Cinematic House-Rules - Post them if you got 'em!

[Exeter]

I'm using a variation of the "using CP to buy successes" rule that I call "Karma Points." Mechanically, Karma Points are just the same as CP, except they can only be spent to buy successes (and, I don't let people buy critical successes). Players can also use unspent regular CP to buy successes if they're out of Karma Points, but I'm fairly liberal with awarding Karma. Basically, any time a PC does something cool, she can gain Karma. In my current game, PCs start out with 5 Karma Points, which is enough to significantly protect the character from bad rolls.

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by Exeter

I'm using a variation of the "using CP to buy successes" rule that I call "Karma Points." Mechanically, Karma Points are just the same as CP, except they can only be spent to buy successes (and, I don't let people buy critical successes). Players can also use unspent regular CP to buy successes if they're out of Karma Points, but I'm fairly liberal with awarding Karma. Basically, any time a PC does something cool, she can gain Karma. In my current game, PCs start out with 5 Karma Points, which is enough to significantly protect the character from bad rolls.

That is creepy: I use something similar, only I call them Victory Points.

[Exeter]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

That is creepy: I use something similar, only I call them Victory Points.

:) I agree... if "creepy" actually means "awesome."

Sounds to me like a case of great minds thinking alike. The reason I'm doing things this way is because I wanted to encourage people to spend points to modify rolls and not feel like they were setting their character back in doing so. Since Karma Points aren't usable for anything other than buying successes, this solves the problem. (And, I can give out as many or few Karma Points as I want and not have to worry about power inflation beyond possibly a remarkable string of good luck for the PCs!)

[Ragitsu]

I see. I will have to think whether or not I want them to be able to buy up to Critical Successes.

[Kaldrin]

Look at the cost versus effect with buying up to critical successes. You get one roll that you spend x number of points on. If it wasn't guaranteed to kill all the bad guys dead it would still be too expensive for me. But then again, I also plan ahead for my characters.

[Exeter]

Originally Posted by Kaldrin

Look at the cost versus effect with buying up to critical successes. You get one roll that you spend x number of points on. If it wasn't guaranteed to kill all the bad guys dead it would still be too expensive for me. But then again, I also plan ahead for my characters.

That isn't the reason I'm disallowing Karma Points to buy criticals. The reason is I'd like to make criticals stick out in the players' minds as special events. I mean, just because I'm running a cinematic campaign doesn't mean I want it to go completely gonzo with players buying criticals all the time. :-)

[Ragitsu]

Exeter, it appears we both did not study at the Michael Bay School of Roleplaying :-D.

[NorphTehDwarf]

I use something similar to trading points for success, only there's no points involved: Instead, the player must do whatever asinine thing I ask him to in exchange for the success. These range from "hey, see if the rice is boiling yet" to "mix equal parts vodka and Tobasco in a shot glass and swig."

[Dwarf99]

Originally Posted by NorphTehDwarf

I use something similar to trading points for success, only there's no points involved: Instead, the player must do whatever asinine thing I ask him to in exchange for the success. These range from "hey, see if the rice is boiling yet" to "mix equal parts vodka and Tobasco in a shot glass and swig."

that's great and really cool for cool points but perhaps that's not the greatest if you play with your 16 year old cousin...

[Kaldrin]

Originally Posted by Exeter

That isn't the reason I'm disallowing Karma Points to buy criticals. The reason is I'd like to make criticals stick out in the players' minds as special events. I mean, just because I'm running a cinematic campaign doesn't mean I want it to go completely gonzo with players buying criticals all the time. :-)

Yeah, but then you leave out the dramatically appropriate, impossible, live-saving move that absolutely has to be a critical to work... which is really the foundation of cinematic stories. Heroes occasionally have to do something impossible and relying on chance to do it is whacky.