How to handle stunting?

[Talkkno]

I was wondering what you guys thought would the best way to do stunting(Such as in games like Exalted) integrated within the rules? I was thinking of giving them a free (d4) action dice to their action? What do you think?

(If you don't know, stunting is basically adding descriptive flair to a action to make things more interesting. How it is handled in Exalted is this

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(Exalted uses a d10 system, basically you roll a number of d10s=to your attribute + your skill, counting 7's or higher as success. You count the number of success, compare to target difficultly. You add 1,2,3 dice to an action, depending on how good the stunt is.

Generally this is the gist of it.
1 die: Basic description of the action
2 die: 1 die+interacting with the environment laid out by the GM, allows minor edits in the environment to suit the stunt that doesn't condirect what the GM laid out.
3 die: 2 die+it is so awesome that it can only happen once per game session.)

[aegis]

Exceptionally good description of an action is typically a fine reason for granting an action die. So yes, it's basically similar to what is used in Exalted, only the description must be really worth of a die, not just average. If the description is good but not that great, you may also grant an action die at the end of the combat or scene, if such descriptions keep on coming, rather than for each action. Normally, the die is of the same type as the starting action dice of the character, but you may change that if you like.

[Sletchman]

My rule is [and has been since we started spycraft] if they describe a stunt in a stylish fashion [doesn't have to be over the top, just something that everyone thinks is cool] I'll give them an AD of their standard size to boost that check with.

If it's something cool and inventive that overcomes a problem [getting past a fortified position in a creative fashion that no one else thought of] I might give them an AD for the check, and an additional general AD.

Oddly enough, in Exalted my group embraced stunts far more then they have in Spy/Fantasy Craft.

[Krensky]

Simple rule.

Cool stuff earns AD.

Descriptions, dialog, doing dumb stuff that's in character, wise cracks. All of them earn AD.

Frankly, I always found Exalted's system to limit the amount of cool at my table, partly because it always felt more like a bribe to get people to do more then just roll dice then a reward for doing so.

[Gilbetron]

Frankly, I always found Exalted's system to limit the amount of cool at my table, partly because it always felt more like a bribe to get people to do more then just roll dice then a reward for doing so.

Exalted also gives back Motes/Willpower, which is the real mechanical reason you want to stunt as a player.

I'd go with Exalted's tier system as laid out by the original poster.  If you do anything besides say "I hit" you get a d4 to add to that roll.  If you use the environment as well, you get a bonus action die fitting for your level that can be used on the roll or just saved.  If the description is really, really cool, I might just give them an auto-Threat, plus an action die

The other important thing about stunts is that they let you do the impossible, which is a neat rule, but only if it fits your campaign.  It's great fun in Exalted to say "as the archers unloose their arrows, I use them as stepping stones to climb my way up to the flying sorcerer" and have it happen.  In a Game of Thrones campaign?  Not so much

[Dhampire]

The other important thing about stunts is that they let you do the impossible, which is a neat rule, but only if it fits your campaign.  It's great fun in Exalted to say "as the archers unloose their arrows, I use them as stepping stones to climb my way up to the flying sorcerer" and have it happen.  In a Game of Thrones campaign?  Not so much

I've seen that done with a trail of machine gun bullets in Feng Shui, to get to the flying villian.