[3.5] More uses for Action Points?

[Swaoeaeieu]

Hi playground,

In my current campaign we use the Action Points machanic from Eberron. But me and my players would like to use Action points for more then only the extra d6 on a d20 roll or getting more uses of a class feature.

i have looked into the action points on the srd and even hero points from pathfinder for inspiration. But i would like to know if the playgrounders have more interesting uses for these moments of heroism that are portraied through action points.

I also had the idea of PC's paying an action point to perform a called shot, but can't find nice called shot rules i like.

so, thoughts?

[heavyfuel]

On the single campaign I played with AP, the DM let us use them to get a move action. Makes melee better since you can now "move+full attack" if you really need it. Didn't break the game at all

[Swaoeaeieu]

i like that idea. thanks for the suggestion!

[SkipSandwich]

In True20, Conviction (Action Points) can be used to do any of the of the following;

use your characters Core Ability (a unique ability determined by whichever class you took your 1st level in. Warriors can self-heal, Experts can gain temporary ranks in any skill, even trained only skills or skills for which they already have max ranks, Adapts can gain the ability to use supernatural powers they don't know but could otherwise cast. Variant classes deeper in the book have even more, such as auto-20 on specific kinds of rolls, spell resistance and more.)

Reroll a failed attack roll, skill check or saving throw, if the result of the reroll is 1-10, add +10 to the result and treat it as if you had rolled 11-20 instead.

Emulate the use of any feat you meet the prerequisites for for 1 minute.

Gain an extra use out x/day class features(Rage, Smite) or feats (Stunning Fist) (not including spellcasting, which uses a skill-based system in True20).

[Flickerdart]

I use the following rules for APs:
Once per round (resetting as soon as the initiative count goes back around to the first character), a character may spend action points to:

1 action point: Replace the result of a d20 roll you just made with a 10, before you know the result
2 action points: Replace the result of a d20 roll you just made with a 20, before you know the result (this is not a natural 20)
1 action point: Add +1d6 to the result of a d20 roll another character just made, before they know the result
1 action point: Automatically stabilize at -1 HP when reduced to between -1 and -9 HP

[frogglesmash]

Maybe give the option to shift you place in initiative as an immediate action once per day? Spend one to act in the surprise round? I'm not very familiar so I'm not sure how many they'll be getting, but I feel that granting actions, and altering initiative are good options if action points are relatively scarce since it gives them a boost without granting them some over the top ability like sprouting wings or shooting lazers. You could use them to auto confirm crits? Use them to double a weapon's range increment for 1 attack. Double a melee weapons damage dice for the same period. Maybe a once per day "drop to zero when you would otherwise die from hitpoint damage".

[Ashtagon]

Action points were a branch-off development (or vice versa; not sure of the exact chronology) of the faith feats from Complete Divine.

You could do worse than give your PCs the "benefit" part (but not the "special" part) of any or all of those feats for free.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Emulate the use of any feat you meet the prerequisites for for 1 minute.

Gain an extra use out x/day class features(Rage, Smite) or feats (Stunning Fist) (not including spellcasting, which uses a skill-based system in True20).

im gonna use those, thanks!


I use the following rules for APs:
Once per round (resetting as soon as the initiative count goes back around to the first character), a character may spend action points to:
1 action point: Replace the result of a d20 roll you just made with a 10, before you know the result
2 action points: Replace the result of a d20 roll you just made with a 20, before you know the result (this is not a natural 20)
1 action point: Add +1d6 to the result of a d20 roll another character just made, before they know the result
1 action point: Automatically stabilize at -1 HP when reduced to between -1 and -9 HP


i already use the normal stabalize for a AP rule, but the rest are solid. Awsome


Maybe give the option to shift you place in initiative as an immediate action once per day? Spend one to act in the surprise round? I'm not very familiar so I'm not sure how many they'll be getting, but I feel that granting actions, and altering initiative are good options if action points are relatively scarce since it gives them a boost without granting them some over the top ability like sprouting wings or shooting lazers. You could use them to auto confirm crits? Use them to double a weapon's range increment for 1 attack. Double a melee weapons damage dice for the same period. Maybe a once per day "drop to zero when you would otherwise die from hitpoint damage".

my PC's get 3 AP every level, and instead of bonus exp for good roleplaying, they can earn more AP by being awsome. The AP are meant to give them a mechanic to be the epic heroes, to do a matrix style dodge, hit when the bad guy when the stakes are down, something like that. so the extra move is a great idea.

on a related note, any ideas on how i could use AP to let the PC's make called shots? also, does anyone know any good called shot rules?

