Hero Points
Hero Points are not part of the normal V&V system, so don't go frantically looking through your rulebook; they're strictly my own concoction.
It occurred to me that protagonists accomplish all sorts of incredible feats that don't seem to be accounted for by the pure die rolls. I'm not talking typical uses of a character's super-powers, but rather those desperate, last-ditch, Deus Ex Machina-type longshots that rescue the hero (or sometimes, villain) from certain doom. I saw something like this concept built into the James Bond 007 game, and liked it so much, I adapted it for use in V&V. Falling to your death? Perhaps you might want to make sure that your Grapplo-HookTM hits its target and catches the first time. Dr. Deathwatch's Ultimate Plasma Cannon pointed at your head? It might be a good idea to "help" it miss. Fate of the city rests on your shoulders? A boost to your Bomb Defusing Skill couldn't hurt.
A Hero Point can be spent for three purposes:
- To affect a die roll
- To increase or decrease the effect of an action
- To use a power or skill in a non-standard way
The most common usage for a Hero Point allows a one-time bonus or penalty (your choice) to a single die roll, yours or anyone's. This bonus/penalty equals 25% of the maximum possible result of the die roll, rounded off (i.e., ±5 on a d20, ±25 on a d100, ±5 on 3d6, etc.). Results of less than zero are treated as zero; the GM may also impose a maximum result on a situational basis.
Hero Points must be spent before the roll is made. As many Hero Points as desired can be spent on one roll. The character need be neither conscious nor mobile to use them, but must be alive. Turning an "automatic hit" situation into a regular "needs a 20 or less to hit" situation (there is a difference) requires an additional Hero Point.
Hero Point Example: The Terrorist is cornered on a plane in flight by the costumed heroine Lady of Fortune. Desperate, he threatens to shoot out the nearby window if anyone makes a move against him. Knowing that the bomb he's planted will go off in mere seconds, Lady of Fortune rushes him anyway, and the villain fires. Our heroine burns her last 2 Hero Points to avoid disaster for everyone on board. Freedom Man (who's lying unconscious on the floor, having been kayoed by The Terrorist earlier) also chips in his last HP for a total of 3. The first Hero Point simply allows the "automatic hit" on the non-resistant window to be affected by Hero Points 2 and 3, resulting in a total -10 reduction. The Terrorist rolls an 11 (whew--just missed!) and the GM rules that the gun has misfired. Lady of Fortune clocks him while he's dumbfounded.
Many activities which do not involve a die roll can also be affected by expeding Hero Points--up to a ±25% alteration for each. This affect lasts for only as long as the "attempt" (typically an action phase), or however long the GM deems appropriate (though usually not more than one turn). The GM may require additional expenditures of actions, Power Points, and/or Hit Points.
Hero Point Example: A child is pinned under a 500-lb. chunk of debris, right in the path of a lava flow. Freedom Man tries a rescue with his Carrying Capacity of 400. Straining to his utmost (and spending a Hero Point), he painfully lifts the rubble off the child just in time for both of them to escape the river of molten death. The GM says that the almighty effort of increasing his Carrying Capacity by 25% (from 400 to 500) cost Freedom Man 10 Power points.
Finally, Hero Points can be used to attempt "Power Feats" or "Skill Feats," that is, you can expend one or more Hero Points to temporarily stretch the limits of your existing abilities. (Though there may be considerable overlap, contrast this to One-Shot Inventions, which can create new abilities on the fly.) If the desired effect is way beyond the norm, the GM may require a character to spend more than one Hero Point, or may decree that the attempt is predestined to failure.
Hero Point Examples:
- Using your Seduction skill on a slot machine attendant: 0 Hero Points
- Using your Flame Power to set someone's clothes on fire: 0-1 Hero Point.
- Returing to normal size from Size Change: Smaller so fast as to surprise and/or do extra damage to a foe (e.g., uppercut): 1 Hero Point
- Using a specialty skill with an outside specialty (e.g., airplane pilot attempting to Pilot a spaceship): 1 Hero Point
- Using a carefully-controlled dosage of your paralytic Poison/Venom as truth serum on a captured foe: 2-3 Hero Points.
- Using your Convince skill to persuade someone contrary to the evidence of their own senses (e.g., "She's not flying, son! Ain't you ever heard of the Flying Man Optical Illusion 'round these parts? When the weather conditions are right, distant objects may appear to float around. Yeah, it was on TV and everything..."): 2-4 Hero Points
- Cannibalizing part of your Bionic arm to short out an electronic lock: Treat as a One-Shot Invention, since Lightning Control and/or Locksmith skill are completely new abilities.
- Using your Seduction skill on a slot machine: Uh...no.
Note that some villains may have "Villain Points," which work the same way as Hero Points; spending a Hero Point cancels the use of one Villain Point (and vice-versa). Beware!
Getting Hero Points
In my older campaigns (and in the James Bond game, too), a character began his/her career with one Hero Point, and earned another one for each time he/she maxed out a non-combat die roll. A bit arbitrary, perhaps, so I propose to change that. Your character will still start out with one Hero Point, but the rest need to be earned...somehow. They're now doled out only by the GM.
Here's where playing in-character and doing heroic deeds pays off: derring-do and/or spectacular role-play above and beyond the call of duty will earn one or more Hero Points, often immediately. Some Hero Points may be sprinkled in with CP rewards at the end of sessions. They can also be purchased at any time with unspent CPs, on a 1:1 basis. Hero Points cannot normally be traded for CPs. except with special GM permission (and at a rate of at least 2 HP per CP).
So my advice? Use them sparingly. The life you save could be your own.
