"Starsong's Favorite" vs "Against All Odds" Playtest Boons

[Markus, Second of his Name]

So I'm (finally) getting around to cashing in playtest boon points, and (having been almost-killed once in 1e), "Against All Odds" (when dying, get a hero point and spend it to stay alive) seemed like it might be fitting for my 2e character. But I realized that "Starsong's Favorite" (get a hero point at any time) *seems* to accomplish the same thing, but with greater flexibility (I can cash in the hero point any time, rather than only when I'm dying).

Is there some reason why Starsong's Favorite isn't usable in the "dying" situation, such that you'd want the Against All Odds one instead?

Clearly there's a reason why there were two different-but-very-similar boons created, so I want to make sure I don't make a dumb mistake. :-)

[Gary Bush]

A hero point is always usable for the Dying condition. Keep in mind that to make a "heroic recovery" you have to use ALL your hero points, not just one.

I don't have the exact wording on the boons, but based on the information provided, I would think that "Against All Odds" is very specific about giving a hero point and then using THAT hero point to remove the Dying condition.

[Markus, Second of his Name]

Gary Bush wrote:

A hero point is always usable for the Dying condition. Keep in mind that to make a "heroic recovery" you have to use ALL your hero points, not just one.

I don't have the exact wording on the boons, but based on the information provided, I would think that "Against All Odds" is very specific about giving a hero point and then using THAT hero point to remove the Dying condition.

Against all odds basically says "If you've got no hero points, and you're dying, here's a hero point, and now we're taking it away and you're not dying."

boon:

Against All Odds (Limited-Use): You experienced a near-death experience earlier in life, and you are braced for the possibility that you will need to cling to life again just as tenaciously in order to survive impossible odds. While you are dying and have no Hero Points, you can check the box that precedes this boon to gain and immediately spend a Hero Point to avoid death (Core Rulebook 467).

Starsong's Favorite just says "here's a hero point because you asked for one," which I would presume you could then use if you had started with zero hero points and were dying.

boon:

Starsong’s Fortune (Limited-Use): Cross this boon off your Chronicle sheet to immediately gain 1 Hero Point.

So it would *seem like* the latter could be used in the case of "you have no hero points and are dying", but ALSO in some other circumstances where you need a hero point. Which seems redundant/repetitive, which raises a warning-flag in my head.

[Gary Bush]

Yes, I agree.

The first is usable only if the character has the Dying condition and does not have a hero point. If used, the hero point gained is immediately used to remove the dying condition.

The second can be used at any time to gain a hero point, including if the character has the Dying condition and does not have a hero point. It is not redundant because hero points can be used to gain a re-roll.

The boons work as they are worded. There is no cause for alarm or warning flags.

[Markus, Second of his Name]

I mean that "Against All Odds" is redundant because you can accomplish everything A.A.O. does using "Starsong's Favorite".

Which is why I don't understand why A.A.O. exists in the first place.

[Pirate Rob]

They both have scaling costs so very quickly the more limited one will be notably cheaper.

*shrugs*