Fortune Coins

hero-coin
#1

I have a mixed feelings about Hero Coins. It goes back to 5E and Inspiration, at first it looked like a great idea until I realised that I forget them completely on most sessions and players also forget them.

I’m also not a big fan of having to give them out. Some tables I have some quiet players and other that steel that are more active and it’s hard to deliberate what kind of thing to reward.

This all changed when I played a Zweihander campaign and discovered the Fortune Coins. They are very similar to Hero Coins / Inspiration but they start on the table already and float between players and DM.

Here is my take on it for Crown & Skull:

Fortune Coins

At session start, add players+1 Fortune Coins to the pool. GM takes one; players roll D6, 1-5 they get a coin, else GM takes a coon. When a GM uses a coin, it goes to the pool; when Players use one, it goes to the GM.

  • Players: Reroll skills, max damage, extra action, change phases
  • GM: Break status and player rules, activate Character Flaws, choose enemy tactic

Some context on break status and “player rules”: Let’s say a PC is using a Halberd, DM can use a coin to negate the “halt a target’s progress” and allow it to move further.

Activate Character Flaws: bring the spotlight to a character flaw that might add complication to the scene.

#2

Different strokes. In my games, handing out hero coins is literally one of the best parts of being a DM, as on-the-spot rewards for literally anything cool or fun is hugely delightful for everyone at the table. I also find it way easier than the five or so bullets you have there for how fortune coins work.

That being said, it’s almost a universal truth in my experience that players love consumables of some type to help give them an edge. In that vein, rock on!

#3

I make my Hero Coins used by making situations dangerous and the players are FORCED to use them so they don’t forget.

On the other hand, if the player does something very good or rolls a critical and I don’t know what else to give them, I’ll give them a Hero Coin for ingenuity, quiet or loud. I also use Hero Coins as In-World rewards that aren’t quite a new piece of equipment or a spell. Examples of this are:

  • PC spends time with the community in a way they find stress relieving
  • Gain a blessing from a Church/Temple/Shrine before their travels
  • Take time to repair equipment and eat well in preparation
  • Do something in town that moves their personal involvement or story forward
  • Pay their debts
  • Carouse!
  • Show vulnerability to the world

Mind you, that they can only have one Coin at any one time, so they can do all these things in town and they’ll only get the one.

#4

What happens to the coins still in the pool after the roll?

#5

I agree, I love the idea, unfortunately I’m not very good at rewarding the players this way. :sob:

I tend to like more objective and opinionated rules and Zweihander fortunue coins was a great finding and I was very happy to see this mechanic on S&C. I think the coins are a great tool for players to overcome challenges.

Indeed, players love consumables. And it’s important to get them in situations where they really need them, otherwise they start to hoard them.

#6

Oh yeah, I totally agree. Scenes must be interesting, full of important decisions and the most important thing, dangerous and they really need the coins to get out of these alive.

Oh, I like the idea of integrating the downtime with the coins. Ill definitely try that! Thanks!

#7

Hey BlazingPolyhedron!

So they go back and forth from GM to players. When they spend it goes to the GM pool where they get out of a bad situation.

Here is how it work on Zweihander (both PCS and NPCs can use these):

-Re-roll a failed Skill Test (unless it’s a Critical Failure)
-Gain an additional Action Point on their turn
-Cause a Fury or Chaos Die to be read as a 6

On the starter set there is an advanced use where the players can use a coin to “modify the story” without contradicting anything that already happened. Example: a player can use to say that he know something about a NPC, or have been to a certain place, etc.

#8

I do like the way Zweihander did it, because it was a give and take relationship between the players and the GM.

Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPG had a similar set up with Light side and Dark side points, where the players would roll at the beginning of the session how many points will be available and if it starts off with more Light Side (available to players) or Dark Side (For the GM’s use for the adversaries). There will be sessions where there are a lot of points available, but there may be sessions with little to nothing available.
When the points were used by one side, it would FLIP to the other side (Players use light side and turn it into a dark side point for the GM to use later).

#9

That’s awesome! Ill add to my reading list. I’m yet to play a Star Wars game :slight_smile:

#10

Here is the link that talks about them. They are called “Destiny Tokens”

#11

I hand out Hero Coins for great roleplaying or creative problem solving but the HC gets rewarded to the table.

#12

I just purchased some coins from Amazon. I won’t post the link here (for fear of being banned), but the exact title/description is…

Renaissance Themed Gaming Coins - Jumbo 35mm 6-Pack, Novelty Fantasy Replica Coins