Hero Points instead of XP

DonAdam

Explorer
So I've basically ditched XP from my game. The characters level when it is appropriate to the story.

So for everything involving XP, we're switching to Hero Points.

Copied from my house rules document:

Hero Points and Experience

·Characters will level when I say they level.

·Raise Dead and Reincarnate cost a character 1d4 hero points, and his hero point roll for his next experience level gained rather than XP debt.

·Resurrection costs a character 1d4 Hero Points and his next level’s worth but with no Constitution loss.

·A character gains 1d4 hero points each time he gains an experience level.

·Once a hero point is spent, it is spent. They do not come back.

·You may only spend one hero point a round.

·Each session, 2 hero points will be awarded to different players. One will be for roleplaying, voted for by the group. The other will be DM’s discretion, and could be given for any number of reasons, but never to who gets one for roleplaying.

·New Feat: Born Hero; Prerequisite: Charisma 13+; Benefit: The character gains an additional hero point at each level gained.

·XP costs do not exist.

·Creatures that currently drain energy drain 1 hero point per hit for each level they would normally drain.

·“Named” NPC’s get hero points. Mooks do not.

·Hero Points may be spent at any time to:

oAdd 1d6 to any d20 roll (other than damage) before the roll is made.

oAdd 1d4 to AC until your next turn.

oAdd 1d6 to all saves until your next turn.

oChange a critical failure threat into a normal failure before the confirmation roll is made.

oChange an enemy’s critical hit on you into a normal hit before the confirmation roll is made.

oAvoid one attack of opportunity.

oMad Style: trying something crazy might work if you spend a hero point… I’ll always let you know first.

oAutomatically stabilize if disabled or unconscious.

oCast a spell with an XP component of up to your level^2 * 5. You may spend multiple hero points at once to do this. Any “excess” is lost.

oCraft magic items with an XP cost up to your level^2 * 2. You must still pay the appropriate gold piece cost. Excess is lost when you gain a new level. You can use the chart below to determine the maximum value of an item you can craft, since this effectively allows you to craft something of a cost equal to your level^2 * 50 * the number of hero points spent.
Level GP/HP Level GP/HP
1 50 11 6,050
2 200 12 7,200
3 450 13 8,450
4 800 14 9,800
5 1,250 15 11,250
6 1,800 16 12,800
7 2,450 17 14,450
8 3,200 18 16,200
9 4,050 19 18,050
10 5,000 20 20,000
 

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Okay I decided to post because I feel bad that nobody else has and I don't feel like lurking today. I like these rules, and will probably modify them somewhat and use them myself. I generally find that I get the group to level up whenever I feel like it anyway, and the hero points that can be used as action dice is a nice touch.
 

Don, as someone that has also tossed XP rules out of his game, I find your rules interesting.

But... (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) :)

As a player, I would have some problems with these rules.
First and foremost, the random 1d4 points per level. Let's say we've played for 3-4 levels and I just happen to roll crappy and gets 1s every time I level. I'm really, really suffering, while some other player that rolls 4s every time is rocking the house. It should just be a flat number of Hero Points gained every level.

I also level the characters when they are ready to be leveled. In fact, ever since 3.0 came out, we've never bothered with XP, and we just level them up when it's appropriate to the story.

I do not assign any penalty to reincarnate. Coming back as a deer (or whatever) is bad enough, I figure. I also raised the spell to 5th level.

For Raise Dead/resurrection/true resurrection, I lower the PC's Con by 1 point permanently - no level loss.

The Permanency spell does not exist. So, I don't have to deal with that one.

The Planar Ally Spells don't require XP. Instead, the planar creature requests some sort of quest, or mission of the character. Failure to complete the quest within some reasonable timeframe will result in loss of clerical abilities, as stripped from the deity.

Greater Restoration does not have an XP cost.

Atonement does not have an XP cost. The god either chooses to allow the atonement to happen, or it doesn't.

Awaken does not incur an XP cost, but awakening a tree permanently removes one of the druid's 1st level spell slots. If there are no more 1st level spell slots, it removes a 2nd level spell slot, etc. It still has a 24 hour casting time. So long as the tree lives, the spell slot remains lost to the druid. Obviously, the druid can't kill any tree it awakens, lest he permanently lose all druidic abilities.

Commune has no XP cost, but has a casting time of 1 hour, and has to be cast in a temple to your god, a shrine, or some other religiously significant location, or at the very least, a hallow'd area.

Gate has no XP cost. The spell can already cause enough grief for the caster that he shouldn't have to pay an XP cost. The caster should be prepared to receive a Geas/Quest as payment for the creature's services.

Limited wish has no XP cost since none of the other spells do.

Miracle has no XP cost under normal circumstances anyway. If the caster creates an effect that would normally incur an XP cost, the caster incurs some major quest as a result. Failure to complete the quest strips the caster of his clerical abilities.

Simulacrum does not require XP cost. 100s of gp worth of ruby dust are a sufficient enough balancing factor (that and you need a large amount of ice and snow) to ensure that this spell isn't abused, even without the XP cost.

Vision has no XP cost, but the casting time is 1d10 x 1 minutes. Furthermore, after casting the spell, the spellcaster is fatigued.

Wish... wish is more complicated. I'll have to think about wish some more.

Crafting magic items does not incur XP. I use the rules from Mystic Eye Games' Artificer's Handbook. Essentially, the more magic items you create, the more chance they become unstable. I also rely on specialized material components for the creation of magic items. So, they have to actually go out and acquire things before they can create them. Or at the very least purchase them.
 

I do not assign any penalty to reincarnate. Coming back as a deer (or whatever) is bad enough, I figure. I also raised the spell to 5th level.

I just avoid giving out weird shapes. The new reincarnate table works nicely for this.

For Raise Dead/resurrection/true resurrection, I lower the PC's Con by 1 point permanently - no level loss.

I do a cumulative -1 Con penalty for each time the character has been Raised. Resurrection only causes XP debt (if I'm using XP) or costs Hero Points. True Resurrection gets you off scott free.

Reincarnate also gives a cumulative -1 Cha penalty each time. The character loses bits of his own personality as he shifts from body to body.

I'll talk over the non-random points with my players. A nice balance might be 1d3+1 to narrow the potential discrepancies.

I'm not ready to divest myself entirely of the XP costs on spells. I like the idea of infusing one's personal energy into magic items; it makes them feel more special (they're very rare in my games).
 

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