Courtroom Reviews: Mythic Heroes

[Libertad]

Courtroom Reviews: Mythic Heroes

Did you miss me, Min-Max?

Mythic Heroes is basically a system modeled upon The Hero's Journey, where the PCs represent character archetypes from this work.  The archetypes can interact with each other, and whose game mechanics build off of the archetype's abilities and themes.

Specifically, the book mentions that the system's meant to be used in low-magic campaigns where amazing feats are not regularly accomplished through the use of spells and magic items.  Quite a tall order, considering how vital these two things are to a 3.X party.

Action Points

The rules require the use of Action Points.  Much like Mutants and Masterminds' Hero Points or Star Wars' Force Points, Action Points are a limited resource PCs gain to spend on doing cool stuff.  The entire section on Action Points is Open Gaming Content, so I'm going to post it in sections with my comments below.  The next character covers archetype uses of action points.

Action points differentiate heroes from ordinary characters: by spending action points, you can activate heroic abilities, improve the results of your die rolls, recover after combat, and more.

A character can spend an action point to do any of the following:

Improve a d20 Check

This is the most common use of action points. You can spend an action point to improve a single d20 roll used to make an attack, a skill check, an ability check, a level check, or a saving throw.

When you spend an action point in this way, you roll an action die (usually, a d6) and add the result of the action die to the result of your d20 roll to help meet or exceed the target number.

A character can even decide to spend the action point to alter a d20 roll after the roll is made—but only before the GM reveals the result of that roll (whether the roll succeeded or failed).

A character can’t use an action point on a skill check or ability check when he or she is taking 10 or taking 20 (it may only be used to improve a random roll); and you cannot use an action point on a d20 roll that is not a “check” to determine success or failure (for example, when rolling initiative).

A d6?  Really?  This isn't really much of a boost for low-magic characters.  There's already spells which do this better (that 2nd level Cleric one which grants a one-use +20 bonus to a skill, can't remember the name), or eliminate the need to roll a check entirely.

Activate a Heroic Ability
You can activate a feat, a class talent, or class feature with a number of uses per day, or for which the expenditure of 1 action point is required. When a character spends 1 action point to use a class feature, he or she gains the benefit of the feature but doesn’t actually roll an action die. In this case, the action point is not a bonus to a d20 roll, it is merely spent to activate the ability. If the ability is usable a certain number of times per day, spending the action point does not count as one of your daily uses.

In the D20 SRD, "Spells" are listed under "Class Features" for relevant classes.  Spells have a limited amount of uses per day.  It doesn't list spells, but under a literal reading one could use Action Points to get additional spells per day.  In a low-magic 3.X campaign.

 

Emulate a Feat
A player may spend an action point to gain the benefits of a normal feat he does not have, provided he meets the prerequisites. For example, a character who already has Power Attack may spend an action point to gain the benefits of Cleave. When you use an action point in this way, the benefits last for but a single round (until the start of your next action).

Potentially useful, depending upon the source books allowed.  But most feats are rather bland, and the 1 round duration is quite limited.

There's a Wizard Spell in the Spell Compendium which allows you to get multiple Fighter feats.  Once again, spells are superior to this alternative.

If you have Tome of Battle (which you should if you're doing low-magic), you can spend an action point to get Martial Stance or Martial Study, greatly increasing the versatility of martial characters.

Make a Heroic Strike
You can spend an action point to “strike true” against an opponent with damage reduction.

This option is particularly important in low-magic campaigns, when the GM wishes to use monsters with Damage Reduction (vampires, lycanthropes, demons, golems, etc.) but magic weapons are in short supply (or even non-existent).

By spending an action point, if you successfully strike the opponent, your weapon deals damage normally, as if it had all the criteria necessary (magic, silver, good, etc.) to bypass DR.

Usually, you will want to make your attack roll first, and spend the action point after confirming that the attack was successful. In this case, you gain the benefits of Heroic Strike only for that single attack.

