Destiny's Boon- "Fate" mechanics for D&D 3.5e.

[X-Codes]

I'm something of an advocate for the idea that if the PCs have a 95% chance of succeeding on any roll the DM throws at them, then the DM isn't doing his job.  Of course, the cost of failing a check in a game of Rocket Tag is usually death.  Now, there are abilities that somewhat remedy this such as Action Points, but I don't like the un-reliability of any of the Action Point systems.  As such, I'm going to try my hand at crafting something a little different: PCs having the option to just plain fudge their dice.  Within limits, of course.

This requires some ground rules first, however:

1) Start by using the Bell Curve system.  While it shrinks the RNG, it also mitigates IP somewhat.  What's more, the premise is that the DM is supposed to throw enemies at the players that present challenges significantly inside of the range of the RNG, anyway, and using 3d6 instead of 1d20 allows the flexibility needed for the meat of my idea.  (Note: I'm not changing Take 10 or Take 20, including the numbers on Taking 20, so you basically get an extra +2 bonus when you're really careful.)  The system also works much better if you have the players rolling all of the dice (see the UA variant).  If you're not interested in that, then you can have the players substitute inverted values in order to maintain the same objective value of a given die.

2) I'm already toying with the idea of changing up the leveling system, and this will provide something nice to give on alternating levels.  I'm thinking of giving a feat at first level, second level, and every even level thereafter, while PCs get something called a "Boon" at first, third, fifth, etc. levels.  Under this system, they don't gain ability score bonuses, but those are addressed by the boons.  The ones I have right now are modeled after Luck feats, and, as such, Luck feats won't be in the game.

Now, the meat of my idea:

All PCs have what's called a Fate score.  By default, this score is equal to 1 + 1/2 the PC's level (rounded up).  Certain things can boost the PC's Fate score, like the Luckblade (+1 Fate score, instead of granting it's daily reroll), and the Luck domain (+1 Fate score and a bonus Boon, instead of it's normal ability).  The primary function of this Fate score is that, at the beginning of each day, you roll a number of d6's equal to your Fate score and record the results, later known as your Fate Dice.  Later on during the day, you can discard a Fate Die before making a 3d6 roll to instead roll 4d6 and drop the lowest roll.  Boons give you more uses for your Fate Dice, such as allowing you to substitute in your recorded dice for rolled dice (Attack Rolls, Saving Throws, Skill Checks, etc., not stuff like Fireball damage) and treat the natural roll according to how it's been altered, or discard dice altogether to gain more powerful effects.  How you are able to do this depends on your Boons.

Boons follow the same general conventions as feats, but cannot be taken as feats and cannot be substituted for feats.  You cannot use a Boon on the same roll you discard a Fate Die to alter.  Boons are as follows:

Destined Strike
Benefit: Whenever you make an attack roll against a hostile target, you can substitute one of your Fate Dice for one of the dice in your attack roll.  The value of the Fate Die replaces the value of the rolled die, and vice-versa.

Fate-Spurned Strike
Pre-Requisite: Destined Strike
Benefit: Whenever you make an attack roll against a hostile target, you can discard a Fate Die with a value of 5 or 6 to reroll the attack roll.

Destined Deflection
Benefit: Whenever a hostile enemy makes an attack against you, you can substitute one of your Fate Dice for one of the dice in your armor class roll.  The value of the Fate Die replaces the value of the rolled die, and vice-versa.

If you are not using "Players Roll All The Dice," then invert the values of the dice being replaced.  For example, if the attacker rolled 1, 3, 6, and the defender had fate dice of 4 and 5, he could replace the attacker's 6 with his 5, changing the attacker's total roll to 6 (1 + 3 + 2) and the value on his fate die to 1.

Fate-Spurned Deflection
Pre-Requisite: Destined Deflection
Benefit: Whenever a hostile enemy makes an attack against you, you can discard a Fate Die with a value of 5 or 6 to reroll the armor class roll.

