Category Archives: Game Rules

Boon Dice

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Boon dice are an added option for D&D 5e games, an ability similar to an epic boon (Dungeon Master’s Guide, p. 230) but available to lower-level characters and a bit more versatile. Dungeon Masters should decide when and if a character gains boon dice as an option. It could be a boon all characters are granted as part of the campaign, acquired in exchange for an ability increase or a feat at the appropriate level, or acquired similar to a magic item (up to and including attunement by the character). Boon dice can represent the blessings of certain powers, an innate heroic quality of certain characters, or the ability to draw upon some supernatural power within the context of the campaign setting, to name a few possibilities.

Boon Dice

You have a number of “boon dice” equal to your Proficiency Bonus. The size of the dice is determined by your level: They start out as d4s at 1st level, increase to d6s at 5th level, d8s at 11th level, and d10s at 17th level. You regain all expended boon dice after completing a long rest.

For each point of Proficiency Bonus, choose one of the following things you can do with your boon dice. You cannot spend more than one boon die on a single option or roll.

  • Roll a boon die and add its value to the result of an attack roll you have just made.
  • Roll a boon die and add its value to the result of an ability check you have just made.
  • Roll a boon die and add its value to the result of a saving throw you have just made.
  • Roll a boon die and add its value to the result of an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw you have just made with a specific ability, chosen when you acquire this option.
  • Roll a boon die and add its value to the result of a damage roll you have just made. On a critical hit, you have the option of spending two boon dice to the damage roll (an exception to the normal one die per option rule).
  • Spend your bonus action, roll a boon die, and regain that amount of hit points.
  • Spend your reaction, roll a boon die, and add the result to your Armor Class against an attack that just hit you or the next attack against you (your choice).
  • Spend your reaction, roll a boon die, and reduce the damage you just took by that amount. If the damage is reduced to 0, the attack counts as having missed.
  • Spend a boon die to immediately reduce your level of exhaustion (see Appendix A of the Player’s Handbook) by 1 level.

When you gain a level, you can choose a new set of options for things you can do with your boon dice.

Save vs. Traps!

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So Twitter was discussing the notion of the old-time D&D trope of “find traps” as in “I search for traps” which often takes the form of player characters creeping along through an adventure, playing a game of verbal cat-and-mouse with the DM and rolling endless Wisdom (Perception) checks to see if they find a trap or not, with cagy responses like “You don’t perceive any traps…”

I mentioned that the whole process of “finding” traps, that is, noticing them before it’s too late and they go off, should be a saving throw in D&D. After all, saving throws are literally the rolls you make to avoid hazards—like traps. Sure, you make saves after the trap has gone off, but what about before in order to avoid that? Initially, I thought a Wisdom save, since Wisdom (Perception) checks are usually what you use to find traps, but then I thought: an Intelligence save!

Intelligence saving throws to detect and potentially avoid traps have the following going for them:

  • Intelligence is one of the most under-utilized ability scores for saving throws. There are just five instances of it in the Player’s Handbook, versus 49 for Wisdom saves.
  • Of the existing Intelligence saving throws, they often involve detecting when “something’s not quite right” like an illusion or a false memory. Makes sense that they might also take subtle things the character notices, put two and two together, and come up with “this may be a trap…”
  • The classes proficient in Intelligence saves are: Artificer, Druid, Rogue, and Wizard, the prime trap-makers, which only makes sense they’d also be good trap detectors. It also means you don’t have to be proficient in the Perception skill to be good at dealing with traps.
  • It makes Intelligence less of a dump-stat for characters who mean to be wily and avoid traps. Certainly makes sense that the fairly unintelligent barbarian or even sorcerer is more likely to fall victim to a trap.
  • Classes that have special trap-detection abilities may get a special ability to add their proficiency bonus to Intelligence saves solely for the purpose of detecting traps, or they might get to use a different save (such as Wisdom) for that purpose.

