The Adversarial DM

[MerricB]

I think that as a GM I would just use them whenever the opportunity came up to use them until they were used up.
...
That's my take on it and it, also, helps to remove the feeling of an adversarial relationship between the GM and the other players.

Yes, I think that's not a bad solution: use them whenever you can. If the players are aware of that policy, then it defuses the situation.

(Personally, I don't like how deadly the "Confirming Critical" use of action points makes the game, but that's a different issue).

Cheers!

 

[Mark]

(Personally, I don't like how deadly the "Confirming Critical" use of action points makes the game, but that's a different issue).

You could tone that down by requiring a D&D-esque confirmation roll, as well, and even require the declaration of the point usage prior to the chance for the die roll.

Players might not always like the outcome but the excitement of "gambling" their points should fire up the odds a bit. That would also cut down on the effectiveness of the points, a bit, or perhaps steer players to using them more for non-offensive situations...where using them is a sure thing.

It also changes the dynamic of the game a touch away from agressive combat, though, which might or might not be a good thing depending on your tastes. And, for NPCs, it might weaken them just a bit since they are more likely to be aggressors in most situations (AKA"The Bad Guys").

 

[MerricB]

You could tone that down by requiring a D&D-esque confirmation roll, as well, and even require the declaration of the point usage prior to the chance for the die roll.

I probably would do that for the NPCs - instead of them using Action Dice to confirm crits.

It also changes the dynamic of the game a touch away from agressive combat, though, which might or might not be a good thing depending on your tastes. And, for NPCs, it might weaken them just a bit since they are more likely to be aggressors in most situations (AKA"The Bad Guys").

I'm sure the NPCs can hit often enough to make combat seem quite aggressive - it just reduces the chance the PCs will die in combat.

Cheers!

 

[Agemegos]

The James Bond 007 RPG came out in 1983. I'd like to think that some of the concepts used in its design are remembered.

They are, at least in limited circles. My general-purpose RPG of choice, ForeSight uses the 'ease factor' method of adjusting task difficulty, and a (cleaned-up and generalised) version of the JB007 Quality Rating system for adjudicating results. It also incorporates a generalised version of the JB007 system for chase sequences. And a couple of other JB007 holdovers.

 

[MerricB]

They are, at least in limited circles. My general-purpose RPG of choice, ForeSight uses the 'ease factor' method of adjusting task difficulty, and a (cleaned-up and generalised) version of the JB007 Quality Rating system for adjudicating results. It also incorporates a [generalised[/i] version of the JB007 system for chase sequences. And a couple of other JB007 holdovers.

Good to hear!

I did a lot of 1 on 1 James Bond sessions (with me as the player). It's the only game I've really enjoyed such a style of play.

Cheers!

 

[ForceUser]

Survival Points - neat idea. I use Action Points for my named NPCs, and they can use them for the same things players can use them for (in my campaign this means for stabilizing when dying as well as altering d20 rolls.) NPCs gain a number of APs equal to their hit die when I create them and one per HD/level after that. I use NPC APs sparingly, however, since it's the players who should be the heroes.

 

[MerricB]

There's an interesting discussion of symmetrical vs. asymmetrical game systems that can come from this, but it probably deserves another thread.

Cheers!

 

[Ovinomancer]

Another possible solution is to randomly determine by dice roll or before the game whether a villian will use his action points. This puts it back in the luck arena, and out of the GM's hands.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

I don't know how the campaign creation is set up in Stargate, but a solution for Spycraft could be to only have the Masterminds be able to use action dice to crit. That way you don't have to worry about the PCs getting dropped by a henchman's lucky shot- only the Big Bad can actually kill a hero, and then usually only in the final confrontation of the serial (since that's usually when the Masterminds are fought). Might make things a little more dramatic and less adversarial.

 

[Bauglir]

The only problem I see with NPCs an action points is that unlike PCs, often the NPC does not need to think in terms of budgetting action points for future encounters. Watching villain after villain blast out their entire action point supply at the PCs in an encounter is bound to grate after a while (especially if the DM simply assumes for reocurring villains that they somehow get more APs for the next encounter, while the PCs continue to budget a very limited supply)