d20 roll once per round. Ap can also be used to auto stabilize, and gain an additional use of a class feature per day. they work pretty well, some players get into the habit of using them, and some play through levels with out them. I like them for the most part, just finding the balance between too many and too few is hard, as well as players losing track through the level has been a pain in my a**. but overall I like them a lot, and will do away with other game features before action points. There are some cool ideas on broader usages of action points in Unearthed Arcana. It has a number of feats that have greater effects when used with an action point. for example when a player uses an AP with the blind fight feat he/she negates the miss chance for one attack, or a player uses an AP with improved initiative, he/she gains a +8 to initiative instead of +4. Like i said, i like them. They reduce Pc deaths due to random factors a little bit.
I do too play with Action Points, but wonder which villains to give the Heroic Spirit feat so they may use them, too. At the moment there is just Vanthus on my list. What do you say?
I'm not familiar with Action Points. How do they work?
SRD on Action Points from Unearth Arcana
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/actionPoints.htm
My advice would be to not allow the extra attack use of them, or the feat boosts. My players also decided to remove the action point to stabilize as they thought it removed the dramatic tension of bleeding out and if someone could save them in time.
I allow characters to also spend 2 action points (only during leveling up) to buy a skill trick (Complete Scoundrel) or an spell for their spell book (with out the research process).
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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Yeah, I was wondering about the "bleeding out" thing too. On the other hand, some of the damage you can get handed out (Olangru) leads me to believe that rocketing from 30+ to -8 or 9 is really likely.
Piratecat on the EN board also had an idea to let 1Ap equal 1000xp for item creation and spells. Also nice..
I'm going to be running STAP in a month, and have decided that if I have five or more players, which I think I will end up with, they will get action points.
Sound crazy? Well, I do admit, it will make the first level significantly easier. But, I do this for two reasons.
First, it will inaugurate the party more gently into the adventure, without letting an introductory backstory session--which I foresee--be for naught, as they might bite the big one in the very first multi-encounter on the Blue Nixie.
Second, at higher level gameplay, I get the feeling that the lack of experience will result in less resilient PCs. This boost should help the PCs to acclimate themselves to the likely difficult high-level gameplay to come.
I will use action points when I start the campaign. In a nutshell PCs will get 1/2 their level plus 4 (this is from memory) at every level but they don't carry over to the next level. They can spend 1 action point a round for every 4 levels they have. Some examples on how they can use action points are:
- heal 10 points of damage per point spent as an free action
- add +4 to an attack roll, skill check, saving throw, etc.
- add +6 to any damage roll (crits don't multiply this)
- ignore certain status effects for that round only
- apply a metamagic feat they have to a spell (action points used instead of raising the spell level)
We are using them in our current game and they work well. They were used alot at lower levels for healing but once we got to mid levels it switched over to removing status effects. I used many of mine in non combat situations involoving an NPC romance which everyone told me was a waste. I did manage to get a beautiful noble woman to fall for me by using them at a royal banquet we attended but unfortunately she was later killed by one of our enemies (stupid DM!).
Bottom line- they serve their purpose by giving the PCs a better chance at staying alive. I recommend them.
I'm running AoW been using Action Points since the start and worked out well PCs just hit 15th level in the Adventure Path. Also a Savage Tide Campaign 4th level and action points saved the group from a TPK at least once.
I had to house rule a few things:
Spell Recall: cost action points equal to the spell level.
Justification: When a wizard can Orb of Force a enemy 10-12 times in a single enocunter with action points system recall that's a little to powerful. After that happend with the big nasty worm at the end of the Champion's Belt, I changed the system
Additional Class Ability: I increased the cost to action points equal to the times already spent. So if a Barbarian Can rage 2/day by his level, and wants to rage again that day after he's normally out he can spend 3 action points (2 +1) to get another daily use. Works the same for stuff like Smite, Wild Shape, Turn Undead etc.
Those are the only two things that have become a problem. I've seem some DMs lower the amount of skill points gained each level to keep things balanced, I just make the things that are really powerful cost more skills points but keep the amout the same.
We're going to be using action points for this one, we've used them before and we really noticed how cinematic it can make the game feel. When you absolutely must make that dice roll and save the day -you can do it with an action point.
It's like in the movies when the hero summons all the energy he has to go "One more round!" with the villian or when the heroin hurls herself with everything she's got across the void to escape death/exploding spaceship etc.
And some of the feats in the eberron book that allow players to pull off even more interesting things with action points make the system lots of fun.