New GM's question about action points

[Kurziel]

I'm working on a campaign to start using a combination of d20M, d20 CoC and some house rules. I've been going through classes, feats, etc familiarizing myself with it all before the players start making characters.

It seems to me that there are alot of talents and feats that require spending an action point to trigger the ability. I figure on average each character recieves enough action points to spend one on every other encounter (one per encounter at mid to high levels). With the number of abilities requiring action point use, not to mention just using them for the action die for attacks, saves, etc that seems like alot of abilites the characters are only going to be able to use a small portion of the time.

Now, I have not actually run a d20M game yet, so this is all based on speculation. Are the action point abilities really so strong they need so limited in use? Am I underestimating the number of action points the characters are going to have?

I'm planning on using Wound Point/Vitality Point system similiar to Star Wars. I've been considering some type of system that would allow characters to expend vitality points to trigger abilites that require action points instead of spending an action point. I'm not sure on the exact amount, probly something like 1d4, 1d6 or 2d4.

Any thoughts or warnings on my idea?

 

[nobodez]

Well, I'm in one, not so typical d20m game (along with a few others, but they are onlise, so they're slow). Really, we seem to go through just enough Action Points that it's nice when the next level comes around so we can get a new bunch of them.

On to the VP -> AP conversion. I'd use a 1d6 -> 1 conversion, but no more than once an encounter. there are, per the rules, about 10-15 encounters per level, and with it being 5-7+1/2 level / level for A, that'd be at least 16th level before all the enounters can have one AP spent in them, so it's not that often. Of course, our houserules has it that you can spend a second AP once per night (that's a second AP on the same roll), which makes it so that when you spend APs, it's a momentous occasion. (I need to jump a 20 foot gap, I'm gonna need to double AP that.)

 

[Pierce]

We set up a system to reward good RP with action points. At the beginning of each session, everyone gets 2-3 poker chips. During the session, you can award another player with a chip for doing something funny, cool or extraordinary. Five chips = 1 action point. Depending on the player, that may mean an extra action point each session or so.

 

[Kusuf ibn Zaid]

Now, I have not actually run a d20M game yet, so this is all based on speculation. Are the action point abilities really so strong they need so limited in use? Am I underestimating the number of action points the characters are going to have?

....

Any thoughts or warnings on my idea?

In our d20 Modern games, we typically find that players save their action points for the fights that really count. Which means that almost none get spent during the majority of encounters, and 3 or 4 action points are spent during the clutch encounters. So, the end result is that the dramatic abilities are used during dramatic encounters and not much during the lead up encounters.

I think allowing a character to burn hit points (in whatever form they take) instead of spending an action point, will cause these abilities to be used a lot. If I can spend a few hit points to change a miss into a hit that inflicts more damage than I am taking, I am pretty likely to do so. If you want action point abilities to be used routinely, then make the change you have suggested.

- Kusuf