If you are able to attack more than once in a round, you may choose to spend the action point before your first attack. In this case, you gain the benefit of Heroic Strike for all of your attacks in the round, but you will not have the advantage of knowing whether or not any of those attacks will actually hit.

A nice boost, although keep in mind that this is "per attack" as opposed to the entire encounter.  Potentially useful if you're going up against a single big bad, but greatly decreases in usefulness against multiple opponents with DR.  Magic Weapon spell does this, but with a longer duration.

Improve Your Defense
You may spend an action point at any time to improve your AC by the amount rolled on the action die. You can even choose to spend an action point after the GM has rolled his attack roll, but before he has informed you of the result of the attack.

This bonus lasts until the start of your next turn and applies to all attacks against you. You may not spend an action point in this way if your AC has already been increased by spending an action point.

Can potentially be a good combat buff at low levels, but only on a high roll.  Spells already grant a static bonus which can improve, as well as grant concealment and eventually incorporealness.  It's an unnamed bonus, meaning that it can stack with multiple sources without replacing them.  One of the more useful applications.

Confirm a Critical Hit
If your attack roll is a natural 20, you score an automatic hit, and you may be able to spend an action point to turn the hit into a critical hit.

If the roll is a critical threat and result of your attack roll would ordinarily hit the target, then you may spend an action point to turn the strike into a critical hit.

If you require an automatic hit to strike the target— that is, a natural 20 plus the total of your roll plus all bonuses still does not equal or exceed the target’s AC— you cannot spend an action point to confirm a critical hit.

Blargh!  This would've been really useful for crit-focused builds, but it doesn't have good synergy because it can only be spent if you rolled a "Natural 20."  It's no more useful on a keen rapier than it is on an unenchanted flail!  Not only that, the result must also be capable of normally hitting the target otherwise!  Come on!

Confirm a Critical Success with a Skill
If you roll a “natural 20” on a skill check, you can spend an action point to turn a skill check into a critical success.  The results of a critical success are better than a “normal” success; see the Skill and Combat Challenges chapter for details.

Since this is in another chapter, we'll hold off on it until later.

Healing After Combat
Immediately after any combat, you may spend an action point to heal a number of hit points equal to the amount rolled on the die.

In low-magic campaigns where magical healing is in short supply, it is recommend that an action point spent to heal after combat be an exploding action die (see below).

It can't be used during combat, limiting its potential.  Gaining 1-10 hit points back per action die roll is chump change in comparison to Cure X Wounds, Heal, Regeneration, and Vigor spells.

The "exploding die" is a variant which means that you roll the action die result again if you get the maximum result (4 on a 4, 6 on a 6, etc).  This continues until you roll less than the maximum.  It only raises the averages a little bit, not enough to put skill checks and healing on par with spells.  Plus it's a lot more random.

Spending Multiple Action Points
You may spend more than one action point in a round, but never more than one action point for the same purpose.  For example, you could spend an action point to activate an ability, and another action point to improve a die roll, but you could not spend two action points to improve the same die roll or to activate the same ability twice in a round.

Cuts down on possible cheese, but given what I've seen so far I don't think that this will be a concern at all.

Replenishing Action Points
You begin play with a number of action points equal to 5 + one-half your character level (round down). Thus, 1st level characters begin play with only 5 action points.

Your GM decides how often your supply of action points replenishes, according to the desired threat level of the campaign:

x Each Game Session: In this variant, designed to keep the action flowing (and the characters alive) your action points replenish at the beginning of each session of play.

xx Each Character Level: In this variant, your action points replenish only when you gain a level. Each time you
gain a level, your action points “reset” to 5 + one-half your new character level.

In either of these first two variants, if you have more action points already (because you have gained action
points during play— see below) you may keep the higher total.

xxx Never Replenish: In this grim variant, your action points never replenish. They represent the finite amount of luck that your hero can rely on. The only way to gain action points in this variant is to have them awarded to you by the GM.

