Action Points Variant Idea
I've been running two Pathfinder RPG games. One follows the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path the other is more generic although it is set in the same game world of Golarion.
Now for the Rise of the Runelords we're using Action Points but after having used them for several campaigns I'm finding that Action Points while fun and useful are more a metagame tool. In theory action points are supposed to bring flair and action to the gaming table but most of the time it seems that it's just currency to buy a better roll.
So in the second game I suspended the use action points (much to my player's disappointment). I'm not adverse to the way actions points work at our table per se but I want bring some of the high action back to the game and rather than take Action Points away mid play I wanted to explore other options.
My first thought was cards. Each card would be usable for the +1d6 to any die roll that is our most frequent use in play. The card would also have a special ability that could be used instead. This plan may still have merit but at least one of my players doesn't want to resource manage a fistful of cards and I don't have 52 game balanced special abilities yet. So I don't think the end result is really worth the effort.
Now about a week ago a friend introduced me to Spirit of the Century. Very cool game (More about SotC later). Some of the coolest aspects of the game are um..."Aspects."
Aspects are general descriptors that can be used to modify a poor die roll with Fate points. Sounds an awful lot like action points but it only works when you can claim that it would be affected by an aspect. Aspects can also be used to modify scenes and inject new story elements if the GM approves.
Aspects aren't limited to possive results. They can be used against a character. A GM (or even the player) can invoke the aspect to create a story complication. If the player accepts the complication then they gain a Fate point. The player may turn down such a complication but if they do so they must spend a Fate point instead.
So a player could take aspects that are only positive but would be unable to regain Fate points durring play. So basically each aspect is self balancing. If you take an aspect with no visible downside it won't be very good for regaining Fate points. So for example you could take the aspect of "lucky" which has no downside or you could take "strange luck" which could be used in all the same ways lucky could be used plus the GM could use it to make story complications.
I'm thinking about importing Aspects into my Pathfinder game for use with action points. My rough draft idea is to give my PC's three aspects at character creation that tie into the character's backstory. Then at each level that they earn a Attribute bump allowing the player to take an additional Aspect to reflect recent character developments. Each character will get 3-5 action points at the start of each character level.
Now for the Rise of the Runelords we're using Action Points but after having used them for several campaigns I'm finding that Action Points while fun and useful are more a metagame tool. In theory action points are supposed to bring flair and action to the gaming table but most of the time it seems that it's just currency to buy a better roll.
So in the second game I suspended the use action points (much to my player's disappointment). I'm not adverse to the way actions points work at our table per se but I want bring some of the high action back to the game and rather than take Action Points away mid play I wanted to explore other options.
My first thought was cards. Each card would be usable for the +1d6 to any die roll that is our most frequent use in play. The card would also have a special ability that could be used instead. This plan may still have merit but at least one of my players doesn't want to resource manage a fistful of cards and I don't have 52 game balanced special abilities yet. So I don't think the end result is really worth the effort.
Now about a week ago a friend introduced me to Spirit of the Century. Very cool game (More about SotC later). Some of the coolest aspects of the game are um..."Aspects."
Aspects are general descriptors that can be used to modify a poor die roll with Fate points. Sounds an awful lot like action points but it only works when you can claim that it would be affected by an aspect. Aspects can also be used to modify scenes and inject new story elements if the GM approves.
Aspects aren't limited to possive results. They can be used against a character. A GM (or even the player) can invoke the aspect to create a story complication. If the player accepts the complication then they gain a Fate point. The player may turn down such a complication but if they do so they must spend a Fate point instead.
So a player could take aspects that are only positive but would be unable to regain Fate points durring play. So basically each aspect is self balancing. If you take an aspect with no visible downside it won't be very good for regaining Fate points. So for example you could take the aspect of "lucky" which has no downside or you could take "strange luck" which could be used in all the same ways lucky could be used plus the GM could use it to make story complications.
I'm thinking about importing Aspects into my Pathfinder game for use with action points. My rough draft idea is to give my PC's three aspects at character creation that tie into the character's backstory. Then at each level that they earn a Attribute bump allowing the player to take an additional Aspect to reflect recent character developments. Each character will get 3-5 action points at the start of each character level.