Post/Author/DateTime	Post
erebfaer 08-12-07, 12:54 AM	The people I game with Haven't really gotten around to actually role-playing yet so I wanted to encourage them in my Eberron campaign. I didn't like the idea of exp as rp rewards because some players will probably get ahead of the others. After thinking for a while I decided that action point might be a good idea (just a few at the end of a session). What do you guys think?
The_Gimp 08-12-07, 01:09 AM	I say not good, simply because Action Points are something "special", it's kinda like an adrenaline rush you get in a dire situation to get you out of a 40 feet deep pool filled with sh!t. Besides, Action points aren't meant to be an unlimited ressource you can use whenever you want to alter your rolls, you got 5 at lvl 1 for a reason AND only heroes can get Action Points and a select few NPCs... So I wouldn't fool around with that tossing free action points around like candy or 20$ bills! Items, gold, exp, good comments and encouragement...That's what you should give out! ;)
erebfaer 08-12-07, 02:35 AM	I wasn't going to have a lot, just one or two at the end of the session or maybe even at the end of an adventure if it's a long one.
NthDegree256 08-12-07, 11:47 AM	I personally think it's a good idea and I was planning to try it out when I get back to running Eberron games for my group in a few weeks. Handing out XP rewards for roleplaying always seemed fundamentally iffy to me - all it does is make some of the party members level up faster while the others lag behind, and usually in such a small amount that it's either A.) totally irrelevant, which makes it a pretty crappy award, or B.) just enough of a difference that players 1, 2, and 3 level up while 4 and 5 are still short, often prompting my group to wonder if there's something quick they can do to fill in 4 & 5's gap and get everyone functioning at the same power level. Remember, if your character is weak and underpowered compared to the party, you're not just hurting yourself - you're hurting the team because you're up to par with the challenges they'll be facing. Action points seem like a great idea to me - they're a tangible, useful reward that gives the PC something functional, but they don't last through a level-up, preventing them from having any long-term unbalancing effects.
Arcane Guyver 08-12-07, 01:44 PM	A much better idea than just throwing around 'RP XP' at the end of a game session. Only magic item-makers will really get any real tangible use out of bonus XP, usually. Everyone can use AP.
Rekko 08-12-07, 01:58 PM	My players tend to forget about Action Points. Maybe giving them as awards may encourage them to use them more often. However, I'd keep this as a rare, very rare gift. I prefer allowing extra XP for great tactics or fine role-playing and the likes. Usually, I give out the extra XP for the whole group, which negates one character having less XP. On the crafty spellcasters, I would have a tendency to take the XP cost from the party's XP pool (adding up each of their personal XP), than from the spellcaster. Thus, if a wizard creates a magic item for a group member that will advantage the group, each member of the group pays a fraction of the XP cost. However, I never had to apply tis house rule yet, since I have no crafty spellcaster in my group. Rekko