Hero Points / Action Points - Yay or Nay?

[RigaMortus2]

So, do you think 5E should use some form of Hero Point/Action Point mechanic?

Personally, I like them. They add a little extra something for the player. However, I can see them being excluded in this next iteration of D&D as it doesn't have that old school feel behind it.

What do you think?

 

[BobTheNob]

Aside from fighters surge (which is sorta like that)

I do like them, but not the way they have been done.

I dont like them as some "once every X(days?)" resource. I like them as a number of uses every time you sit down. So for instance, per play session. Sounds weird right? I like players to burn them and allow them to excel with higher frequency.

Players are encouraged to burn them rather than holding on to them for the best time to use them (which sometimes never comes).

THEN, because they are common as chips, as a DM you are free to keep throwing them out for acts of good roleplaying, especially playing to characters that have well-meated out backstories with negatives. Then during play...

DM : The guard stops you
Player : I will try to talk my way past, but remember, I have aproblem with authority
DM : Oh yea, thats right, you are at a disadvantage...oh, and have an action point. (and no, you cant spend it to offset the disadvantage)

So action points are fluid. It also gives players incentive to comes up with flawed characters, because having a flaw isnt actually a negative. It means that your
a) Hatred of halflings
b) Bad body odor
c) feudal enemy
d) Criminal record
Encourage storyline without just being bummers.

Just a thought.

 

[Abstruse]

No thanks. Using them as an RPG reward works well, and the Fighter Surge is perfect, and a magic item that does that would be fine. But adding action points to the game would really screw with balance IMO. A character that has an action point is going to do a lot more damage overall than a character without them, which means it's harder for a DM to tailor difficulty especially in published adventures, especially at mid-levels when there are more options for the characters that can do a lot of damage or really affect a battle.

 

[BobTheNob]

No thanks. Using them as an RPG reward works well, and the Fighter Surge is perfect, and a magic item that does that would be fine. But adding action points to the game would really screw with balance IMO. A character that has an action point is going to do a lot more damage overall than a character without them, which means it's harder for a DM to tailor difficulty especially in published adventures, especially at mid-levels when there are more options for the characters that can do a lot of damage or really affect a battle.

Is that assuming that they are going to be in the same form as 4e had them? Then yes, they would screw game balance. But if you read the OP's post he did actually comment on implementation or frequency of gain.

He simply put forward that suggestion of an external resource player could use to "turn up the volume". That can be subtle effect if balance is an issue.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Well you can spend action/hero points in different ways. It could negate the 1 on the save or die spell, prevent you from dying when you reach -10, or even turn a hit into a crit! It all depends on how it's designed but it should be done as I think it will be worth the effort!

 

[Abstruse]

Is that assuming that they are going to be in the same form as 4e had them? Then yes, they would screw game balance. But if you read the OP's post he did actually comment on implementation or frequency of gain.

He simply put forward that suggestion of an external resource player could use to "turn up the volume". That can be subtle effect if balance is an issue.

I don't know how they worked in Eberron 3.5 so my only experience with them is the systems in 4e and Pathfinder. The former works great for 4e, but the system's balanced for it and it wouldn't work if the monsters aren't designed for it. And I just really don't like the Pathfinder version...feels wrong. Just doesn't suit the system.

Plus APs in my mind are linked with encounter-based design...which just activates a knee-jerk reaction in me.

 

[Thunderfoot]

I said yes, but only as a module. Why? Because I WOUDLN'T use them, but just because I wouldn't doesn't mean they need to be thrown out the window.

I have seen them used effectively and not so effectively. They are, like most optional rules, only judged on merit when used properly and effectively. They can be game enhancers (as some people have pointed out) or game destroyers (as some people have also pointed out).

Either way, it's machts nix for me.

 

[Gorgoroth]

Hero

points in pathfinder were way more interesting than action points in 4e, but I liked them both. However I'd rather a guy who gets two actions every round. Are ettings a playable race? I can roleplay a calm + ANGRY guy at the same time, I just obey the voices in my head and hope they can just agree on who to attack next round.

 

[spudspotato]

I wouldn't use them, although I have tried before. My players either forgot about them or tried to save them for important moments, which always ended up being the dire moments that would have a nice effect on the story. They ended up being remembered only when someone thought they missed a DC for something important by one or two. However, if they were in a module I might try using them again depending on how they were used. For example, if anyone has played the A Song of Ice and Fire rpg (SIFRP) the "destiny points" could be used for minor bonuses like action points in 3.5 and came back after a certain period of time (or rather, when a "story goal" was met or an adventure was finished). However, players could also permanently sacrifice them for large bonuses or a chance to get out a bad situation, which I could see as being invasive for some DMs but I personally liked the challenge of rewriting my story because of the players like that. Finally, in SIFRP the points could be invested to buy the equivalent of feats.

All in all, put them in a module (or provide a few different ways to use them) but make them more than +1d6 or advantage points.

 

[Li Shenron]

I dislike them.

I certainly don't want them in the core, and I'm not very positive even to have them in a module, because there is so much variance on how people want them to be implemented, that it might be best to just leave them for house rules.