Game Design: Action Points

I played Fallout and Fallout 2 a looong time ago. I finished both (and nearly got through Fallout Tactics), but hadn't given them much thought until I finally got the wife to play Planescape: Torment. Revisiting Fallout 2 (I recall it was the better one), I was re-introduced to Action Points proper, as in Fallout 3 they were only used for the called shot mechanic.

In case you haven't played either, when combat starts you have a specific number of Action Points each turn: moving a hex eats up 1, and attacks use 3 or 4, I think. Any you don't use also boost your defenses, which is great in case you can't close the distance, or have some to spare.

Back when we were still playtesting Dungeons & Delvers, I had Speed divided into two values: one was for it you just wanted to move that turn, and the other was for if you wanted to move and still do something. So, a human would have a Speed of 10/30, meaning you could move up to 10 feet and still do something, or 30 feet and do nothing else.

This was because I thought it was silly that you could either move 60 feet, or attack and move 30 feet: there was no way to really make two attacks, and I didn't want to overcomplicate things with all of 3rd Edition's action roster. Most players didn't like split-Speed because they felt it was too clunky having to check different values, but I think a point-based system would make things easier.

The current model is that everyone gets 6 Action Points (I know in Fallout it's based on Agility, but I don't want to make Dexterity even better than it already is), and you spend them as follows:

• Move 5 feet: 1 point (probably add in a Dash ability, where you move twice as fast but suffer a cumulative penalty each time you do this)
• Attack: 4 points (need to add in a Charge ability)
• Draw Weapon: 1 point
• Retrieve Item: 1-4 (depends on whether it's immediately on hand, or you have to dig around for it)
• Stand Up (from Prone): 2 points
• Drink Potion: 4 points
• House/Release Spirit: 1 point
• Reload: 1 per bullet
• Tindaloosan Warpsteed Folding: 1d4 points

Fast creatures would have a Swift value (ie, Swift 2), which would be effectively Action Points that can only be spent to move. Conversely, the Slowed condition would require you to spend additional AP to move (ie, Slowed 1 means you need to spend +1 AP for every 5 feet you want to move). Swift and Slow values would cancel each other out.

On the topic of conditions, Dazed could penalize your total AP, and be more granular. Some players didn't like that the Dazed condition didn't stack in Dungeons & Delvers, which honestly wasn't that big of a deal since we never had players that reliably used it (or Stunned). Here you could have attacks and effects that apply Dazed n, and each time a target is Dazed it adds up. Reduce the target's AP to 0 and it's Stunned.

I'd imagine that Stunned would largely go away as a condition that could immediately be imposed, replaced with attacks that instead pile on Dazed 2, or even Dazed 3 (guns could do that, should they inflict WP damage). Bit more complicated, but adds a tactical layer that I like, similar to how Ganging Up added attack bonuses, incentivizing characters to wait for openings, or help create openings for less accurate characters.

Spells would have different costs, and this would make it easier to track spells that you would normally want to require more than one turn to cast: if a spell costs 10 points, then it goes off as soon as you spend the last point. This would also make it very easy to have a setup where players can attack spellcasters in an attempt to interrupt them (previously I considered Phased combat, where ranged attacks are resolved first, followed by melee, then magic).

You could even go further, where you spend more points to reduce the Drain of a spell, or spend more to enhance it without having to suffer additional Drain (you could also make it so that enhancing a spell requires more points, anyway). I suppose you could reflect rituals this way, demanding, say, 100 or more points, in case you want to deal with it in the midst of combat.

Now, instead of, say, gunslingers and elder marshals getting extra attacks, their weapon attacks are reduced in cost. So at 5th-level it only takes 3 points to make an attack (or move a bit further and attack), so they could attack twice and not move at all, and at 10th-level it would only cost 2 points (make three, or move a bit and make two, or move really far and make one).

Other less combat-centric classes (like outlaws) could get a cost reduction, but only for specific weapons.

Similarly, preachers, shamans, and sorcerers would get to passively reduce the cost of spells, or spells from a specific school or category (ie, Thunder Spirit or Dagon).

Other options are talents that reduce the cost of various actions, such as aiming and fighting defensively, Quick Draw (draw one or two guns for 0 AP), Shot on the Run (move 5 feet for 0 AP after each ranged attack), Rapid Reload (1 AP reloads two bullets instead of one). Stuff like that.

Various Reactions could also cost Action Points (ie, save 4 and you can counter attack, Hinder an attack, or Assist a save). Dual-Weapon Fighting could just be "spend 2 AP to make an attack with your off-hand weapon, after making an attack with your primary".

Finally, thinking of giving characters/creatures +1 AP every 5- or 10-levels. This means that a gunslinger could, say, make four attacks at 10th-level, but that's only if they don't move at all, reload, or want to bank AP for Reactions. I don't think it would be that "unbalancing". Various drugs, items, and effects could grant AP as well.

Lot of stuff to ponder and playtest. Will post results, specifically whether our kids can grasp the system. Figure if they can, it's definitely easy enough to use.

Pic somewhat related.