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Plot Armor: Difference between revisions
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== Tabletop Games ==
* A lot (by now) games integrate this into mechanics and try to balance between "too easy to die" and "not challenging enough" is usually called Fate Points. Typically given only to PC and ''important'' NPC, and spending these allows a character a reroll, bonus or automatic success on some random check or to avoid damage. Since there are only a few, and they are usually not easy to recover, Fate Points somewhat protect from being slapped by [[Random Number God]], but not improve the character's abilities in the long run. Sometimes there's a distinction between temporary "spending" and permanent "burning" (reserved for "save-from-certain-death" options) of Fate Points.
** ''FATE''/''FUDGE''.
** ''Forgotten Futures'' uses "bonus points" (sort-of-[[Experience Points]]) for temporary boosts as well as for skill improvements.
** ''[[Hackmaster]]'' has Luck Points (Thief's class feature) and sometimes Honor Points working this way.
** ''d6'' system uses both Fate Points and Character Points this way, with different mechanics.
** Warhammer RPGs (''[[Dark Heresy]]'', ''[[Deathwatch]]'', ''[[Rogue Trader]]'', ''[[Black Crusade]]'', ''[[Only War]]'') runs with it on a rampage, introducing Traits and Talents that describe specific forms of improvement by Fate Points, or even ''only'' allow a new action "powered" by spending a Fate Point (Killing Strike - spend fate to make melee attacks in this round impossible to parry or dodge) ''and'' some check, or has different effect when it's burned (Faith Talents), or modify pre-existing uses (Charmed - 10% chance to not lose fate point; Ill-fortuned - when using fate, 7+ on d10 point is wasted with no effect), or even modifies modified uses further (Miracle Worker - once per session spend fate to activate faith power as if fate was burnt).
** Plot Points in ''[[Firefly|Serenity]]''
** Chips in ''[[Deadlands]]''
*
* The first edition of ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' described Hit Points as a combination of toughness, luck and other factors.
** This is still true as of the game's ''fourth'' edition, which also (a) gives starting characters (though, to be fair, standard monsters as well) rather more hit points than ever before and (b) introduces the concept of 'minions' -- adversaries that [[Red Shirt|specifically exist]] to be taken out by [[One-Hit-Point Wonder|the first hit]] to be scored against them and thus explicitly lack any plot armor whatsoever.
* The Games Workshop ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' game gave major characters
▲* A great many games have points you can spend on various things including not taking damage. Plot Points in ''[[Firefly|Serenity]]'', Chips in ''[[Deadlands]]'' etc. etc. ''[[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.
▲* The Games Workshop ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' game gave major characters something like "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!
* In ''[[GURPS]]'' there's an option to play a "cinematic campaign", which basically allows the DM to run the show based on [[Rule of Cool]]. Characters start out with ''twice'' the normal point allowance (and they're considerably more badass than ordinary people to begin with), they get special bonuses in combat, and they can save an unspent character point or two to shake off a bad injury as "just a flesh wound."
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