Best of all, making detecting traps into a saving throw means there’s no need to roll secretly or be cagey about it. The roll happen the moment when a character could trigger the trap: If the Intelligence save succeeds, they notice the trap is there in time to (potentially) avoid it. If they fail the save, they trigger the trap. Either way, they know there’s a trap there!

Since it’s a saving throw and not an ability check, benefits that affect saving throws—which, again, are meant to avoid or minimize harm—apply, but not necessarily benefits that apply to ability checks. It’s definitely a notion I’d like to try out in my next trap-filled dungeon!

That’s Wild

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So, for the sixth year in a row, the top viewed article on this here website (by far) remains The Hidden Potential of Wild Shape, my weird little musings about druids shapeshifting into dinosaurs and swarms of things (even if the official ruling is that isn’t an option). And “by far” I mean by like a thousand or more views! In honor of that, and Albin Leathalvin, “The White Wolf,” my half-elf druid/barbarian from the Ten Towns, I offer the following super-specific wild shape feats:

Beast Speech

Prerequisite: wild shape class feature

When in beast form from wild shape you can speak aloud normally, in any language known to you. This does not allow you to cast spells while in beast form, even spells with only verbal components.

Additionally, you gain the benefits of speak with animals while you are in beast form.

Nature’s Rage

Prerequisite: rage class feature and wild shape class feature

You have learned to combine assuming a beast form with invoking its animalistic fury. You gain the following benefits:

  • You can enter rage and use your wild shape ability as a single bonus action on your turn.
  • If you suffer damage from an attack, you can enter rage and/or use your wild shape ability as your reaction that turn.

Swarm Shape

Prerequisite: wild shape class feature

When using wild shape you can assume the form of a swarm, provided that the swarm’s form does not violate any of the other limits of your wild shape ability, including CR, flying and swimming speeds, and being a type of beast that is known to you. Thus a swarm of rats would be a viable shape at 2nd level (CR 1/4, no flying or swimming speed), a swarm of insects at 4th level (CR 1/2, no flying speed), and a swarm of bats, quippers, ravens, or flying insects at 8th level (flying speed). Transforming into a swarm of poisonous snakes requires the circle forms features (from Circle of the Moon) and at least 6th level, for a CR 2 swarm.

D&D: Power Surges

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I was filling out the D&D Classes Survey from Wizards of the Coat the other day. It is clearly aimed at looking at play experience, since it asks you which classes and subclasses you have played before unlocking the opinion questions about them. One of the things I noticed from my own experience, was that, while I have played a wide number of classes: 1) I have favorite subclasses and not as much experience outside of them, and: 2) I couldn’t offer an opinion on many of the high-level class abilities, because the characters I played never made it to those levels. I have played a lot of D&D, but few, if any, of my campaigns have made it up past 15th level. Many more haven’t even made it past 10th.

That led me to think that it’s unfortunate that many campaigns deny players a chance to experience what are supposed to be the pinnacles of their characters’ potential, which led me to consider the following option:

Power Surge

You have access to one use of a higher-level feature of your class. If this feature is ordinarily permanent or long-lasting, it lasts for a minute once it is invoked. If the feature affects or is performed in a single action or round, then it lasts for only that use. The class feature operates at the level of ability you currently possess or its minimum operational level, if your current level is insufficient, and uses traits (ability scores, bonuses, save DCs, etc.) you currently possess.

So, for examples, a lower-level barbarian might gain one use of a brutal critical or one instance of indomitable might, a fighter might gain an indomitable saving throw or use of a maneuver they don’t normally possess (perhaps even with an increased Superiority Die), a lower-level paladin might gain a minute of aura of courage, a Circle of the Moon druid one use of elemental wild shape, or a spellcaster one use of a spell higher level than they can normally cast (using their highest level spell slot to cast it).

The Cost of a Power Surge

At the end of an encounter where a character performs a power surge, that character gains 1 level of exhaustion, reflecting the strain they have exerted in extending their abilities. At the DM’s discretion, higher level power surges (or ones with a larger difference from the character’s current level) may impose multiple levels of exhaustion, although rarely more than 3.

