Emirikol and Honor Points

The other house rule I instituted before session 3 was Honor Points: The short form is PCs engaging in profligate spending appropriate to the swashbuckling nobles we're emulating are actually purchasing the equivalent of 'pick what it does when you need it' one use buffs in that mirror D&D potions. Honor Points require foregoing or pissing way GP value equal to 1.33x the normal potion cost (or 200 GP) because it can be traded for any skill buff potion at the time the PC needs it. Yes this removes some of the strategic/logistical aspect of the game but it also removes the heroes all carrying a half dozen potions, which don’t fit this genre. 

1 Point spent gives

• Athletics: +5 to Climbing and Jumping
• Hiding: +10 to hide
• Sneaking: +10 to Move Silent
• Swimming: +10 to swim
• Vision: +5 to Spot and Search
• Slipperiness: +10 to Escape Artist

2 points spent gives 

• Aid: +1 to hit, +1d8 temporary HP
• Bull's Strength: +1d4+1 for 3 hours
• Cat's Grace: +1d4+1 for 3 hours
• Charisma: +1d4+1 for 3 hours
• Endurance: +1d4+1 for 3 hours
• Intelligence: +1d4+1 for 3 hours
• Wisdom: +1d4+1 for 3 hours

One nice thing about these Honor Points from a GM perspective is that they keep the heroes from 'leaving money on the table', or failing to locate and wring value out of every last item discovered on their ventures. Rather than having them awash with cash I can just directly award them Honor Points (for winning duels or rescuing people) for doing things that nobles see as honorable and heroic. Rather than watching them try to negotiate sales of the goods in the pirates hoard they can sniff at the barrels of anchovies and bolts of fabric and leave it for the guard to sort out who it belongs to - earning one Honor Point for every 200 GP of value they don't see as worth their time. When they find artwork or magic items they don't want or can't use they can graciously donate them to the Paladins or some other charitable organization and convert them to the equivalent of potions.

Personally, I rather like this. One of the common tropes of the Musketeers and of other urban heroes like Fafard and the Grey Mouser are their boom and bust cycles, their ability to suddenly have the skills needed to respond to most situations. Honor Points support those, as some of the PCs wealth is constantly tied up in things that can't be sold or transferred for cash when their loansharks come looking for them. For anyone else looking to get a more free wheeling, less money grubbing D&D game going, I recommend it.