Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jesper 11-12-05, 05:31 PM	ok guys lets hear them all here are some of mine 1. we give small exp alotment if the player gets a drink\snack to the dm when he asks for it 2. we only allow the phb at the table 3. we mix rules from certan sets 4. we give role playing exp 5 we allow the pcs to play whatever type of charter they want (as long as it meets ecl requirmetns) 6 we allow all feats\spells\templates from books we own
Thulsa Doom 11-12-05, 05:57 PM	Here's one I use, and I think it's pretty cool.... Vile darkness, Exalted deeds, Draconomicon, Libris mortis and Planar handbook are books that must be found in the game world in order to gain spells from them ( just copies of them, not the actual Vile & Exalted artifacts...) All except spells from those books can be used without finding them... Makes them more inquisitive and appreciative of those spells... :cool:
Rogal Dorn 11-12-05, 06:09 PM	ok, here are mine: 1. if you constantly ask the DM stupid questions, a tank will fall on your head (that is not a joke. it HAS happened more than once...) 2. armor gives damage reduction 3. customized set of base classes 4. roleplaying exp are awarded or withdrawn for constant metagaming 5. no spell slots, but spell points 6. arcane corruption 7. dm looks more kindly on people feeding him (i wonder who doesn´t)
celtredleg 11-12-05, 06:20 PM	For my current high powered campaign. 1. "heroic" template added to PCs 2. Use action points from Black company setting 3. Every PC has the personal hatred of a major evil NPC.
FriendoftheDork 11-12-05, 06:28 PM	is this about table rules or game rules? Table rule: Common sense applies, there has never been a problem. House rules... alot.
AlphaSquirell 11-12-05, 06:52 PM	Rules disagreement = what DM says goes (I don't let our party look up rules to prove me wrong, as I often look them up myself when in doubt) No shop has any item available if you metagame to get it. (I need a trident to fight with my net to get this feat = no trident in 1,000 mile radius, while I need a trident, ALL HAIL PSIDON! = trident almost for free) No PrC may be chosen unless DM says so. (usually players have free reign with creating their character, but not with PrC) Players trying to take a major hand in creating someone else's character often find that their character isn't very strong, no matter how much they metagame/powergame. Saying "I know what that is!" Immediately results in shock of the character, stunning him for the first round or so of combat. (only 2 of the 7 in our group really know what that stuff is, so they get in BIG trouble when they metagame, because they don't share their knowledge or tell others what it is) Role-playing gives extra EXP. Roll-playing takes extra EXP. Team players get team rewards. (1 guy goes scouting, and any volunteers to go with him increase both his and their own reward, likewise for keeping watch at night) If we have a get-together, NO D&D unless everyone can make it. Our group would go on without someone, and have before, one of those times it was ME! Before I was DM, of course, but then again, they tried to get a game together for today/tonight, and were going to play even though the DM and 2 guys (both the tanks/melee fighters) couldn't make it. Thankfully, the agreed to play without any exp or items/gold. (our former DM WAS going to be there, and was going to run the game) Giving snacks to the DM as a bribe ONLY helps you if the DM specifically asks you for the snack. (I'll ask the guy who is getting "butted out" by the other players, or the guy who isn't getting a chance to talk, for something to drink, and then reward him, which USUALLY gets the others to shut up for a moment or so) Stupid actions reward consequences equal to that if the actions were real. ("I charge the Tarrasque!" = instant death, no chances, because it was pointless/stupid, and our group has plenty of that to begin with)
prawn 11-12-05, 08:15 PM	For my current high powered campaign. 3. Every PC has the personal hatred of a major evil NPC. I am so totally stealing this idea. Great!
Always-Late 11-12-05, 08:43 PM	For my campaign: All mechanical rules. Monstrous armor isn't going to fit you. (IE, kobold armor fits kobolds. And thats it.) You'll have to do some work before you can get it to fit a halfling, even if its goblin armor. (Goblin armor takes less work than kobold armor, of course.) You can finesse any one-handed weapon, if you reduce the damage die by one. (d6 to d4, d8 to d6.) Fly is a fourth level spell. There is no such thing as teleport. You can apply the enlarge spell metamagic feat on dimension door any number of times. The second time you use it, the spell range quadruples. 3rd time, it gets a x6, 4th time x8. (If you use it four times, you can go 400x2x4x6x8 ft, or 29 miles.)
