Hero Tokens

This is a house-rule/mechanic for use with Everway.

We allow pledges, much like in Amber. However, a pledge earn Hero Tokens, as opposed to character points. Each player starts each session with 2 Hero Tokens for every pledge they brought to tonight’s game session.

Spending Hero Tokens: At any point during the session you may spend Hero Tokens to do any of the actions on the list below.

Cost	Effect
1 or more	Improvise a small and/or logical detail into the background. The more unlikely the detail (in the GM’s opinion) the more Tokens it will cost. Examples: the keys under the welcome mat, weapons and crest of arms hanging inside a castle, a chandelier to swing from, a lone dissenter in any otherwise unified crowd, etc.
1 or 2	Causing an NPC’s Fault to manifest. This can only be done once per NPC per scene. Costs 1 for minor NPCs, 2 for major Villains. Examples: A henchman might betray his master, a cowardly or paranoid villain might flee or surrender, a prideful man would start making outrageous boasts about himself, an uncoordinated enemy might fumble and drop his weapon, etc.
3	Invert a Destiny Card that was just Drawn or Revealed. It is assumed that spending Tokens in this way sets the card to whatever orientation is best for the player who spent them. You must announce you’re doing this before the GM states whether the action that they drew a card for succeeded or failed. Example: You’re in a long battle and the GM draws “Summer Inverted: Exhaustion” for your attack. Expecting this will result in a miss or glancing blow, you spend 3 Hero Tokens to turn it into “Summer: Energy” which sounds likely to be a solid hit.
3	Gaining a significant boost in an effort that involves your own Virtue. The effect is as if your relevant Element score were 1 level higher for a single action related to your Virtue.
1 or more	Get advice from the GM when you’re stuck on how to solve a situation. The GM might say “I’ve got two bits of advice. One’s real simple and will cost 1 Token, but the really good advice will cost 3.”
2	Have a random helpful NPC arrive on the scene. If used with proper timing, this could get you an extra ally in a battle, or a friendly face in a tough situation. The GM determines which NPC shows up, but it will be someone your character knows. It might be someone you have a write-up on, someone you encountered earlier in this Realm, or we might say, “This old friend, a Spherewalker you haven’t seen in years, walks into the bar.” This effect may only be used once per session, total, by the entire group.
1	Reduce the severity of a wound as you receive it. Sucking up a wound so it doesn’t hurt as much or threaten your life so. May only be done to your own wounds, no one else’s. A minor wound is ignored for 1 Hero Token, a serious wound becomes minor for 1 Hero Token,and a lethal wound becomes a serious wound for 1 Hero Token. Must be spent at the time the wound is inflicted.

Earning more Hero Tokens:
The GMs may award more Hero Tokens as often as we see fit, and will often do so to reward good role-playing, heroic daring-do, or adding to everybody’s fun. Impress us, and you’ll reap the benefits.
Playing your character’s Fault at a critical, dramatically appropriate time may also earn you extra Hero Tokens. Using Sword of Vengeance as an example: his Fault is The Unicorn Reversed (Temptation). He won’t earn a Hero Token by giving in to temptation and having a second slice of chocolate cake. But he might earn a Hero Token by giving in to temptation and being seduced by a beautiful Villain.
We’ll also sometimes offer Hero Tokens for failure. For example, you’re walking a tightrope over a 100 foot chasm. The GM might say: “I can either flip over a card to find out if you make it, or you can choose right now to slip. If you do, you’ll be dangling by your fingertips and the other PCs will have to act fast to save you, but at the end of the scene I’ll give you two Hero Tokens.”

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow:
At the end of each night, all your Hero Tokens go away, and you start out fresh next session. So don’t be stingy with them – use the darned things, especially any bonus ones we give you for the cool things you do during a session.