[Magesmiley]

I seem to recall Unearthed Arcana having some additional uses for action points related to feats.

There's also a number of feats in the various Eberron books that grant additional uses too.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Mutants and Masterminds has some interesting uses:

Gain the equivalent of a feat for a turn
Counter(spell) without readying an action
Remove certain debuffs
Get a hint from the GM
Edit the scene-- the least defined option on the list, doing so lets the player add new details to the world, contingent on GM approval. Things like adding conveniently large ventilation shafts to a secret base or finding the chemicals you need in a science lab.

[Terazul]

Glad this thread came up. I was fiddling around with using Action Points for my next group's game, but felt the presented options, while nice, were a little lacking. Then I remembered FantasyCraft had an "action dice" system I really liked, but there's was a little different, and so I'm not sure how well it meshes by default, though I think you can get some use out of them:

There, Action Points are per-session as opposed to a level-based pool, and you gain them based on Career Level (1st-5th: 3, 6th-10th: 4, 11th-15th: 5, 16th-20th: 6), but they also scale up at each tier, from d4->d6->d8->d10. As far as uses go... By default everyone can use the "boost a d20 roll" feature, though they also have the caveat of exploding on the highest value (so if you used a die to add 1d4 to a roll, and rolled a 4, you'd roll again and add the result of both). Also it worked on damage rolls, though. Characters can also use 1 die to boost their AC by 2 for a number of rounds equal to the die's result (which can also explode). Activating a threat was special, as in FC to actually count a crit you had to spend one of your die (but it used a vitality/wounds injury system, so eh), so ignoring that one. Finally, any character could spend and roll any number of their die to regain vitality/wounds, but healing was sparse in that game.

The interesting bit came with other things, as pretty much every class/races had an action point feature unique to them. Humans, being the "boring" race, got Talents and Specialties which were essentially diversity packages, and some of them came with these too:

Adaptable/Savvy (Talents) - Grace Under Pressure: You gain a +3 bonus with any roll you boost with an action die. The bonus increases by +1 at each tier, to a maximum of +6.
Methodical/Wise (Talent) - Free Hint: Once per session you may request a hint from the GM. If he refuses, you gain 1 bonus action die.
Acrobat (Specialty) - Practiced Athletics: If you spend an action die to boost an Athletics check and it still fails, you gain the die back after it is resolved. (This type of bonus is in a bunch of places, there's one for Search, Craft, Impress, Ride, Intimidate, Medicine, Survival... basically if there's a skill, there's one for it.)
Adventurer (Specialty) - More Than Luck: You gain 1 additional starting action die.

Then the classes themselves each had special uses:

Assassin - Cold Read: Could pick up people's social cues once per session, asking a number of personal questions equal to your starting action dice pool about a character you could see or hear. "What do they do for a living?" "What is her favorite author?" etc. GM could conceal answers by spending 1 action die/question ignored. Got an extra daily use at 11 and 19.
Burglar - Dextrous: Each time you spend 1 action die to boost a Dexterity-based skill check, you roll and add the result of 2 dice.
Explorer - Friends All Over: Explorer got an Extra Contact feat, and could spend 1d6 hours and a die to have one of their contacts appear as long as they were somewhere remotely near civilization. Wacky.
Priest - Devout: When you fail an attack check with your ritual weapon (basically favored/focus), or a skill check with a Priest-class skill, you may spend an action die to re-roll the check, but only once per check. Miracles!
Signs & Portents: Scaling ability they also got, that was basically Commune. Functioned as Free Hint above, but took 1 minute. At level 11, granted 2 die if the GM refused, and at 19, 3 die.
Sage - Wise Counsel: As long as a teammate can hear or see you when they make an attack, skill check, save, or damage roll, you may spend and roll 1 action die to boost the result. It's always rolled by you, and you add your own modifiers. No single roll may benefit from more than 1 die from wise counsel. Aid another!
Soldier - Accurate: Each time you spend 1 action die to boost an attack roll, you roll and add the result of 2 dice. Blammo.
Beastmaster (Prestige) - Beast Kin: When spending an action die to boost your Animal Companion's checks, roll and add the result of 2 die. Companions by default have no die, but by default you could also spend them on their behalf. So here you go, pokemon masters.
Edgemaster (Prestige) - Swordplay: Once per round, you may spend an action die to make a free melee attack. Yup.
Swagger: Whenever your melee attacks kills or knocks an opponent unconscious, you could spend a move(-equivalent) action to just posture menacingly. Afterwards, you, or a teammate you could see or hear you gained a bonus d4 action die. It stacked! If they weren't used by the end of combat, all by 1 disappeared. Improved to d6 (2 dice remain) at level 8.
Paladin (Prestige) - Smite the Indifferent: When you spend and roll an action die to boost damage against an opponent with lower Charisma score, you may replace the action die result with 1/2 your total level (rounded up). Won't explode.
Rune Knight (Prestige) - Battle Mage: When you use an action die to boost a Spellcasting check or an attack check with a Favored Weapon, you gain the same boost with your next check of the other type. Needs to be used by the end of your next turn.