The "x"s are skulls in the PDF, btw.

Given that the book's main focus is to act as a replacement system for magic items and spells (which can be permanent and/or replenish per day), the first option is the only sensible one to take.  The second option means that action point uses will replenish every 1.5-2 game sessions on average, while option 3 is defeats the purpose by forcing PCs to hoard them unless the DM is generous with hand-outs.

Speaking of hand-outs...

Gaining Action Points During Play
There are a number of ways you can actually gain action points during play. The GM does not have action points to spend; instead, he can “spend” an action point by awarding an action point to one of the players. Most of the time, action points are gained as a “consolation prize” when the GM inflicts some calamity upon your character, usually as a result of a bad roll on your part or a stroke of luck on your enemies’ behalf.

This is borrowing the idea of Hero Points from Mutants and Masterminds, where PCs gain points from GM fiat which inconveniences the PCs.

Activate a Critical Failure with a Skill
At his discretion, the GM may award you 1 action point in order to activate a critical failure for a skill check (see Appendix).

Activate a Critical Hit
At his discretion, the GM may award you 1 action point to activate a critical threat scored against your character.

Activate a Critical Miss
When you make an attack roll and get a natural 1 (the d20 actually shows 1) your attack automatically misses. In addition, this is a threat for a critical miss.

If your attack roll would normally hit (despite rolling a 1), the attack simply misses. The GM may not activate a critical miss.

However, if your attack roll is a 1 and would normally have resulted in a miss despite being an automatic miss, at his discretion, the GM may award you 1 action point and activate a critical miss.

The GM is free to determine the effect of a critical miss as he sees fit. Some common examples include dropping your weapon, being stunned for a round, striking another adjacent target by mistake, or even striking yourself.

There is no limit to the depravity of the GM in these situations, so take what comfort you can from your extra action point.

Need I mention that Critical Fumble systems really suck for the PCs?  On average they hurt PCs more than individual monsters, because the PCs will be rolling the majority of failures in the gaming session.  Except in this variant, critical misses only effect PCs.  That 1 Action Point is just a bandage on a bleeding wound.

Heroic Rewards
At the end of a session of play, your GM may award you an action point if your character was played particularly characterfully or heroically.

The GM may rarely, and at his discretion, award your character an action point during play for particularly heroic actions performed at the dramatically appropriate time. Remember that all characters are expected to be heroic; it would be rare indeed to find a character so heroic as to earn more than one action point during play.

Characterful is actually a word.  Don't know about characterfully.

Rewarding bennies/hero points/etc. for role-playing and heroism is a time-honored tradition in tabletop RPGs, so I have nothing to complain about here.

Tasty Snacks
The GM may award you an action point before play begins if you show up for your gaming session with tasty snacks to share with the group.

This is the only serious rules system I know of where bribing the Dungeon Master with food grants you in-game benefits.

New Action Die Concepts
The Mythic Heroes rules that follow take the concept of action dice a step beyond, through the introduction of several new concepts that are available only to characters in a mythic campaign.

Shadowed

When an action die is shadowed, roll two action dice and discard the lower die. Take the result of the higher die.

If the higher die roll is an exploding die, it may continued to be rolled. If both action die rolls display the maximum result, however, only one die is used and becomes an exploding die.

Doubled

When action die is doubled, roll two action dice and add the results together.

If either of the dice is an exploding die, it may be rolled again and the results of all rolls are added together.

If both die rolls display the maximum result, both are exploding and may continued to be rerolled. The results of all action dice are added together.

Shadowed and Doubled

When an action die roll is shadowed and doubled, roll three action dice, drop the lowest die and add the results of the highest two dice together.

If either of the two highest dice is an exploding die, it may continue to be rerolled.

