New Game Mechanics

=Hero Points= Instead of hit points, characters in Star Wars have hero points. The concept here is simple—you are considered to have suffered no significant, truly debilitating wounds until you reach 0 or fewer hero points. After being so wounded, you can go into the negative hero point count to a number equal to your Constitution score before dying. For instance, a character in Star Wars with a Constitution of 14 isn’t killed until he reaches –14 hero points.

When you reach zero or fewer hero points, you can only take move or standard actions on your turn, but not both. In addition, when reduced to 0 hero points or below, you have a 90% chance of losing 1 additional hero point whenever you make a physical action (moving, attacking, or using a Force power). If you roll 10 or under on 1d100 when making an action, you do not lose a hero point from this gradual loss again until the next time you are knocked below 1 hero point.

Recovering Hero Points
Characters regain hero points equal to their level + their Con modifier each time they are able to get eight hours of rest.

Characters with the Heal skill can restore lost hero points at an accelerated rate (see the Heal skill). In addition, the Force Power Body Adjustment is also capable of restoring lost hero points.

=Action Points= Action points give you some control over poor die rolls. Although this can have little effect on an average battle, it makes it a little more likely that your character will survive extreme challenges and less likely that the character will fall to what would otherwise be an "average" foe because of bad luck. A reserve of action points lets even a careful player expose his characters to more risks, heightening the game’s tension and opening the door to even more heroic action. Action points also makes it less likely that an entire adventuring group will fall victim to one powerful effect, such as a power that kills on a failed save.

Action points also make it more likely that the use of a character’s most potent abilities will be successful.

Acquiring Action Points
A beginning (1st-level) character starts the game with 5 action points. A character above 1st level starts the game with a number of action points equal to 5 + 1/2 his current character level.

Every time a character advances, he gains a number of action points equal to 5 + 1/2 his new character level.

NPCs and Action Points
Most NPCs won't have action points, unless they are central NPCs or villains.

Using Action Points
You can spend 1 action point either to add to a single d20 roll, to take a special action, or to improve the use of a feat.

You can spend 1 action point in a round. If you spend a point to use a special action (see below), you can’t spend another one in the same round to improve a die roll, and vice versa.

http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/7831/actionpointsbq9.gif

When you spend 1 action point to improve a d20 roll, you add the result of a 1d6 to your d20 roll (including attack rolls, saves, checks, or any other roll of a d20) to help you meet or exceed the target number. You can declare the use of 1 action point to alter a d20 roll after the roll is made, but only before the GM reveals the result of that roll. You can’t use an action point to alter the result of a d20 roll when you are taking 10 or taking 20.

Depending on character level (see table), a character might be able to roll more than one d6 when he spends 1 action point. If so, apply the highest result and disregard the other rolls. A 15th-level character, for instance, gets to roll 3d6 and take the best result of the three. So, if he rolled a 1, 2, and 4, he would apply the 4 to his d20 roll.

Special Actions
A character can perform certain tasks by spending an action point. In addition to the actions described below, some prestige classes or feats (see below) might allow the expenditure of action points in order to gain or activate specific abilities, at the GM’s option.

Activate Class Ability
A character can spend 1 action point to gain another use of a class ability that has a limited number of uses per day.

Boost Defense
A character can spend 1 action point as a free action when fighting defensively. This gives him double the normal benefits for fighting defensively for the entire round (+4 dodge bonus to AC; +6 if he has 5 or more ranks in Tumble).

Emulate Feat
At the beginning of a character’s turn, he may spend 1 action point as a free action to gain the benefit of a feat he doesn’t have. He must meet the prerequisites of the feat. He gains the benefit until the beginning of his next turn.

Extra Attack
During any round in which a character takes a full attack action, he may spend 1 action point to make an extra attack at his highest base attack bonus. Action points may be used in this way with both melee and ranged attacks.

Power Boost
A character can spend 1 action point as a free action to increase the effective caster level of one of his powers by 2. He must decide whether or not to spend an action point in this manner before manifesting the power.

Stabilize
Any time a character is dying, he can spend 1 action point to become stable at his current hero point total.

Miscellany
The game master can give the player the option of using an action point to accomplish whatever heroic feat that the game master sees fit, perhaps with little or no additional rolling. This use of an action point is entirely at the game master's discretion.

Improving Feats
The use of action points opens up a whole range of possible feats. However, it’s easier on characters simply to improve existing feats to take advantage of action points—that way, characters needn’t spend their precious feat slots simply to gain the ability to use their action points. Below are a few examples of how action points can be used with existing feats. Unless otherwise stated, each effect requires a free action to activate and lasts 1 round.

Blind-Fight
You can spend 1 action point to negate your miss chance for a single attack.

Combat Expertise
You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus to Armor Class granted by the feat. For example, if you take a penalty of -3 on your attack roll, you gain a +6 dodge bonus to AC.

Dodge
You can spend 1 action point to increase the dodge bonus granted by the feat to +2. The effect lasts for the entire encounter.

Improved Critical
You can spend 1 action point to double your critical threat range. Since two doublings equals a tripling, this benefit increases your threat range from 19-20 to 18-20, from 17-20 to 15-20, or from 15-20 to 12-20, including the effect of your Improved Critical feat. This benefit stacks with the benefit from Improved Critical, but not with other effects that increase threat range.

Improved Initiative
You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus on initiative checks granted by the feat, from +4 to +8.

Power Attack
You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus on damage rolls granted by the feat. For example, if you take a penalty of -3 on your attack roll, you add +6 to your damage roll.

Power Penetration
You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus on caster level checks granted by the feat, from +2 to +4. The effect lasts for the entire encounter.