If you want a harder power surge cost, the resulting exhaustion is half the difference between the character’s current level and the level of the power surge feature, rounded down, which effectively limits a power surge to an 11-level difference (5 levels of exhaustion) since 6 levels would kill the character (although it would be quite a way to go!).

Acquiring a Power Surge

Characters acquire the ability to perform a power surge as a boon granted by the DM, similar in some regards to a charm (see Supernatural Gifts in the Dungeon Master’s Guide). This may come from an in-game agency like a deity, powerful creature, wise mentor, spirit guide, or the like, or simply occur as a story-related event, much like Inspiration. Indeed, a power surge can be thought of as an “advanced” use of Inspiration for giving a particular character a “spotlight moment.”

When a surge is granted, the DM specifies what class feature it grants, or may offer a choice of class features; the surge is not good for whatever higher-level feature the player wants! The feature may be negotiable, based on player input, but the DM has the final say in the matter, taking campaign considerations into account (see Power Surge Considerations, following).

Power Surge Considerations

Naturally, power surges are things the Dungeon Master should permit carefully and sparingly, with an eye towards not disrupting the flow of the game too much. Some higher-level class features may be too powerful as power surges, depending on the current level of the character and the overall conditions of the campaign and adventure.

At least, a power surge should be a rare event, something that doesn’t happen more than once per character level (at most) and probably less often than that. It shouldn’t necessarily be something players can plan around or expect, but that shows up at moments of dramatic importance in the campaign. It’s also an opportunity the DM should spread out amongst the player characters—with no one character getting two or more power surges in a row before the other characters in the party have gotten an opportunity.

The availability of a power surge may require some adjustment to the challenge level of certain encounters, but then a power surge is supposed to be impressive, so it is all right if it happens to make a difficult encounter easier than it would otherwise be. Just be prepared to adjust things behind the scenes if necessary, should a power surge come off as anticlimatic rather than an epic peak or finish to an encounter.

The Ol’ One-Two: Icons Fights

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A new Icons GM inquired: How do I make villains enough of a challenge for the heroes? I put two villains up against them and they each got taken out in one hit!

As said GM noted, Icons is meant to be a fast-paced, fast-playing game, but not necessarily that fast! In general, most characters should be able to take a couple of hits before dropping to 0 Stamina, although the definition of “a couple” can vary with the character and the attack. Still, that’s the reasoning why Stamina for the Average (3) person is 6, enough for two Average attacks.

There are a number of tips and tricks to consider when it comes to helping your Icons bad-guys hang in there a bit longer:

Defense: As they say, the best defense is not being there when the attack lands. Consider how effective your villains are at defending themselves (see Reactions in the Taking Action chapter of Icons). Keep in mind that equal attack and defense levels mean a 58% chance of a marginal success and a 42% chance of a moderate success. Just a 2-level shift in the defender’s favor means a 28% chance of a marginal success and just a 16% chance of a moderate, and only a 2% chance of a major success. Since the heroes have and get Determination Points, there’s nothing wrong with initially putting things a bit in the villains’ favor. Also remember that the Defending action sacrifices a character’s panel for that +2 level shift in defenses.

Damage Resistance: A little Damage Resistance goes a long way. Even if a villain only has 1–3 levels of Resistance, that can blunt some of each attack, making it take one or more extra hits to take them down. A villain with a substantial amount of Damage Resistance can be much harder to take down, while bad guys like Troll (with Damage Resistance 9!) are nigh-invulnerable. Lots of villains may wear light body armor of the like to get a couple levels of Damage Resistance, and you can also Limit that resistance to, say, bashing or blasting (or slashing or shooting) damage.

Regeneration: Like Damage Resistance, Regeneration can allow a villain to recover Stamina more quickly to hang in a fight, especially if they are Defending for a page or two, avoiding getting hit, in order to bounce back.

