Limiting Points (3.5e Other)

= Limiting Points =

In contrast to spellcasters' spell slots, lots of classes and creatures have limiting points of some type to regulate the use of their abilities. This is a page where we list all the limiting point types, give a quick summary of how they work, and list the classes and creatures that use them.

Limiting Point Stats
Limiting points vary in several different stats. I will begin this page by trying to define them.

Cost
The "cost" of a limiting point is perhaps its most important attribute. In a nutshell, a limiting point's "cost" refers to the average number of points users of that point type get, the number of points that get spent on effects, and the relative power-to-expenditure ratio. Cheap points, such as power points and surge points, tend to be carried in bulk - 20th-level users almost always have pools capable of holding 40 or more. They are also spent in bulk, with high-end abilities carrying point costs approaching 20. Moderate points, such as bio-energy and VFX, tend to be in between cheap and moderate points, with 20th-level users generally having somewhere between 15 to 30 points. Point expenditures for high-powered abilities tend to be somewhat low, but able to add up very, very easily. Expensive points are held in very small quantities, with 20th-level users being lucky to have 10 of them; however, costs for abilities also tend to be low, and it's possible to get a very powerful effect for a very small number of points.

Recharge Rate
Recharge rate refers to how quickly a limiting point is recharged, or how it is recharged. A very slow recharge rate means that the limiting points are recharged like spell slots; that is, they are only refreshed once every 24 hours (and frequently require 8 hours of rest to refresh). A slow recharge rate is kind of odd; it basically means that points get recharged infrequently enough to not come back during an encounter but frequently enough to remain usable throughout a day (such as once per hour), or that they can recharge relatively quickly outside of battle, but can't be recharged during an encounter (or at least not recharged easily). A moderate recharge rate means that it is theoretically possible to regain a few points during an encounter if it goes on long enough (for instance, 1 point regained per minute). A fast recharge rate means basically the same thing but moreso (e.g. one point per five rounds or so). A very fast recharge rate means that it's perfectly feasible to let points recharge mid-combat; for instance, one point per round. It should be noted that this only refers to points recharging over time; many point types have alternate ways of getting more. In fact, a lot of limiting point types don't return over time at all, and can only be regained through some sort of special action (pain points and combo points are good examples).

Power Points
Power points are the best-known type of limiting point, due to appearing in the SRD and numerous other official materials. They're also one of the least "expensive", as power point pools tend to be fairly large, get larger with level at a decently high rate (the psion, for example, starts with six power points and gets about 2 more per level), and can be expanded through racial features and high ability scores. It's even possible to store power points in magic items and draw upon those stored points later, for when your allotment of daily power points just isn't enough! ...Note the "daily" in the previous sentence. Power points are among the slower types of limiting point to recharge, being refreshable once per day with 8 hours of rest just like a spellcaster's spell slots! However, also like a spellcaster's spell slots, there are quite a few ways to refresh expended power points other than getting a good night's sleep. There are also numerous ways to obtain temporary power points, and numerous ways to have power points stripped away from you. Overall, power points are the most richly-supported of the limiting point types.

Power Point Stats

 * Used by: every psionic class
 * Cost: Cheap (+2 to Spellcraft DC for each temporary power point added to an enhance-seed spell)
 * Main Recharge Rate: Very Slow (once per day, requires 8 hours of rest)

Surge Points
Currently in development by Luigifan18 (that would be me) for my 232nd project, the surge fighter, surge points are meant as an alternative to combat points for a very-high-balance non-magic/psionic class. Compared to the edgemaster, the surge fighter is perfectly capable of kicking tons of ass as soon as character level 1, and is perhaps a little more powerful and versatile, but isn't as well-suited to prolonged adventures due to the slow recharge rate of his surge points. On the other hand, he does get a lot of surge points, and high Charisma and surge feats can help him get even more!

Surge Point Stats

 * Used by: surge fighters
 * Cost: Cheap (+2 to Spellcraft DC for each temporary surge point added to an enhance-seed spell)
 * Main Recharge Rate: Very Slow (once per day, requires 8 hours of rest)

Bio-Energy Points
Created by Sulacu as part of her xenotheria system, bio-energy is essentially the energy of life. It's the best-supported homebrew limiting point type on the wiki, being usable by creature abilities, feats, and the Organic Repast martial discipline, among other things. Bio-energy points are unique in that they can be spent in one of two ways; they can be expended for a basic effect, or, if the ability permits, they can be drained for a stronger effect, at the cost of being difficult to regain mid-adventure.

Bio-Energy Point Stats

 * Used by: Xenotheric creatures
 * Cost: Moderate (+3 to Spellcraft DC for each temporary bio-energy charge added to an enhance-seed spell)
 * Main Recharge Rate: Variable (1 point per minute if expended, 1 point per hour of uninterrupted rest if drained)

Pain Points
Pain points were devised by Leziad for his tormentor class, a 17-level-long prestige class that pretty much redefines what evil is - not only enjoying others' pain and suffering, but reveling in it and using it to empower oneself. Pain points are somewhat unique in that they are not held by the tormentor himself, but by his primary weapon - the torment engine, a heavily-tweaked spiked gauntlet capable of dealing up to twice as much damage as an ordinary spiked gauntlet, and that's not even getting into what the tormentor can do with it! It should be noted that the maximum size of the pain point pool is determined by the tormentor's class level (with other classes also making a limited contribution to its size). The tormentor's class features (other than spellcasting, which proceeds like it did before becoming a tormentor, and is probably the main reason why it's not a base class) pretty much all revolve around the torment engine and using it to make people's lives a living hell.