From the 4 boons above, imagine appropriate text for each of the following types of rolls:
Saving Throws (Destined Tenacity)
Spell Resistance (Destined Resistance)
Spell Save DCs (Destined Assault)
Caster Level Checks (Destined Spell)
Initiative Checks (Destined Foresight)
Strength checks and Strength-based skill checks (Destined Might)
Dexterity... (Destined Agility)
Constitution... (Destined Fortitude)
Intelligence... (Destined Revelation)
Wisdom... (Destined Insight)
Charisma... (Destined Influence)

Tenacity of the Beast
Benefit: If you roll a natural 3 on a saving throw, you can discard a Fate Die with a value of 1 to treat the roll as a natural 18 instead.

Vengeance of the Beast
Benefit: If you roll a natural 3 on a Save DC roll, you can discard a Fate Die with a value of 1 to treat the roll as a natural 18 instead.

Again, if the player's aren't rolling Save DC rolls, you can allow the player to turn a natural 18 on a hostile target's saving throw to a natural 3, but the pun is lost.

Ferocity of the Beast
Benefit: If you roll a natural 3 on an attack roll, you can discard a Fate Die with a value of 1 to treat the roll as a natural 18 instead.

Cunning of the Beast
Benefit: If you roll a natural 3 on a skill check, you can discard a Fate Die with a value of 1 to treat the roll as a natural 18 instead.

Endurance of the Beast
Benefit: If you roll a natural 3 on an armor class roll, you can discard a Fate Die with a value of 1 to treat the roll as a natural 18 instead.

Enduring Legend
Benefit: Your Fate score increases by one.
Special: You can take this boon multiple times.  It's effects stack.

Better Good than Lucky
Benefit: One ability score of your choice is permanently increased by one.  Your Fate score is decreased by one.
Special: You can take this boon multiple times.  It's effects stack.

Accumulation of Destiny
Benefit: At the beginning of an encounter, if the number of Fate Dice you possess is less than your Fate score, you may roll a d6 and record it's value as a Fate Die.



Questions, Comments, or Criticisms?  Glaring omissions, possibly?

[oslecamo]

Altough I'm all for making the game challenging for the players, I don't believe changing the core d20 mechanic is the answer.

First I must ask you, why exactly don't you like action points? They kinda do what you seem to want to do here, and they already have plenty of suport in published material.

Other issues I see with this:
-It's a limited per day system. So you're giving more incentives for the players to just fight one or two battles where they blow all their luck and then bunker down.
-Also adding another layer of character building isn't exactly gonna make things more simple.
-Finally, you still didn't solve the core issue you presented. If before you needed +19 to auto-suceed in anything but a 1 (1/20 chance of failing), now you only need +17 to suceed on anything but triple 1 (1/216 chance you) and you're assured a possible re-roll. Wait, you can use it on Save DCs as well? How is the poor monster suposed to last more than 1 round? The DM will need to optimize the monsters extra-hard to challenge the players because the player's offensive potential just sky-rocketed.

So really, if you want to keep the players challenged while avoiding rocket tag, the answer isn't turning every PC into a pseudo-fatespinner. It's simply to avoid rocket-tag alltogheter:
-No "disabling" effect like stun, daze or similar lasts more than a few rounds, probably randomized with 1d4.
-Effects that instantly kill only work on very weak (or weakened) oponents. If thrown against oponents of your level the best you can hope is to weaken them. Like if they fail between 1-10 they're fatigued and take Xd4 damage, if they fal by 11-19 they're exhausted and take Xd8 damage, only if they fail by 20 or more are they insta-killed. Cumulative effects make sure nobody simply drops dead out of nowhere while keeping the tension up.

[veekie]

Me I'd just make the system work this way.
When you roll a nat 1, you get positive spin. When you roll a nat 20 you gets a point of negative spin. Goes for all players, including the GM.
Positive spin add to your d20 rolls. You decide when to spend them.
Negative spin subtract from your d20 rolls, your opponent(the GM for players, and any player for the GM) decides to spend them.
To reduce hoarding, once you exceed a certain threshold(say, 1/2 level) for either spin type, positive spin automatically rerolls nat 1s at a 1:1 exchange and negative automatically rerolls nat 20s at the same rate.

