WFRP Style Fate points in BRP?

[AikiGhost]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Most games also tend to limit the points to significant NPCs though, or limit the points for extras and other minor characters. Otherwise a squad of 20 stormtroopers becomes almost unkillable.

In my games the stormtroopers don't get fate points but Darth Vader certainly would. It allows you to not have major villains killed you an 01 in the first combat round

[AikiGhost]

Originally Posted by Hedgehobbit

I remember reading a game a few years back that had Hero points but when you used them, you got this kind of negative Hero point in return. Kinda like Doom points. These points the GM could use to cause you trouble later on down the line.

Anyone seen anything like this?

You need to go read FATE, its completely free and has some of the most innovative mechanics I've seen in a game.

[dracopticon]

Originally Posted by frogspawner

However, are they the only heroes around? Yesterday, some NPCs used (my equivalent of) Fate Points to escape damage in combat - "But we're the heroes!" the players howled. Was that 'Justice'?

BTW, how do your 'heroes' earn their Tanj?

First answer: no they're not the only heroes (and sure enough, the other NPC heroes got their Tanj points too). Even the 'evil guys', or the major opponents got their own 'anti-tanj', which could nullify the use of tanj points by the PC's.

Second answer: this is where I've been a little lazy, I've formulated that a player character can get Tanj points from their rexpective God/Goddess/Church/Belief as a reward. But ultimately, that got so scarce that I started rewarding players with Tanj points when they managed to roll a "01" on the D100 when using skills etc. So, the lucky ones got even luckier (this system can definetly be improved).

Erik Brickman.

[Merak Gren]

In my RQ game, I have allowed Hero Points as used in HeroQuest.

They allow the following;
1. Bump up the success level of a roll (once).
2. A re-roll.
3. Buy 10+ base chance in a skill at nil.
4. 1HP is equivalent to 1week of training. Players can save them up and training can happen in the background rather than during the game.
5. Regain D6+6 hit points.
6. Anything else that might seem appropriate at time.
7. Change story a little.

It's working ok but needs refining.

[frogspawner]

Originally Posted by dracopticon

So, the lucky ones got even luckier...

There certainly ain't no justice! You could try giving them out as rewards for good roleplaying, like I do...

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by frogspawner

There certainly ain't no justice! You could try giving them out as rewards for good roleplaying, like I do...

That assumes that justice has something to do with it. I think the method that the points are earned/auqired depends on whay the points are and what the represent.


It they are "Luck" points I would see them as being independent of role-playing.

If they are "Hero" points then I would see them being acquired through heroic actions.

If they are "Fate" points then I could see them being handled out by the GM per his own criteria.

[Nightshade]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Yeah ditto here. I have seen some games differentiate the points somewhat though. For example, the James Bond game gave heroes "hero points" and villains "survival points". The distinction being that survival points could only be used defensively. That made a lot of sense too, since if a

Yeah, in an ultra-cinematic game where you want to tilt success toward the heroes, that's a justified approach; even in those you want something to buffer the bad luck of major villains so you don't get anticlimax, but since you want it to be an expected result that the heroes win in the end, you probably don't want to give the villains any help on that end.

Generally the idea behind hero points is to tone down the lethality a little for the players to allow then to act like larger than life heroes. Handling out the same number of points to every NPCs does just the opposite.

Quite.

[drohem]

In our group's games we use Villian Points for major NPCs but not the mooks. So the villian that the PCs left dead mysteriously returns at a later date...muhawaha

[CthulhuFnord]

I'm planning on lifting the Hero Points right out of MRQ for this one. The fate mechanics in BRP are interesting, but not what I'm looking for.

[Nightshade]

One of the things one has to keep in mind for this sort of mechanic is that, barring unusual settings, its not an in-character resource; that is, the PCs don't know from anything about "spending luck" or the like. As such one of the things the GM has to keep in mind is that even when he's given the resource to an NPC, using it is entirely at his discretion, and its not playing the character badly not to use it when the GM thinks it would be better not to, because the character, in character, doesn't have any control over it. Its functionally a metagame resource (though sometimes with some in-game rationale).