Roger
First Post
So what's the verdict?I'll let you know as soon as I try them out this weekend
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Do Something Awesome
- Thread starter Verys Arkon
- Start date
Rel
Liquid Awesome
I'm not sure I'd agree.
I generally refer to my house rule on the matter as "Do Something Cool (which fits your character concept)" or (more recently) "Power Stunting". In any event, I think the basic idea is hardly unique to me but I certainly encourage it because I think it goes a long way toward addressing any concerns about powers being a straitjacket.
Verys Arkon
First Post
I had two players use their new 'power' this weekend in our second session of Pyramid of Shadows.
The first, a goliath fighter, used it to boost an intimidate check on Garish Vren in the middle of battle when the werewolf burst out of his room. I wanted the PCs to be frightened of the werewolf, so I played up Garish's panic. The player jumped on it, and intimidated him into cooperating against the larger threat. It was a cool moment, and it changed up the direction of an otherwise rote combat.
The second was used by our deva invoker, who had previously summoned an angel (angelic horde come forth!). She described her angel's wings spreading wide, her eyes shinning streams of light, and made an intimidate check to cow the werewolf.
So, in the end I got two players to describe something really cool with interesting results - intimidate had rarely (ever?) been used with this group before. It switched up the battle the first time, and helped avoid the grind with the second usage. I'll have to keep an eye on the intimidate usage though if the Do Something Awesome power just becomes '+10 to intimidate' checks'. Perhaps something like 'The bonus can only be applied to a specific skill once per session'.
I'll keep it as is and see how it goes for a couple more sessions before I tweak it.
The first, a goliath fighter, used it to boost an intimidate check on Garish Vren in the middle of battle when the werewolf burst out of his room. I wanted the PCs to be frightened of the werewolf, so I played up Garish's panic. The player jumped on it, and intimidated him into cooperating against the larger threat. It was a cool moment, and it changed up the direction of an otherwise rote combat.
The second was used by our deva invoker, who had previously summoned an angel (angelic horde come forth!). She described her angel's wings spreading wide, her eyes shinning streams of light, and made an intimidate check to cow the werewolf.
So, in the end I got two players to describe something really cool with interesting results - intimidate had rarely (ever?) been used with this group before. It switched up the battle the first time, and helped avoid the grind with the second usage. I'll have to keep an eye on the intimidate usage though if the Do Something Awesome power just becomes '+10 to intimidate' checks'. Perhaps something like 'The bonus can only be applied to a specific skill once per session'.
I'll keep it as is and see how it goes for a couple more sessions before I tweak it.
Verys Arkon
First Post
Thanks for the link! I agree the general idea isn't new - I just made up the card
, and the specifics vary a little but the intent is the same; get the players to think outside the box without penalizing them too much.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
My approach is to encourage the players to think about what their PC is really about and find ways to extend that with these Power Stunts. This can be by getting a bonus to a skill roll, expanding how a power is used or even by making up something new entirely.
Just as one example, my wife's character (Cleric of Melora) found herself as the only one still aboard an airship when the rest of the crew (and the rest of the party) had gone overboard during a fight with some harpies. With no knowledge about how one goes about steering an airship she instead asked, "Can I just use my ties to Nature to have the air blow the ship where I want it to go this round?" That, to me, is the perfect thing that such power stunts or "Do Something Awesome" type rules are there to cover.
Just as one example, my wife's character (Cleric of Melora) found herself as the only one still aboard an airship when the rest of the crew (and the rest of the party) had gone overboard during a fight with some harpies. With no knowledge about how one goes about steering an airship she instead asked, "Can I just use my ties to Nature to have the air blow the ship where I want it to go this round?" That, to me, is the perfect thing that such power stunts or "Do Something Awesome" type rules are there to cover.
