Action Points?

[NeoSeraphi]

Can someone please explain Action Points (Eberron Campain Setting) to me? What are they? What do they do? Can you incorporate them into a non-Eberron game?

I heard from someone that an artificer can use Action Points to shorten the casting time of his infusions so he can actually use them in combat. Is an artificer without Action Points still as deadly as one with them?

[Big Fau]

Eberron's Action Points are a modified version of the Action Points in the SRD.


As for Artificers, not really. Artificers (without abusing Heroics) generally save action points for important rolls, or dire situations. Improving the casting time on an infusion usually isn't necessary, as a good number of Artificer infusions can be cast out of combat and last long enough that you don't need to worry about them.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Action points give you an extra d6 to a d20 roll if you spend one, and if you spend one, it's gone until your action points renew when you level up. Action Surge feat let's you use two action points to get an extra standard action.

[NeoSeraphi]

As for Artificers, not really. Artificers (without abusing Heroics) generally save action points for important rolls, or dire situations. Improving the casting time on an infusion usually isn't necessary, as a good number of Artificer infusions can be cast out of combat and last long enough that you don't need to worry about them.

By abusing Heroics, are you referring to the Spell Compendium spell Heroics, or are you referring to a feat or ability that allows an artificer to use its Action Points to do something crazy?

[Big Fau]

By abusing Heroics, are you referring to the Spell Compendium spell Heroics, or are you referring to a feat or ability that allows an artificer to use its Action Points to do something crazy?

The spell. There's a Fighter Bonus Feat that grants 1 action point and, as a result, the Artificer can use Heroics to gain "infinite" AP. There are a number of things you can do with this abuse, such as cheaply applying Metamagic to Wands for your Metamagic Spell Trigger class feature (thus allowing you to utterly devastate entire encounters solo, more-so than you all ready could).

[NeoSeraphi]

The spell. There's a Fighter Bonus Feat that grants 1 action point and, as a result, the Artificer can use Heroics to gain "infinite" AP. There are a number of things you can do with this abuse, such as cheaply applying Metamagic to Wands for your Metamagic Spell Trigger class feature (thus allowing you to utterly devastate entire encounters solo, more-so than you all ready could).

That..that is pretty crazy...

[Big Fau]

That..that is pretty crazy...

This is also the reason why the Craft cost reducer feats are not viewed as much of a feat tax: The Artificer has a built-in class feature that can replace them (the ability to obtain Heroics in cheap, easily replaced wands). During combat, Legendary Artisan becomes the action point feat (I do not know the name off-hand), and your other craft-related feats can be turned into whatever you need at the moment. Most Artificer builds I've seen used often use tricks like this to replace Brew Potion later on as well.


Incidentally, tricks like this have earned the Artificer it's place in the Big 6. Having access to even one of these feat replacement tricks can completely alter how you optimize the class on a daily basis.

[Anarchy_Kanya]

How do you get those craft feats with Heroics? :smallconfused: They aren't fighter feats, as far as I understand.

[Big Fau]

How do you get those craft feats with Heroics? :smallconfused: They aren't fighter feats, as far as I understand.

You substitute the craft feats for feats that are useful during an encounter, not the other way around. You misunderstood me.

[Draz74]

The spell. There's a Fighter Bonus Feat that grants 1 action point and, as a result, the Artificer can use Heroics to gain "infinite" AP. There are a number of things you can do with this abuse, such as cheaply applying Metamagic to Wands for your Metamagic Spell Trigger class feature (thus allowing you to utterly devastate entire encounters solo, more-so than you all ready could).

I didn't know that there was a Fighter feat that grants an action point ... but really, that doesn't matter, because there's a Level 5 spell in Races of Eberron called Unfettered Heroism that gives you one action point per round of its duration.

That's where the real cheese is at.

[Dusk Eclipse]

The real abuse of action points is to craft a minor eschema (think scroll version of eternal wands) of persisted unfettered heroism, a spell from one Eberron book (I think Magic of Eberron but I don't remember) which gives you one temporary action point per round. Essentially infinite action points per day, Artificers also have some class features that get much better if you have action points to burn.

Have fun :smallwink:

Edit: Swordsage'd....