arkanis
2008-03-22, 01:51 AM
A lot of suspense is built up in movies and stories when things come down to the wire and the hero(es) do something incredibly crazy/brave/suicidal to win or escape or find a power within themselves even they were unaware of.
I've seen the use of Action Points (and similar variations) to simulate this, but they just don't fit because unlike the movies, such twists of fate can't just be summoned up. They only happen when it is absolutely necessary.
So I was wondering what everyone's opinion would be if the use of action points were limited by desperation. This would of course have to be supervised by GM discretion, but what is the general opinion of people on GM discretion? Would it be stretching it into fudging by saying the GM allows the use of action points only when he/she feels their use applies to a heroic end? And with such a restriction could one make action points more powerful?
I was thinking of limiting use only when your HP is below your Con score, you're affected by a death affect or on-going effect which is killing you, or when a loved one is suffering from such effects (of course declaring someone a "loved one" would be required ahead of time). This oversimplifies it, but since D&D is such a combat oriented game that's really all I could think of to be fair.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?
I've seen the use of Action Points (and similar variations) to simulate this, but they just don't fit because unlike the movies, such twists of fate can't just be summoned up. They only happen when it is absolutely necessary.
So I was wondering what everyone's opinion would be if the use of action points were limited by desperation. This would of course have to be supervised by GM discretion, but what is the general opinion of people on GM discretion? Would it be stretching it into fudging by saying the GM allows the use of action points only when he/she feels their use applies to a heroic end? And with such a restriction could one make action points more powerful?
I was thinking of limiting use only when your HP is below your Con score, you're affected by a death affect or on-going effect which is killing you, or when a loved one is suffering from such effects (of course declaring someone a "loved one" would be required ahead of time). This oversimplifies it, but since D&D is such a combat oriented game that's really all I could think of to be fair.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?