I like to reward players who come up with really cool ideas and actions. However the dice may not agree with what they want to do. That's where 'cool points' come into play.
Yes. I know many game systems allow for some form of this as part of the rules. If that applies to your game then you're already set.
Cool points are different than inspiration points or bennies. Here's what I do when someone attempts something that is impressive.
Unless they miss the roll by a good chunk of what's necessary to stick the landing I give it to them. That's the reward for coming up with the cool idea. They get to do it. Pretty simple, right?
It means deviating from the strict target number ideas that are embedded in many game systems. It may not be possible if you're playing online. I still need to research that one. But the basic idea is to encourage players to try new things. They may fail, they may not. But they tried.
Honestly I find this applies more to rogues than anyone else. The players who make the fancy rogues tend to want to do the cool things. So I'll use a rogue as an example.
Say the rogue wants to run the length of the table, jump on to the creature's back, stick their dagger into it, then ride down the side of it to the floor while carving a gouge out of its flesh. Pretty darn cool, right?
That's a lot of checks to make if you're going by the book. Off the top of my head that's a jump/acrobatics to get onto the table, a charge (is it 10 feet?), another jump/acrobatics to land on the creature, an attack roll to see if they can get the dagger into it, then yet another acrobatics roll to get to the floor as they intended. That's four or five different rolls and four or five different places to fail.
However it's a darn cool move if they can pull it off.
So. My ruling on this one would be one acrobatics to land on the creature and one attack. That covers getting to where they want to go and sticking in the dagger. If they succeed in both then they're going to do the damage. I'd have them do two damage rolls - the initial hit and then another one for the slice down the side. If I were feeling cheeky or if the player had been overconfident I may have them roll one more time to find out what state they're in when they land but that's situation dependent.
I've reduced the failure points significantly and in my own head I'll adjust the target numbers as I see fit. I want them to succeed on cool things but not if they're way off the mark. If they don't make the leap then of course they're not getting the attack. If they don't make the attack they're not getting the damage. If they don't stick the landing they're going to be prone, if I choose to add that one.
But in all the rolls I take into account the fact that the player came up with a really cool idea and image that they want their character to do. If I don't reward that kind of imaginative play then it's going to discourage them from trying cool things. Which I feel would diminish the player, the character, and the game. Not to mention the example it sets to the other players.
If your game allows for it let your players do cool things. Don't throw the rules out the window but pretend you don't see them if it's going to help the story along and make the player feel like they're made of awesome.
Final note here. Don't forget to reward the player with praise. Bring it up in the game if NPCs saw it. Have a bard put it into song in the next town. Let the character brag about it until the other party members want to smother them with a pillow. But one thing I don't recommend is rewarding them with experience. Not every player can or will try the cool stuff. By rewarding the ones who do with extra experience you're punishing the players who don't. Balance is the name of the game here. They tried something cool in character, reward the character.
And if they roll a 1? See my previous blog entry and be just as explicit about how badly they failed.
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