Posted by EarthDragon on 1st September 2015.
Action points give character the means to affect game play in significant ways, by improving important rolls or unlocking special abilities. Each character has a limited number of action points, and once an action point is spent, it is gone for good.
Action points give players some control over poor die rolls. Although this has little effect in an average encounter, it makes it a little more likely that characters will survive extremely challenging encounters and less likely that a single character will fall to what would otherwise be a balanced foe because of bad luck. A reserve of action points lets even careful players expose their characters to more risks, heightening the game’s tension and opening the door to even more heroic action. This variant also makes it less likely that an entire adventuring group will fall victim to one powerful effect, such as circle of death or cloudkill.
Action points also make it more likely that the use of a character’s most potent abilities will be successful. For example, although its overall effect on an encounter might be minimal, few things frustrate a holy character more than missing with a smite attack—an event that becomes less likely when using action points.
A beginning (1st-level) character starts the game with 5 action points. A character above 1st level starts the game with a number of action points equal to 5 + 1/2 his current character level.
Every time a character advances, he gains a number of action points equal to 5 + 1/2 his new character level.
Most NPCs won't have action points, due to the added complexity this would create. In the case of important villains or other significant characters, however, the DM may award them an appropriate number of action points to use against the player characters.
You can spend 1 action point either to add to a single d20 roll, to take a special action, or to improve the use of a feat. You can spend 1 action point in a round. If you spend a point to use a special action (see below), you can’t spend another one in the same round to improve a die roll, and vice versa.
When you spend 1 action point to improve a d20 roll, you add the result of a 1d6 to your d20 roll (including attack rolls, saves, checks, or any other roll of a d20) to help you meet or exceed the target number. You can declare the use of 1 action point to alter a d20 roll after the roll is made, but only before the DM reveals the result of that roll. You can’t use an action point to alter the result of a d20 roll when you are taking 10 or taking 20.
Depending on character level (see table), a character might be able to roll more than one d6 when he spends 1 action point. If so, apply the highest result and disregard the other rolls. A 15th-level character, for instance, gets to roll 3d6 and take the best result of the three. So, if they rolled a 1, 2, and 4, they would apply the 4 to their d20 roll.
| Character Level | Action Point Dice Rolled |
|---|---|
| 1st-7th | 1d6 |
| 8th-14th | 2d6 |
| 15th-20th | 3d6 |
A character can perform certain tasks by spending an action point.
A character can spend 1 action point to gain another use of a class ability that has a limited number of uses per day. For example, a noh-li might spend an action point to gain another use of their stunning fist ability, or a fedaykin might spend an action point to make an additional smite attack.
A character can spend 1 action point as a free action when fighting defensively. This gives them double the normal benefits for fighting defensively for the entire round (+4 dodge bonus to AC; +6 if they have 5 or more ranks in Tumble).
At the beginning of a character’s turn, they may spend 1 action point as a free action to gain the benefit of a feat they don’t have. The character must meet the prerequisites of the feat. The character gains the benefit until the beginning of their next turn.
During any round in which a character takes a full attack action, they may spend 1 action point to make an extra attack at their highest base attack bonus. Action points may be used in this way with both melee and ranged attacks.
A character can spend 1 action point as a free action to increase the effective caster level of one of their spells by 2. The character must decide whether or not to spend an action point in this manner before casting the spell.
Any time a character is dying, they may spend 1 action point to stabilise and become disabled and conscious, removing the need to make the normally required Fortitude save to avoid death.
The use of action points opens up a whole range of possible feats. However, it’s easier on characters simply to improve existing feats to take advantage of action points—that way, characters needn’t spend their precious feat slots simply to gain the ability to use their action points. Below are a few examples of how action points can be used with existing feats. Unless otherwise stated, each effect requires a free action to activate and lasts 1 round.
You can spend 1 action point to negate your miss chance for a single attack.
You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus to Armor Class granted by the feat. For example, if you take a penalty of -3 on your attack roll, you gain a +6 dodge bonus to AC.
You can spend 1 action point to increase the dodge bonus granted by the feat to +2. The effect lasts for the entire encounter.
You can spend 1 action point to double your critical threat range. Since two doublings equals a tripling, this benefit increases your threat range from 19-20 to 18-20, from 17-20 to 15-20, or from 15-20 to 12-20, including the effect of your Improved Critical feat. This benefit stacks with the benefit from Improved Critical, but not with other effects that increase threat range.
You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus on initiative checks granted by the feat, from +4 to +8.
You can spend 1 action point to add the effect of any one metamagic feat that you have to a spell you are casting. The spell is cast at its normal level (without any spell point adjustment because of the feat) and takes no extra time to cast.
Heighten Spell automatically raises a spell’s effective level to the highest level of spell you are capable of casting. For example, if a 7th-level san-li with the Heighten Spell feat casts burning hands and spends 1 action point to heighten the spell, the spell is treated as if it were a 4th-level spell in all respects even though the san-li casts it normally (as a 1st-level spell costing 1 spell point, but boosted with an action point).
You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus on damage rolls granted by the feat. For example, if you take a penalty of -3 on your attack roll, you add +6 to your damage roll.
You can spend 1 action point to double the increase to save DCs granted by the feat, from +1 to +2.
You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus on caster level checks granted by the feat, from +2 to +4. The effect lasts for the entire encounter.