olshanski_home 11-12-05, 10:42 PM	FEATS: TOUGHNESS grants 1 hp per level (minimum 3). The Toughness feat stacks with itself. DIEHARD character auto-stabilizes and dies at -20 HP. NEW FEATS: SPELLCASTING SYNERGY: With this feat, a spellcaster's may add any non-class levels to thier "Caster Level" for calculating spell effects, up to as many levels as they have of their primary spellcasting class. IE: A Wizard 5/Cleric2/Ftr4 Casts wizard spells as if they are 9th level and cleric spells as if they are 4th level. Caster Level is used for spell effects, not for number of spells known or any other class attributes. This can be selected as a wizard bonus feat. The purpose of this feat is to make multi-class spellcasters more palatable. (see also "Spell Penetration" below) REACH WEAPON TECHNIQUE: With this feat, a combatant can use any reach weapon against foes that are adjacent and at reach. This can be selected as a fighter bonus feat. The purpose of this feat is to make other reach weapons as useful as the spiked chain. CLIMBING: Climbing requires the use of two free hands. Climb checks with only 1 free hand are made at a -10 penalty. You only need one hand to hold on to a cliff, so while climbing, you could end your movement and cast a spell with one hand, or even draw a one-handed weapon and attack. This does not require additional concentration or additional climb checks. GRAPPLING: A humanoid needs at least one free hand to initiate a grapple (grab hold). If you have a weapon in one hand and a shield in another, you cannot initiate a grapple. (unless you drop either the weapon or the shield) You need 1 free hand to make initiate a grapple check, unless the grapple check is an attempt to escape the grapple. You can make an OPPOSED grapple check as a free action even if your hands are full, this represents wiggling and kicking. If you are denied the ability to take an action (cowering, dazed, dying, helpless), you are denied the ability to make an opposed grapple check. When a creature attempts to grapple another creature of equal or larger size, it must move into that creature's space (as described in the PHB) to establish the grapple. If the creature initiating the grapple is LARGER than the creature getting grappled, it can instead pull the smaller creature into its space. This "pulling" action does not incur attacks of opportunity from other creatures nearby. PRONE/UPRIGHT: If you are prone or standing at the beginning of the grapple, that is the position you stay in during the grapple. There is no penalty for grappling while prone, nor is there an advantage to grappling against a prone defender. If you are prone while grappling, you can stand up with a successful grapple check opposed by any other grapplers that do not want you to stand up. Standing up in this manner provokes AoO as normal from anyone outside the grapple, though not from people within the grapple. On a successful grapple check, you can choose to force an opponent prone, though you do no damage in the process. EJECTING PEOPLE FROM A GRAPPLE: On a successful grapple check, you can throw any PINNED enemy grappler out of the grapple and into any adjacent square. You can also throw a willing grappler out of the grapple, as long as the willing combatant is NOT PINNED. You can eject the grappler into any square that you can reach with your natural reach. The grapple check can be opposed by anyone in the grapple that does not want the combatant thrown out of the grapple. If the grappler getting ejected from a grapple was prone at the time of the throw, he remains prone once ejected. If he was not prone at the time of the throw, he is not prone after the throw. The purpose of this rule is to allow a fighter to "rescue" a weaker character from a grapple, and it allows for throwing people off the sides of bridges, into pits, and other actions of that nature. SKILL CHECKS (clarification, not a new rule): You can take a 20 on a search for traps, Open Lock, Escape Artist. You cannot take 20 on disabling device, Knowledge, Sleight of Hand, tumble, climb. You can take a 10 on almost everything if you are not threatened. DIPLOMACY: This is used to change an opponents attidue, not make them retarded. If someone is under strict orders to kill you, they will not disobey thier order, and diplomacy isn't going to help. If a monster is extremely hungry, diplomacy will not help (unless an alternate food source is provided). Diplomacy is the art of avoiding trouble. If you are already in trouble, it is probably too late to use it. COUP DE GRACE: For creatures with reach, any threatened square is considered an adjacent square. TUMBLING: If you start a tumble action from a prone position, this adds +5 to the difficulty of the tumble check. SPELLS: A character can use thier ECL instead of "caster level" for purposes of overcoming spell resistance. This is used so that multi-class casters are not hamstrung when fighting foes with SR. counterspelling while invisible does not break the invisibility effect. If you have "silence" cast on you, and you walk near an enemy spellcaster, this does not break the invisibility effect. Freedom of movement grants +20 to any escape artist or opposed grapple check. This stacks with the +10 granted from Grease. (ie, freedom of movement does not equal immunity to grapples). Freedom of movement does not grant you a swim speed (for purposes of making swim checks), but it lets you move in any direction at your normal character speed (as if you could fly through water with perfect maneuverability). TURN UNDEAD: Turn Undead is a 20 foot radius burst centered on the cleric that does damage to undead at a rate of (cleric level+Cha modifier-turn resistance)*1d6. In other words, a 4rd level cleric with 16 Cha trying to turn a ghoul does (4+3-2)d6 or 5d6 damage. A greater turning is maximized. Bolstering undead can be used to heal undead or increase thier turn resistance. Rebuke undead uses the standard PHB mechanic. DEATH'S DOOR: Instead of falling unconscious at -1 or fewer HP, a character can instead crawl 5 feet or talk. A character with -1 or fewer HP cannot cast any spell, activate any magic or mundane item, make any skill check, or make any opposed grapple check, and they are considered helpless if someone attempts a coup-de-grace against them. A character who engages in this activity does not get a 10% chance to stabilize. Once a character attempts to stabilize, they are unconscious and can no longer take any actions until they are back to 0 or more HP. The sole purpose of this rule is for characters to give a cinematic dying message, or to perhaps crawl out of a dangerous area before collapsing. RULES FOR THE DM: Monsters use the standard or elite array as appropriate. Monsters may be advanced, in which case the players will get advice from the DM like "This X looks bigger or tougher than others you've commonly encountered". If it is a totally new creature, there will be no warning (approach with caution). The DM rolls all monster attacks, damage and saving throws in the open. When a player needs to make a saving throw, the DM announces what they need before they roll. The DM describes the monster's state of health as it gets closer to death. When a monster chooses to attack a particular player, The DM will either roll randomly (for dumb opponents) or verbalize the monster's general thought process (for smart opponents). In order for the players to better determine when they need to retreat. The DM will never fudge dice under any circumstances. If the dice dictate that characters are killed, then they are killed. The players have plenty of opportunity to asses the challenges they are facing, and can usually take measures to flee or insure thier character's survival. If a character is killed and the player whines, complains, or generally makes a pest of himself, he will be booted from the group. The DM strives to make encounters that are challenging. The rare overpowering encounters will have clear and obvious warning signs that the party can choose ignore. EXPERIENCE AWARDS (clarification): Experience awards are granted strictly by the book. If a lucky turn attempt ends an encounter before the undead have a chance to react, the party gains full experience. If the BBEG fails a suggestion to "put down your weapons and negotiate peacefully", then the party gains full experience. "Story Experience" is granted only when called for by the module or by the campaign. It is not granted for colorful in-character dialogue. Colorful in-character dialogue is expected. All players share in experience regardless of individual contribution. A rogue who sneaks out at night and does solo recon work shares his experience with the group. A bard who roleplays a dramatic dialogue with officials of the government shares his experience with everyone. The purpose of this rule is to maintain party cohesion, to encourage teamwork, and to discourage lone-wolf behavior. It also reduces any chance of DM favoritism. Characters are never penalized for bad roleplaying by a player. If a player behaves inappropriately (cheats, failes to bathe, etc) he is booted from the group. Any real-life issues with playing are dealt with in real life, not in the game. If a player is not present, and the party is in a dungeon, one of the other players will run his character. It is possible that the character will die while the player is absent. DM may adjust experience a little bit to make even numbers or if people are within 2% of each other they may be averaged for ease of bookkeeping. CHARACTER DEATH: A replacement character starts with experience equal to the same as thier previous character, minus 500*level. All replacement characters start with only 1/2 of the expected wealth. The purpose of this is to dicourage needless death, and to prevent a party becoming too wealthy due to "harvesting" dead party members.
