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| Darkness Gathers |
There are moments in any struggle that influence the
outcome. Does the brave warrior lay low the villain before he can finish
casting a devastating effect? Does the sly rogue avoid
detection as she sneaks into the giant chieftain’s lair? Does the pious cleric finish
casting her healing spell before the rain of arrows ends the life of her
companions? Just a few die rolls decide each of these critical moments, and
while failure is always a possibility, true heroes find a way to succeed,
despite the odds. Hero Points represent this potential for greatness. They give
heroes the chance to succeed even when the dice turn against them.
Hero Points are only awarded to player characters. Unlike other points in the game, hero points do not renew over time or with
rest. Once spent, they are gone forever. Hero Points are awarded as a character
gains levels or whenever a character accomplishes a truly heroic feat. The GM
is the final arbiter on the award and use of hero points.
Awarding Hero Points
Each character begins play with 1 hero point, regardless of
her level. In addition, whenever a character gains a level, she earns an
additional hero point. Aside from these basic rules, awarding additional hero
points is up to the GM. The following options are just some of the ways that a
GM might award additional hero points.
Character Story: GMs can award a hero point for the
completion of a written character backstory. This reward encourages players to
take an active roll in the history of the game. In addition, the GM can use
this backstory to generate a pivotal moment for your character concerning his
past. When this key event is resolved, the GM can reward another hero point.
Alternatively, the GM might award a hero point for painting a miniature or
drawing a character portrait in the likeness of your character, helping the
rest of the group visualize your hero.
**Or in the case of our game group a thought provoking blog post.
Completing Plot Arcs: The GM might award a hero point to
each of the PCs who were involved in completing a major chapter or arc in the
campaign story. These hero points are awarded at the conclusion of the arc if
the PCs were successful or advanced the story in a meaningful way.
Faith: In a campaign where the gods play an important role
in every character’s life, hero points might represent their favor. In such a
setting, the GM can award hero points to characters whenever they uphold the
tenets of their faith in a grand way, or whenever they take on one of the
faith’s major enemies. Such hero points might be temporary, and if not spent on
the task at hand, they fade away.
Heroic Acts: Whenever a character performs an exceptionally
heroic act, she can be awarded a hero point. This might include anything from
slaying an evil dragon when the rest of the group has fled to rescuing
townsfolk from a burning building despite being terribly wounded. It does not
have to be related to combat. Convincing the reticent king to send troops to
help with a bandit problem or successfully jumping a wide chasm might earn a
character a hero point, depending on the circumstances. Note that a hero point
should only be awarded if the PC involved did not spend a hero point to
accomplish the task.
Return from the Dead: When a character dies, she does not
lose any hero points she has accumulated. If she died with no hero points
remaining, she gains 1 hero point when she is brought back from the dead
through powerful magic.
Maximum Hero Points: Characters can have no more than 3 hero
points at any one time. Excess hero points are lost.
The value to hero points is that they add dramatic tension
to the climax of the game. Most uses of hero points do not guarantee success,
making the moment they are used even more important to the players. Hero Points
are a very limited resource and their use should be described with additional
detail and dramatic style. Used in this way, they can help create very
memorable sessions for everyone.
Hero Points can be spent at any time and do not require an
action to use (although the actions they modify consume part of your
character’s turn as normal). You cannot spend more than 1 hero point during a
single round of combat unless it is to Cheat Death (see below). Whenever a hero point is spent, it can have any one of
the following effects.
Act Out of Turn: You can spend a hero point to take your
turn immediately. Treat this as a readied action, moving your initiative to
just before the currently acting creature. You may only take a move or a
standard action on this turn.
Bonus: If used before a roll is made, a hero point grants
you a +8 luck bonus to any one d20 roll. If used after a roll is made, this
bonus is reduced to +4. You can use a hero point to grant this bonus to another
character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can
reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as distracting a monster, shouting
words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check). Hero
Points spent to aid another character grant only half the listed bonus (+4
before the roll, +2 after the roll).
Extra Action: You can spend a hero point on your turn to
gain an additional standard or move action this turn.
Inspiration: If you feel stuck at one point in the
adventure, you can spend a hero point and petition the GM for a hint about what
to do next. If the GM feels that there is no information to be gained, the hero
point is not spent.
Recall: You can spend a hero point to recall a spell you
have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise
limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your
character that recharge on a daily basis.
Reroll: You may spend a hero point to reroll any one d20
roll you just made. You must take the results of the second roll, even if it is
worse.
Summon Earshot: Any character may spend a hero point to summon Earshot who may sequester an object from the Dreamscape as per a Phantasos Elixir. This nonmagical, nonliving dream-object continues to exist for 3 days, and may only possess one dream-object at a time. A DC 10 Appraise or Spellcraft check reveals a dream-object to be a temporary magic construct of no intrinsic value.
Calling upon Oros: Lobo may spend a hero point to call upon Oros to deny any creature the ability to fly. Alternately Lobo may spend a hero point to be granted minor flight ability from Oros. Air Step for one hour and +5 ranks in fly skill.
Special: You can petition the GM to allow a hero point to be
used to attempt nearly anything that would normally be almost impossible. Such
uses are not guaranteed and should be considered carefully by the GM.
Possibilities include casting a single spell that is one level higher than you
could normally cast (or a 1st-level spell if you are not a spellcaster), making
an attack that blinds a foe or bypasses its damage reduction entirely, or
attempting to use Diplomacy to convince a raging dragon to give up its attack.
Regardless of the desired action, the attempt should be accompanied by a difficult
check or penalty on the attack roll. No additional hero points may be spent on
such an attempt, either by the character or her allies.
Cheat Death: A character can spend 2 hero points to cheat
death. How this plays out is up to the GM, but generally the character is left
alive, with negative hit points but stable. For example, a character is about
to be slain by a critical hit from an arrow. If the character spends 2 hero
points, the GM decides that the arrow pierced the character’s holy symbol, reducing
the damage enough to prevent him from being killed, and that he made his
stabilization roll at the end of his turn. Cheating death is the only way for a
character to spend more than 1 hero point in a turn. The character can spend
hero points in this way to prevent the death of a familiar, animal companion,
eidolon, or special mount, but not another character or NPC.
2 comments:
Added an additional use for a hero point in RED. (looking forward to game night)
Added Calling upon Oros in Red
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