Thinking about this some more:
As far as action point systems go (i.e. systems where you can spend points on the fly to alter the plot), I've seen them work where the points are:
[*]Weak-but-plentiful (e.g. Eberron's action point system where you get 5 or 10 of them each level and they alter rolls by 15%-25%)
[*]Strong-but-scarce (e.g. Top Secret's fame points where you get one "extra life" each level)
I've seen them fail miserably when the GM tries to make them weak-but-scarce. E.g. the GM gives out one every few months and they add +10% to a die roll before rolling -- yay! a 90% chance of doing jack shit!
I'm not sure what your cost schedule will look like other than saying secret allies are "cheap" and star destroyers are expensive. But let's say that a star destroyer costs 50 points and a secret ally costs 1 point and that you expect to hand out up to 75 points over the course of the campaign (so it's actually possible to save up for a star destroyer if you scrimp and save). Then that translates to 75 chances to take a dramatic encounter and trivialize it by saying bad guy #37 is yet another one of my cousins. To me, that sounds like strong-and-plentiful which leaves me a bit cold; taking shortcuts by spending "plot points" smacks of skimming the pages of a book to see what happens in the end.
Now maybe your price schedule is way different from what I'm suggesting. But that's the tricky part of balancing things: How much is a secret ally worth vs. a star destroyer? (Of course you can just make up prices as you go along, but then you might as well stick with MTP.)
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The analogy is a bit hard to follow up on. A star destroyer is a space ship. To operate (at all) in the star wars universe you need a space ship. A Star Destroyer would be an advanced sort of necessary equipment so it wouldn't fit in the same space as these
However I had planned on maybe having an "extra life" option somewhere in there but that option is probably not gonna make it in. I don't have an exact power schedule as I'd have to sit down and ask myself when I feel it is appropriate for players to get warships and nations. I do plan on allowing players to get points through level and through some alternative method.
However I had planned on maybe having an "extra life" option somewhere in there but that option is probably not gonna make it in. I don't have an exact power schedule as I'd have to sit down and ask myself when I feel it is appropriate for players to get warships and nations. I do plan on allowing players to get points through level and through some alternative method.
Wait...what? Your very first example is "The PCs kill a bunch of bad guys and take their ship."MGuy wrote:The analogy is a bit hard to follow up on. A star destroyer is a space ship. To operate (at all) in the star wars universe you need a space ship. A Star Destroyer would be an advanced sort of necessary equipment so it wouldn't fit in the same space as these.
At any rate, did you get my point? You're suggesting that "claim the bad guys' ship" and "rule a kingdom" are expensive compared to "defuse an encounter by having a secret ally on the bad guys' side". But I think it would be boring to defuse encounters 20 or 50 or 100 times in a campaign. That should be discouraged.
Yes they take their ship but you can go many DnD games without ever needing to travel by ship. In Star Wars you are very unlikely to spend an entire game on a single planet. You "need" a ship in Star Wars. Its something that you are going to get just to operate. You don't "need" a ship in DnD. That's the difference.
Otherwise, I agree with your actual point. Yes, that should be discouraged. There are a number of ways my concept already sidesteps this.
For one I know that even at this stage I'm not going to allow players to be able to get anyone of importance on their side. NPCs that are above [Common] tier are not accessible in this fashion. That means only the weakest of NPCs are eligible to be effected by the system. Boss characters and even "tough" encounters are immune to this.
Second there would be some kind of roll involved. In the example I gave the PCs fought the guards and got a guide. The system is more aimed at tweaking rewards for the PC's accomplishments like unlocking the ability to put points in "get stooge". Seeing as though the points are meant as a reward then I can't see the PCs being able to "win" a combat by virtue of spending points on it. I could write it straight into the rules that the points can't be spent during combat for buying a combatant unless that combatant has already been defeated or something.
Third there's the built in psychology that will keep most people from splurging on getting too many contacts. Those who want a "lot" of contacts will of course be the exception but I'm forecasting that most people will be more moderate about their approach.
Otherwise I don't have a plan for keeping number of allies under control. I'll probably assign higher values to higher level (not higher tier) NPCs so that buying the genius engineer is more expensive then buying the bartender. Then there's the fact that player's are probably going to routinely approach buying NPCs in moderation in the first place. Also there's the logical limits set forth by having less points at the beginning coupled with having larger expenses on the menu. There's nothing to stop it from happening at the highest levels I suppose but I'm not sure if it'll be that much of a problem by that time.
Otherwise, I agree with your actual point. Yes, that should be discouraged. There are a number of ways my concept already sidesteps this.
For one I know that even at this stage I'm not going to allow players to be able to get anyone of importance on their side. NPCs that are above [Common] tier are not accessible in this fashion. That means only the weakest of NPCs are eligible to be effected by the system. Boss characters and even "tough" encounters are immune to this.
Second there would be some kind of roll involved. In the example I gave the PCs fought the guards and got a guide. The system is more aimed at tweaking rewards for the PC's accomplishments like unlocking the ability to put points in "get stooge". Seeing as though the points are meant as a reward then I can't see the PCs being able to "win" a combat by virtue of spending points on it. I could write it straight into the rules that the points can't be spent during combat for buying a combatant unless that combatant has already been defeated or something.
Third there's the built in psychology that will keep most people from splurging on getting too many contacts. Those who want a "lot" of contacts will of course be the exception but I'm forecasting that most people will be more moderate about their approach.
Otherwise I don't have a plan for keeping number of allies under control. I'll probably assign higher values to higher level (not higher tier) NPCs so that buying the genius engineer is more expensive then buying the bartender. Then there's the fact that player's are probably going to routinely approach buying NPCs in moderation in the first place. Also there's the logical limits set forth by having less points at the beginning coupled with having larger expenses on the menu. There's nothing to stop it from happening at the highest levels I suppose but I'm not sure if it'll be that much of a problem by that time.
What if I want to spend my points to be the King's hunting buddy or the adviser to the Duke of Milan? Plenty of players might want to skip buying the castle and just spend their points on important contacts and political power.Mguy wrote:For one I know that even at this stage I'm not going to allow players to be able to get anyone of importance on their side.
If you want to be the king's hunting buddy or the duke's adviser you simply have to go on a successful quest either for or indirectly for either of these two. Then, upon a successful meeting (IE one that doesn't involve a fight between you and the king/duke) you can spend the points to ave a politician in your pocket. Since they are in positions of power they will probably be higher level and more skilled than Todd and thus cost more points.
The people you can't use these points on are people who actually have hp.
The people you can't use these points on are people who actually have hp.