Earning actions points (besides levelling up?) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Earning actions points (besides levelling up?) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
JulesCARV
12-29-06, 12:51 AM I'm just wondering, what do you think of the idea of awarding players action points if they achieve something of particular interest to their player, or if they are given some challenge that is uniquely important to them? Sort of like earning Willpower in the Storyteller games, where you can earn temporary willpower by fulfilling your nature. (at least, that was in Vampire: the Masquerade. Not sure about the rest)

For instance, if a cleric of the Silver Flame manages to kill a Rakshasa, and frees the people the Rakshasa enslaved from their enthrallment, he might earn an action point from fulfilling something particularly important to him.

Or, alternatively, if action points were awarded for starting personally important quests rather than completing them, if a Karrnathi loyalist fighter finds out about some secret cell of the Order of the Emerald Claw that she wants to crush, she is energized by setting out on a quest that's personally very important to her, and might earn a temporary AP that would vanish if she either gives up on her quest or completes it.

Thoughts? Good idea? Bad idea? Absolutely-frickin'-awful idea?
Quasidork
12-29-06, 09:52 AM I don't see it as a horrible idea, but I'd definitely put a limit on how many action points they can have. It sounds like you want to reward them for being "in-character" which is a great idea, but at the same time if the benefits outweigh the restrictions, then your PCs may never help someone without personal reason to do so again.

I'd probably limit it to whatever their current maximum is. That way if they are using their action points, it will give them a few extra to play with, but if they aren't, they aren't just accumulating a bigger pool to save for later.
Leonidus
12-29-06, 04:47 PM Personally, I swiped the WoD Virtue/Vice system almost entirely.

When a character chooses this variant, they give up the spontaneous regeneration of action points at level-up. Instead, that number becomes the cap for the number of Action Points available, and totals are kept from level to level. (Although I do allow characters to switch back and forth, *when* they level up.)

I also drop the awards to a relative amount based on the strength of the virtuous/viceful act in question. (Takes a significant action either way to get a whole refill.) I also dump the Earth-based 7's, in favor of new ones based on the Dragon gods. Players aren't forced to take both of a god, but it is encouraged as both sides of a coin.

God (Virtue, Vice)
Aasterinian (Inventiveness, Indulgence)
Astilabor (Acquisitiveness, Pride)
Bahamut (Chivalry, Arrogance)
Chronepsis (Neutrality, Indifference)
Falazure (Patience, Sloth)
Garyx (Renewal, Destruction)
Hlal (Inspiration, Facetiousness)
Io (Temperance, Proliferation)
Lendys (Justice, Wrath)
Sardior (Knowledge, Reticence)
Tamara (Mercy, Conspicuousness)
Tiamat (Authority, Greed)
JulesCARV
12-30-06, 02:39 AM I don't think of it as a way to reward players for being "in-character," which I think is a somewhat bad idea (not a horrible idea, just a mildly bad one). I think of it as a representation of a renewal of the character's spirit and motivation. It isn't about how good the player is at roleplaying their character; it's about the drive and determination that the character feels within the game when faced with issues of personally of very high importance.
Quasidork
12-30-06, 09:29 AM Well, I would still have to say that I'd not recommend over doing it or giving them no limit to how much they can earn. It could lead to the player's never taking missions that aren't personally motivated to their characters.

As I said before, I'd probably set their max as whatever it would be for their character. If they were to gain a level while undertaking this personally driven mission, I'd treat the AP as "temporary AP" where they still have access to them, but cannot gain more until their AP total drops below their AP max. It may require a little extra tracking to know how many AP a player is awarded, but I don't imagine it's that big of an issue.
SQuigley316
01-02-07, 02:37 PM I was toying with DM'ing the Dresden Files using d20 modern, and one of the first ideas I had had was rewarding the PC's with action points based on quips they made in character to encourage them to incorporate what I felt was an integral part of the Dresden Universe. So I would definitely agree that it is a nice bonus "treasure" as it were to hand out to your PC's, but setting limitations on the amount a player could get did seem like a good idea as mentioned earlier to avoid characters targetting only those aspects of the game which will further reward them personally.
Arcane Guyver
01-02-07, 03:03 PM I used to give out small XP awards to players for adding to the game somehow (being clever or doing something extraordinarily humorous). Now I give out a bonus AP instead, and it works rather well. Don't flippantly give them out - maybe one per game session, at most.

