Plot Armor: Difference between revisions

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** ''[[The World of Darkness]]'' games generally don't have this but in ''[[Kindred of the East]]'' [[Half Vampire|Dhampyr]] actually do have Plot Armor in the form of Passive Joss, which is a form of involuntary luck that sometimes stops them being hit by throwing freak events in the way.

** ''[[Legend of the Five Rings]]'' has Void Points pool, representing potential for harmony. They mostly are spent to boost important rolls and replenish through rest, meditation (if the character has relevant skill and sufficient free time) or tea ceremony (if one of the characters involved has relevant skill and they all have relevant implements and sufficient free time). Since mechanics is this close to [[In-Universe]] understanding, there of course are abilities powered by Void Points.

** The Games Workshop ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' game gave major characters Fate points, allowing them to shrug off wounds just ''because'' they're major characters. The number of fate points a character gets is determined by how good their final fate in the films and books is—for instance, Aragorn, Sam, Gandalf the White etc. have high fate point counts, whereas Boromir, Denethor, Grima Wormtongue etc have low counts.

** The Games Workshop ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' game gave major characters Fate points, allowing them to shrug off wounds just ''because'' they're major characters. The number of fate points a character gets is determined by how good their final fate in the films and books is—for instance, Aragorn, Sam, Gandalf the White etc. have high fate point counts, whereas Boromir, Denethor, Grima Wormtongue etc have low counts.

*** The Decipher ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' game also had several traits that allowed heroes to survive because they're heroes. One was even called "Armour of Heroes," which allowed an unarmored PC to claim protection equal to leather armor. This went away if the PC put on actual armor (you must *trust* the script immunity!), though shields were allowed. Temporary bonuses could also be gained through Courage points. And how do you gain/regain Courage points? Act like a hero!

*** The Decipher ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' game also had several traits that allowed heroes to survive because they're heroes. One was even called "Armour of Heroes," which allowed an unarmored PC to claim protection equal to leather armor. This went away if the PC put on actual armor (you must *trust* the script immunity!), though shields were allowed. Temporary bonuses could also be gained through Courage points. And how do you gain/regain Courage points? Act like a hero!

** ''[[Shadowrun]]'' has a "karma pool" for each character. You can "burn" one or more dice to give yourself a bonus to some challenging roll at a moment of dire need. The karma is gone once used, but survive long enough and you'll get more.

*** ''Shadowrun'' also has a related rule called Dead Man's Trigger. The character will still die, but by using up their entire Karma pool, they can enact one last action before expiring. This can result in the last hero standing shooting the [[Big Bad]] dead just before succumbing to all the wounds taken during the final climactic battle, making it literal plot armor... it protects the plot, even if it doesn't manage to protect the character.