Overclock and end-of-session points

#Rules

OVERCLOCK:

At the start of the session, there are a eight "Overclock" points in circulation. Half of these are allocated to the players. The other half are allocated to the GM. These may be spent in play for any of the uses provided below (their cost in Overclock points is given in brackets). Once an Overclock is spent, it is given to the other side (so if the GM uses Overclock, the players gain 1 to spend later).

• Second Chance (1× Overclock): Re-roll your last success roll (unless that resulted in a critical failure).
• Buying Success (2× Overclock): Immediately after rolling a success roll that results in a failure, this can be activated, converting it into a success instead. A critical failure is converted into an ordinary failure.
• TV Action Violence (1× Overclock): If struck by an attack (including a rapid-fire attack that inflicts multiple hits), the hero can choose to convert their failed defense roll into a success. This costs them 1 FP and they lose their next turn. The hero cannot spend FP to avoid attacks that inflict no damage, such as a grapple. Likewise, he cannot avert attacks on his weapons or non-living possessions.
• Flesh Wound (2× Overclock): Immediately after you suffer damage, you may declare that the attack that damaged you (which can include multiple hits, if your foe used rapid fire) was a glancing blow or “just a flesh wound.” This lets you reduce the final injury from that attack to 1 HP (or FP). If the hit inflicted knockback, knockdown, stunning, unconsciousness, crippling, or the like, those effects persist.
• Player Guidance (1-3× Overclock): A player can spend points to add a plausible element to the scene or game world. They may only do so immediately after making a success roll and obtaining a success or a critical success, or in a situation that didn’t call for a roll in the first place. They cannot mitigate the effects of failure or critical failure this way – that’s what Buying Success (above) is for! In addition to being plausible, the suggestion must be acceptable to the GM and the other players. The GM should go along with suggestions that are imaginative, move the plot forward, or save a PC’s life. The GM should not approve a suggestion that would short-circuit the plot, contradict a previously established fact, or harm or steal the scene from another PC. In borderline cases, the player(s) and GM can negotiate. After weighing the above considerations, the GM sets the price for the proposed addition to the scene or world:
  • Minor (1× Overclock): An element that fits the scene perfectly – one the GM might have included if they had thought of it first.
  • Moderate (2× Overclock): A believable coincidence or addition.
  • Major (3× Overclock): Something that, while plausible, stretches disbelief – anyone watching would find the result quite unexpected!
    If the player proposes this addition after rolling a critical success, and wants the effect he’s proposing to replace the usual benefits of a critical success, reduce all of these costs by 1 point, to a minimum of 1 point.
    Note - Only suggestions offered with one particular PC or player’s personal benefit in mind cost Overclock. Players ought to feel free to propose interesting plot directions without fear of being charged for it! A useful test is for the GM to ask himself whether they would award bonus points (see "End of Session Points" below) out of gratitude for a wonderful idea. If he would, then it’s simpler to incorporate the recommendation, avoid the accounting, and neither charge nor award points. And when the answer to “Who benefits?” is “The entire group, including the GM, because it tells a better story,” it should never cost anybody anything.

Some villains ("bosses") will be "Dangerously Overclocked" - a rating from 1-5. This gives them the following benefits:

• When they spend an Overclock, they roll 1d. If the result is equal to or less than their Overclock rating, they retain the Overclock point - it is not flipped!
• When an encounter begins, the villain starts the encounter with a minimum of their rating in Overclocks - if they do not have enough, flip over PC Overclocks.
  In general, a "boss" rating is dependent on its BAD value (see Action 2), divided by two (rounding up).

Maybe have it be a more flip-the-overclock system (kinda like Genesys) where the party start the session with 0.5 overclocks per player (and the GM also has 0.5 overclocks per player), and players can "invoke a disadvantage", which drags an overclock back to themselves away from the GM. With Overlocks and bosses, still roll to see if it actually gets flipped.

Points at end were previously

• Worked together directly to achieve something
• Used up all the party communal overclocks
• Brought a snack to the session
• Had a disadvantage come up that meaningfully affected play

Maybe now:

• Brought a snack to the session.
• Introduced a new concept to the world that fits in perfectly.
• Had a moment of intimacy/bonding/connection with another character
• Invoked a disadvantage

[INFO]- Why were the end-of-session points changed?
4 points were gainable per session. Previously, these were the ways points were gained.

1. Brought a snack to the session
2. Used up all the party communal overclocks
3. Had a disadvantage come up that meaningfully affected play
4. Worked together directly to achieve something

These were intended to encourage players to perform acitivities that would be good for the health of the game/session. (1) was to make sure everyone brought a snack. (2) was to encourage people to try the Impulse Buy system, but to also encourage higher-risk cinematic behaviour. (3) Was to make sure players actually made their disadvantages come up, so they weren't just "free points". (4) was to encourage party teamwork in piratey ways, but was intended on the more micro-level.

1. "Brought a snack to the session" was a success - people brought snacks to sessions.
2. ''Used up all the party communal overclocks" would only generally be a consideration in the last 30 minutes of the session, and would generally feel forced. Players were already inclined to try higher-risk activities because o the Impulse Buy system. This should be changed, and given I'm looking to revamp the Impulse Buy system it should be replaced anyway.
3. "Had a disadvantage come up that meaningfully affected play" wasn't very successful - in general, it didn't really encourage players to make sure that their disadvantages actually affected them - it was more of an end of session thing where they'd be like "hmm oh yeah this came up".
4. "Worked together directly to achieve something" - not sure this was successful. The party worked together because that's what parties do - I don't think end-of-session points improved this"

They will be changed as follows:

1. This will be kept.
2. and (3) will be merged into "invoked a disadvantage". This will encourage players to make their disadvantages come up. There is a risk here that players will get infinite Impulse Buys with this, and would potentially require the nerfing of Flesh Wounds and Buying Success.
3. Will become "had a moment of intimacy with another player" - mirroring the Urban Shadows system - getting players to connect with one another beyond the dice.
   ?) A new one - ""
   So I'll keep
   If Overclock can be flipped, no longer get one for having a disadvantage come up. Replace with "introduced a new concept to the world". Also, with the flipping Overclocks, having "used up all overclocks" no longer makes as much sense?

Felt like everyone always got a "worked together with someone else" point. Changed this to be similar to the Urban Shadows moment of intimacy.

Overclock uses I should consider:

• Buying Success (pp. 4-7);
• Buying Failure (p 4), to accept pain and death before talking under interrogation;
• Dooming Foes (pp. 5-6), because mooks have no rights;
• No Nuisance Rolls option in Perking Things Up:
• Buying Success (p. 6);
• Defense vs. Effect (p. 6);
• Player Guidance (pp. 7-9), to ensure suitable scenery for stunts;
• almost all of Perking Things Up: Player Guidance (p. 9);
• Survival (pp. 10-11), particularly Flesh Wounds (p. 10);
• Dramatic Death
• Sartorial Integrity options in Perking Things Up: Survival (p. 11);
• and that timeless classic, Bullet Time (p. 15).