Heroic Action Points

[humantorch101]

Can someone tell me about these? I know they are found in the Pulp Hero book. Are these going to become official rules for all genres?

Do they work like the mutants and masterminds hero points?

rgds
Torch

[Grimble]

I'm sure these are just for Pulp Hero. The setting is lower powered, but you can sometimes do amazing things, or escape inescapable situations. For this, you use Heroic Action Points. Very much like White Wolf's Adventure! Pulp era game. In Adventure! They are called Inspiration points, but they are the same thing.

If you like them, and feel they fit other settings, remember that the rules are there to be used any way you want.

Grimble

[CrosshairCollie]

You could accomplish a similar effect with some of the optional uses of Luck listed in Fifth, I think.

[Edsel]

They are optional rules found on page 360 of Pulp Hero. I won't give you more than rough thumbnail since I am sure Hero Games would prefer for you to buy the book to get the rules.

Basically they are an elaborate set of optional Luck rules. A character rolls his Luck Dice, if any, at the start of a gaming session or scenario at the GM's direction. This will generate a number of Heroic Action Points that the player is then able to use during the game to obtain certain advantageous effects and bonuses for many non-combat actions and/or offensive and defensive combat actions. In fact they can be used to affect just about any action in a game from straight up bonuses in combat to PRE attacks to mundane skill uses. The more HAPs a character spends the greater the effect they can have. Once spent you can't gain them back until the GM allows you to roll your Luck Dice again and HAPs cannot be saved from session to session. The full rules and options for HAP take up over four pages so as you can see they cover many eventualities.

Normally only characters with Luck Dice get to roll for HAP. However if a GM wants a particularly cinematic game he may give all characters a base number of HAP or die rolls to start the game. In this case characters with Luck Dice still roll them so they will have even more HAP.

Obviously HAP work well in a Pulp Hero setting but I can see them working well in many Heroic settings (non-supers Dark Champions, Fantasy Hero, an action-packed Star Hero game, etc.).

[Savinien]

We use a modified version for our Eberron Hero game and Middle Earth Fantasy Hero game at Hero Central:

Sharn: City of Towers and Fourth Age of Middle Earth respectively.

I should note that the modified version was created by Bozimus from these boards.

[BoloOfEarth]

Years ago, I found the attached Plot Point System online and saved a copy on my computer, but I forgot to note the original author and don't recall who originally created it. I've tried various Google searches today, but don't find it. So if someone here recognizes it, please let us know so we can give credit where credit is due.

Anyway, I tried this system in a Champions game, but since I tended to give out too many Plot Points as rewards, it kinda unbalanced some battles. (If I try it again, I'll probably give the villains a few Plot Points to balance it out.)

I like the way this system allows players to "borrow" Plot Points if they don't have any, at the risk of future bad consequences (the more points borrowed, the worse the results).

"Sure, you can re-roll to hit Dr. Mondo. That'll be 3 Plot Points. As long as you're doing that, you might want to spend a few extra to raise your OCV too. Oh, you don't have any Plot Points? No problem, we'll just (chuckles evilly) put it on your account..."

[Lord Liaden]

Very interesting, Bolo, thank you for posting it. It obviously attempts to balance benefits and drawbacks from using these plot points, in a way that makes either of them interesting in game. The system is more elaborate than I would be comfortable with, though.

My personal favorite of the various official or fan-created HEROized luck/fate point options is Jesse Zwerling's (aka ArmlessTigerMan here on the boards) Action Points! (his exclamation point, not mine) ;) which he created for his own pulp campaign, Thrilling True Tales. Action Points! are handed out by the GM like Experience Points, but form a separate pool. Mechanically the AP! system is simple, colorful, has practical restrictions on when and how you can gain and use these points, and allows for automatic successes, which HERO tends to be hostile to. You can read about it on this webpage (http://web.archive.org/web/20060430012952/http://www.armlesstigerman.com/intro/pulp/playersguide.html).

[BoloOfEarth]

"You must spread reputation around... yadda yadda" I'll try and hit you with a rep stick later for this.

The Action Points! sounds like a great system for Pulp games, and could be modified to work for Champions too. I'd drop the Sunday Punch, though, or my players would organize theirs to one-shot KO every villain the first phase of combat. ("Okay, on Phase 12 I'll Sunday Punch Fiacho, Styx will SP Ultrasonique, Synergy will SP Scorpia...")

[Lord Liaden]

Yes, they can be a bit tricky to use in some supers games, where the characters can throw around massive damage. Keep in mind, though, that the characters must first successfully hit their targets before they can "Sunday punch" for maximum damage. And using an Action Point! for an automatic hit would use up their allotment for that Turn.

[jkwleisemann]

I, too, like the Action Points! system. As for the one-hit-KO factor of Sunday Punch... I think that can be overcome by allowing the key villains a single point they can spend too.

Counter the Sunday Punch with a "barely grazed me," and it's not so handy a tactic anymore.... Of course, that would require the GM to be trustworthy enough to use his dramatic sense not to totally shortchange the heroes when they're using it at an appropriate moment.

Kinda like it requires the players to be trustworthy enough not to Sunday Punch everybody on Phase 12.... ;)