syrinth 11-12-05, 10:52 PM	Curative spells: Requires a DC of 5+the original DC to restore ability damage/drain or remove/neutralize poison. Plane Shifting: Requires a Knowledge(Arcana) or Knowledge(Religion),as appropriate, to leave the plane DC 20 and a Knowledge(The Planes) check DC 20 for Inner Plane, DC 30 for Outer Plane and 35 for Deity specific plane. Resurrection: Can turn out wrong, only used when required. Parrying: Once per round may attempt to parry an attack. Make an attack roll is it is 50% higher then the opponents attack the damage is instead directed against your weapon. Jump: Low grav jumping. If you can make the check you jump the distance in one round. Diplomacy/Bluff: Do not necessarily work as written. NPCs can use them against players. Bluff only makes the target believe that one believe what you are saying. Monster Class system is used.
Conshey 11-12-05, 10:55 PM	lets see...hmm fun 1. psionics is banned from PC play, Its a society thing. i love psionics 2. snacks are browny points 3. role playing is rewarded, and roll playing is sufficating your character 4. game mechanics take control when you make a stupid mistake, alot of people do stupid things, and they pay for there mistakes ingame, and also the same CR. I as the DM will always know how to kill you with a creature with a CR less than yours :)
zaduma 11-12-05, 10:58 PM	Permanancy as a a Metamagic feat that ups spell slot up by 4.
Gnome_Dragon_Disciple 11-12-05, 11:17 PM	Here's something I'm toying around with: No Con bonus to HP. Instead, you apply one-half your con bonus as DR/-. At low levels it makes characters a little more survivable, methinks, since DR 3/- could easilly be worth 9 extra HP at level one for a Fighter while that same +3 Con mod would only be worth three HP for that same fighter at level one. Once you hit levels 12-15, though, unless you've been EXTREMELY generous with magic items, it will make those already too-tough characters a little easier to kill (or at least, make them think they're going to be killed).
Zetakya 11-12-05, 11:36 PM	At character creation (and at no other time), players may choose not to learn an additional language due to high INT, and instead gain an additional skill as a class skill for all purposes. This is subject to DM approval for the specific skill chosen.
Phrennzy 11-13-05, 01:17 AM	Toughness: Grants the next level of Hit Die. (d8 becomes d10, d10 becomes d12) Max out at d12. May be taken more than once (so a wizard could go from d4 to d6 to d8 to d10 to d12 by using 4 feats). Adds one hit point per level as well. Turn Undead: Any attack on the undead will break the turning, even if the attack comes from someone other than the turning cleric. (Although I would never have the bad guy attack his own undead to break the turning. That's stupid and metagaming.) Death: Death comes at -20 hit points. From -1 to -19 you are dying. Raise Dead: Raised PCs come back one level lower, at a point (xp wise) based on where they were at the previous level. New PCs: New PCs come in one level lower than the average PC level. They get wealth as per the value table, with DM approval on all items, and no more than 1/2 on one item. Background: The more background you provide, the more plot hooks you get. Err: I choose to err on the side of the player. When in doubt, things will be decided in the player's side, to keep the game fun. Dice: Everyone rolls everything out in the open, including the DM (Although I hate rolling damage dice out there, because it never seems like the dice are big enough). PCs will die if the dice so indicate. Fudging: Fudging will not happen with the dice rolls, but rather with the HP of the monsters, or the DC, or what have you. And fudging is rare, and used primarily to end a boring or very long fight. (A dramatic blow that leaves the dragon with 1 hit point will actually kill it.) Rules Questions: In depth conversation is put on the back burner. DM rules, and will give explanations for the ruling, but arguments will wait. (Here is where I err on the player's side). Any 'seat of the pant' ruling is understood to be for that encounter only, subject to change. Questions are often put up on these boards, for the advice of the respected DMs (and the general rabble as well).
orionm42 11-13-05, 10:00 AM	Toughness: Grants the next level of Hit Die. (d8 becomes d10, d10 becomes d12) Max out at d12. May be taken more than once (so a wizard could go from d4 to d6 to d8 to d10 to d12 by using 4 feats). Adds one hit point per level as well. Seems pretty powerful. Just out of curiosity, do most of the PCs in your campaign take this feat?