Pain Point Stats

 * Used by: Tormentors
 * Cost: Moderate (+3 to Spellcraft DC for each temporary pain point added to an enhance-seed spell)
 * Main Recharge Rate: N/A (no passive recharge; must be recharged by torturing living creatures)

VFX Points
Painstakingly developed by yours truly and modeled directly on Capcom's Viewtiful Joe franchise, VFX points are designed for use by the Viewtiful Warrior (based on Viewtiful Joe himself, his girlfriend Silvia, and his rival Alastor) and its three prestige classes &mdash; the Viewtiful Captain (based on Captain Blue, final boss of Viewtiful Joe ), the Viewtiful Shogun (based on Dark Hero Jet Black, final boss of Viewtiful Joe 2 ), and the Viewtiful Monarch (based on Queen Heinderella, final boss of Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble ). If you haven't played those games, you really, really should, or else the class features for all four of these classes are going to make your heads spin. (Also, the Viewtiful Joe series is absolutely fantastic.) VFX points are unique among limiting points in that they're constantly recharging on their own, even in the midst of combat, unless they're being continuously spent. You seriously can spend a few turns playing defense and come back with a fresh batch of VFX ready to go. That doesn't mean that VFX can be used recklessly, though; if the Viewtiful Warrior runs out, he loses most of his class features until he's recharged back up to initial capacity, and trust me, a Viewtiful Warrior without his class features is kind of wimpy.

VFX Point Stats

 * Used by: Viewtiful Warrior, Viewtiful Shogun, Viewtiful Monarch, Viewtiful Captain
 * Cost: Moderate (+3 to Spellcraft DC for each temporary VFX point added to an enhance-seed spell)
 * Main Recharge Rate: Very Fast (the precise rate depends on mixture of class levels, but it starts off as 1 per 4 rounds and becomes 2-3 points per round by 20th level; get up to max pre-epic level in all 4 Viewtiful classes and it's probably somewhere around 6 per round!)

Combat Points
Combat points, devised by Eiji-kun for his edgemaster class, are a good example of an expensive limiting point type nonetheless managing to get to Very High balance. The edgemaster spends combat points for combat edges; the combat edges he has available at any one time depend on his current combat stance and his edgemaster level. The combat edges are carefully designed to match or negate common wizard abilities that they use to make other melee fighters weep in sheer impotence, though the fact that the edgemaster only has access to up to five of them at any given time is slightly worrisome. The edgemaster's maximum number of combat points is equal to his edgemaster level, and since edgemaster is a prestige class, that means that the number of combat points is capped at 10 before epic levels begin (though, as edgemaster is designed to be taken at 10th level, epic levels begin right after edgemaster level 10 anyways). However, each combat edge costs only one combat point, so the low supply is balanced out by low demand. I could go on and on about how much I love the combat points and why I love them, but I've harped on long enough already. You can read the edgemaster article for more details.

Combat Point Stats

 * Used by: Edgemasters
 * Cost: Expensive (+4 to Spellcraft DC for each temporary combat point added to an enhance-seed spell)
 * Main Recharge Rate: Moderate (refreshed with 1 minute of rest; near-impossible to refresh mid-encounter, but very quickly regained out of combat)

Essentia
Essentia, introduced in Magic of Incarnum, is unique among limited point types in that it is never truly "spent"; instead, it is invested. As a swift action, an essentia-user (often, but not always a meldshaper) may invest essentia into soulmelds and other compatible special abilities (such as racial features and class features). Essentia can also be left uninvested, and can then be invested into spells, powers, maneuvers, etc. as they are cast/manifested/initiated. There are even magic items that one can invest essentia into! There are also feats which essentia can be invested into, but essentia can only be invested into feats once per 24 hours, and essentia that is invested into feats is "locked in" and inaccessible for 24 hours. Each receptacle can only hold a limited amount of essentia, determined by the character's HD.

Essentia Stats

 * Used by: Meldshaping classes and monsters
 * Cost: Expensive (+4 to Spellcraft DC for each temporary essentia point added to an enhance-seed spell)
 * Main Recharge Rate: N/A (essentia pools generally do not change size mid-battle)

Combo Points
Combo points were developed by Foxwarrior for his Combo Maker class, which is probably a shout out to the Street Fighter series (I dunno - Foxwarrior, please clarify that for me!) Combo points fluctuate very rapidly, and are unique in that they actually decay &mdash; 1 combo point is lost every minute. Furthermore, 2 combo points are lost with every failed attack. However, 1 combo point is gained with every successful attack. Thus, the combo maker cannot exactly save up combo points; he has to earn them and then use them before he loses them. Combo points are also odd among the expensive point types in that expenditures are very, very high, especially relative to the size of the combo point pool (which basically means that combo points are the most expensive type of limiting point currently known on the wiki). The combo maker class only lasts for six levels, at which point it has eight combo points. Its ultimate ability, the Kamehameha, costs eight combo points. No, you didn't misread that, it literally consumes the entire pool. However, this is justified with how easily the combo maker can regain his combo points.

Combo Point Stats

 * Used by: Combo Makers
 * Cost: Expensive (not supported by enhance seed due to instability, but pool size is extremely low and costs are very high relative to pool size)
 * Main Recharge Rate: Negative (decay at a rate of 1 per minute unless more are being gained; 1 combo point is earned for every successful attack roll; 2 combat points are lost for every unsuccessful attack roll)

Support

 * 1st: Power points
 * 2nd: Essentia
 * 3rd: Bio-energy
 * 4th: VFX

Ease of Recharge

 * 1st: Damnation points
 * 2nd: VFX
 * 3rd: Combo points
 * 4th: Combat points
 * Honorable mention: Essentia (never depleted or replenished unless actively damaged; merely invested)

To be Added

 * Blood (Grey Vampire)
 * Inspiration (Dungeonscape)
 * Damnation (Hellmaster)
 * Life force (Plane of Life)