AstralFire
2014-07-20, 03:18 PM
I have a fix for Vow, but it only works with my implementation of hero points; I can't really present it without the help of the other, and I need feedback on both, so...
Here goes! I keep them posted on my wikidot (hero points (http://swords-over-sharn.wikidot.com/hero-points)) (alternative wealth system (http://swords-over-sharn.wikidot.com/alternative-wealth)), but let me format it for here, too.
Hero Points
There are moments in any struggle that influence the outcome. Does the brave warrior lay low the villain before he can finish casting a devastating spell? Does the sly rogue avoid detection as she sneaks into the giant chieftain’s lair? Does the pious cleric finish casting her healing spell before the rain of arrows ends the life of her companions? Just a few die rolls decide each of these critical moments, and while failure is always a possibility, true heroes find a way to succeed, despite the odds. Hero Points represent this potential for greatness. They give heroes the chance to succeed even when the dice turn against them.
Hero Points are primarily awarded to player characters. Some particularly tough NPCs may make use of them from time to time. Temporary hero points are awarded at the start of every session, and if unused by the end of the session, disappear. The DM is the final arbiter on the use of hero points, and in some cases of heroic action or sacrifice, may award players additional points which may be held in reserve. These reserve hero points should be marked on each player's sheet, and are not automatically refunded or lost per session. You can hold a maximum of three reserve hero points at any time.
Players start every session with a certain amount of hero points based on their level. As I have always stressed when dealing with hero points, these rules are highly in flux, so please be patient. That said, I'm not anticipating any more drastic changes along these lines.
Level
Hero Points
Signature Tricks
1 - 4
2
0
5 - 9
4
1
10 - 14
6
2
15 - 19
8
3
20
10
4
Hero Points can be spent at any time and do not require an action to use (although the actions they modify consume part of your character’s turn as normal). You cannot spend more than 1 hero point during a single round of combat; a point used outside of your turn counts against your next turn. You may only use any individual Heroic Trick once per session. Reserve hero points are tracked separately in expenditures from temporary hero points: you may spend one of each a round, and they are not limited by heroic trick uses. Whenever a hero point is spent, it can have any one of the following effects.
Heroic Tricks
Act Out of Turn: You can spend a hero point to take your turn immediately. Treat this as a readied action, moving your initiative to just before the currently acting creature. You may only take a move or a standard action on this turn.
Bonus Boost: If used before a roll is made, a hero point grants you a +8 bonus to any one d20 roll. If used after a roll is made, this bonus is reduced to +4. You can use a hero point to grant this bonus to another character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as distracting a monster, shouting words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check). Hero Points spent to aid another character grant only half the listed bonus (+4 before the roll, +2 after the roll).
Cheat Death: How this plays out is up to the GM, but generally the character is left alive, at zero hit points but stable. For example, a character is about to be slain by a critical hit from an arrow. If the character spends a hero point, the GM decides that the arrow pierced the character’s holy symbol, reducing the damage enough to prevent him from being killed. Most enemies will be fooled and believe the character was slain.
Emulate Feat: This use of a hero point allows you to emulate a feat you normally lack, but meet the requirements for. You typically only possess this feat for one round in combat situations, but more "passive" feats such as Toughness or Weapon Focus may instead be emulated for an entire encounter, at DM's discretion. Emulated feats may not be used to qualify for any other feats or prestige classes. You may not emulate feats from the [Heroic] category.
Extra Action: You can spend a hero point on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn. When used to cast a spell, this spell slot must be of a level equal to or less than half the maximum level you can cast. When used to manifest a power, it is limited to an expenditure equal to or less than half your manifester level in power points.
Focus Fire: Spend a hero point to impose a -4 penalty to one target's saving throw against a single one of your spells or abilities this round.
Got Just the Thing: This use of a hero point allows you to produce one item which could conceivably have fit on your person, and you simply "forgot" that it was there: such as the mithral shirt your uncle gave you to wear underneath your clothes. This item should be worth no more than 500 gp x your character level, and you somehow lose or break the item after the session is over.
Know A Guy Who Knows A Guy: This use of a hero point allows you to suddenly recall a contact who you "forgot" you had, and could potentially help you with your situation. This contact is able to reasonably get to you before the session's end in most cases if she is aware that you need her help, but if there is no way for the help to reasonably arrive, the DM will simply refund this point.
Recall: You can spend a hero point to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.