Temrek 11-13-05, 10:19 AM	Seems pretty powerful. Just out of curiosity, do most of the PCs in your campaign take this feat? It grants an average of 1 extra hitpoint per character level, not horribly broken. I think this versoin is better then just 1 extra hp/level as it does not allow Korgin the dwarven barbarian to get ultra sick hp.
orionm42 11-13-05, 10:34 AM	It grants an average of 1 extra hitpoint per character level... An average of two HP per level (he said it also adds one hit point per level in addition to the hit die change).
olshanski_home 11-13-05, 10:50 AM	I think giving 2hp per level is a bit higher than I would prefer, but not game-breaking. I don't often see tough folks people dying due to hit points... They are at least as likely to die due to ability damage, negative levels, death effects, petrification, or coup-de-grace.
Rhomphaia 11-13-05, 10:50 AM	Not too much for the group I play with. We just did some mechanic stuff that makes sense. Races Half-elves do not get the +2 racial bonus to Diplomacy and Gather Information checks. Instead, they gain bonus skill points the same way a human does. Half orcs do not recieve a -2 to Charisma. Everyone knows half-orcs are generally ugly, but other than some societal factors, a half-orc raised among humans can be every bit as personable and likable as a human. Death Characters do not necessarily die at -10 hp. This number is dependant on a character's Constitution score. Apply the modifier, in reverse, to -10 to find out the character's death threshold. For example, Bob the fighter has a 14 Con, so he dies at -12, but his buddy, Tim the wizard, only has an 8 Con, so he dies at -9 hp.
orionm42 11-13-05, 11:05 AM	I think giving 2hp per level is a bit higher than I would prefer, but not game-breaking. I don't often see tough folks people dying due to hit points... They are at least as likely to die due to ability damage, negative levels, death effects, petrification, or coup-de-grace. Agreed. I guess I am just looking at it from a fighter's perspective. They have so many feats available, they could burn two or three on this version of toughness and wind up with more hit points than a barbarian. Plus, they would still have more feats available for attack chains. To me, this rule seems to take away the one advantage the barbarian class enjoys over the fighter. Anyway, it does not really matter. It is his game and he can do as he likes. I just think it is an interesting rule and I was curious about how popular it is in his game.
Discordia 11-13-05, 01:34 PM	Experience and Role-Playing Awards: I don't bother with experience as such. If the players complete a full session (what that entails is left to my discretion) and stay in character, they automatically gain a level at the end. If a player acts out of character, something bad happens to his PC. In the past, this has ranged from the PC being robbed of a few gold to being struck on the head by a mysterious falling boulder (the latter being the punishment for a fighter who repeatedly prayed to Kord for things that were way outside the god's domain). Classes: No player can have more than three classes, and only one of the three can be a PrC. Also, the player has to come up with a good storyline reason for belonging to the PrC. Charisma and Charisma-based Skills: I've always felt that Charisma is anathema to good roleplaying - a character's persuasiveness should depend on the player and his roleplaying skills. So, use of a Charisma-based skill (namely Gather Information, Diplomacy, Bluff and Innuendo) is based first and foremost on the player demonstrating his own skill in conversation/lying/whatever before a roll is made. OOC Conversations: Players are free to ask me for things outside of the game. However, if they make repeated unreasonable demands, they run the risk of in-game punishment. The One Overriding Rule: If a player wants to do something that goes against the rules but would amuse me, I allow it. (Example: A crazy thief in one campaign who sapped a zombie to death)
danielinthewolvesden 11-13-05, 02:31 PM	There's a forum for Houserules: http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=480 This ain't it.
niesl 11-13-05, 02:36 PM	Hm, I don't use very strict houserules for my campaigns, except for one: 1. Have fun. If you don't have fun, notify the group so the problem can be solved. Otherwise, it's pretty much an 'anything goes game'. I just expect everyone to play characters which fit in the campaign world (for example, no ninja in a medieval knight-game) but there can always be exceptions :)
Blesus 11-14-05, 03:03 AM	Here are my houserules. 1) Fixed HP gain. A d4 character always gains 2hp + Con mod. A d6 = 4. A d8 = 6. A d10 = 8. A d12 = 10. 2) The Dodge feat just provides a flat +1 to AC, no need to choose a target. 3) Armor or anything that provides a natural armor bonus gives DR instead. The Defense Bonus from Unearthed Arcana provides increase to AC (that and dex). 4) Characters die at (-10 - Con mod). For example, a character with a Con of 16 would have a Con mod of 3. As such, they would die at -13 (-10 - 3 = -13). 5) Hero Points System. Each character gets 5 hero points per in game day. They can use these to alter any d20 roll they make. Add 6 to the roll costs 1. Re-roll costs 2. Spend 3 points and the PC gets an auto 20 (must use this before they actually roll).