BEHIND THE NUMBERS
What effect do shadowed and doubled dice have on the
results of action dice?
Die  Type I Average Result: Normal I Shadowed I Doubled I Shadowed and Doubled
d4                                          I +2.5 I +3.125      I +5          I +5.9375
d6                                          I +3.5 I +4.472      I +7          I +8.458
d8                                          I +4.5 I +5.8125    I +9          I +10.969
d10                                        I +5.5 I +7.15        I +11        I +13.48

Basically, certain archetypes can apply the shadowed and doubled conditions to die rolls.  These can potentially be useful, depending upon the kind of roll.

Action Points vs. Magic Items
Using the guidelines presented in the DMG for determining the market price of magic items, we have estimated the average value of an action point based on all of the various ways that they may be spent (improving an attack roll, a skill check, a saving throw, emulating a feat, healing, etc.).

To replace magic items with action points and keep the characters’ power on approximately the same track as the PC Wealth guidelines presented in the DMG, you could begin shadowing certain action points at 4th level; doubling at 8th level; and shadowing and doubling at 10th level.

Eh, magic items are still a lot more versatile than bonuses to die rolls.

The last page also has a sidebar for the exploding die variant (which I discussed earlier under 'healing'), and replacing the action die with a better die every couple of levels.  At 1st-4th it's a d4, 6th-10th a d6, 11th-15th a d8, and 16th-20th a d10.  The text acknowledges that when used in conjunction with exploding die, low-level characters are much more likely to roll the maximum result.

Thoughts so far: Underwhelmed.  The book was written in 2005, far before Tome of Battle, Spell Compendium and supplement bloat.  But it was written far enough into D20's history that there were lots of spells and magic items in books.  Even by the standards of its year it doesn't measure up.

Next Chapter, the Mythic Campaign, including descriptions of the 7 archetypes.

[Libertad]

Apologies for the 24-day hiatus.  Job-related stuff came up, and I ended up with less free time on my hands.

Archetypes

Okay, archetypes are basically the Heroic Roles from the Fantasy Adventures Chapter of True20.  Only this time Mythic Heroes preceded them with a d20 version.

Basically, archetypes are pseudo-templates added to the character, which provide additional features every level.  Here are a few universal traits:

Mythic Gifts are abilities much like class features.  They have improved versions following Roman numerals (I, II, III, and IV), and better version supersede earlier ones.

Mythic Skills are basically key improved skills bestowed upon you by Mythic Gifts.  Basically, Mythic Skills can be shadowed, doubled, or both with advancement.

The Unfolding Myth allows you to switch your advancement track to another pre-selected archetype at 6th, 12th, and 18th level.  Once you leave your archetype, you can never return to it.  You can choose to remain on your current path.  In fact, there are no other benefits at these levels other than the opportunity to change.

Mythic abilities primarily deal with how players can spend their Action Points.

Many abilities are based upon one's Mythic Level, which is generally equal to your character level unless you change archetypes.  In the case of archetype swaps, advancements from one archetype don't carry over or stack with others.

The Hero
The Hero is traditionally the protagonist of the story, and he is opposed by “The Enemy.” The Enemy may take many forms, from the tangible and the terrifying, such as a monster, to the more obscure, such as “death.” The Hero’s mythic journey is defined by his seeking out and conquering the Enemy.

The Hero often comes from a mysterious background, and it is clear that he possesses abilities far beyond those of most men. Even so, the Hero is not invincible, and he must be wary of his flaws, particularly the temptation to
abandon his journey.

Usually, a Hero possesses those qualities that his society deems “good” and opposes those that embody “evil.”

A Hero is often accompanied on his journey by one or more companions or guides, and they may not understand or agree with the Hero’s goals. In fact, the Hero himself may discover that what he finds at the end of his journey is not at all what he thought he was seeking.

At level 1, a Hero can choose 3 skills to be Mythic skills.  Balance, Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Disguise, Drive, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge, Listen, Perform, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Survival, Swim, Use Rope.  The Action die is shadowed when spent to improve their skill checks.  At 5th it's doubled, at 14th it's both shadowed and doubled.

