D&D 5E Player fudging: Destiny Points

[Skyscraper]

Yep. It moves it back to being a PC resource and consideration.

Okay. I'll consider doing just that if I do end up including such a mechanic.

 

[n00b f00]

I use them in systems that have them like the 40k rpg. They're for me a fun autocorrect that means I'm sweating the scene quite a bit less.

Your system sounds find. One thing though depending on your rate of lvling. Spending a life saving point on an attack doesn't seem equitable.

So in 40k you can use your points and they refill at the end of the session, unless you burn one to avoid death. Now 40k RPG is quite a bit more lethal, and maybe letting your players dodge death 3 times a lvl is too much. But it depends on your table.

 

[Azurewraith]

I'm currently using Plot Points(PP) which i lifted the idea from the firefly RPG. Basically the PCs gain a PP for good roleplayin, creative thinking or making the DM laugh so much that he is spasming on the floor struggling to breath(It only happened once don't judge me really De-railed the game though -.-) they can then use these points to do well pretty much anything from adding something to a room(only at the description phase) to making enemies go away(some times its hard to find a good reason lol). They have been used to great effect trying to assault a fortress that PP just made the architect be sitting in the bar etc. I try and hand them out sparingly as more of a conditioning tool to get my players to RP they all enjoy they just need reminding sometimes.

 

[kyalan]

plot points look amazing ! do you limit your players in what they can use them for ? "and then a dragon come crashing down on the goblins" sort of situations come to mind

 

[Azurewraith]

plot points look amazing ! do you limit your players in what they can use them for ? "and then a dragon come crashing down on the goblins" sort of situations come to mind

I haven't limited them yet per say but sometimes they don't act instantly. The point on case happned last session (I use lingering injuries) a player lost an arm in the middle of a timed mission so a player used a pp to re grow it rather than having it instantly re grow I threw a potion of regeneration In a foot locker in the next room. They have yet to suggest something overly ludicrous though.

 

[kyalan]

It seems a nice way of implicating the players in RP, I used inspiration but always found that rewarding roleplay with something that implies so little roleplay was underwelming. It tends to end up beeing used in the very next fight with little effect. I'm gonna switch to plot point for more fun !

 

[Azurewraith]

It seems a nice way of implicating the players in RP, I used inspiration but always found that rewarding roleplay with something that implies so little roleplay was underwelming. It tends to end up beeing used in the very next fight with little effect. I'm gonna switch to plot point for more fun !

Ye I found insp to be a bit of a bust.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

How would you rate or qualify the experience?

I rate the experience as not incredibly important (meaning the game would work just fine without them), but enjoyable because the players can use them as a means of reducing the occurrence of situations they personally find undesirable (basically, that do what pro-fudging DMs hope that they are doing for their players by fudging, but without any doubt that the odds are only being changed when the player most affected actually wants them changed).

Any comments with respect to the praise and the limits mentioned by Nagol in his post previous to yours?

I agree that it depends on the type of game play experience that is being sought, so I might at times run a campaign of D&D that doesn't utilize them for style reasons, and I don't add similar systems to other games that don't present them (i.e. I don't add a similar player resource to Call of Cthulhu).

As for forgetting to use them, that's not an issue at my table because I operate with full transparency so the players know what the consequence of failing a roll is going to be, and how much they've failed by (i.e. "Make a Constitution saving throw to resist being paralyzed" and "That's a fail by 2.") which keeps the player in the mindset of "Oh, I could use a hero point an probably get that."

For the hoarding, I pointed out a few campaigns back the list of expendable resources that were hoarded by the group for reasons along the lines of "...it might be more useful later" and never used during the campaign and it was like 60 items long (an average of more than 1 unused expendable item per session in the campaign), which helped them to realize that hoarding the items actually had the opposite effect of their desire (to use the items found to make challenges easier) so they've entirely quit hoarding.

Plus, they know how much more play until they gain a level (because of full transparency) and reset their stock of points, and since the unused points don't carry over they make sure to use them when it feels like maybe they should because otherwise they are effectively wasting the points.

 

[Rhenny]

I like the idea, but I'm worried that if all players have these "aces in the hole" (high level rogue ability) the sense of danger in a number of encounters would be lost and then you'd be adding one more element that needed to be whittled away through attrition.

 

[GMMichael]

Definitely look into the D&D hero points. Limiting them by character level pretty much guarantees that they'll never be used. Or only when the PC is 100XP from gaining a level. Treat them like Inspiration, and hand them out like crazy. Just long enough to get the players addicted...

Fate points are a better option - just treat the PCs' FAITB as their Aspects. One thing I never liked about Fate points though is the player's option of accepting or denying a compel. It's sort of like the GM asking for permission to run the game.

Rule: each PC starts with 3 fate points. These can be expended one at a time, at any time, and are replenished when the PC levels up. The PC can never have more than 3 fate points.

The PC can use a fate point to:

1. Stabilize his PC when he would have otherwise died.
2. Bring his unconscious PC back to 1 HP.
3. Transform a missed attack into a success.
4. Transform a successful attack into a critical hit.
5. Transform a successful attack by an opponent into a miss.
6. Influence a NPC to have him favorably change his attitude towards the PC. This will possibly not change the NPC's general intentions, so for example even if the NPC is favorably inclined towards the PC, he might not decide to abort his planned attack on a city; however, he might decide to capture the PC instead of kill him, or to give a fine to the PC instead of throwing him in prison. This is not a magical charm.
7. Succeed a skill-related act with the best possible result.

This usage wouldn't hurt either, but I'd like to see more roleplaying- and environment-based uses. Such as:
- Character gains a background element that would immediately aid the situation. This element, but not necessarily the benefit, is persistent.
- Player can buy a convenient environment effect. "It's pitch black!? I spend a fate point...and find an unlit torch nearby."