Hero Point

Hero Points are used to include "fudging" of rules and putting the control with the players.

Some campaigns will use the house rule version of the Pazio Hero Point system. This is how any campaign that use them will work.

Accumulating 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.

Characters can have no more than 3 hero points at any one time. Excess hero points are lost.

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, such as raise dead or resurrection.

GM Hero Points

A few examples on how the GM may award hero points:

Character Story: GMs can award a hero point for creatively inspired details in a back story. Key events that later are explored or concluded in the game may also be awarded hero points from the GM.

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.

Roleplaying feat: Performing extraordinary roleplaying may be awarded a hero point, especially if other players agree. This may include an insightful set of actions based on the character's motivations, especially when these differ from that of the player, or simply playing the character very well.

Using Hero Points

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 use hero points more than once during a single round of combat. 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.

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. 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.

Hero Point Feats

The following feats enhance your ability to store and gain hero points.

Blood of Heroes

You have a sense of destiny about you and always seem to succeed, even when the odds are against you.

Prerequisite: Hero's Fortune.

Benefit: Whenever you gain a level, you gain 2 hero points instead of 1.

Normal: Whenever you gain a level, you gain 1 hero point.

Hero's Fortune

Even at the start of your career, it was clear that you had a chance at greatness, and your legend continues to grow with every adventure.

Benefit: You gain a hero point. The maximum number of hero points you can have at any one time is increased to 5.

Normal: You can have no more than 3 hero points at one time.

Special: NPCs who take this feat receive 1 hero point and can have up to 3 (not 5).

Luck of Heroes

To others, it seems that you always have a bit of luck around you.

Prerequisite: Hero's Fortune.

Benefit: Whenever you spend a hero point to reroll a die roll or to grant yourself a bonus before a die roll is made, there is a chance that the hero point is not spent. Whenever you spend a hero point, roll a d20. If the result is greater than 15, the hero point is not spent. You cannot use this feat when you cheat death.

Hero Point Spells

Hero point spells are currently not used in this campaign setting.

Reference

• Pazio.com: Advanced New Rules

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