varient Action Point uses?

[fireinthedust]

So I've been using poker chips for my groups action points, second winds/healing potions, and now blue for Mana potions (working out the kinks on that one).

What I'm working on is specific uses for Action Points that are kinda fun but not game-breaking. I could use some feedback for these house rules:

Action Points
1) an extra action
2) re-roll a d20 roll
3) aid a fellow PC's roll
4) gain a Saving Throw against ongoing effects, or to dodge fate (ie: fight stuck his hand in a gillotine trap, and wants to yank it free)
5) Take an action that there are no rules for: disarming, tripping, perform checks to distract someone during combat, seduction rolls; using a fireball to knock a torch from a socket.

does any of this sound unreasonable? Game breaking?

 

[maddman75]

- Do what I did. When he isn't looking, push Rel over and steal his rule, which is the PCs can spend an Action Point + Healing Surge to do something cool. Something about on the level of a Daily power.

- Plot Twist. The PC can have some bit of good luck. Maybe the guard arresting them is an old drinking buddy, stuff like that.

 

[fba827]

some of the options you mentioned actually cover what some paragon path features do with action points, or just regular class powers. So, I'm not saying they wouldn't work!, just don't use the options that people in your group would already have from a paragon path (it lessens their "thing" if everyone can already do it). But any given use that isn't already covered by some PC's power or PP power that they're going to take, then, sure it's fair game.

Nothing you've listed there seems completely out of whack.

I, personally, tend to prefer the extra action just so the PC doesn't step on anyone else's toes they can instead just do more of their same thing.

maddman75: a dm in my group (rotating dms) does something with destiny points, taken from Star Wars SAGA and put that game mechanic in to our 4e game. It kind of does what you are talking about.

 

[BobTheNob]

Ditto fba827. Be vary careful putting something like this in. Im all for house rules (too many flaws in the game not to) but you have to remember that this is a mechanism in place (i.e. paragon options) for handling variant action point usage. If you go changing the rules, it will impact in the paragon stage.

If you want to go ahead with this, I would advise (as a process of due-diligence) to spend some time tralling paragon options and produce a list of what the variances are:whats the pattern? how many of each type? If I change the rules, what does it mean to the paragon options?

 

[Rechan]

- Do what I did. When he isn't looking, push Rel over and steal his rule, which is the PCs can spend an Action Point + Healing Surge to do something cool. Something about on the level of a Daily power.

Rel's stated that said Something Cool is on par with an Encounter power. However, PCs can modify an Encounter power to be on par with a Daily.

- Plot Twist. The PC can have some bit of good luck. Maybe the guard arresting them is an old drinking buddy, stuff like that.

Yes! Declarative actions.

 

[fissionessence]

- Plot Twist. The PC can have some bit of good luck. Maybe the guard arresting them is an old drinking buddy, stuff like that.

We use that rule at my game as well. A couple sessions ago they encountered a corpse of a girl who was sacrificed. Part of the sacrificial ritual meant her heart had been cut out.

They decided to keep her, in case they wanted to raise her. (In restitution for failing to save her.) I reminded/warned them that only people with 'destinies' can be raised with the Raise Dead ritual.

One of the players spent an action point to determine that she had a destiny.

. . .

In the most recent session, she 'woke up' and teleported away in a puff of black mana, after an astral projection of her gave the PCs some creepy warning. Oh yeah, she has a destiny alright . . .

~

 

[Starfox]

Here are the additional Action Point options I am considering.

The following additional options are available with Action points.

• Trading in Actions By spending an Action Point, you can:
  • Recover a spent encounter power.
  • Recover a spent daily power at the cost of another power of the same type and the same or a higher level.
• Total Defense Gain a +2 bonus to all your defenses until the start of your next turn.
• Break one Effect End one effect or condition that is currently affecting you.
  • You cannot break effects that last until the end of the encounter or longer.
  • If you end "dying" in this way, you stabilize.