Reroll: You may spend a hero point to reroll any one d20 roll you just made, or a d20 roll that was made in reaction to something you did (such as a saving throw against your spell or ability). The character rerolling must take the results of the second roll, even if it is worse.
Second Wind: Immediately regain half of your maximum hit points.
Shake It Off: You can spend a hero point to remove all conditions which would ordinarily wear off in a matter of time expressed in rounds, or by the end of the encounter. You also remove any sort of compulsion effect on you. Penalties which are not conditions are not removed. You can use Shake It Off even if you are unconscious or mind controlled.
Sudden Defense: A hero point can grant you a +8 bonus to your armor class against all attacks from a single foe for one round. Even if the attacks still hit, you take half the effect you normally would have, if the effect can be reasonably "halved" or otherwise reduced, like some of the higher fear conditions. If an effect cannot be halved, such as the deafness condition or the effect of dominate monster, it simply does not take effect. This does not remove or affect pre-existing conditions, nor those induced by a different foe. Calculate all halving after the foe in question has finished their round. The following conditions have lower states which are appropriate:
Condition
Hero Points
Bleed
Removed
Blinded
Dazzled
Broken
Removed
Confused
Dazed
Dazed
Staggered
Dazzled
Removed
Dead
Removed. Unless from damage. Then you got a problem.
Deafened
Removed
Disabled
Removed, unless from damage.
Dying
Stabilized
Energy Drained
Half negative levels, rounded down (minimum 1)
Entangled
Removed
Exhausted
Fatigued
Fascinated
Removed
Fatigued
Removed
Flat-Footed
Removed
Frightened
Shaken
Grappled
Entangled (1 round)
Helpless
Stunned
Incorporeal
Removed
Invisible
Removed
Nauseated
Sickened
Panicked
Frightened
Paralyzed
Stunned
Petrified
Stunned
Pinned
Grappled
Prone
Removed
Shaken
Removed
Sickened
Removed
Stable
Uh... Dying...?
Staggered
Removed, unless from damage.
Stunned
Dazed
Unconscious
Staggered, unless from damage.
Followers, Etc: As an immediate action, you may grant an animal companion, familiar, special mount, cohort, or follower one hero point which it must spend within the next round. The NPC benefits from your signature tricks and counts against your limit on number of times you can perform a heroic trick. For example, if you have the ability to use Reroll twice in one session and your cohort uses Reroll, you may only use the Reroll trick once more this session. This can be used with basically any NPC that you get as a class feature or feat.
Special Tricks: You can petition the GM to allow a hero point to be used to attempt nearly anything that would normally be almost impossible. Such uses are not guaranteed and should be considered carefully by the GM. Possibilities include casting a single spell that is one level higher than you could normally cast (or a 1st-level spell if you are not a spellcaster), making an attack that blinds a foe or bypasses its damage reduction entirely, or attempting to use Diplomacy to convince a raging dragon to give up its attack. Regardless of the desired action, the attempt should be accompanied by a difficult check or penalty on the attack roll. No additional hero points may be spent on such an attempt, either by the character or her allies.
Signature Tricks
Beginning at 5th level, a player may designate one heroic trick as a "signature trick." Although you can normally perform any individual heroic trick only once per session, signature tricks may be performed an additional time (or more, depending.) Signature tricks should be marked on the character sheet under feats. Choose one heroic trick that you wish to perform an additional time per session: characters which frequently find themselves on the front lines may wish to choose a heroic trick such as Sudden Defense, while those frequently curse their dice may wish to choose the ability to reroll. Signature tricks still cost a hero point to perform.
At level 10, and every 5 levels afterwards, the player gains an additional signature trick; she may assign this to her previous signature trick, allowing her to use it up to three or four times per session, or she may assign this to a different heroic trick.
If you choose Emulate Feat as a signature trick, you must specify a particular feat category, such as [Combat] or [Metamagic]; [General] is not a valid category, although you may choose an individual feat in the [General] category for that purpose, such as Skill Focus. Thus, Signature Trick (Metamagic) would allow you to emulate any metamagic feat once per session, without expending your use of Emulate Feat for the session.
Alternative Wealth System next post.
New Feat
I actually have quite a few heroic feats, but this one is the most pertinent to the AWS.
Company of Heroes [Heroic]
Benefit: Pick one of the following: a cohort, a group of followers (as a shared pool), an animal companion, a familiar, or a special mount. This group now gains a number of temporary hero points per session equal to half your amount. If you chose a group of followers, they are limited to spending one hero point per round among themselves collectively.
