Action Points

These have bugged me since d20 modern. An expendable resource, of which your character gains a limited number per level? Never quite felt right.

From the modern SRD, an action point can be used to:
-Alter a single d20 roll used to make an attack, a skill check, an ability check, a level check, or a saving throw.
-Use a class talent or class feature during your turn for which the expenditure of 1 action point is required.

What kind of useless class feature would only be useable 6 +1/2 character level times per level?

In Eberron, it's worse: you can now spend a whole feat to get the ability to spend action points to do something. Whoopee.

Pursue (prereq: combat reflexes): when an opponent w/in 5 feet takes a 5' step to another square you don't threaten, you can spend an action point to step into the square he just left.

What?!? You have to spend an action point to use a feat you bought?

Spontaneous casting (another feat) costs 2 action points. So does action surge, which is otherwise like Heroic Surge from d20 modern.

In addition to the regular uses, in Eberron, action points can be spent to stabilize automatically (when at negative hps), to "hasten an infusion" casting time to 1 round, or spend 2 to gain an extra use of a class feature that is limited use.

These kinds of things bug me.

Action points could have been better used as follows:
1: add the d6 (or best of multiple d6s at high levels) to your d20 roll.
1: gain an extra use of a limited use feature (class ability, like rage, or feat, like heroic surge/day or AoO/round).
1: Hasten an action (I'm thinking spellcasting here, of all sorts, but I might allow it for other types).
1: Stabilize automatically.
2: Gain a single use of a feat you don't have.

Then these kinds of wacky feats should be rewritten to say something like:
Pursue: Once per round, if an opponent within 5' takes a 5' step into a square you don't threaten, and you did not move on your last turn, you can move into the square he just vacated.
Special: If you moved on your last turn, or already pursued this round, you can spend an action point to use this feat.

Spontaneous Casting: 1/day, exchange a spell you have prepared for another spell on your list of equal or lower level.

You could also rewrite some other stuff to use this, ie metamagic feats can become 1/day things.

Action points should be for extraordinary uses, not for ordinary uses of the feat.

I also dislike that they're limited per level. They should either work like MnM hero points, and refresh every adventure, or kind of like stunts from Exalted. Do something cool, get rewarded with an action point.

Feat: Greater Action Boost (prereq: action boost, Siberys Dragonmark): When you spend an action point, roll d12s instead of d6s.

Feat: True Siberys Dragonmark (prereq: Greater Siberys Dragonmark, two skills at 18): Once per day, you can use one of the powers associated with the least, lesser, or greater dragonmark of your house. (With the "spend action points for extra usage" variant, this can be really useful).

We've been using an actionpoint-like system for a number of years in our game..
I've never liked the idea that APs are X/level, however.. That seems to force the GM to stay on an upgrade treadmill, and breaks down if the players take a long time to make a level.

What we do is to keep the idea of what you can use them for, but change the dynamics..

You can have at most 1/2 you character level in APs. For example, a 8th level character can never have more than 4 APs.

These come back at the standard healing rate. What I mean by this is that in a Grim and Gritty game, they come back once each week (which is what we do), or, in a standard D&D game, they come back once each day.

The trick, though, is that they start comming back one period (day or week) after the LAST one you've used.

For instance, if you get one every week, and you use the first on Monday, and the second on Friday, you won't get either back until a week from Friday..

By delaying after the LAST use, and not since the first use, it discourages using them, since if you do, it will delay the regrowth the rest of the APs.

I have been toying with making it half level + cha mod per day. Everyday.

Maybe it'd be too much, maybe not, but at least it is a better plan than the current one

I grant one Fate Point per Journal Entry, which is a player-written recap to remind everyone what happened last session.

Here's what they can do with a Fate Points:

* Use #1: "Use the Force, Luke!" -- add dice to a roll... nearly any roll (except HP), depending on your character level (ECL, not just HD). You must decide to use your Fate Point before rolling. Extra dice as follows:
- 1-4: +1d6
- 5-8: +1d8
- 9-12: +2d6
- 13-16: +2d8
- 17-20: +3d6

* Use #2: "Hold my beer. Watch this!" Pull off a daring stunt by "taking 20" on a single skill check. You spend the point and don't have to roll.

* Use #3: "I'm not dead yet!" -- avoid going into negative hp, instead you have exactly 0 hp.

* Use #4: "Judo-chop!" -- automatically confirm a single critical hit.

