Action Points -- Too Good?

[rvalle]

I use the UA, but without the emulate feat ability. Too many options make my head hurt. Some people woudl bog down the game because they couldn't choose between all the options.

I agree. I'd like to use them but without the emulate feat. Especially as I'll be adding a bunch of feats to the game.

rv

 

[megamania]

Might I recommend a chess timer?

That is a good idea for most anything that involves time to plan / think it out. The horde is coming at you... Do you run or fight? twenty minutes later they are still working out the many possibilities that can happen.

 

[Mark CMG]

I tried out the UA version and liked it for one particular group but not for another.

 

[rvalle]

I actually offered to use the UA version in my group going though the WLD and they turned it down.

Go figure.

rv

 

[smootrk]

I use my own variant, which is substantially stronger than other options I have seen out there - with more effects than I care to write out at this time (gotta get to work in a bit).... reasonable to state that they allow really super actions to take place.

All in all, it really depends on how the points are doled out to the characters. I only give them out for really super actions that the characters take (without using previously given out points). So they are quite rare and wonderful - 5th level characters with only 1 point, and 1 character who actually earned a second point during play.

 

[irdeggman]

I like the Eberon one better than the UA version.

The main reason being that there are a lot of Eberron feats and racial substitution class features that "require" spending AP to use. This provides them with some powerful benefits, albeit limited in use.

 

[Wolf72]

I don't have UA or Eberron, but how do they compare to the Black Company AP's by Green Ronin?

 

[TomWhitbrook]

My player's use their action points liberally, and in all honesty, they don't make too much of an impact on the game. Maybe its partly my player's complete misjudgement of when the action point could really make a difference to the roll. However, it has helped my players pull off a few cinematic skillchecks, which does nothing if not improve the flavour of the game. And if you don't feel like fudging rolls or overt railroading, they make a good safety net for campaign villains.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Action Points definitely make characters stronger. However my group rarely uses them for the +1d6 added to a roll. In my group the uses tend to almost always be the sorcerer spending an action point to cast a spell without using one of his daily spell slots, to emulate a feat or to get an extra attack.

We have trouble remembering that the character must meet all the prerequisites of a feat in order to emulate it. This is an important one to remember because it stops players from accessing the more powerful feats at the end of feat chains too soon.

Overall I find that the players still don't use all of their action points for a given level. YMMV.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Psion]

I don't have UA or Eberron, but how do they compare to the Black Company AP's by Green Ronin?

Take a look at the UA version here:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/actionPoints.htm

I actually like the spycraft action dice a bit better -- I don't think APs add enough to rolls. For that reason, I am thinking of using the Grim Tales variant, as it blends in the Spycraft Action Dice with the Action Point.