Special: You may take this feat multiple times; each time, you select a new type of NPC companion to benefit.
Here goes! I keep them posted on my wikidot (hero points (http://swords-over-sharn.wikidot.com/hero-points)) (alternative wealth system (http://swords-over-sharn.wikidot.com/alternative-wealth)), but let me format it for here, too.
Hero Points
There are moments in any struggle that influence the outcome. Does the brave warrior lay low the villain before he can finish casting a devastating spell? Does the sly rogue avoid detection as she sneaks into the giant chieftain’s lair? Does the pious cleric finish casting her healing spell before the rain of arrows ends the life of her companions? Just a few die rolls decide each of these critical moments, and while failure is always a possibility, true heroes find a way to succeed, despite the odds. Hero Points represent this potential for greatness. They give heroes the chance to succeed even when the dice turn against them.
Hero Points are primarily awarded to player characters. Some particularly tough NPCs may make use of them from time to time. Temporary hero points are awarded at the start of every session, and if unused by the end of the session, disappear. The DM is the final arbiter on the use of hero points, and in some cases of heroic action or sacrifice, may award players additional points which may be held in reserve. These reserve hero points should be marked on each player's sheet, and are not automatically refunded or lost per session. You can hold a maximum of three reserve hero points at any time.
Players start every session with a certain amount of hero points based on their level. As I have always stressed when dealing with hero points, these rules are highly in flux, so please be patient. That said, I'm not anticipating any more drastic changes along these lines.
Level
Hero Points
Signature Tricks
1 - 4
2
0
5 - 9
4
1
10 - 14
6
2
15 - 19
8
3
20
10
4
Hero Points can be spent at any time and do not require an action to use (although the actions they modify consume part of your character’s turn as normal). You cannot spend more than 1 hero point during a single round of combat; a point used outside of your turn counts against your next turn. You may only use any individual Heroic Trick once per session. Reserve hero points are tracked separately in expenditures from temporary hero points: you may spend one of each a round, and they are not limited by heroic trick uses. Whenever a hero point is spent, it can have any one of the following effects.
Heroic Tricks
Act Out of Turn: You can spend a hero point to take your turn immediately. Treat this as a readied action, moving your initiative to just before the currently acting creature. You may only take a move or a standard action on this turn.
Bonus Boost: If used before a roll is made, a hero point grants you a +8 bonus to any one d20 roll. If used after a roll is made, this bonus is reduced to +4. You can use a hero point to grant this bonus to another character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as distracting a monster, shouting words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check). Hero Points spent to aid another character grant only half the listed bonus (+4 before the roll, +2 after the roll).
Cheat Death: How this plays out is up to the GM, but generally the character is left alive, at zero hit points but stable. For example, a character is about to be slain by a critical hit from an arrow. If the character spends a hero point, the GM decides that the arrow pierced the character’s holy symbol, reducing the damage enough to prevent him from being killed. Most enemies will be fooled and believe the character was slain.
Emulate Feat: This use of a hero point allows you to emulate a feat you normally lack, but meet the requirements for. You typically only possess this feat for one round in combat situations, but more "passive" feats such as Toughness or Weapon Focus may instead be emulated for an entire encounter, at DM's discretion. Emulated feats may not be used to qualify for any other feats or prestige classes. You may not emulate feats from the [Heroic] category.
Extra Action: You can spend a hero point on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn. When used to cast a spell, this spell slot must be of a level equal to or less than half the maximum level you can cast. When used to manifest a power, it is limited to an expenditure equal to or less than half your manifester level in power points.
Focus Fire: Spend a hero point to impose a -4 penalty to one target's saving throw against a single one of your spells or abilities this round.
Got Just the Thing: This use of a hero point allows you to produce one item which could conceivably have fit on your person, and you simply "forgot" that it was there: such as the mithral shirt your uncle gave you to wear underneath your clothes. This item should be worth no more than 500 gp x your character level, and you somehow lose or break the item after the session is over.
Know A Guy Who Knows A Guy: This use of a hero point allows you to suddenly recall a contact who you "forgot" you had, and could potentially help you with your situation. This contact is able to reasonably get to you before the session's end in most cases if she is aware that you need her help, but if there is no way for the help to reasonably arrive, the DM will simply refund this point.
Recall: You can spend a hero point to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.
Reroll: You may spend a hero point to reroll any one d20 roll you just made, or a d20 roll that was made in reaction to something you did (such as a saving throw against your spell or ability). The character rerolling must take the results of the second roll, even if it is worse.