Level 2 grants Hero's Blade, increasing the hardness of weapons by 1/2 your Hero Mythic Level.

Level 3 is Last Best Hope, where the Hero gains an action point if the entire party is out of points.

Level 4 is Heroic Smite, which adds the action die to a damage roll for a weapon or spell which requires an attack roll.  Not multiplied on a critical hit.  Level 8 it's shadowed, level 13 doubled, level 18 shadowed and doubled.

Level 7 grants Heroic Immunity, where you choose one spell, spell-like ability, or supernatural ability possessed by the Enemy (main antagonist of the campaign).  Spend an action point to gain immunity to it for a number of rounds equal to the result.  Levels 11, 15, and 19 follow the similar shadow/double/shadow-double routine.

Level 9 grants Heroic Resolve, grants immunity to fear effects for a number of rounds equal to action die results.  At level 16 this covers mind-affecting effects as well.

Level 10 grants The Elixer, which grants an unnamed bonus to a single ability score equal to 1/2 your Hero Mythic Level, and lasts a number of rounds equal to the Action Die result.  Level 20 a single use applies to all ability scores.

Thoughts so far: Some nice buffs, although they do not make up for the lack of magic items in a low-magic campaign.  I can tell you that this is going to be the case for the rest of the archetypes.

Next up, the Shadow.

[Libertad]

Archetypes, Part 2

Since a lot of the archetypes follow a similar program, I'll quickly wrap things up with a more brief overview.

The Shadow

According to Jung, the shadow is a mysterious part of the unconscious mind that is opposed to the conscious mind.  So it is with the Shadow and the Hero.

The Shadow can be impulsive, instinctive, and irrational, but he is not necessarily evil, even when it appears so.  What we fear in the Shadow is nothing more than what we fear in ourselves.

The Shadow possesses only a pale reflection of the gifts of the Hero, but he also amplifies the Hero’s flaws, turning them to his own benefit.

Like the subconscious mind, the Shadow is an important source of hunches, particularly as pertains to finding the Enemy. The Hero may come to rely on the Shadow’s intuition in seeking out the Enemy, but he can never be sure whose side the Shadow is on until that final confrontation occurs. The Shadow is as passionate in conflict as he is in friendship.

Basically the Shadow is the Hero's anti-hero foil.  Their mythic skills draw off of stealth and social stuff, and most Rogue skills.  Mythic abilities include Shadow's Edge (gain action points if the Hero uses one and has less than you), Shadowfear (Frightful Presence with enhanced stuff at II, III, and IV), The Enemy Revealed (detect the direction of the Enemy), Hero's Shadow (shadowed/doubled/etc action die when doing the same d20 roll as the Hero), and Shadow's Price (take an action die from the Hero), and Shadow's Boon (bonus to ability score).

Nothing special here, either.  Also more situational and dependent, as it relies upon there being a Hero PC.

The Fated

“Participate joyfully in the sorrows of life.”
—Joseph Campbell

The third “face” of the protagonist (along with the Hero and the Shadow), the Fated embraces the suffering that must be endured if the mythic journey is to be completed.

To the Fated, it often seems as if the suffering is the journey. He must learn to resist this temptation to surrender. It is clear that Fate intends some final confrontation, and though the Fated may finally find sweet release, he must ensure that he first succeeds in the task
that has been set for him.

The Fated recognizes that life is hardship, and that one must embrace the gift of life especially in the face of pain and suffering.

The Fated has no Mythic Skills.  Due to emphasis on suffering, their abilities focus on survival and absorbing/deflecting damage and bad die rolls.  Abilities include The Anvil (gain DR equal to action die for non-lethal damage), Long-Suffering (shadowed/doubled/etc action die for recovering hit points after combat), Fickle Fate (gain action point on a Natural 1, and re-roll 1s additional times on II and III), Fate Intervenes (become dying instead of dead with an action point, automatically stabilize), Battle-Hardened (convert lethal to non-lethal), and Renewed Vitality (spend action die to recover hit points even in combat).