Arcen 11-14-05, 05:19 AM	These are for a game I play in but don't DM. - In order to convert Cure/Wound spells a Cleric must have prepared at least 1 Cure/Wound of the type he wants to convert. - In order to raise a skill when a new level is obtained you must have used that skill sometime during the last level. I find this pretty realistic. It also means you tend to end up with a lot of cross class skills. - Max HP for the first 4 levels. If you saw the stuff we faced you'd know why ;) - Only stuff from the PHB for the first 3 levels. If you want something from another book you can approach the DM after that and see if you can work something out.
fragnar0k 11-14-05, 05:53 AM	FEATS: TOUGHNESS grants 1 hp per level (minimum 3). The Toughness feat stacks with itself. DIEHARD character auto-stabilizes and dies at -20 HP. You are my kinda DM! I actually came to those (almost) exact same house rules. (In my game constitution is considered your "wounds" like in the star wars d20 game. So if you have 16 con, you die at -16. Diehard auto stabilizes, and adds ten wound points, essentially the exact same thing you did).
Darklyte64 11-14-05, 04:36 PM	Here are some of my house rules 1. If you take a second class that gives access to new weapon or armor proficiencies, you may only choose one from each group. For example, a cleric who takes a level of fighter can chose one martial weapon in which to become proficient. 2. If you do not take sorcerer at level 1, you may not level as sorcerer unless you you tell me in advance and give good story reason behind it later. 3. Magic items are not necessarily +1. 4. Sorcerers get the Eschew Materials feat for free at level 1. 5. A sorcerer or wizard may attempt to modify the effect of a spell (such as bending a lightning bolt) by making a spellcraft check, DC 15+Spell level+modifier, determined by the DM. 6. DM is always right. If you have a problem with a ruling, discuss it afterwards 7. Magic doesn't always work. If you don't know you have an additional effect (such as bonus HP or higher AC), then you don't. If you realize you have it, then you can take advantage of it. 8. Some feats require training. If you want to learn a feat that your character hasn't been working towards (such as suddenly taking point blank shot as a warrior who has never used a bow in their life), you will need to train for it in town. 9. All spells must be approved by the DM prior to selecting. This is especially true for divine spellcasters, who generally must have experianced a spell before using it (God doesn't just say "Okay, Timmy. You can use these spells now") thats all I can think of right now.
DmMagnus 11-14-05, 05:22 PM	Toughness: Grants the next level of Hit Die. (d8 becomes d10, d10 becomes d12) Max out at d12. May be taken more than once (so a wizard could go from d4 to d6 to d8 to d10 to d12 by using 4 feats). Adds one hit point per level as well. This is abit to powerful for my taste, but I dont think it is not game breaking. The barbarian doesn`t get d20s if he take this feat?
DarknessEternal 11-14-05, 07:00 PM	1. we give small exp alotment if the player gets a drink\snack to the dm when he asks for it Bribery is a very childish way to do things.
Jesper 11-14-05, 07:08 PM	Bribery is a very childish way to do things. try it before you flame it (alotments of about 1-10 exp )
Sangredwarf89 11-15-05, 04:07 PM	I love this idea, my Pcs will think I'm a genius! Thanks! SPELLCASTING SYNERGY: With this feat, a spellcaster's may add any non-class levels to thier "Caster Level" for calculating spell effects, up to as many levels as they have of their primary spellcasting class. IE: A Wizard 5/Cleric2/Ftr4 Casts wizard spells as if they are 9th level and cleric spells as if they are 4th level. Caster Level is used for spell effects, not for number of spells known or any other class attributes. This can be selected as a wizard bonus feat. The purpose of this feat is to make multi-class spellcasters more palatable. O.K. now for my table rules. 1) The Dm is always right. 2) If there is any question about anything the DM says, refer to rule #1. 3) The Dm has the right to take any non-serious comment seriously. ex. I go and smack the (obviously superior) Npc gaurd. 4) Keeping the Dm in a good mood is a good wayu of staying alive. 5) Anyone can take a shot at being Dm. (No matter how badly we "know" there gonna suck) 6) If the Dm doesn't know what it is, you can't buy it. 7) Reread rule #1. 8) If anybody has a problem with your character, keep it in the game world. 9) If the Dms not in the mood, leave him alone. 10) All loot/exp is shared EQUALLY. 11) It's not the Dms responsability to keep track of loot/monsters. 12) Back up your party members. 13) Reread rule #7 and follow its instructions. 14) Have fun with it. 15) N00bs don't "suck", you were a N00b once. 16) If the Dm wants you dead, it'll probibly happen. Thats all I can think of now. I dont have any major house rules, the game has few to no major flaws. MWCL
olshanski_home 11-15-05, 04:39 PM	I love this idea, my Pcs will think I'm a genius! Thanks! Multiclass casters are doubly screwed: 1) they lose the high-power spells. 2) they cannot penetrate SR of monsters appropriate to thier level. There is normally no reason for anyone to ever multiclass if they are going to be a caster. (except to get into very specific prestige classes). Wizards of the Coast tried to make some fixes to address this, primarily I think there is a wierd feat called "Practiced Spellcaster" which gives you some of what my spellcasting synergy feat does, but it cannot increase your caster level by more than 4. It really is not overpowering, because you do not get access to the high-power spells. A 6th level wizard/4th level fighter still doesn't get 4th level spells. His low-level spells are as powerful as a 10th level caster, but that shouldn't be much of an issue, since this is a 10th level character and any opponents are going to be balanced to take the hit from a 10th level caster. Another example: A SOR1/BBN9... he can cast magic missiles as if he is 10th level... but really, 5d4+5 isn't much damage considering that he is a 10th level character.
