So me and one my fomer GMs (the hardest GM I have ever Played with) who I converted to Pathfinder from 3.5 and he thinks hero points are a good thing since he has been playing Dark Heresy and Deathwatch for the last year or so, after the use of Fate Points thinks hero points are a good idea.
So my question is has anyone been using the hero points rules in the APs?
So for story bonus hero points do you give them out when they finish each book or what?
I use them in my Carrion Crown game, and used them when I ran Rise of the Runelord, though they were only ever used once. For story awards, yes, one after each book, though with RotRl there is some potential overlap between book one and two (in book two it recomends you begin foreshadowing things during the first book), so I basically gave out the Hero Point when the named NPC bad guy from book one was defeated, even though there's still stuff to be done after that...just seemed like a good point to hand them out.
I also give out points for resolving character driven story lines, so it's not just the published campaign that gives "story" awards.
I introduced them in my Kingmaker game, and have since been using them to great success in both my Jade Regent & Carrion Crown campaigns. They work very well for giving the PCs that little extra something when their chips are down and their backs are to the wall.
I hand out bonus HP in CC when ever they hit one of the suggested "Harrow" points, which works very well, while in JR I give them out at the end of very hard boss fights (near TPK situations), though I suspect I'll give out more at the end of key chapters. I also use them as a reward for cool things players do (bringing snacks, helping with setup, painting minis or other artwork - anything that really adds to the game), though I try to restrict such individual awards to about one a session.
My experience has been that some players really get into the economy of them, spending them as frequently as they get them while others though will just sit on them until they max out, using them sparingly. The split is roughly half n' half, group-wise.
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Hmm... In our group we use them all the time. We get a max of three all together and we get one each level.
In general though if someone does something really heroic then I throw them one. And they're not allowed to use them as a means to flee a battle. One example is in my Serpent's Skull game. When they fought the leader of the Freemen Insurgents one of the PC jumped off the roof to save that hostage risking a lot considering he was almost at 0 HP. He received a hero point for his actions.
We have been using them in our Legacy of Fire game. The players started with 2 and have been given one each level. They also gain points for heroic or classy play, as well as anytime the table has a good laugh.
Using them, the players have saved themselves from their own stupidity many times. I cannot recommend their use highly enough.
HOWEVER none of my players seem to hoard them (they usually have on average one each) and I have house ruled that all my boss monsters get a But-those-ARE-the-droids-we-are-looking-for special power.
The way this works is that when invoked (usually in immediate response to play of a hero point) it negates that hero point (that hero point is lost) and prevents the use of any further Hero points until the end of the next round. It's really satisfying when laying one of these on the table to see the oh-dear-we-are-in-trouble-now look on the player's faces.
We are at 5th level about to start book 2 and I do feel we would have had TPK a couple of times without them.
I'm at a loss whether to use the harrow deck, action points, or hero points. Which book can I look up hero points in?
Savage Tide: It's an Eberron game and we use Eberron hero points. They refresh every character level.
Age of Worms & Serpent's Skull: Black Tom is the GM and he has his own hero points system. We get some for finishing tough encounters or for doing something cool.
Legacy of Fire: I think we're using the APG hero point system, but I've half forgotten about it...I don't remember when we get more.
My experience has been that some players really get into the economy of them, spending them as frequently as they get them while others though will just sit on them until they max out, using them sparingly. The split is roughly half n' half, group-wise.
That's what I like about the Eberron hero point system; you get lots (relatively speaking) and it's "use 'em or lose 'em". Once the players figure that out, they start using them instead of hoarding them.
thanks!
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I'm about to begin running Carrion Crown for some players, and I'm using the Harrow Point system from the Player's Guide. However, I'm allowing them to earn one per level, instead of at the end of each book.
I play in another game where we get 3 Hero Points per level, but you can't horde. They don't break the game at all, and often enhance the cinematic feel to some really tough combats.
I used them for Carrion Crown, and only ended up handing out 2 besides the one per level I gave to my players.
My players mostly used it to ruin my bad guys. So, I gave my bad guys hero points, and had them burn them.
Made a lot of encounters more fun, and definitely increased single opponent Economy of Actions in the enemy's favor sometimes. It worked well and made joke fights into actual threats a lot of the time.
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We use them in all the games now. Serpent Skull, Carrion Crown and Rise of the Rune Lords
In SS and CC each character has 2 before they roll the dice. You can use 1 HP to re-roll an ability.
We also use them to re-roll 1 roll while playing or to gain info from the DM when we are stumped.
If a player dies and has 2 HP you can use 2 to go back to just before death and be stable.
On Friday we used Hero Points for the first time
One character used both of his points so he didnt die.
I like what they add to the game
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So me and one my fomer GMs (the hardest GM I have ever Played with) who I converted to Pathfinder from 3.5 and he thinks hero points are a good thing since he has been playing Dark Heresy and Deathwatch for the last year or so, after the use of Fate Points thinks hero points are a good idea.
So my question is has anyone been using the hero points rules in the APs?
So for story bonus hero points do you give them out when they finish each book or what?
I use them. Award them when a player gains a level - to a max of three.
They've come in very handy - players have avoided TPK when the dice just don't roll their way.