Purely defensive, and even at higher levels the action die damage reduction won't be enough to make up for the massive damage rolls of high-level monsters and spells.  Also doesn't save you from save or dies except if you roll a Natural 1.  Major oversight.

The Mentor
The Mentor is typically represented by an older, wiser, father-type figure who uses his personal knowledge to offer guidance— often mystical— to his companions.

There is a sense that the Mentor has seen it all and done it all. Where his companions fail time and time again, the Mentor always seems able to succeed, no matter the task.

Yet despite this, the Mentor accepts that his role in the world is passing. He knows that he will never be the Hero; the best that he can hope to achieve is to ensure that the Hero succeeds.

In this way, the Mentor writes his name into myth and legend.

Basically the Mentor is the skill-user archetype.  Most of his abilities revolve around this, including Watch & Learn (shadowed/etc action die when performing the same d20 roll as an ally), Mentor's Gift (give your action points to allies per session, once per PC per session at II), Mentor's Influence (shadow/etc. ally's action die), Hidden Skill (one additional class skill), Mentor's Boon (gain action point if an ally's check succeeds due to your action point), Desperation (gain ranks in untrained skill equal to Mythic Level), Heroic Example (reduce/increase ally's action die by one die type), and Mentor's Passing at 20th level (if you die, allies regain all their action points, or +1, whichever is greater).

Incredibly weak, could have potential CharOp shenanigans with the right skills and party.

The Oracle

In myths, the Oracle can appear as a wizard, a priest, a doctor, a teacher, a father, or some other authority figure.

Like the Mentor, whose role in the mythic journey is to help the Hero overcome obstacles along the way, the Oracle’s role is to point the way to the journey’s end. He provides information and spiritual guidance, and wields significant magical powers.

By definition, the Oracle has some kind of magical or mystical powers that simply may not be appropriate for all campaigns. If you are playing in a campaign that does not feature spellcasting of any kind, the Oracle is an inappropriate archetype, and should not be made available as a choice.

However, without several of his key abilities, the players may have trouble completing the mythic journey. To compensate, you may allow the Shadow, the Mentor, or the Maiden to substitute an equivalent level Mythic Gift for any of the following Gifts from the Oracle:

Augury; Prescience I, II, and III; True Sight; Prophecy.

The Oracle is the most overpowered of the archetypes.  Their shtick revolves around improving spells.  Their Mythic Skills are generic Wizard and Cleric skills.  Their Revelation ability grants the opportunity to learn one new spell known/spellbook, for a total of 4 Revelations across the levels (3rd, 7th, 13th, and 19th).  At 2nd level they can cast Augury by spending an action point, same with True Seeing at 10th, and at 20th they gain Prophecy (ask DM number of yes/no questions equal to action die roll, with 90% truthfulness).  There's also the COMPLETELY OVERPOWERED Irresistible Spell (increase DC of spell by action die result) they gain at 11th level.  Thankfully it has no II or III version to shadow/double/etc the result.

The Oracle's other abilities include Prescience (allows ally PC to spend action die after DM informs him of the success or failure of roll, shadow/double at II and III) and Mystic Adept (action die for caster level checks).

If you're a spellcaster, be an Oracle.  No brainer here.

Also exacerbates caster/noncaster balance in a low-magic, low-equipment game.

The Trickster

As a companion on the mythic journey, the Trickster is both a destroyer and a savior. He plays with the laws of the universe, sometimes maliciously, but usually with ultimately positive results.

The Trickster rebels at authority, questions everything, and shatters conventional ways of thinking. He helps his companions to try new solutions, forcing them to break free of their preconceptions. The Trickster enjoys creating convoluted schemes (some of which may actually work).