Bester 11-15-05, 05:17 PM	A character's favored class is the class he took at first level. Humans and other races without a listed favored class count whichever class is currently to their advantage as their favored class. -------- A half-orc gains a +2 to Str, and may choose which mental ability (Int or Cha) takes a -2. This, in my mind, balances out the half-orc as a player race. -------- All non-human characters receive the Improved Weapon Familiarity feat for their races in lieu of the extra feat humans receive at first level. In addition, all feats and requirements pertaining to martial weapons apply to their racial analogues if a character is of the appropriate race. For example: A dwarf who takes Weapon Focus: Battleaxe may apply its bonuses to a dwarven waraxe and the axe portion of a dwarven urgrosh. In a similar vein, Martial Weapon feats (but not proficiency feats) and requirements apply to their non-racial exotic weapon analogues, but only if the character already has proficiency with the exotic weapon. In this campaign, weapon proficiencies gained by class include racial analogues (if appropriate), but those gained by race do not. It's essentially the difference between knowing how to use a weapon and actually having training with it. A character may use a weapon with which he is not proficient as his primary weapon for an entire level in order to gain a proficiency equivalent to a racial proficiency. This is up to GM discretion, and will be denied if cheesed.
Koji 11-15-05, 05:20 PM	On a hit that meets, but does not exceed an enemy's armor class, half damage is dealt.
Herald@Large 11-16-05, 04:40 PM	1. No smoking at the table (I'm allergic) 2. You must own your own copy of the PHB (and have it with you!) if you want to run a spellcaster. 3. No splatbooks unless the DM okays it. 4. Actions have consequences -- no "rewinding" = Stupid Player: I'm gonna walk up to this gorgeous lady and French-kiss her. DM: She bites your tongue off. SP: Oh, I was just joking ... DM: :banghead: 5. "Barbarian" is something you are born as. If you don't take barbarian as your class at level 1, you cannot add it later.
Nahuel 11-16-05, 05:08 PM	1) DM is right. 2) DM is right, dammit! No checking rules mid-game. If you're really really sure I'm wrong, check back with me after the game. 2b) No reading the rulebooks during the game, even if you're just looking at the pictures. 3) Roleplaying awards xp, rollplaying doesn't substract xp. 4) Almost anything goes during character creation, but check with me anyway. 5) PrC have to be approved. 6) PrC generally need a test. Say if you want to be an assassin, the assassin guild or whatever isn't just going to let you in before you prove yourself worthy. 7) No flinging intestines. This happened. Don't ask. 8) At some point during every game, someone must spill their drinks all over rulebooks/character sheets/snacks. This doesn't need enforcing, it happens all by itself.
ssvegeta555 11-17-05, 04:08 PM	Here are my housrules. 1) When a wizard, sorcerer, or psion levels up and has no familiar/psi crystal he can create one even if they didn’t wait a year and day. 2) 3.5 wounding special ability are now replaced with the 3.0 version. 3) Any PC, magical item, artifact, spell, power, core class, PrC and the like need to be approved by the DM before it will be placed into the campaign. 4) The 3.5 greater maximized, quicken meta-magic rods are banned. But will most likely to be put back in when the PCs are epic. 5) Any ability granted from a class, Prc or what ever that was similar to the 3.0 rangers favored enemy is now like the 3.5 favored enemy. For example, Planer champions favored plane works the same way the favored enemy works for the ranger. 6) When any PC receives a permanent negative level they may choose what level they want to forgo, instead of the highest level they have. But they cannot do this every time. If the PC has already done it he must level up 2 times before it can be achieved again. 7) When 2 or more PCs are cooperating to make a magical item they split the exp equally among all who helped. PCs who just help by just paying gold don’t count for exp loss. 8) Using variant summoning rule form dragon magazine 302. 9) Alchemy does not require a spellcasting class to create alchemy items. 10)Metamagic rods: Metamagic rods work the same as they do expect for one thing. If you are a spellcaster who prepares their spells you use the rod only at the time of preparation. Sorcerers and bards can spontaneously apply the feat just as if they had it. 11) Not using death from massive damage rule. 12) Sorcerers are replaced with the battle sorcerer UA variant. 13) Battle Sorcerers gets eschew materials as a bonus feat at 1st level. 14) Fighters are changed a lot to better suit their versatility. The fighter is the same except noted below: Fighters are now the most versatile class in the game. When at creation, the player may choose 6 skills that count as class skills; also they get craft for free. All feats are now bonus feats to a fighter (he still must meet the requirements as usual). Choose a save as a good save the others are considered bad saves. For example: A player wants to make a swashbuckler fighter. At creation the 1st level fighter chooses Climb, craft (already for free), swim, tumble, balance, jump and escape artist. He also chooses reflex as his good save. 15) The spells Divine Power, Divine Might, and Righteous Might are banned from the game. 16) The druid feat Natural Spell is banned. 17) Weapon Groups will replace weapon proficiencies. Because of this simple, medium and exotic weapon proficiencies are removed from the game. When you select a new weapon proficiencies feat, you may choose a new weapon group instead of a new weapon of a particular class. Feats that normally apply to one weapon (such as weapon focus, weapon specialization, and improved critical) applies the feat’s benefits to a single weapon group instead. This allows PCs to be more proficient in more weapons instead of sticking with one or two. Normally battle sorcerers can only have one martial one handed weapon to be proficient in, they now get Weapon Group (basics) and one of these as their choice: Weapon Group (Light Blades) Or (Heavy Blades).