Finally, a few feats added bonuses:

Fortune Favors The Bold: When you roll an action die, the result increases by 2.
Fortune's Fool: Each time you suffer a critical failure, you gain a bonus d4 action die. This can activate a number of times per session equal to your number of Chance feats.
Lady Luck's Smile: When you roll an action die, it explodes on its highest and second-highest result (e.g. 5-6 on a d6, 9-10 on a d10, etc).
Favored Gear: Choose 1 specific piece of equipment you own. Each time you spend an action die to boost a skill or attack check with it, roll 2 dice and add both to the result. The item cannot be destroyed with a critical miss or failure (though still by damage). You may switch the item that gains this benefit each time you level.
Owl Nation: Gained a favored class, Int score rises by 2, Strength drops by 2 gained a bonus to action die rolls equal to Wis modifier, starting disposition lowered with people who don't share your culture. Basically an Elf sub-race.


So there's a bunch of inspiration. The skills also had individual uses for action points (though most of these were from spending your dice to crit). I was thinking of including the base uses of these (plus those few Faith Feat options from Complete Divine) in my own game, and for the more iconic (class/talent/feat-based) ones, just letting each player/character pick one of the benefits, and only they can use them. We tend to like high-powered games, but I'm not sure how much (exploding? scaling die?) to include. Thoughts?

Also, that's all just from the core book. If it interests you, I can go digging around through the supplements for some more uses.
*Edit*: Curiosity got the best of me, and I looked through the ones I had anyway:

Monk (Prestige) - Centered: Once per round, spend 1 action die to remove a condition you currently suffer. If it has multiple grades, spend up to 3 dice to remove the same number of grades.
Monster Slayer (Prestige) - Cut Deep and True: Each time you spend an action die to boost an attack check with a bow, thrown, or melee attack, the attack also gains the keen quality equal to the action die result. Keen increased the amount of damage on a crit, so say you rolled a d10 and got an 8, and crit, you'd deal an additional 8 damage. Works with exploding.
Face the Shadow: Gain a bonus d12(!) action die at the start of each Dramatic scene, and each time a scene becomes Dramatic. Lost at end of the scene, boosted to d20(!!) at level 7. Dramatic scenes were special, "here's the boss fight" parts of play. GM could spend any number of action dice on NPC rolls, mooks could crit, players couldn't use Cheat Death (explain why your character survives something, everyone rates it, roll with a bonus based on rating on a table, survive but with a negative
Mist Dancer (Prestige) - Spellshroud: Whenever you make a successful Spellcasting check, you may spend an action die to make a Hide check as a free action.
Martial Artist (Prestige) - Unyielding: Got better results when spending them to heal.
Discipline of the Body: Spend 1 action die to hold breath for an additional number of minutes equal to Con mod while performing actions, or for an equal number of hours(!) while remaining still. Also +1 bonus on For saves and lower of Str/Con went up by 1.
Discipline of the Mind: Same as Body but for Int/Dex/Reflex. Once per scene(encounter) as a free action, spend 1 die to shrug off 1 grade of fatigued.
Discipline of the Spirit: Same as above for Wis/Cha/Will. Whenever an adjacent character scored a threat, could spend 1 die to activate their crit.
Strut: Same as Swagger way back up there in Edgemaster, but after a critical hit with an unarmed/melee attack (instead of a kill), and only you gain the d4.
Infernalist (Prestige) - Fire & Brimstone: Each time you spend an action die to boost a Spellcasting check for a Fire spell, or a spell from the Calling or Shadow Disciplines, the saving throw DC increases by an equal amount. HAHAHA. OH WOW.
Deadeye (Prestige) - Right between the Eyes: Whenever you spend an action die to boost the damage of a black powder or bow attack, roll two dice and add the results.

[jstingray]

I am also using action points and my DM said you can use one for an extra d10 for loot rolls, 3 to switch the loot numbers, and there are also feats for that, like action surge.