For accomplishing missions, I think XP is still the best reward.
yrogerg
01-02-07, 08:01 PM I've definitely seen non-Eberron groups that liked the Action Point system enough that they co-opted the non-setting-specific uses, renamed them "Bad-ass Points", and awards one or two to, well, the character who was voted the most demonstrably bad-ass in that particular session.

Our Eberron groups would usually vote on minor XP awards for the same thing.
Nuclear_Buddha
01-03-07, 12:34 PM I give back an action point at the end of each session to whoever the group feels most deserves it.
ratslinky
01-04-07, 12:15 AM What my DM does is give us action points for being clever about how we deal with problems that kind of thing
Kensan_Oni
01-04-07, 01:00 AM There is merit in replacing the Action Point System with the very simular Force Point system from Star Wars d20, and I don't think it would be a bad idea to exchange the two, as long as you are not stingy with your points.

That's all.
DanjaNinja
01-04-07, 03:46 AM There is merit in replacing the Action Point System with the very simular Force Point system from Star Wars d20, and I don't think it would be a bad idea to exchange the two, as long as you are not stingy with your points.

That's all.
Do elaborate.
Kensan_Oni
01-04-07, 04:03 AM There isn't much to elaborate. The d20 SW system is very much like the action point system. Instead of getting a set amount of points, charecters start out with one force point. By performing heroic actions, the GM awards more force points. The Force Points act exactly like Action Points in the D20 Modern and Ebberon settings, so no big complicated conversion is needed, just a different application on how you assign the points.