The Trickster can be foolish or cunning, funny or deadly— or all of these at the same time.

Basically the Trickster is an archetype which has abilities which activate based upon the luck (die rolls) of your party members.

Their Mythic Skills are Rogue-type stuff, Mythic Defense (shadows/etc action die for improving AC and saving throws), Trickster's Aid (shadows/etc action die on aid another checks), Devil's Luck (if you and all your allies fail a saving throw, you all spend an action point to re-roll, II all but one needs to fail, III only you need to fail), Ill-Will (if an ally spends an action die, you spend an action die to gamble on their failure, gaining 2 if they fail), Good-will (spend an action point if an ally fails a check with an action die to allow a re-roll), Opposition (shadowed action die when performing an opposed d20 check), Trickster's Twist (spend an action point to have an ally re-roll an action die), and Final Betrayal as a capstone ability (after an ally rolls an action die, spend an action point to take that result for yourself on your next roll.  Can't use in conjunction with Ill Will).

The Trickster is probably one of the more useful archetypes, as re-rolling die rolls is a very powerful ability for PCs of any level.  This one's behind Oracle in terms of power and versatility.

The Maiden

The Maiden represents the goddess; Nature; the giver and the destroyer of life.

It is not necessary that the Maiden be female (though this is usually the case), only that the Maiden represents a companion on the mythic journey who must be protected.

Thus, you will occasionally see a child or elderly figure, male or female, filling the role of the Maiden. In fact, the Maiden could just as easily be a trusted steed or animal companion as a ‘human’ character!

The Maiden protects and heals her companions, inspiring them to great deeds— unfortunately, usually at the cost of her own safety, or by putting her companions into harm’s way.

Like its True20 counterpart, the Maiden is a passive role which I can't see most players choosing.  Also doesn't have much in the "destroyer of life" category.

Mythic Skills are drawn from Ranger and social skills.  The archetype's abilities include Helpless (subject to attack, spend action die to switch places with an ally within 5 feet; II and III add shadowed/doubled action die to ally's AC), Mythic Healing (spend shadowed/doubled/etc action die to heal number of hit points to ally equal to result, IV grants heal spell once per game session as spell-like ability), Desperation (if you're helpless/unconscious/dying, your allies' action die results are shadowed/etc), Maiden's Lure (if you have less action points than an ally, take one from their pool once per session, once per session per PC at II), Protector's Boon (ally who switches places with you gains action point if successfully hit with attack), and Ultimate Sacrifice as a capstone ability at 20th level (restore someone to full hit points if dead, dying, or disabled, but you die in exchange).

I can see some potential abuse with helpless, but it requires you to be effectively out of the fight (unless you take the Diehard feat).  It also smacks so much of Damsel in Distress that it's just plain unappealing as an option.  Your entire shtick is being saved by other PCs!


And that's all the archetypes!

Thoughts so far: Strongly leaning towards Guilty.  The last section left is Skill and Combat Challenges, and even if they're stellar Mythic Heroes has failed in its stated goals.  All but two of the archetypes are too weak to make up for the lack of magic items in a 3.X campaign.

[Libertad]

Skill and Combat Challenges

Yeah, these are pretty much the Challenges from True20 Adventure Role-Playing, with the inclusion of new skills (Drive and Research from D20 Modern, which are not detailed in this product).  They also add Critical Successes and Failures, additional effects which occurs on Natural 20s and 1s (respectively).

Critical Failures
If you roll a natural 1 (the d20 actually shows a “1” result) your check may result in a critical failure. Not all skill checks are appropriate for critical failures; activating a critical failure is at the discretion of the GM. In order to activate a critical failure, your GM must award you
an action point. If the GM chooses not to award you an action point to activate the critical failure, the skill
check proceeds as normal—in fact, you may have enough bonuses, or the DC may be so low, that a “1” result could very well indicate a success anyway.