Habbalah 11-18-05, 10:54 PM	Originally Posted by celtredleg For my current high powered campaign. 3. Every PC has the personal hatred of a major evil NPC. I am so totally stealing this idea. Great! .....DAMN IT ALL! That's perfect! Steal hell I think that should be in the DMG. As for the whole bribe thing , a lot of DM's have a mini god complex as it is. Let's not encourage that. The two best Dm's I know are host's and I picture the rest are guests. If palyers act like polite guests and the dm acts like a respectable host it goes along way. As for rules I like keeping print outs of the rules and discussing them with the group for approval. I don't usually have to work extra hard to kill a pc, the op. presents itself, you just have to be creative. Stubbornness is a dms best friend (in character).
Arnkel 11-19-05, 01:10 PM	My gaming group actually voted up a rules system that is or isn't adopted before any campaign even begins. It is hardly complete, but here it is. It may seem a little draconian, but please remember that we don't really ever bother to use it, but it is there just in case(we have had a problem with some rather inconsiderate players and DMs in the past). Player/DM Attendance: 1) If 3+ players(or a majority), or the DM can't make it to the game, the game is postponed. 1a) If the lack of attendence is due to failure to procure a ride for themselves, A selected member with a vehicle(chosen by the majority) shall be called upon to round up missing members. It is the responsibility of those who use this way to get to and from the game to either pay for the gas of the driver or pay his share of the food/drink dues in addition to his own. He pays whichever amount is greater. 1b) The DM will not start the game session until all participating members have arrived. He may however run solo encounters for those who are already there. 1c) Whoever is elected "Designated Driver" gains a 20% xp bonus for the session, and first dibs on food and drink. 1d) If a game is postponed 3 times, the game is cancelled. 2) If a player is excessively late the game starts without them. 2a) excessively late counts as more than 1 hour. 2b) A late player must wait until his character can be written back into the current session to begin play, and is considered to be a missing player for that part of the session. 2c) A late player earns a 5% xp penalty for the session. 2d) If the DM is late(by more than 1/2 hour, and not because of the Driver) the food/drink is on him. 3) If the player is missing, so is his character. 3a) The character gains no share of the gold, magic, xp, earned at any point during the session he is missing from. 3b) A player is allowed to summon(and therefore play) any absent characters if he has the proper spell. 3b1. A player who has summoned and plays a character who is missing, gains 1/2 the xp that the missing player would have earned. 3b2. The DM will not intentionally kill missing characters, but NPC combatants, or other PCs might. 3b3. Summoned Missing characters may not be looted for items unless the character is killed. 4) Inactive characters are encouraged leave the table. 4a) Inactive characters are those who do not wish to do anything to figure out the current in game puzzle. A character is also considered inactive if he is not in the area where the current in game action is occuring. 4b) Keep the non-game related issues to a minimum. If you feel it is necessary to talk to other players about other things, you may leave table and return later. In Game Rulings 5) The DM's ruling during the session is final. 5a) House rules will be present at the game. 5b) If the ruling affects more than 1 character, the players may question the DM's ruling. 6) The DM reserves the right to declare some published materials not canon, or heavily modified in advance if they relate to the game. 6a) Dragon and Dungeon do not count as automatically canon, a DM must pick and choose which articles and issues he wishes to allow to count as canon. 6b) If the supplies don't directly relate to the game, or if an unforseen event causes a DM to de-canon certain material, the players and the DM must come to agreement on how much of a do-over is required. Supplies, Dues, and Cleanup 7) The player must bring his own PHB, most up to date Character Sheet, dice, and at least 1 pencil to every session. 7a) A player may bring other sourcebooks, magazines, supplies, etc. at his own discretion. 7b) A character may use another player's supplies only with the permission of that player. 7c) if you must rely on the DM for supplies, you must pay the DM's share of food/Drink costs. 7d) The DMG, MM, MMII, MMIII, Monsters of Faerun, Fiend Folio, and the current adventure module are off limits to players during a game session unless a DM rules otherwise. All such books are to be in the DM's care until the end of the session. 8) The DM shall bring all core rulebooks, the adventure, game notes, his own dice, writing implement, and other materials required for each session. Failure to do so results in the DM paying for food and Drink for the session. 9) All attendees to the session must bring something to eat or drink. If there is an agreement in place beforehand(made with the DM or the host), in lieu of food or drink, an attendee may bring money instead. 9a) If the majority of attendees fails to bring their food dues, then all food belongs to those who brought in stuff. The slackers will go hungry. 10) Responsibility for the cleanup of the gamespace falls to everyone. 10a) Failure to assist in the cleanup due to having to leave early is excusable. Reparations however must be made to the host. The designated Driver is immune to the entirety of this rule, as his patrons will make all such payments for him. 10b) Failure to assist in the cleanup due to laziness is inexcusable, and will result in the loss of all xp for your character that session, as well as his share of any loot gained. The attendee is also responsible for all food and drink costs at the next session he attends. In Game Issues 11) You have 2 minutes to make a decision on what to do in a round. The DM may vary this length for dramatic purposes(but must be declared beforehand). Failure to make a decision results in loss of action for the round. 12) Metagaming is only allowed if your character concept is oracular in nature, or if your character has the appropriate knowledge skills. It is up to the DM to determine how to handle violations, however, a 100 xp penalty should be considered standard. 12a) if the DM is the one metagaming, appropriate reparations must be agreed upon by both the DM and the affected parties.
rbrt_Spade 11-19-05, 01:27 PM	The rules above are nice! I just play by raw and basicly allow anything from my list of books. i might use some variants though. Knowing my luck, i would create a houserule that makes advanced great red wyrms with the half-fiend & ghost template look like a level one commoner.