As a Star Wars GM, I assign Force Points whenever players do a crazy stunt that works, or think of a clever plan that would work, or just for doing the right thing at the right time. The Star Wars system is a bit more stringent on how it assigns points, but I like players spending points left and right.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JulesCARV 12-29-06, 12:51 AM	I'm just wondering, what do you think of the idea of awarding players action points if they achieve something of particular interest to their player, or if they are given some challenge that is uniquely important to them? Sort of like earning Willpower in the Storyteller games, where you can earn temporary willpower by fulfilling your nature. (at least, that was in Vampire: the Masquerade. Not sure about the rest) For instance, if a cleric of the Silver Flame manages to kill a Rakshasa, and frees the people the Rakshasa enslaved from their enthrallment, he might earn an action point from fulfilling something particularly important to him. Or, alternatively, if action points were awarded for starting personally important quests rather than completing them, if a Karrnathi loyalist fighter finds out about some secret cell of the Order of the Emerald Claw that she wants to crush, she is energized by setting out on a quest that's personally very important to her, and might earn a temporary AP that would vanish if she either gives up on her quest or completes it. Thoughts? Good idea? Bad idea? Absolutely-frickin'-awful idea?
Quasidork 12-29-06, 09:52 AM	I don't see it as a horrible idea, but I'd definitely put a limit on how many action points they can have. It sounds like you want to reward them for being "in-character" which is a great idea, but at the same time if the benefits outweigh the restrictions, then your PCs may never help someone without personal reason to do so again. I'd probably limit it to whatever their current maximum is. That way if they are using their action points, it will give them a few extra to play with, but if they aren't, they aren't just accumulating a bigger pool to save for later.
Leonidus 12-29-06, 04:47 PM	Personally, I swiped the WoD Virtue/Vice system almost entirely. When a character chooses this variant, they give up the spontaneous regeneration of action points at level-up. Instead, that number becomes the cap for the number of Action Points available, and totals are kept from level to level. (Although I do allow characters to switch back and forth, when they level up.) I also drop the awards to a relative amount based on the strength of the virtuous/viceful act in question. (Takes a significant action either way to get a whole refill.) I also dump the Earth-based 7's, in favor of new ones based on the Dragon gods. Players aren't forced to take both of a god, but it is encouraged as both sides of a coin. God (Virtue, Vice) Aasterinian (Inventiveness, Indulgence) Astilabor (Acquisitiveness, Pride) Bahamut (Chivalry, Arrogance) Chronepsis (Neutrality, Indifference) Falazure (Patience, Sloth) Garyx (Renewal, Destruction) Hlal (Inspiration, Facetiousness) Io (Temperance, Proliferation) Lendys (Justice, Wrath) Sardior (Knowledge, Reticence) Tamara (Mercy, Conspicuousness) Tiamat (Authority, Greed)
JulesCARV 12-30-06, 02:39 AM	I don't think of it as a way to reward players for being "in-character," which I think is a somewhat bad idea (not a horrible idea, just a mildly bad one). I think of it as a representation of a renewal of the character's spirit and motivation. It isn't about how good the player is at roleplaying their character; it's about the drive and determination that the character feels within the game when faced with issues of personally of very high importance.
Quasidork 12-30-06, 09:29 AM	Well, I would still have to say that I'd not recommend over doing it or giving them no limit to how much they can earn. It could lead to the player's never taking missions that aren't personally motivated to their characters. As I said before, I'd probably set their max as whatever it would be for their character. If they were to gain a level while undertaking this personally driven mission, I'd treat the AP as "temporary AP" where they still have access to them, but cannot gain more until their AP total drops below their AP max. It may require a little extra tracking to know how many AP a player is awarded, but I don't imagine it's that big of an issue.
SQuigley316 01-02-07, 02:37 PM	I was toying with DM'ing the Dresden Files using d20 modern, and one of the first ideas I had had was rewarding the PC's with action points based on quips they made in character to encourage them to incorporate what I felt was an integral part of the Dresden Universe. So I would definitely agree that it is a nice bonus "treasure" as it were to hand out to your PC's, but setting limitations on the amount a player could get did seem like a good idea as mentioned earlier to avoid characters targetting only those aspects of the game which will further reward them personally.
Arcane Guyver 01-02-07, 03:03 PM	I used to give out small XP awards to players for adding to the game somehow (being clever or doing something extraordinarily humorous). Now I give out a bonus AP instead, and it works rather well. Don't flippantly give them out - maybe one per game session, at most. For accomplishing missions, I think XP is still the best reward.
yrogerg 01-02-07, 08:01 PM	I've definitely seen non-Eberron groups that liked the Action Point system enough that they co-opted the non-setting-specific uses, renamed them "Bad-ass Points", and awards one or two to, well, the character who was voted the most demonstrably bad-ass in that particular session. Our Eberron groups would usually vote on minor XP awards for the same thing.
Nuclear_Buddha 01-03-07, 12:34 PM	I give back an action point at the end of each session to whoever the group feels most deserves it.
ratslinky 01-04-07, 12:15 AM	What my DM does is give us action points for being clever about how we deal with problems that kind of thing
Kensan_Oni 01-04-07, 01:00 AM	There is merit in replacing the Action Point System with the very simular Force Point system from Star Wars d20, and I don't think it would be a bad idea to exchange the two, as long as you are not stingy with your points. That's all.
DanjaNinja 01-04-07, 03:46 AM	There is merit in replacing the Action Point System with the very simular Force Point system from Star Wars d20, and I don't think it would be a bad idea to exchange the two, as long as you are not stingy with your points. That's all. Do elaborate.
Kensan_Oni 01-04-07, 04:03 AM	There isn't much to elaborate. The d20 SW system is very much like the action point system. Instead of getting a set amount of points, charecters start out with one force point. By performing heroic actions, the GM awards more force points. The Force Points act exactly like Action Points in the D20 Modern and Ebberon settings, so no big complicated conversion is needed, just a different application on how you assign the points. As a Star Wars GM, I assign Force Points whenever players do a crazy stunt that works, or think of a clever plan that would work, or just for doing the right thing at the right time. The Star Wars system is a bit more stringent on how it assigns points, but I like players spending points left and right.