Trouble: While villains do not have Determination Points like the heroes do, they can gain advantage (and any of its benefits) as trouble for the heroes! That includes a use of the Recover option to regain Stamina. Likewise, villains can also use Maneuvers and Tactics to activate qualities for advantage, including Recover, or Improved Effort for their defense. You don’t just have to use trouble to pump-up the villains, either. It might make a hero’s attack ineffective (Disability), cause a distraction (Challenge) or grant the villain some other advantage. Be creative!

Numbers: Try to pit a roughly even number of equally capable villains against the heroes, a larger number of less capable ones, or a smaller number of more powerful villains. If the bad guys are outnumbered, then they should definitely have some or even all of the advantages on this list to help make up for it! Otherwise, sheer numbers go against them if the heroes can attack, say, two or three times for every one of their panels. An added benefit of making a singular villain much better at evading? They also counter-attack when the heroes miss! (see Evading under Reactions in the Taking Action chapter of Icons) This is the sort of thing that happens when a group of heroes fight a ruthless Fantastic combatant and get their clocks cleaned without their foe even taking any extra panels!

Options

So that’s where you can start. If you want even more options, take a look at some of the material in Icons Presents, particularly the Minions & Masterminds chapter. It looks at minion rival, and mastermind status for villains, complete with special actions and options. One easy one to apply is:

Evening Odds: If the heroes outnumber the villains, divide the number of heroes by the number of villains to get an odds modifier, then adjust the villains as follows:

  • Stamina: Increase the villains’ Stamina by (50% x the odds modifier).
  • Fast Attack: Give each villain the Fast Attack power with a rank of (the odds modifier x 2) to a maximum of Supreme (10).

Example: A pair of villains are up against a team of five heroes! The GM divides five by two, getting an odds modifier of 2.5. Therefore, the Game Master increases both villains Stamina by (50% x 2.5) 125% and gives them each Fast Attack (2.5 x 2) 5, sufficient for another Good (5) attack action for each of them.

Other resources from Icons Presents may also be useful, including Fists of Fury, Situational Qualities, Taking Initiative, and Tell Me the Odds.

Minions and Monsters in Icons

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No, it’s not a new Icons product (yet) just a couple of random passing thoughts to share because, well, I’ve got a blog.

Minions

The first is that, in addition to the option for taking out minions automatically with a successful attack (on p. 42 of the Assembled Edition), Game Masters may want to consider minion actions against heroes—that is, any action opposed by a hero’s reaction—automatic failures. Amongst other things, this means minions simply cannot successfully attack heroes under normal circumstances, all they can do is get in the heroes’ way and get whittled down until there aren’t any more of them.

That’s not to say such minions are never effective, but a successful attack by them is handled as trouble for the heroes (Assembled Edition, p. 34) rather than a regular action—it’s so rare that it’s both noteworthy and awards the affected heroes with Determination Points. These minions can still succeed normally against other Game Master Characters, probably part of the reason they’re so often threatening the heroes’ friends and supporting characters.

This option is extremely four-color in style, but does suit some stories where minions truly are ineffectual and even heroes with no Damage Resistance or extraordinary defenses don’t need to be all that worried about them.

Monsters

Although it may go without saying, Game Masters may sometimes want to beef up singular “monster” opponents intended to take on a whole team of heroes by just giving them more Stamina than their Strength and Willpower levels would normally provide. While you can simply go with higher Strength and Damage Resistance to toughen up a monster-foe (both common capabilities) that may not be enough, and too much Damage Resistance can stymie some heroes completely, where as additional Stamina is something the heroes can whittle away at, while still allowing the monster to hang in the fight so it’s not over too quickly.

Start with doubling the monster’s Stamina, although you can easily triple or even quadruple it to provide a good fight. Also note that a “monster” opponent doesn’t have to be an actual monster, but could simply be a master villain who needs to take on a whole team, and therefore can benefit from a Stamina boost. The GM characters don’t have to follow the exact same rules as the heroes in terms of determining their abilities, so long as they’re providing a fair and fun challenge.

The Power of Three: Innate Magical Abilities

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The fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons tends to place less emphasis on magic items as an expected component of characters’ capabilities. Certainly, there are challenges—such as monsters vulnerable only to magical weapons—that call for such things, but even then there are workarounds in terms of class abilities, spells, and the like, reducing the reliance on an arsenal of arcane items in the party’s possession.

