Since you are giving the points for role-play, you might consider working out a method to
spend the points on role-play.
Instead of giving mechanical benefits, let the players help write the story.
Let them buy small additions to a scene, create relationships with NPCs, add flavor bits, create a plot twist, plant their own adventure hooks, humiliate their favorite enemies, and so on.
For example,
1. Prop on the Scene. The players are relaxing in the local pub when they are spotted by an NPC they don’t like. He insults them. One player thinks “If I only had a cream pie…” And says “DM, how many RPs to add a cream pie to this scene?”
One RP and a few seconds later, in walks the barmaid. On her tray is a freshly baked cream pie meant for another table, and she passes near the PCs…hilarity ensues.
2. “I forgot…no, I didn’t”. Allow a player to spend an RP to have any small non-magical piece of equipment that nobody has listed on their character sheet. The item must be immediately usable in the current scene. Additional RPs might be charged based on item value and how implausible its introduction into the scene would be.
3. My Old Chum. By spending RPs, a player might establish that, for example, the local (unnamed) hedge wizard is actually Farkle, his old school chum. Maybe 1 RP to name and 1 RP per two keywords added to the descriptive detail.
“Farkle (1), my
friend (½) was always
fat (½) and
lazy (½), but he would
slip me free food (½). = 3 RP, so far. He
likes wands (½), but
really (½)
, really (½)
hates spiders (½) = 5 RPs total).” (DM decides the emphasis on hating spiders manifests as a fear penalty, should a future situation come up)
4. Social Climbers. The local baron’s daughter is having a coming out party. While the population in general is invited, very few get to sit at her table. A PC might “buy” a scene that gets him a seat with RPs.
5. The Lucky Break: The classic is the explorer tied up by cannibals, who “suddenly remembers” the sun goes into eclipse in a few minutes… (No Bluff check, this is actually a minor variant of #7.) The key element is that the eclipse is unscripted, the RPs add it to the script.
A variation is that an apparently dead NPC is barely hanging on long enough to deliver an additional clue, accessible by spending RPs.
6. Join the Club. Have a really prestigious organization (Secret Defenders of the Crown, etc.). Players can get an introductory event by spending RPs. You can use organization activities to generate plot hooks.
A Thought: You should probably consider a rule that no action created by or affected by RPs will yield RPs, which is the first thing our local metagamers would try.
Also, scene elements introduced by PCs cannot contradict established fact. For example, if a PC is tied down to a sacrificial altar and the priest has the sacrificial blade in hand, the PC can’t get rid of it directly. If the priest says “Fetch the sacrificial blade” the player might spend RPs to establish it has been mysteriously stolen.
Since I come from a tradition that a player should be allowed to keep playing a character as long as he is having fun with it, I’d adopt one special rule for character continuance:
7. Miracle Max. If your character is destroyed, you can spend
all your RP to bring him back.
The number of RPs determine the “style” of the recovery, which might range from washing up in rags, without equipment, on a beach somewhere (1), to waking up in a comfortable bed being spoon-fed by a princess (10).
You might actually guarantee the players a minimum of 1 RP when they enter play, if they have 0.
8. The Cap. You might set a cap on RPs, maybe 10 or so. If a player accumulates past this point, then the DM looks for ways to spend the excess
for him. (Say maybe a secret d6 roll at session start, if you roll the number of excess RPs or less, you as DM spend them down in the immediate session or as soon thereafter as you can manage, for the player’s benefit.)
This may not always be obvious, especially if you position a useful prop or build in a lucky break.
(“You suddenly sneeze, and as you do, an assassin’s crossbow bolt flashes past your head…”).
One restriction, though: The DM should
never use #7, which is strictly a player option.
9. For the Challenged. To provide a default for the not-so-story-minded, you might keep the 5 RP per AP, with the provision that RP’s are only good to go from 0 to 1 action point. I’d also verbally challenge this use when the players use it.
“Can’t come up with a good story idea, huh? OK, you have your action point.”
You might even change your name for RPs to “Story Points” to emphasize their use to further the story rather than to gain a mere combat bonus.
10. Further Inspiration. You might look at any number of storytelling systems (
Universalis comes to mind). While most of these are probably too complex for your purpose, you might find more good ideas.
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DM: You are surprised.
Player: Why am I not surprised?
DM: But you ARE surprised.
Player: Why am I not surprised?
…(and so on)