Second Wind: Immediately regain half of your maximum hit points.
Shake It Off: You can spend a hero point to remove all conditions which would ordinarily wear off in a matter of time expressed in rounds, or by the end of the encounter. You also remove any sort of compulsion effect on you. Penalties which are not conditions are not removed. You can use Shake It Off even if you are unconscious or mind controlled.
Sudden Defense: A hero point can grant you a +8 bonus to your armor class against all attacks from a single foe for one round. Even if the attacks still hit, you take half the effect you normally would have, if the effect can be reasonably "halved" or otherwise reduced, like some of the higher fear conditions. If an effect cannot be halved, such as the deafness condition or the effect of dominate monster, it simply does not take effect. This does not remove or affect pre-existing conditions, nor those induced by a different foe. Calculate all halving after the foe in question has finished their round. The following conditions have lower states which are appropriate:
Condition
Hero Points
Bleed
Removed
Blinded
Dazzled
Broken
Removed
Confused
Dazed
Dazed
Staggered
Dazzled
Removed
Dead
Removed. Unless from damage. Then you got a problem.
Deafened
Removed
Disabled
Removed, unless from damage.
Dying
Stabilized
Energy Drained
Half negative levels, rounded down (minimum 1)
Entangled
Removed
Exhausted
Fatigued
Fascinated
Removed
Fatigued
Removed
Flat-Footed
Removed
Frightened
Shaken
Grappled
Entangled (1 round)
Helpless
Stunned
Incorporeal
Removed
Invisible
Removed
Nauseated
Sickened
Panicked
Frightened
Paralyzed
Stunned
Petrified
Stunned
Pinned
Grappled
Prone
Removed
Shaken
Removed
Sickened
Removed
Stable
Uh... Dying...?
Staggered
Removed, unless from damage.
Stunned
Dazed
Unconscious
Staggered, unless from damage.
Followers, Etc: As an immediate action, you may grant an animal companion, familiar, special mount, cohort, or follower one hero point which it must spend within the next round. The NPC benefits from your signature tricks and counts against your limit on number of times you can perform a heroic trick. For example, if you have the ability to use Reroll twice in one session and your cohort uses Reroll, you may only use the Reroll trick once more this session. This can be used with basically any NPC that you get as a class feature or feat.
Special Tricks: You can petition the GM to allow a hero point to be used to attempt nearly anything that would normally be almost impossible. Such uses are not guaranteed and should be considered carefully by the GM. Possibilities include casting a single spell that is one level higher than you could normally cast (or a 1st-level spell if you are not a spellcaster), making an attack that blinds a foe or bypasses its damage reduction entirely, or attempting to use Diplomacy to convince a raging dragon to give up its attack. Regardless of the desired action, the attempt should be accompanied by a difficult check or penalty on the attack roll. No additional hero points may be spent on such an attempt, either by the character or her allies.
Signature Tricks
Beginning at 5th level, a player may designate one heroic trick as a "signature trick." Although you can normally perform any individual heroic trick only once per session, signature tricks may be performed an additional time (or more, depending.) Signature tricks should be marked on the character sheet under feats. Choose one heroic trick that you wish to perform an additional time per session: characters which frequently find themselves on the front lines may wish to choose a heroic trick such as Sudden Defense, while those frequently curse their dice may wish to choose the ability to reroll. Signature tricks still cost a hero point to perform.
At level 10, and every 5 levels afterwards, the player gains an additional signature trick; she may assign this to her previous signature trick, allowing her to use it up to three or four times per session, or she may assign this to a different heroic trick.
If you choose Emulate Feat as a signature trick, you must specify a particular feat category, such as [Combat] or [Metamagic]; [General] is not a valid category, although you may choose an individual feat in the [General] category for that purpose, such as Skill Focus. Thus, Signature Trick (Metamagic) would allow you to emulate any metamagic feat once per session, without expending your use of Emulate Feat for the session.
Alternative Wealth System next post.
New Feat
I actually have quite a few heroic feats, but this one is the most pertinent to the AWS.
Company of Heroes [Heroic]
Benefit: Pick one of the following: a cohort, a group of followers (as a shared pool), an animal companion, a familiar, or a special mount. This group now gains a number of temporary hero points per session equal to half your amount. If you chose a group of followers, they are limited to spending one hero point per round among themselves collectively.
Special: You may take this feat multiple times; each time, you select a new type of NPC companion to benefit.