One way the edition trims down on magic items is through the concept of attunement: wherein some magic items require a mystical bond with their wielder. This bond takes some time and effort to forge, and characters can attune to a finite number of items, namely three. (As an aside, world creators can have fun exploring all manner of metaphysical trinities to provide an explanation for the question, “Why three?” but that’s a subject for a different article.)

So, it can be said, from a system perspective, that fifth edition D&D characters have essentially three “potential” magical advantages, which are realized by connecting them with items the characters acquire during their adventures—but what if that wasn’t the only option?

Now, the Dungeon Master’s Guide does talk about some other options, including supernatural gifts, marks of prestige, and epic boons, but none of them draw upon the notion that a maximum of three “magic advantages” is built-in to the characters. They’re all extras layered on top.

Perhaps in addition to magic items, D&D characters can “fill” those attunement slots with innate abilities of different sorts, essentially the equivalent of a magic item the character can’t easily lose, but also can’t easily swap out for another item. The attunement mechanic also works as a starting point for things like:

  • Tattoos or markings, like Eberron’s dragonmarks or the spellscars from the Spellplague era of the Forgotten Realms.
  • Birthrights that are inherent magical abilities, from gifts from the gods to strange abilities caused by magical “mutation” or an unusual heritage or bloodline, such as some of those from the Birthright setting.
  • Gifts similar to the supernatural gifts from the Dungeon Master’s Guide, but replicating a wider range of magic item abilities. These gifts might be granted by higher powers, magical rituals, or performing great deeds, to name a few.

Equivalence and Level. The magical ability should be about the equivalent of a magic item requiring attunement, with its level determined by the magic item’s rarity (as given on the Magic Item Rarity table in the DMG). So a magical ability equal to a ring of regeneration, for example, would be 11th level (for a very rare item).

Drawback. The ability may have a drawback that’s roughly equivalent to the potential of losing a magic item or having it taken away, since the ability is not so limited. For example, a magical ability equivalent to an amulet of the planes (let’s call it “planewalking,” shall we?) has, as an additional disadvantage, that when the Intelligence check made to activate it fails, the ability is also rendered unless until the character completes a long rest. On the other hand, the DM may decide that some magical abilities don’t need an additional drawback, such as the equivalent of boots of elvenkind, giving the character advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to move silently at all times.

Acquisition. Acquiring the magical ability is largely at the Dungeon Master’s discretion and can be the result of any number of things, from a god’s blessing to the effects of drinking from an enchanted fountain. The ability may have prerequisites, including a minimum character level (based on item rarity) and class or race requirements similar to magic items. Generally, the character’s player should have the option of refusing the ability, in which case, nothing happens (save, perhaps, for offending a potential patron). If the character accepts, the ability “takes root” and fills one of the character’s attunement slots.

Divestment. Similarly, it’s up to the DM whether or not characters can shed or rid themselves of magical abilities. It should be difficult, since that is one of the primary drawbacks of abilities versus magic items, and might involve conditions similar to acquiring the ability, or the use of spells like remove curse to “uncouple” the ability and clear the attunement slot it occupies. Some abilities, like birthrights, might be things you cannot get rid of. Alternately, perhaps you can “overwrite” the ability by attuning a magic item and “filling” its slot, but the ability is no longer available (and might be lost permanently, even if you lose your attunement to the item that replaced it).

Leveling. It’s possibly for magical abilities to “level,” either along with the character, gaining the powers or properties of more effective items as the character grows in level, or filling additional attunement slots, essentially adding the benefits of additional items as the ability grows. This is particularly good for magic item abilities that have multiple levels of rarity and power.

Sample Magical Abilities

Here are just a few potential magical abilities using this concept.

Arcane Aegis

Surrounded by an unseen arcane aegis of protection, you have resistance to force damage and immunity to damage from the magic missile spell. Prerequisite: None.

