Resource Points: when do you require 'em?

[Sociotard]

When do you require Resource Points to be Spent?

 

I thought that was one of the better ideas in "Dark Champions", but I reallized it would cause some problems. Does a character have to pony up the points for a satelite phone? What about a normal Cell phone? If they were Character points and we were in a regular champions game, I'd say Yes to the first and no to the second. But resource points? that's a new animal alltogether.

 

Just curious. The thought came to me when I tried to give my character a nice gun and a can of pepper spray and realized that, if the DC writeups for both are used, I couldn't afford it.

[Edsel]

Re: Resource Points: when do you require 'em?

 

We used something very similar to resource points in my last Dark Champions campaign. Most of the characters had several different load-outs that they had calculated ahead of time. They would then choose a loadout, and maybe tweak it a bit, before they went out on a mission or patrol.

 

Normally we did not allow people to spend resource points on the spur of the moment.

[Starwolf]

Re: Resource Points: when do you require 'em?

 

As a house rule if an item can be purchased over the counter at large retailers like Walmart, Walgreens, Albertsons, or even Big 5 Sporting Goods (except for weapons) I don't charge resource points. Things that have a combat application, or specialty stores , or special licenses/restricted access I charge resource points. Thus a common cell phone doesn't cost points but a satellite phone does. In your example I would charge points for both the gun and the pepper spray as they are both weapons and have combat applications. If a player wanted to carry both and did not have enough Resource points then he or she would need to spend some Exp and expand their resource point pool.

[Thrakazog]

Re: Resource Points: when do you require 'em?

 

I'm looking at starting my very first true Dark Chapions campaign. I'm not quite sold on resource points. Would anyone care to comment on how well they worked or didn't work in their own experience?

[Rapier]

Re: Resource Points: when do you require 'em?

 

I have never used Resource Points except during CharGen. Resource points should also only be used to purchase non-everyman type equipment. You don't need to spend RPs for a pair of Levis or a summer jacket. You want ablative, kevlar levis? NOW you need some RPs.

 

Post CharGen everyone needs some kind of income. Their income then determines how much cash they have available. The you just buy stuff.

 

Another way to go, which can be easier is to not deal with "cash" at all. Everyone gets paid in the pseudo-currency of RPs. Instead of making 40k a year, you make 25k RPs or something. It makes things a little easier if you don't want to spend all that time figuring out the cash prices for things.

[SaintHax]

Re: Resource Points: when do you require 'em?

 

I believe you are being confused by the resource points rule-- they weren't exactly clear in the book. If you are talking about just at character creation, which is the only time there is a rule limit to how much equipment you can own, then I'd only charge for something they'd use in their hero id. This really doesn't concern cell phones though, b/c they could get one during the first adventure... read on.

 

After CC, you never pay points for equipment. Resource points are used to increase the size of your kit, which is how much you can carry at once. Your armory (for equipment, contacts, vehicles, etc) is gained through role playing, and there's no points involved-- but all are inheriently "Independent" and can be lost, destroyed, or killed. So, if they want their secret ID to have a TV, cell phone, etc. They just say they are going down to the store to buy one. As long as it's something a person making what their characters pull in a year, they can get it and add it to their armory.

 

So, if they are going to actively use a cell phone (more than just calling in a fake call once every 10 adventures), I'd make it take up points in the kit. The kit / armory / resource points wasn't as clear as it could be.

[Eosin]

Re: Resource Points: when do you require 'em?

 

What the Saint said.

 

It is important that your points be robust enough to cover your "combat load" but all the weapons and gear stuck in lockers back at the base don't really affect your resource points. You can have 10,000 points of weapons and ammo captured off fallen goons stuck in the weapons vault of the base but you can only carry XX value of weapons at any one time.

 

Resource points work well for us - we have been using something close to the same sytem for nearly 10 years. I can't see playing a DC game without a weapons pool of some sort otherwise you have people doing stupid stuff like producing grenades from no where.

 

In our game the cell phone would not go against the allowance any more than your car would but that is YOUR cell phone, registered to your real idenity. It is not a throw away phone that can't be traced, nor a satphone.