Fortune Points (3.5e Variant Rule)
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Contents
Fortune Points
Introduction[edit]
Fortune Points are helpful metagame tool for players, helping them to avoid death and TPK. This variant rule is meant to be used in a game where the opportunity for resurrection is gone or severely limited.
Rule Mechanics[edit]
A character start with her career with 2 fortune points, if starting at 3rd or higher the character gain +1/3 level fortune points (minimum 1). A fortune point is spent as a free action and can give the following benefits (choose one):
- +2 typeless bonus on one saving throw.
- +1 typeless bonus on an attack roll.
- +2 typeless bonus to Armor Class.
- Reroll a failed roll to confirm a critical hit.
- Make an opponent reroll a successful roll to confirm a critical hit.
- Gain the benefits of mettle or evasion for one round.
- Gain a typeless +10 bonus on a single skill check.
- Stabilize yourself.
- Heal character level/1d6 hit points.
- Remove up to 3 points of strain
- Remove on on-going non-permanent status effect.
Notes that the bonus given by a spent fortune point do not stack together.
Final Fortune[edit]
A fortune point can be used for much much more drastic effects, like surviving being crushed by a giant rock or avoid dying to a finger of death spell. The act of declaring final fortune is however not without consequences, although it allow a PC to survive nigh-anything. Final Fortune is not only used for miracle survival, 'mundane' death can also be prevented this way.
In order to declare final fortune you need to permanently remove a fortune point. Final Fortune allow the character to survive a particular events and twist the story so he or she get out alive... however the DM may invoke a Grim Fate if the odds are too bad.
Grim Fate can be anything from losing a arm, permanent disfigurement to much darker fates. By example:
- Johnny the fighter was left for dead by his comrade in their archenemy's lair, the BBEG decide to coup de grace the fighter who immediately invoke Final fortune.
- Good Way to Invoke Grim Fate: The BBEG got a final hesitation, he instead order the fighter imprisoned. The GM invoke Grim Fate after 3 days of captivity as the fighter is being experienced upon by the BBEG maddened science and when rescued he is an hideous hollow shell of his former self.
- Bad Way: The BBEG just coup de grace the fighter until he is out of fortune points.
Recovering Fortune Points[edit]
Normally fortune points are recovered at the beginning of each session, however this rate can be adjusted depending on the duration of particular sessions. The recommended recovery is based on the length of sessions (assuming most of the session was not useless bickering about who pay the pizza).
- Playtime between 6 and 10 hours: Recover your fortune points midway
- Playtime between 3 to 5 hours: Normal recovery
- Playtime between 1 and 2 hours: Recover at the beginning of each other sessions.
A DM may feel the need to tweak the recovery time depending on how hard his game is. Some DM may feel like giving much less fortune points but have them be recovered at the end of each each scene/encounter.
If the game does not use sessions, like play-by-post on forums I recommend allowing the recovery of fortune points at the end of each story act (between 3-5 combats with associated of social scenes). Of course since there real ways to quantify PbP, just trust your guts.
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