Chaos Magic

You can call upon powerful, chaotic, magical forces. Use an action to choose a target within 120 feet of you: a creature, object, or even a point in space. Roll d100 an consult the wand of wonder effect table to see what happens. The effect is otherwise like that of a wand of wonder. You can use this ability 1d6 times per day, but the DM rolls each day at dawn and you only know you have expended all of your daily uses when you attempt to invoke your chaos magic and nothing happens. Prerequisite: spellcaster, 5th level.

Dragon Slayer

Any melee weapon you wield against a creature with the dragon type gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls and inflicts an extra 3d6 damage of the weapon’s type to the creature. However, true dragons can tell you have this ability by seeing or smelling you with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. Prerequisite: 5th level.

Illusory Guise

You can use an action to cast the disguise self spell at will. Prerequisite: None.

Planeswalker

You can use an action to make a DC 15 Intelligence check. On a successful check, you cast the plane shift spell. On a failure, you and each creature within 15 feet of you travel to a random destination and you are unable to use this ability until you complete a long rest. Roll d100. On a 1–60, you travel to a random location on the plane you named. On a 61–100, you travel to a randomly determined plane of existence. Prerequisite: 11th level.

Spell Resistance

You have advantage on all saving throws against spells. Prerequisite: 5th level.

Swift

You can use a bonus action to activate this ability. When you do, double your walking speed, and any creature that makes an opportunity attack against you has disadvantage on the attack roll. When you have used this ability for a total of 10 minutes, you must complete a long rest in order to use it again. Prerequisite: 5th level.

The Hidden Potential of Wild Shape

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The recently released D&D Monsters by Type document from Wizards of the Coast points out some interesting potential wrinkles in the druid’s wild shape ability in the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Let’s take a look.

The description of wild shape says: “…you can use your action to assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before.” Note that “beast” is a specific creature type in D&D 5e. The druid’s level sets limits on the type of beast form assumed: A maximum challenge rating (CR) of 1/4 and no flying or swimming speed at 2nd level, max. CR of 1/2 and no flying speed at 4th level, and a max. CR of 1 and no movement limits at 8th level. The Circle of the Moon druid archetype increases the CR limits to druid level divided by 3 and rounded down (minimum of 1).

Given these guidelines and taking a look at the Beast table of D&D Monsters by Type, what do we note…? Continue reading →

Icons Q&A

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Additional Icons questions (again slighted edited for clarity and brevity):

Is it possible to “overburden” a quality by adding too much to it, such as “Former Right Hand of the Nephilim King of Deepworld”?

It’s possible, and the creation of qualities is far more art than science. Ultimately, it’s up to the GM and the players to agree as to when a quality is “too much” or becomes unwieldy or might need to be broken up into separate, “smaller” qualities. That said, I personally don’t find “Former Right Hand of the Nephilim King of Deepworld” to be such a quality. It’s a trifle long, yes, but still reasonably focused, in my opinion, at least as much as “Former Favorite Member of the League of Assassins” or “Heir to an Ancient and Honorable Legacy” or the like.

If a Power has Extra Powers, and the “main” power is Nullified or affected in some way, are the extras affected?

Depends on the interaction of the power and the nullifying (or other effect) but often the answer is “yes.” If my ability to fly, surround myself in fire, and shoot flame blasts all come from my Fire Control power, and it’s nullified, I lose the ability to do all of those things. If my flight, super-strength, super-senses, and damage resistance all come from my power armor and it is nullified, then I might reasonably retain some or all of my damage resistance (assuming it’s part of the physical make-up of the armor and not something like a force field), but I’d lose the other powers. Ultimately, it’s up to the GM, but nullifying the power and all of its extras at once is completely “fair” and within the rules.

For Mind Control, how do you use the quality “Controlled”?

The primary use is activating the quality to cause trouble for the target in the form of a compulsion (Icons AE, p. 34), which “can also originate from outside influence,” such as Mind Control. For example, “because you are controlled, you are are compelled to attack your teammates!”

