Action Points: UA vs. Eberron?

[Garnfellow]

Are there any significant differences between the implementation of action points in Unearthed Arcana and in Eberron?

 

[Doomhawk]

Well, Action Points in Eberron don't have most of the options presented in UA. You can't use them to boost feats or anything, only the base uses (add a bonus to a d20 roll).
On the other hand, Eberron has several feats which require action points to use, and a few feats which allow a character to get more action points or better results out of their action points.

 

[Staffan]

Well, Action Points in Eberron don't have most of the options presented in UA. You can't use them to boost feats or anything, only the base uses (add a bonus to a d20 roll).

You forget some uses:
* For an artificer, imbuing an infusion in one round regardless of that infusion's normal casting time.
* Automatically stabilize when bleeding.
* For 2 points, get another use of bardic music, rage, turn/rebuke undead, wild shape, smite evil, or stunning fist. As a house rule, I'd allow it for abilities similar to these (e.g. smite infidel/good/whatever, turn/rebuke elemental for clerics with an elemental domain, defensive stance for dwarven defenders, and so on).

 

[Klaus]

Plus in Eberron you don't keep your Action Points from lower levels (they "reset" when you gain a new level). In UA (and d20 Modern), unspent action points carry over from one level to the next.

 

[Mercule]

Plus in Eberron you don't keep your Action Points from lower levels (they "reset" when you gain a new level). In UA (and d20 Modern), unspent action points carry over from one level to the next.

In this regard, I think Eberron's system is superior. We did a couple of levels with the UA system before I picked up Eberron and added that "tweak". Action Points became a much more important part of the game when they were made "use 'em or lose 'em". Before that, they were really only used to auto-stabilize or held for a Very Bad Day (TM).

 

[Garnfellow]

I also prefer having action points reset/refresh with each new level.

So in the Eberron, you cannot use Action Points for things like Boost Defense, Emulate Feat, or Recall Spell?

It's interesting that in Eberron it costs 2 Action Points to activate an extra use of a class ability, where it's only 1 point in the UA system. Any other Eberron uses that cost 2 points?

 

[Staffan]

It's interesting that in Eberron it costs 2 Action Points to activate an extra use of a class ability, where it's only 1 point in the UA system. Any other Eberron uses that cost 2 points?

None of the general uses, but there are two feats that do.

Action Surge - 2 AP for an extra standard or move action in a round.
Spontaneous Casting - 2 AP to swap out a prepared spell on the fly.

 

[GlassJaw]

There's also the AP system in Grim Tales which I like a lot. I really like the concept of gaining extra AP's if something goes wrong for your character. That really gives the DM a lot of control over the severity of fumbles in the game.

 

[J_A_Garlock]

I think action points are nice touch. The DM gets to throw a lot more danger at the PCs and get away with it. Which is nice...

 

[nopantsyet]

I haven't used the Eberron variant yet. But I am intrigued by the use-it-or-lose-it proposition. I started using a house AP rule shortly after d20 Modern came out, and it has worked really well until recently. I'm just not happy with how they are fitting into the game. I'm considering changing how they are gained and lost, or removing them altogether. I may incorporate this and see how it works out.