Hero Points

From: Mark Galeotti <mark_at_...>
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 22:52:05 -0000

Comrades,

In the spirit of IMG, here are a couple of variations on the HP rules we use in our house games:

1. You decide to use HPs *before* not after a roll

Why? The official way means that you know you can always bump yourself up if necessary. This way, you assess how important the contest is instead. It makes, I think, for greater tension and a greater sense of drama in the use of HP. It also means that they get burnt at a greater rate, as there are times when they end up boosting a success beyond the minimum level needed.

2. Burning HPs to effect a plot change

This is a way to give the players greater control of the game. You can burn 1 HP to introduce some minor plot change, 3 HP for a major one. For example, you are arrested and bundled into a Lunar cell. For 1 HP, a player could say "aha, I wasn't searched properly -- I still have my knife." For 3 HP, anything goes: "the guard looks at me and gasps: it's my long lost brother!" "This was the cell in which my father was imprisoned -- he told me about the loose bars in the window." Once the novelty wears off, we found this tending to be used not as a plot-breaker but for comic effect and player interaction ("he takes a swing at you, but you dodge" "1 HP: it hits *him*, instead")

All the best

Mark