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Nohbdi
2010-02-28, 09:20 AM
While I haven't been able to officially take part in my Olde Gamer Groupe for some years now due to having moved the equivalent distance of halfway across the country from them (and life being interesting for a sailor, as always), I still share some conversations with a few of them, and have many fond memories of various oddities we came up with. I'd like to share with you all one in particular, a House Rule that sort of evolved on its own, and which we at times got quite a lot of odd fun out of. With that, I present to you House Rule #27 (of our gang, at least): Cool Points.

House Rule: ‘Cool Points’

In much the same way as Experience Points are a reward for a player’s character doing something notably impressive, Cool Points are a reward for the player performing some notable act of coolness without expecting a reward for the trouble. Examples of a few of these ‘acts of coolness’ (and a rough idea of their value in Cool Points) include, but are not limited to, the following*:

+1 to +3 Cool Points:
• Drawing an impressive picture or character portrait
• Writing an impressive short story, song or poem
• Telling an impressive tale, joke or performing in some other way
• Performing a minor Unexpected Act of Coolness (E.G. buying a 6-pack of soda for the GM)

+4 to +6 Cool Points:
• Drawing, painting, writing etc. a work of art that leaves the viewer speechless
• Telling a series of jokes (or one really good one) that leaves the listeners breathless with laughter
• Performing a major Unexpected Act of Coolness (E.G. helping the DM move)

+7 to +10 Cool Points:
• Reaching a notable Life Landmark (E.G. publishing a novel, graduating college, etc.)
• Performing an epic Unexpected Act of Coolness (E.G. getting the GM a signed, autographed copy of the Special Edition Core Rulebook for his birthday, introducing the GM to his future bride)

Other acts may inspire the awarding of Cool Points as appropriate, and not all ‘acts of coolness’ will necessarily earn Cool Points; in the end, it is up to the one awarding the points to decide whether or not to do so, and if so, just how many to award.

Due to the rather subjective nature of their awarding, Cool Points may only be redeemed with the person who awarded them to begin with, and even then only with his or her consent on the matter. Generally speaking, Cool Points are redeemed in-game (provided, of course, that the DM is the one who awarded them), although certain out-of-game events may allow for Cool Point redemption at the awarder’s discretion. Examples of in-game uses of Cool Points (and the relative cost for each) include, but are not limited to, the following*:

1 Cool Point:
• Reroll one rolled die once, taking the new result (even if it is worse than the original).
• Add a +1 ‘Cool’ bonus to one die result, before or after rolling. (‘Cool’ bonuses are stackable.)
• Regain one point of a lost or spent ability from one ability-pool (E.G. Willpower, a wand-charge, etc.)

3 Cool Points:
• Reroll one rolled die once, taking the better of the two results.
• Turn one Critical Failure result into a Simple Failure.
• ‘Force’ one NPC opponent to reroll one action (E.G. attack roll, skill check, saving throw, etc), taking the new result (even if it is better than the original).

5 Cool Points:
• ‘Find’ a clue to the current puzzle; this cannot be used to insta-solve the puzzle or break Plot.
• ‘Force’ one NPC opponent to reroll one action, taking the result that would benefit the PC the most.
• ‘Find’ a minor, useful magical (or equivalent) item during the next Downtime (DM’s discretion as to the specifics of the item). The item must be one the PC can actually use, although discovering how might take some effort.
• ‘Convince’ one non-hostile NPC to assist the PC for one simple task (DM’s discretion as to what constitutes ‘simple’).
• Gain one additional Character Creation point (in a point-based system) during Character Creation.

10 Cool Points:
• Restore one ability pool of the PC’s choice to half-full (if below that point) or to full (if above half-full).
• Gain one extra ‘Cool Die’ for a single action’s dice-pool, or increase the value of the die being rolled up by one level (E.G. d10 to d12).
• Forego one minor die-roll to automatically succeed at one non-combat roll, as if the PC rolled the minimum amount necessary for success (DM’s discretion as to what constitutes ‘minor’); this CANNOT be used to auto-kill an opponent, auto-solve a plot puzzle or break Plot.

25 Cool Points:
• Survive one ‘instant certain death’ situation (E.G. Giant Supra Death Laser of Doom) due to being Just That Cool.

For the sake of completeness, a few examples of Out-Of-Game uses of Cool Points includes, but is not limited to, the following**:

Out-Of-Game Uses:
• Last Slice of Pizza
• Last Soda (if the DM doesn't want it)
• First Round of Halo/Silent Hill/<insert video game here>
• First Taste of 'Mama' King's newest dessert experiment

Note that none of the examples for Out-Of-Game uses have any 'price' attached to them; this is due to the fact that, in any given situation, the relative value of the 'reward' can change drastically; also, spending Cool Points in OOG events generally is more akin to 'bidding' the point for a chance at the reward in question, a la White Wolf's gaming system.

*Unrelated note: Every one of these examples is one that actually happened to a member of the group this gamer belongs to, albeit not necessarily to him or by him. Just a fun fact.

That's all from me for now. Enjoy, peeps, and feel free to comment as you will. ^_^

Latronis
2010-02-28, 09:39 AM
soft drink is worth cool points?

What the hell happens if he brings you beer :smalltongue:

The Tygre
2010-02-28, 04:59 PM
soft drink is worth cool points?

What the hell happens if he brings you beer :smalltongue:

What kind of beer?

Nohbdi
2010-03-01, 10:30 AM
soft drink is worth cool points?

What the hell happens if he brings you beer

What kind of beer?

*snrk!*

Well, to be honest, not only don't I drink, but my gaming group also has (had?) a very set rule of 'no alcohol or drugs' at games and/or events, so the issue never came up. I guess it would depend on the beer, tho, and the drinker's personal preferences. ^_^

Jane_Smith
2010-03-01, 05:21 PM
... No... beer or drugs?... What kinda gaming group is THAT?! :smallconfused:

Deth Muncher
2010-03-01, 05:34 PM
... No... beer or drugs?... What kinda gaming group is THAT?! :smallconfused:

I lol'd.

But, the question is, if you tell your group about this, doesn't it intrinsically lose its value, as they'll go out of their way to do cool things?

Or maybe that's not so bad...

Nohbdi
2010-03-01, 06:32 PM
Actually, surprisingly enough, we never really had an issue with people 'trying' to get Cool Points...

Probably had something to do with the fact that we'd been throwing around the phrase 'Dude, that was sweet - (x) cool points' long before we started keeping track of them, and actually started keeping track of them before we decided they were worth anything...

Besides, I do believe that is only the fourth time I have ever heard anyone complain about people intentionally going out of their way to do cool things.

And yes, I also lol'd, Jane_Smith.