* Use #5: "Let me check my notes..." -- You gain an immediate clue to your current situation. This may be anything from "think word puzzle" to "they're immune to /mind-affecting/ effects".


... So, my Fate Points are slightly stronger than Action Points, but the players have to actually work to get them. Use #3 is their favorite -- no-one likes dying, and they all seem to have an aversion to Raise Dead et al.

-- N

I've been pondering action point rules more. Limit/level still bugs me, but I'm coming around on feats that require point expenditure to use, as long as they do something a bit better than an ordinary feat.

House Rule Notes:
In general, when you have a limited use feature like AoO/round, the deflection of deflect arrows, etc, you may spend one action point to gain an extra use of that ability.

Stunting: When describing an action, if it is judged sufficiently praiseworthy or cool by the DM or popular acclaim, get a bonus action point. This can be spent immediately or saved, and can increase your action point pool past its normal maximum, but only until they refresh.

Action points refresh rate: Instead of gaining action points per level, they reset every adventure.

Action Feats

Feats built around the action point mechanic. Treating it as a heroism kinda magic pool, and you can get nifty effects here.
You could almost do Exalted-esque charms this way.

For reference, from Eberron:
Action Boost: When spending action points to alter attacks, skill checks, ability checks, level checks, or saving throws, you roll d8s instead of a d6s.
Action Surge (BAB +3): By spending 2 action points, you can perform an additional action in a round.
Heroic Spirit: Your action point maximum is increased by 3.

New Feats
Parry (BAB +1): When struck with a melee attack, you may spend 1 action point to parry the attack. Make a melee attack roll at your current highest attack bonus (so penalties from power attack et al on your last action would still apply). If you beat the attack roll, that attack misses. Note that since you have already spent an action point on this roll, you cannot spend another to improve it.

Counterattack (BAB +6, Parry): If an opponent misses you in melee and you spend an action point, that opponent is considered to have provoked an AoO from you.

Heroic Attack (BAB +9, Action Boost): When spending an action point to improve an attack roll, you roll d12s instead of d8s.

Heroic Strike (BAB +12): When rolling damage, you may spend an action point to add an extra die of damage to the hit. Normally 1d6, if you have action boost 1d8, if you have heroic attack 1d12.

Heroic Skill (Action Boost, 9 ranks in two skills): Choose two skills in which you have at least 9 ranks. When spending an action point to boost those skill checks, you roll d12s instead of d8s.

Rule:
Action Metamagic Feats: Instead of applying metamagic feats on memorization, you can apply them on-the-fly by spending 1 action point. Doing so increases the casting time to one full round if it was a standard action, or by one full round otherwise. They can only be applied to spells which the metamagic could ordinarily be applied to (for instance, if you can cast 6th level spells and have the maximize spell feat, you could apply it to 3rd level spells). If you want to combine multiple metamagic feats, it takes action points equal to the number of feats used, and the level limits are cumulative, so you could only empower and maximize a spell 5 levels lower than your maximum spell level, but it gets its casting time upped twice.

I like the AP mechanic in general; I have been using a similar mechanic for the past three years and it's worked out great.

OTOH, I do have mixed feelings about the Feats that provide new uses for APs. They're pretty powerful, but it feels like you'd be able to use them too rarely to warrant a feat. I'd be interested to actually see how they work at the table.

DanMcS said:

What kind of useless class feature would only be useable 6 +1/2 character level times per level?

Click to expand...

Really. And that's the maximum amount of times you could use it if you devote them to that one thing.You'll also be burning your points elsewhere. I don't like the low number of points overall.

I'm thinking if we ever get into playing this setting to up that number. Maybe "per game day" is too much, maybe even "per gaming session" (which is what Mutants and Masterminds does IIRC). But "per adventure" might be about right, i.e. if I'm tallying up the XPs because everything has been wrapped up nicely, refresh your APs even if you haven't leveled up.

Another way to look at the pool of points might be similar to Karma Points in Shadowrun. The pool exists at its current point level (no change in the # given). However, each game session you have your pool. Any action that uses an action point but does not guarentee success, or is the cost to activate an existing ability (such as the feats) temporarily use points from your total, but regenerate next session. Any action that creates an automatic success, such as automatically confirming a critical, automatically stabalizing, etc. permanently burns a point from the total.

This makes it more of a player choice. Example: Harn the Warrior has 4 Action points, and is reduced to -9hp and will bleed to death next round, Does ge want to risk only temporarily using points to add dice to his stabalization roll? Or does he want to permanently burn a point to automatically stabalize.

Just a thought...