First Draft, Recharge System. PEACH - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

First Draft, Recharge System. PEACH

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
tehsquirrely
Jun 11, 2008 18:14:40 I think 4th edition is a great system. However I think wizards went to far in their quest for balance and might have gimped PCs more than is necessary. I've been wracking my brains trying to figure out how to make combat more interesting.

Then it dawned on me. A "Mana" system. In this system all classes have access to a "power pool point" resevoir (like mana in many games) and powers draw from this pool instead of just being once an encounter. I'm still having a bit of trouble with daily powers, but I'm thinking of just giving them their own seperate pool to draw from. So without further adue, my rough draft of my power recharge system.

Encounter/Daily Powers: Players earn more encounter/daily powers in this system then normal. At every level a character would normally learn 1 encounter power or 1 daily power they instead learn 2, at every level a character could retrain a power to a higher level they may do so, and learn a new encounter power as well. This applies to utilty powers as well.

Power Pool Points: All charcters have a reserve of power pool points. These power pools are called different things depending on your power source, Arcane classes draw from a Mana pool, Martial classes draw from an Endurance pool, and Divine classes draw from a Faith pool. These are just thematic differances and have no effect on gameplay.

A character has a number of power pool points equal to three times their level, so a first level character has 3 power pool points, a 10th level character has 30 power points and so on. A character draws from this pool when using an encounter power. A power costs a number of points equal to its level. Thus a first level encounter power only costs 1 points to activate, a 3rd level encounter power costs 3, and so on. A power is never expended, however you may not have enough points in your power pool to use a power, but should you gain enough points you may use any power any number of times during an encounter.

Characters have two ways to regenerate this power pool. First after a short rest the power pool is increased to its maximum amount. During combat a character can spend a minor a move and a standard action to perform any of their at will powers or a basic attack and regain a number of power points equal to half the damage they, or an ally benefitting from the power, dealt.

Daily Power Pool: All characters also have a daily power pool. This represents a reserve of martial fury, arcane brilliance, or divine inspiration a character can call on a limited number of times per day to perform amazing acts.

Characters have a number of Daily power pool points equal to twice thier level. Thus a first level character has 2 points, a 10th level character has 20, and so on. Characters draw from this Daily power pool whenever they use a daily power. A power costs a number of points equal to its level, thus a first level power costs 1 point, a fifth level power costs 5 and so on. A daily power is expended when it is used, however it returns to you after a short rest, however you may not be able to use a power due to a lack of points in your Daily power pool.

Characters have 2 ways to regain points in their daily power pool. First, after an extended rest this pool is refilled to full. Second after a short rest a character regains a number of points in this pool relevant to their adventuring teir. Heroic characters gain 1 point, Paragon characters gain 2, and Epic characters gain 4. In addition after a short rest a character may expend one healing surge, and only one, to gain a number of point in this pool equal to half the amount of hit points the healing surge would grant. Powers that improve the amount healed by a healing surge (such as healing word) have no affect on the number of points regained.

Utility Powers: Utility powers draw from their relevant power pools, however they cost half their level in power points instead of their full level. Thus a second level utility power only costs 1 point to activate. Otherwise utility powers follow the rules for the power group (daily or encounter) that they occupy.

I would like to see some honest feedback about this new power system, especially from people who have played numerous sessions. However I designed this system to keep combat from getting overly stale, and preventing it from lasting unecessairly long after browsing the MM and noticing monsters generally high HP and characters generally low damage on powers. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
#2
suedodeus
Jun 11, 2008 19:29:15 I like the concept, but I think you might have gone a little too far. Characters under this system would probably end up using 3 encounter powers of their level in each encounter, and probably a daily. Basically, I think the system you've come up with would make the encounter and daily powers much more mundane, since they would practically always be used.
#3
tehsquirrely
Jun 11, 2008 21:11:59
I like the concept, but I think you might have gone a little too far. Characters under this system would probably end up using 3 encounter powers of their level in each encounter, and probably a daily. Basically, I think the system you've come up with would make the encounter and daily powers much more mundane, since they would practically always be used.

