>Seperate out Hero Points from Character Points.
>HPs give you bumps, while CPs can be spent on
>advancements.
This is the "JAMES BOND 007 method", as I call it. It mirrors how those rules differentiated between in-play character heroics and out-of-play advancement. I prefer it to the HERO WARS advancement system as written. I extend my use of the method even farther, and allow heroes to spend multiple Hero Points on bump-ups. Gaining HP in JB007 is handled differently also. The hero gets 1 HP every time the player rolls a critical naturally, rather than just being awarded them by the Narrator. Yes, this does mean that more powerful heroes tend to generate far more HP, but that is in keeping with the cinematic trope.
I also allow heroes to use HP to favorably affect their immediate environment (the "dramatic editing" of White Wolf's ADVENTURE!) in minor ways (such as finding a convenient doorway to duck into when being pursued, or a servicable weapon hanging on a cottage wall after having been disarmed). The more unlikely the change, the more HP needed to make it reality, within reason. No amount of HP can turn a warm, cloudless summer afternoon into a cold, dark winter night, for example, unless the player can explain why and the Narrator feels it appropriate.
-- Michael Richard Schwartz | Language is my playground, mschwartz_at_... | and words, its slides and Ann Arbor, Michigan USA | swingsets. -- yours truly
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