However, if the GM activates a critical failure, your skill check is an automatic failure, and in fact may carry harsher penalties than an “ordinary” failed skill check.  You may not spend the action point awarded by the GM—indeed, you may not spend any action points at all—to improve the result of a critical failure. The results may be harsh, but the awarding of an additional action point softens the blow somewhat: Your character learns quickly from critical failures and is invigorated to do better next time—if he survives the critical failure, of course!
Some skill checks are made secretly, by the GM. In these cases, the action point is not awarded until you become aware of your failure.

Critical Successes
If you roll a natural 20 (the d20 actually shows a “20” result) your check may result in a critical success. In this case, you must spend an action point in order to activate the critical success. You are not required to activate a critical success; again, a critical success is not appropriate or required in all situations. If your skill check is a critical success, you can choose one of the following two options:

• Retroactive Skill Challenge
If your skill check is a critical success, you can retroactively choose the benefits of any challenge listed for that skill.

To accept a challenge retroactively, total your skill check: the natural 20 you rolled, plus all other applicable bonuses. If the result is 5 points or less above the required DC, you gain the benefits of a single challenge (either one of the standard skill challenges or
one of the unique skill challenges listed for your skill). If the result is 5, 10, 15, or more, you can accept multiple
challenges if the skill allows.

Insurmountable Success
If your skill is normally an opposed skill (for example, Hide vs. Spot, Bluff vs. Sense Motive, etc.) then your skill check automatically succeeds (even if your opponents total is otherwise higher) unless your opponent also scores a critical success on his skill check.
Note that if you spend an action point to activate a critical success, but your roll of 20 plus all bonuses still indicates a failure due to a particularly high DC, your skill check still fails, and you may not activate a critical success. Some successes are out of reach, even when your character performs flawlessly. Your GM may advise you if such is the case before you spend your action point, though he is not
required to do so.

I'm not going to list them all, but a few of the more interesting challenges include Balance (Rapid Movement: double your movement rate when balancing), Bluff (Conversational Paralysis: daze opponent for 1 round from an outrageous and confusing bluff), Hide (Rapid Movement: move up to normal speed), Jump (Cunning Leap: leap over threatened squares in combat to avoid attacks of opportunity), Listen (Pinpoint Noise: determine the square an unseeable opponent is in [total cover, invisible]), and Use Magic Device (Intimate Familiarity: you don't need to roll a second check for an additional use, basically 2 free uses for 1 successful roll).

Combat Challenges are similar to skill challenges, except they involve stuff like attack rolls, damage rolls, and armor class.

There are only 7 of them:

Hamper Movement (-2 on attack roll to reduce foe's speed by 5 feet), Frenzied Attack (-4 to all attack rolls that round to gain an additional attack as part of a full attack), Wild Swing (-2 attack/+1 damage trade-off), Fight Defensively (-2/-4 attack for +1/+2 AC), Defensive Roll (gain 1/2/3 DR for -2/4/-6 AC), Reckless Strike (-2/4/6 AC for +1/2/3 attack or +2/4/6 damage), Lashing Strike (-4 attack for one additional attack of opportunity for the round).

Nothing revolutionary or powerful, except a few skill challenges.  I can see a Rogue benefiting nicely from Conversational Paralysis.

And that's it. Mythic Heroes is done!

Final Verdict Guilty.  All of these proposed solutions (action points, archetypes, challenges) do not make up for reducing the amount and magnitude of spells and magic items in 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons.

[Garryl]

Did I miss something, or do all of the mythic archetype abilities rely on spending an action point in some way?

[Libertad]

Did I miss something, or do all of the mythic archetype abilities rely on spending an action point in some way?

Yes, in almost all cases.

[Garryl]

Did I miss something, or do all of the mythic archetype abilities rely on spending an action point in some way?

Yes, in almost all cases.

Yuck. That's nearing uselessness in character level and never replenish AP rules. Not that the abilities are really stellar to begin with.