The only way to get either is to risk it.

[X-Codes]

First I must ask you, why exactly don't you like action points? They kinda do what you seem to want to do here, and they already have plenty of suport in published material.

Action Points are limited per-level abilities, unless you abuse spells to get unlimited action points.  In the former case, they're unreliable, only allowing the character in question to break through the issues of IP a handful of times each level (generally speaking, once every other encounter, less if they use them outside of combat encounters).

-It's a limited per day system. So you're giving more incentives for the players to just fight one or two battles where they blow all their luck and then bunker down.

If a party feels safe bunkering down in a dungeon, then the DM isn't doing his job.  If the party thinks they can kill a handful of goblins in a lair absolutely full of them, and then pick right back up where they left off  after, then the DM isn't doing his job.

-Also adding another layer of character building isn't exactly gonna make things more simple.

Not a stated goal of this system.  That said, this system is no more inefficient than an Action Point system, but offers a layer of strategy not present in said system.

-Finally, you still didn't solve the core issue you presented. If before you needed +19 to auto-suceed in anything but a 1 (1/20 chance of failing), now you only need +17 to suceed on anything but triple 1 (1/216 chance you) and you're assured a possible re-roll. Wait, you can use it on Save DCs as well? How is the poor monster suposed to last more than 1 round? The DM will need to optimize the monsters extra-hard to challenge the players because the player's offensive potential just sky-rocketed.

I don't understand what you're getting at here.  That's not the core issue I was talking about at all.

So really, if you want to keep the players challenged while avoiding rocket tag...

Again, not the stated purpose of this variant.  This is meant to be an alternative to players having to crank out absurd IP-proofed numbers in order to be effective over the long-term, and to enable the DM to challenge players without the corpses piling up.

Me I'd just make the system work this way.
When you roll a nat 1, you get positive spin. When you roll a nat 20 you gets a point of negative spin. Goes for all players, including the GM.
Positive spin add to your d20 rolls. You decide when to spend them.
Negative spin subtract from your d20 rolls, your opponent(the GM for players, and any player for the GM) decides to spend them.
To reduce hoarding, once you exceed a certain threshold(say, 1/2 level) for either spin type, positive spin automatically rerolls nat 1s at a 1:1 exchange and negative automatically rerolls nat 20s at the same rate.

The only way to get either is to risk it.

In rocket tag, nat 1 = death, so the players really don't benefit from this until they're already dead.  That's the way I see it, at least.

[veekie]

However, even in rocket tag, the vast majority of d20 rolls do not instakill. This lets you basically 'save up' spin from less critical rolls to discharge when it IS critical. Of course, this presumes that spin would negate the nat 20/1 effect.

[X-Codes]

However, even in rocket tag, the vast majority of d20 rolls do not instakill. This lets you basically 'save up' spin from less critical rolls to discharge when it IS critical. Of course, this presumes that spin would negate the nat 20/1 effect.

They may not instakill, but one d20 roll can give a ridiculous advantage.  Let's say we've got a level 5 party going up against an EL 5 mix of class-leveled Orcs.  The Wizard wins initiative and hits the orcs with a Web spell.  The Orcs now pretty much automatically lose an entire round of actions just trying to get themselves out of the Web.  This can also be seen as a free round of actions for the party.  I'm not even talking about the saving throws yet, either.  If these Orcs fail a saving throw, then they are stuck until they make a DC 20 Strength check.  Even for Orcs, they've got *maybe* a 50/50 chance to break free on a given round.  So they're SoL for something like 2-3 turns on average, before even having to move out of the web.

Two d20 rolls resulting in one creature losing 3-4 full rounds of actions.  If that creature isn't dead by the time he can actually act again, even in an unoptimized group, then consider the probability of some sort of Divine Intervention going on.