At earlier levels yes I do see this as more of a problem. However at higher levels you're going to be faced with the decision of "Do I just use this new encounter power I have roughly 3 times, or do I mix it up with the older ones I have for more variety and general beat-down." But I am intentionally going for more encounter powers per encounter than what is given in the PHB. I'm really still working on the daily powers idea, I didn't flesh that out as much.
#4
epochgames
Jun 13, 2008 20:16:12 Personally, this is more along the lines of what I expected/wanted when the first announced they would be using power bases. This is definitely a step in the right direction for my campaign, although I am concerned as to the balance. I mean, you get x XP now, defeating monster y. But, now, you only have a very limited amount of abilities available at any given time. By adding more abilities, does it lessen the worthiness of current challenges?
#5
epochgames
Jun 14, 2008 1:45:40 After taking a closer look at your layout here, I think that the recharge rate seriously imbalances game play, especially for endurance dungeon crawls and similar themes. I would see them recharging perhaps more like HP, and possibly in conjunction with HP or instead of HP using a health surge, at most.

I'm also simply still hung up the power sources only being thematic with no actual effect, which you use here in this example to. If going far enough to change the basic idea to a pool, I would have to consider differences between the actual power sources in terms of mechanics as well. This might mean different ways to build/regain points to the pool, or for multi-class characters, either two pools are required or if the base class is martial and it's multi-ed into an arcane that arcane abilities might cost twice as much in martial base's points.
#6
dako1001
Jun 14, 2008 6:07:00 How about a simpler option...a new feat perhaps.

