Hi,
I agree that Action Points and Story Points, etc are two very different things though I have similarly ranging thoughts on including them in a role playing game. To me, a lot would probably have to do with who I am playing with, what it is we are trying to accomplish (as players), and what it is we are trying to accomplish as characters (in the game).
With Action Points, for a lot of undertakings that may end up being too cumbersome for a casual type game, but if a game involves infiltrating a base, or boarding a ship, or something like that, and all the players are up for it I could see maybe trying to play it out as a Snapshot or Azhanti High Lightning like scenario (similar to how some people may play out ship combat as a Mayday or Brilliant Lances scenario, etc.) But in the end, I'd think I'd still use something along these lines sparingly as part of an overall adventure.
As for Story Points etc, if the group I'm with is just trying to do a "we're just normal characters in space" type game then I could see the point in not using them at all, but part of me thinks that maybe if they are used really sparingly, and if there are potential downsides to using them, I might consider them. Specifically, here I would be thinking of a situation where someone may need to "call on everything that they've got" for a particularly dire situation, such as trying to outrun someone, or trying to lift a heavy weight off a fallen friend etc.
In cases like this I could see maybe making the potential for damage being a part of "pushing the character" beyond their normal limits (such as temporarily reducing the characters strength for a while to reflect the straining of some muscles and/or a temporary reduction in all mental and physical stats, etc to reflect exhaustion etc.
However, if as a group me and my friends are playing a more general "merry band of adventurers" type game I could also see maybe allowing a thief to use a story point etc to help with picking a lock, or a computer expert using them to help with breaking into a computer system, or even an athletic character using some to help throw a stone hard enough, accurate enough and far enough to knock out a camera or sensor etc. if it fits with their character.
Overall though, as I noted it kind of depends on the group and what we are trying to play at.
One thing I have noted about some games I've seen that use story points (and the like) though involves when and where they can be used, and I kind of have split thoughts on this as well. On the one hand, if someone throws something etc, then to me that throw is what it is, and no amount of "wishing the rack to its target" etc seems like it would make any difference. As such to me, it would seem like in such a case the player should probably have to expend his story points before making his "roll' to see if he is successful.
On the other hand, if someone is doing something that might take some time and effort and they can see that they are struggling, I could see that maybe they might be able to "dig down deep in side" to make an extra effort to try and avoid failure, and as such, in situations like these, if a player makes a bad roll, I could see that maybe it might be ok for the referee to allow them to try and use some story points to "go that extra distance' to succeed.
What has kind of gotten me though in watching some games where story points have been used is where someone will set out to do something (that may be risky by nature) but won't even think of expending any sort of story points (or extra effort on the part of his character) unless the roll comes up too low, at which point he tries to kind of barter his way up to a better result by looking for stuff he can exploit to raise his score. To me that kind of takes away from the game in general and really seems more along the lines of "gaming the system" than playing the game.
Don't know if any of that really helps.
PF
