House Rules

New Rules

  • Negative levels - all energy/level drains are temporary. Every 24 hours, a character makes a fortitude save vs DC of (10 + 1/2attacker's level + attackers charisma modifier) to regain one negative level. Penalties for a negative level are: -1 to skill checks, -1 to ability checks, -1 to BAB, -1 to saves, -1 effective level (for things like caster level checks), one spell slot from the character's highest level of spells. No HP or other spells are lost.
  • Refocusing initiative - grants a +20 to the character's initiative.
  • Charge - as per book except only the last half of the movement must be in a straight line, and grants the greater of +2 or 2x the character's strength modifier in damage.
  • If a 1 is rolled, it is a "critical fumble chance". The player makes a another attack role at the same attack bonus against a DC of the AC the character was trying to hit. If passed, the character recovers before something bad can happen. If failed, the character has fumbled and something goes badly wrong. Possible fumbles: stunned for a round, slip (nothing happens except character can't attack again that round), trip (defender gets AoO at attacker, character can't attack again that round), break weapon, lodge weapon (move equivalent action to dislodge it), drop weapon (move equivalent action to pick it up).
  • subdual damage overflow - once a character is at 0 HP due to subdual damage, any further subdual damage they take becomes actual damage

    1. Abilities

  • Stats are done by point buy. See DM for exact number of points in a given campaign.

    2. Races

    Races may vary from the PHB for any given world. See the world specifics for details.

    3. Classes

  • Hit dice: when leveling, roll 2 dice and take the better of the two for hit dice. If ones are rolled both times, roll one additional die and take that instead.
  • Most restrictions on multiclassing (eg Paladins and monks) are removed provided you are multiclassing for roleplaying reasons.
  • sorcerors and bards: when going up a level in that class (sorceror or bard), they can drop one spell they know and learn a different one of the same level as the one dropped.
  • bards and rangers get 6 skill points per level instead of 4, plus the extra 2 all classes get for a total of 8.

    4. Skills

  • skill points for all classes are +2 per level. At first level, use the formula (skill point in the book + int) *4 +2.
  • listen, spot, and search skills are class skills for all classes.
  • Spot, listen, and search rolls receive circumstance bonuses/penalties depending on the character's classes and background. (eg: ranger listen checks in the wilderness get a bonus, listen checks in the city get a penalty)
  • Communication skill checks (bluff, diplomacy, gather information, innuendo, intimidate, sense motive) will normally be done after roleplaying, with additional circumstance bonuses/penalties assigned based on the roleplaying (you say something clever, it's a bonus; do something dumb, it's a penalty). As well, the DM may ask for reasons for things like sense motive checks to assign bonuses/penalties.

    5. Feats

  • Feats which give bonuses (eg: weapon focus) can be taken multiple times and do stack, even if it says they don't. If there are prerequisites to taking a feat, they increase each time you take it (see DM for new prereq's).

    6. Description

  • Character backgrounds: the DM will normally require a brief character background to be written for the character. This is to get players thinking about how their character will react, and also to give plot ideas to the DM that are relevant to your characters.

    7. Equipment

  • Mighty bows: if a characters strength modifier is a minus that equals or is greater than the plus of the bow, then the character cannot even draw it and cannot use it. Characters whose strength modifier minus is less than the plus of the weapon can still use it.
  • Starter kit: unless told otherwise, every character starts with a Traveller's outfit, 2 sacks, 2 waterskins, 2 torches, a backpack, 7 days rations, a bedroll, flint and steel

    8. Combat

  • If you get a critical threat, and then on the critical roll a natural 20, you may keep rolling and multiplying the damage until you fail to roll a natural 20.
  • When two combatants have the same initiative score, their actions happen simultaneously.
  • If a character critically fumbles and the result is "break weapon", the weapon gets a saving throw vs DC 17. Wooden items get a +5 bonus, metal items a +10. Masterwork and magical weapons also add their bonuses to the saving throw. If a 1 is rolled on the save, the weapon breaks automatically.
  • If a character critically fumbles when using a ranged attack at melee combatants, they have a 50% chance of hitting an ally instead of rolling on the normal critical fumble table. If they have the precise shot feat then it is only a 25% chance.
  • If your character drops below 0 hit points, they don't bleed at the end of the round that they dropped. Bleeding begins at the end of the next round. A character may still make a roll to stabilize in the round that they dropped.

    9. Adventuring

  • XP: Currently, XP for combat is based on 75 XP times the average party level for a balanced encounter. XP for story advancement is 100-500 XP times level. The DM may deviate from these bases when appropriate.
  • Coming back from Death: instead of a permanent level loss the character (a) receives a negative level which lasts for one week (and cannot be avoided, except by True Resurrection), and (b) loses one ability point from a particular ability of the character's choice. Once chosen, each successive time the character comes back to life they lose a point from that ability.

    10. Magic

  • Special spell material components: the effect of some spells can be enhanced by using special components. For example, instead of bat guano for a fireball spell, a wizard could use the droppings of the world's largest bat instead. This would maximize and empower the spell without raising its spell slot level. These components will almost never be available for purchase, and the PC's will have to find them on their own.
  • Death Magic: any spell, spell-like, or supernatural effect which has an immediate death effect (ie save or die things) instead drops the character to -9 HP and not bleeding, but will die in (24 - caster level/hit dice(max 20)) hours unless they receive magical healing equal or greater than half your hit points. If they receive healing less than half their HP, they slip back to -9 and must start the magical healing all over again. Non-magical healing has no effect.

    11. Spells

  • Identify spell: same as in book, except it identifies 1 function per level, and can reveal multiple functions of one object (max 10 per casting). For each function beyond the first, the character must make a spellcraft check of DC 10 + number of the function x 3 (second function DC 16, third function DC 19) to interpret it properly. Missing the DC by 10 or more may result in a false reading. Once a DC is missed, the spell will not identify other functions on that item (although the spellcaster will know that more functions are left). Note that there is no way to know the number of magical functions an object has before the spell is cast, and the only way to tell if all the functions are discovered is to attempt to discover another function, which counts towards the limit that the spell can identify.
  • Haste: now provides the following benefits (basically v3.5 haste):
    1. when making a full round attack, the character gets one additional attack at their full attack bonus
    2. +1 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves
    3. +1 unnamed bonus to attack rolls
    4. +30 ft enhancement bonus to speed (to a max of double unhasted speed)
  • Harm: (3.5 harm) does 10 points of damage per level (max 150), will save for half damage, cannot reduce a creature to less than 1 hp.

    Magic Items

  • Boots of Striding and Springing: instead of doubling speed, it adds +30 to humans, elves, half-elves, half-orcs and +20 to dwarves, halflings, gnomes
  • Potions of Healing: Cure light heals 9 points, cure moderate heals 19, cure serious heals 29.
  • Keen weapons: adds +1 to the threat range instead of doubling it (ie 20 becomes 19-20, 19-20 becomes 18-20, etc.)
  • Magic item creation collaboration: more than one PC can help make an item. This reduces the total gold cost (5% if one has required feat, 10% if both have required feat) and XP cost (10% if both have required feat). The total XP cost paid will be divided by the abilities each brings to the creation (feats and spells).
  • Magic item creation special materials: using the proper materials to create a magic item can reduce the XP needed to create them. These components will almost never be available for purchase, and the PC's will have to find them on their own.

    Misc

  • Wealth is given to to the group, and will be divided by the party as they see fit.
  • All feats, skills, equipment, etc. must be from the PHB or DMG. Anything from other published books must have the actual book at the session. Anything from the web or created by the player must be approved by the DM.