Recovery (level 11)
By spending a moment catching your breath, you are able to regain an ability you have used.
Daily * Standard Action
Benefits: By spending an action point, you gain two benefits...you gain a +2 power bonus to your AC and you recover one encounter or daily power that you have used during this encounter. You are unable to make any attack actions while using this feat.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 tehsquirrely Jun 11, 2008 18:14:40	I think 4th edition is a great system. However I think wizards went to far in their quest for balance and might have gimped PCs more than is necessary. I've been wracking my brains trying to figure out how to make combat more interesting. Then it dawned on me. A "Mana" system. In this system all classes have access to a "power pool point" resevoir (like mana in many games) and powers draw from this pool instead of just being once an encounter. I'm still having a bit of trouble with daily powers, but I'm thinking of just giving them their own seperate pool to draw from. So without further adue, my rough draft of my power recharge system. Encounter/Daily Powers: Players earn more encounter/daily powers in this system then normal. At every level a character would normally learn 1 encounter power or 1 daily power they instead learn 2, at every level a character could retrain a power to a higher level they may do so, and learn a new encounter power as well. This applies to utilty powers as well. Power Pool Points: All charcters have a reserve of power pool points. These power pools are called different things depending on your power source, Arcane classes draw from a Mana pool, Martial classes draw from an Endurance pool, and Divine classes draw from a Faith pool. These are just thematic differances and have no effect on gameplay. A character has a number of power pool points equal to three times their level, so a first level character has 3 power pool points, a 10th level character has 30 power points and so on. A character draws from this pool when using an encounter power. A power costs a number of points equal to its level. Thus a first level encounter power only costs 1 points to activate, a 3rd level encounter power costs 3, and so on. A power is never expended, however you may not have enough points in your power pool to use a power, but should you gain enough points you may use any power any number of times during an encounter. Characters have two ways to regenerate this power pool. First after a short rest the power pool is increased to its maximum amount. During combat a character can spend a minor a move and a standard action to perform any of their at will powers or a basic attack and regain a number of power points equal to half the damage they, or an ally benefitting from the power, dealt. Daily Power Pool: All characters also have a daily power pool. This represents a reserve of martial fury, arcane brilliance, or divine inspiration a character can call on a limited number of times per day to perform amazing acts. Characters have a number of Daily power pool points equal to twice thier level. Thus a first level character has 2 points, a 10th level character has 20, and so on. Characters draw from this Daily power pool whenever they use a daily power. A power costs a number of points equal to its level, thus a first level power costs 1 point, a fifth level power costs 5 and so on. A daily power is expended when it is used, however it returns to you after a short rest, however you may not be able to use a power due to a lack of points in your Daily power pool. Characters have 2 ways to regain points in their daily power pool. First, after an extended rest this pool is refilled to full. Second after a short rest a character regains a number of points in this pool relevant to their adventuring teir. Heroic characters gain 1 point, Paragon characters gain 2, and Epic characters gain 4. In addition after a short rest a character may expend one healing surge, and only one, to gain a number of point in this pool equal to half the amount of hit points the healing surge would grant. Powers that improve the amount healed by a healing surge (such as healing word) have no affect on the number of points regained. Utility Powers: Utility powers draw from their relevant power pools, however they cost half their level in power points instead of their full level. Thus a second level utility power only costs 1 point to activate. Otherwise utility powers follow the rules for the power group (daily or encounter) that they occupy. I would like to see some honest feedback about this new power system, especially from people who have played numerous sessions. However I designed this system to keep combat from getting overly stale, and preventing it from lasting unecessairly long after browsing the MM and noticing monsters generally high HP and characters generally low damage on powers. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
#2 suedodeus Jun 11, 2008 19:29:15	I like the concept, but I think you might have gone a little too far. Characters under this system would probably end up using 3 encounter powers of their level in each encounter, and probably a daily. Basically, I think the system you've come up with would make the encounter and daily powers much more mundane, since they would practically always be used.
#3 tehsquirrely Jun 11, 2008 21:11:59	I like the concept, but I think you might have gone a little too far. Characters under this system would probably end up using 3 encounter powers of their level in each encounter, and probably a daily. Basically, I think the system you've come up with would make the encounter and daily powers much more mundane, since they would practically always be used. At earlier levels yes I do see this as more of a problem. However at higher levels you're going to be faced with the decision of "Do I just use this new encounter power I have roughly 3 times, or do I mix it up with the older ones I have for more variety and general beat-down." But I am intentionally going for more encounter powers per encounter than what is given in the PHB. I'm really still working on the daily powers idea, I didn't flesh that out as much.
#4 epochgames Jun 13, 2008 20:16:12	Personally, this is more along the lines of what I expected/wanted when the first announced they would be using power bases. This is definitely a step in the right direction for my campaign, although I am concerned as to the balance. I mean, you get x XP now, defeating monster y. But, now, you only have a very limited amount of abilities available at any given time. By adding more abilities, does it lessen the worthiness of current challenges?
#5 epochgames Jun 14, 2008 1:45:40	After taking a closer look at your layout here, I think that the recharge rate seriously imbalances game play, especially for endurance dungeon crawls and similar themes. I would see them recharging perhaps more like HP, and possibly in conjunction with HP or instead of HP using a health surge, at most. I'm also simply still hung up the power sources only being thematic with no actual effect, which you use here in this example to. If going far enough to change the basic idea to a pool, I would have to consider differences between the actual power sources in terms of mechanics as well. This might mean different ways to build/regain points to the pool, or for multi-class characters, either two pools are required or if the base class is martial and it's multi-ed into an arcane that arcane abilities might cost twice as much in martial base's points.
#6 dako1001 Jun 14, 2008 6:07:00	How about a simpler option...a new feat perhaps. Recovery (level 11) By spending a moment catching your breath, you are able to regain an ability you have used. Daily * Standard Action Benefits: By spending an action point, you gain two benefits...you gain a +2 power bonus to your AC and you recover one encounter or daily power that you have used during this encounter. You are unable to make any attack actions while using this feat.