Pump Points
a Fate Point system for Risus, submitted by Daniel BrouwerRecently I found and fell in love with Risus. It was almost everything I looked for in an RPG. However, there was one thing I felt was missing. About two years ago I came across Fate, and while it sounded like it would be my type of game, ultimately it was too complicated for me, and I don't like reading. However, one thing stuck out to me as being genius; The Fate Point economy and how it gives players a means of affecting their story. Here is my way of adding that to Risus. It is a kind of alternative to the Lucky Shots and are essentially Fate points. Let's call them Pump Points... However, they are not a replacement to the Advanced Options of Pumping and Lucky Shots. They can be used alongside of those. The Pump Point Economy Both the game master as well as the players may choose to complicate the character's life in some way to earn a Pump Point. It would obviously be great if it can be done through a cliché, but it can also be something general.
Pump Points can be spent in a variety of ways. Bonus to a cliché A Pump Point can be spent in combat to give your cliché a bonus of +2 per Pump Point, provided the player can come up with an entertaining description of how the character is pumping.
Declare a story detail A Pump Point can be spent to create a fact that will positively affect the story outcome for a character.
Create a new cliché Quite similar to creating a new story detail, Pump Points can also be turned into a new cliché, but each point in the cliché will then cost 2 Pump Points and this cliché cannot be higher than (2) upon creation, and cannot be boosted any further by Pump Points. Also, the cliché has to have a logical connection to the scene.
It should go without saying, but whenever something is suggested, everyone should be happy with the idea. If something is a bit too out there for the game master's taste, discuss the idea a little bit to come up with a satisfying alternative. The same goes the other way around. If a player really dislikes the way their character's life is being complicated, they can turn down the offer for the Pump Point or come up with a different solution. |