[veekie]

Exactly, however, this applies to all rolls, in and out of combat. Your skill checks adds spin(good or bad), so does talking, and pretty much any genuinely contested action. You take your bad luck from when it doesn't matter to offset bad luck from when it DOES matter.

Basic leverage principles.

[PhaedrusXY]

First I must ask you, why exactly don't you like action points? They kinda do what you seem to want to do here, and they already have plenty of suport in published material.

Action Points are limited per-level abilities, unless you abuse spells to get unlimited action points. 

But you're already house-ruling. Why not just simply make action points be recovered per day, instead of per level, or something like that?

And I understand the appeal of using 3d6 instead of a d20, but then you're not really using the "d20 system" anymore... 

[oslecamo]

Actualy, I quite like the point about action points being per level. It prevents the players from just going nova and then bunkering down for recharging, but since they don't carry over to the next level you also don't want to hoard them forever.

On the other hand if you really want it to be a per day system, then indeed you could simply making action points per day and not need to change the very core mechanic of the game.

[X-Codes]

Actualy, I quite like the point about action points being per level. It prevents the players from just going nova and then bunkering down for recharging, but since they don't carry over to the next level you also don't want to hoard them forever.

You apparently didn't get it the first time: "bunkering down" isn't going to happen, ever, without severe consequences.  There's no way you're going to rest in the middle of a dungeon for 9+ hours all by yourself without some evil overlord putting a deathtrap outside your "bunker" to kill you as soon as you come out.  I may be assuming that the DM plays monsters intelligently, but honestly I think that's the least the DM should do.  I'm not really interested in running a Spiderweb Software RPG where once you kill a monster, nothing moves over from another location to replace it.

First I must ask you, why exactly don't you like action points? They kinda do what you seem to want to do here, and they already have plenty of suport in published material.

Action Points are limited per-level abilities, unless you abuse spells to get unlimited action points.

But you're already house-ruling. Why not just simply make action points be recovered per day, instead of per level, or something like that?

That's not really any different from abusing spells that grant more.  If you get an action point on every single d20 roll, then you're not really doing anything other than expanding the RNG and very slightly normalizing it.  If you get 1 action point per level, then it's not reliable enough to actually do anything with it.  At the extremes and pretty much all points inbetween, Action Points are just random, and that's very explicitly what I want to avoid with this idea.

And I understand the appeal of using 3d6 instead of a d20, but then you're not really using the "d20 system" anymore... 

Meh, I can live with that.

[Catty Nebulart]

You apparently didn't get it the first time: "bunkering down" isn't going to happen, ever, without severe consequences.  There's no way you're going to rest in the middle of a dungeon for 9+ hours all by yourself without some evil overlord putting a deathtrap outside your "bunker" to kill you as soon as you come out.  I may be assuming that the DM plays monsters intelligently, but honestly I think that's the least the DM should do.  I'm not really interested in running a Spiderweb Software RPG where once you kill a monster, nothing moves over from another location to replace it.

There is a whole line of spells to do precisely this, such as rope trick.

[X-Codes]

You apparently didn't get it the first time: "bunkering down" isn't going to happen, ever, without severe consequences.  There's no way you're going to rest in the middle of a dungeon for 9+ hours all by yourself without some evil overlord putting a deathtrap outside your "bunker" to kill you as soon as you come out.  I may be assuming that the DM plays monsters intelligently, but honestly I think that's the least the DM should do.  I'm not really interested in running a Spiderweb Software RPG where once you kill a monster, nothing moves over from another location to replace it.

There is a whole line of spells to do precisely this, such as rope trick.

If you rope trick in the middle of a dungeon, then see the death trap scenario.

If you rope trick outside the dungeon, then see the scenario where the monsters re-arrange themselves to secure the dungeon once again.

How about these two alterations:

1) You never re-roll your fate dice.  You just keep the same assortment until you make exchanges or discards.  (Probably include some magical ritual of relatively low cost that allows you to re-roll your fate dice.)

2) You can't use fate dice in any situation where you could normally take 10 (not including skill mastery).