Hero Points
These guidelines are up in the house rules section of the website, as well.
Hero Points
Heroic high fantasy requires that the heroes be willing to take risks, and that they have a reasonable chance of success when they do. To help, we have Hero Points. Went spent selfishly, hero points disappear. When spent in a manner that is truly heroic, or at a dramatically apropriate time, after the hero point is spent, it can be returned to the character. If spent in a way that is both heroic AND at the dramatically apropriate time, the character may have the point returned, and earn another. In short, these are a cross between D20 Modern's Action Points and the Force Points of D6 Star Wars. Characters recieve 1 Hero Point per level.
Heroic Surge: When spent normally, a character rolls 1D10 for every hero point spent, and adds that number to every roll until the following initiative. When spent in this manner, the player must declare that he or she is spending the hero point(s) after rolling initiative, but before actions are declared. As such, a player may NOT (for example) roll an attack, see that the roll was low, and THEN declare "I'm spending a hero point!" This type of expenditure may be considered heroic, dramatically apropriate, or both, depending on the situation in which it is spent.
Heroic Dodge: A character may also choose to spend a hero point to avoid being hit in combat. Representing extraordinary effort in avoiding being hit, when spent in this manner, the player rolls 1D20, plus 1D10 for each action point spent. That number is added to the total armor, dexterity, dodge, and deflection bonus of the character (total armor class minus 10), giving the characters armor class for that round. Thus, a character with a total AC of 17 could choose to spend an action point. If he or she rolls a 12 on 1D20, and a 4 on 1D10, the total bonus for the character is added to 16, rather than 10, for the remainder of the round. This would increase the AC of 17 to an AC of 23. This type of expenditure is NEVER considered heroic or dramatically apropriate because of its selfish nature, and results in the immediate and permanent loss of the hero point. However, this expenditure can be declared after a character has been "hit." If the attack fails to beat the new AC, the "hit" was in fact a "miss."
Heroic Speed: A character may also spend a hero point to move with incredible speed, granting the character a single extra action at the end of the round. This is essentially the same as rolling a natural 20 on initiative, except that it does not guarantee that you go first, only that you get an extra action at the end of the round. This must be declared before rolling initiative for the round, and may be considered heroic, dramatically apropriate, or both, depending on the circumstanced under which it is spent.
Heroic Reserve: A character may also spend a Hero Point to reveal a heroic reserve. When spent in this manner, the character rolls 1D10 and adds it to his or her current hit point total. The number may not exceed the character's maximum hit points. This can be declared at any time, but the character must be conscious. Spending a hero point in this way is not heroic, nor is it to be considered dramatically apropriate, because of its selfish nature. Doing so results in the immediate and permanent loss of the hero point.
Heroic Power: A character may spend a hero point to increase the save DC of a spell or special ability. When spent in this manner, the player rolls 1D20 to determine the base power level of the spell (as with heroic dodge), replacing the normal 10 +. Then, the character may roll 1D10 per hero point spent, and add that to the save DC. All the dice must be rolled at once (thus, if one rolls poorly on the D20, one could not declare extra hero points to cover it). This use must be declared before the spell is cast, and may be considered heroic, dramatically apropriate, or both, depending on the situation of their use.
Other types of hero point expenditure may be allowed at the GM's discretion.