As with other instances of trouble, the target can refuse, awarding the controlling player a Determination Point (or costing a DP and denying the player a DP award for the trouble, in the case of a hero being controlled). As the Mind Control description states, one of the target’s other qualities can also be activated to recover and attempt to shake off the power’s effect.

Wouldn’t it usually then be the case then that on the very next page, the hero would activate a Quality, spend the DP just earned from being compelled, and shake off the Mind Control?

Sure, if the player doesn’t want to roleplay being mind controlled to rack up some additional DP, then that’s the player’s prerogative.

Spending the DP to activate a quality to recover from the Mind Control gives the character an immediate new Willpower vs. Mind Control test. Note, however, this is what is happening anyway at the moderate success degree (a new opposed test every page) or every (Mind Control level) pages with a major success.

Also note that spending the DP to recover just grants an extra test, it doesn’t provide improved effort or any other benefit on that test, so it entirely depends on the level of the character’s Willpower vs. the Mind Control level in terms of chances of success. It’s actually possible for a breakout attempt to worsen the situation, if the hero flubs the test and the mind-controller gets an even higher degree of success!

But, yes, it does mean a hero with a Willpower level close to (or better than) the opponent’s Mind Control level has a good chance of spending a DP and shaking it off in just one page. That’s intentional and some that, say, an Amazing Willpower character should be able to do when faced with a Great level of Mind Control. It also means a low-Willpower hero’s best tactic is to wait and rack up DPs from being mind controlled in order to have an improved chance of shaking it off later and having some extra DP left over to take down the villain when that happens.

We had someone hold a villain at gun point and create a “Covered” quality with a maneuver. If the villain moved, would it be a fair use of advantage to allow the hero to attack?

Sure. It’s roughly equivalent to the target suffering from lost panel trouble.

Is it okay to have a specialty that grants a bonus to tests to learn a quality?

Sure, depending on the specialty and the nature of the qualities involved. Psychology is good for learning about personality traits and psychological quirks, Occult for figuring out supernatural qualities (like the inherent qualities of a supernatural creature), Martial Arts or Military might be good for learning qualities related to a fighting style or particular background (such as “Trained at the Seven Dragon Temple” or the like). Encourage players to creatively apply their specialties and give them the bonus if there’s some reasonable connection.

Is attempting a maneuver an action? How about attempting to learn a quality? If the attempt fail, is the character’s action still used?

Maneuvering is listed in the Actions section of the Taking Action chapter, so attempting a maneuver, either to create or learn about a quality, is an action, whether the attempt succeeds or fails.

One option I’ve applied with good results is to allow players to trade one free activation from the maneuver for the ability to take another immediate action following a successful maneuver.

Example: Hangman makes a Coordination + Athletics test to apply a “Distracted” quality to Hotshot. He gets a major success, good for two free activations. Hangman’s player asks to use one of those activations to take an immediate second action to attempt to use the Noose of Justice to snatch the flame-gun from his foe’s grasp, using the second activation on the Distracted quality for advantage (and Improved Effort) on the attempt.

If a person is bound or trapped and uses a power to escape, do they still get to act on the same page?

If they get a massive success on the escape attempt, yes (see Escaping, Icons AE, p. 134). Otherwise, no, the escape attempt uses the character’s action for that panel.

I apply an option that a major success in escaping a partial hold is equivalent to a massive success in escaping a complete hold (allowing the character to either apply a reverse hold or take another action).

Icons Questions

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A few Icons related questions from the Yahoo group mailing list, which I’ve edited only for brevity:

1) Has anyone done conversion guidelines for M&M 3e to Icons?

I haven’t, and I’ll tell you why: In my experience, such mechanical or mathematical conversion systems are less effective overall than looking to capture the style or essence of the character in the new system. Especially in a relatively free-form system like Icons, you’re better off, in my opinion to just assign whatever abilities suit the character’s concept from scratch rather than trying to model or simulate specific traits from other game systems.

That said, there are certainly some conversion guidelines out there, including from Champions and Mutants & Masterminds. Continue reading →