thought_riot 11-20-05, 09:25 PM	heres a list of mine: 1) If one player cannot make the game, the game will go on with another player playing the character for that session. The exception to this is if the player that cannot make it is the host of the session. 2) If the DM or 2 or more players cannot make it, that week’s game is canceled. 3) During a session, the DM’s ruling is final. You may discuss the ruling with the DM after the session, and, if the DM agrees, it will be changed if a similar situation comes up in the future. 4) All non-Core (PHB, DMG, MM, ECS) character options, and all prestige classes, are subject to DM approval. 5) In a round, you have 2 minutes to decide on your action. If after 2 minutes you have not decided, you lose your action that round. 6) Metagaming will result in a penalty of 100 XP for each offense during a session. 7) Instead of dying at -10 HP, characters die at –CON HP. For example, a character with 17 Con dies when his HP reaches -17. 8) During combat, if an enemy combatant provokes an attack of opportunity, it is up to the player to declare that he will take the AOO. Failure to do so has no penalty except you lose the chance for the AOO. 9) Every 4 levels, you gain 2 bonus ability points, one for a physical stat (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution) and one for a mental stat (Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma). 10) Characters do not need to be a spellcaster to take Craft (Alchemy). 11) You receive extra XP for staying in character the majority of the session. Whether or not you stayed in character will be decided by the DM. 12) The Toughness feat grants 1 HP per level, with a minimum of 3 HP. 13) Tumbling from prone has a -5 penalty. 14) When tumbling to avoid AOOs, if you fail, your Tumble check becomes your AC against enemy AOOs. For example, if you Tumble and roll a 12, your AC against AOOs for moving through threatened spaces is 12. 15) For Charisma-based skills, the way you roleplay it will give you an appropriate circumstance bonus or penalty on the roll. 16) You may not multiclass into barbarian. 17) The “instant kill” rule is in effect, at the DM’s discretion. That is, on a natural 20, if you roll another natural 20 on the critical confirmation, roll again. On a third natural 20, the hit is an instant kill. However, the DM may rule that for certain enemies, this rule is not in effect. 18) The rules in the Arms and Equipment Guide for getting drunk apply when a character drinks. 19) Characters are proficient with exotic weapons that have a racial name if the name matches the character’s race. 20) For skill checks, a natural 1 counts as a -10, and a natural 20 counts as a 30. 21) If, during a session, you roleplay a scene very well, you will receive a small XP bonus. 22) Improved Critical stacks with the keen magical effect of weapons. 23) Death from Massive Damage variant. If a medium creature takes 50 points damage from a single attack, it dies. For every size category larger or smaller than medium, increase or decrease the threshold by 10.
Emirikol 11-21-05, 04:37 PM	MY HOUSE RULES We have ground rules and house rules. Ground rules: 1. Show up to game or don't show up. We have limited gaming time. We don't care about your drama, your lack of food, or your smoking habit. 2. Want xp? Participate and be here. 3. Want to sit at the table? Have your character finished before the game time starts. You have 332 hours of NON-gaming time. Git'er'dun.' 4. Players police their own. If the DM see's something wrong with someone or a character, he will assign the rest of the group to fix the problem and then the game will restart afterwards. 5. Every player can expect to have their character die at some point. Try to be mature about it. 6. We will play with 4 players 7. Nobody is a permanent member of the group. HOUSE RULES (World of HYBORIA) 1. Ability scores - 28 point buy 2. NONE of the D&D races are used. Only the Hyborian races are used (See list in the book as well as their bonuses) 3. All spells are arcane (including psionics and divine spells). Armor/encumbrance penalty applies to everyone. 4. Fighters can exchange their heavy armor proficiency feat for any one non-fighter list feat 5. We use Action Points. Charisma modifies your total action points 6. You die at neg -Charisma (NOT neg CONSTITUTION) (magnetism to the universe) 7. All skills are class skills for all classes (no cross- class skills) 8. Healing: healing occurs twice as fast as normal in Hyboria and 4 times as fast if you are 'living life.' 'Living life' means you are wenching, feasting, brawling, gambling, challenging the gods, etc. Roll a d12. If you get a "1" you lose some x.p. 9. CLASSES: all classes from all D&D books are available (including Unearthed Arcana). Only a non-spellcasting class may be taken at first level. 10. Monks have no multiclassing restriction 11. Sorcerers and wizards can choose their spells from ANY spell list jh ..
rbrt_Spade 11-21-05, 05:38 PM	MY HOUSE RULES 7. All skills are class skills for all classes (no cross- class skills) 8. Healing: healing occurs twice as fast as normal in Hyboria and 4 times as fast if you are 'living life.' 'Living life' means you are wenching, feasting, brawling, gambling, challenging the gods, etc. Roll a d12. If you get a "1" you lose some x.p. 11. Sorcerers and wizards can choose their spells from ANY spell list jh .. These are a bit powerfull, what do you guys to keep players in check?
Kalriem 11-21-05, 08:09 PM	These are the ones that I apply to all my games: 1. We play gestalt. 2. You can have any class from any book as long as the DM owns it, or is planning on owning it soon. 3. We (usually) use the Class Defense bonus from the UA. 4. 5d6, drop 2. 5. When you roll HP, if you roll lower than your Con Mod you reroll. 6. The DM is right. 7. The DM is always right. 8. There are no exceptions from rules 6 or 7 9. New skill: Knowledge (Monsters) (INT): You use this skill to identify monsters. DC= Monster's CR + 5. If you beat this, you know the name of the monster, and can tell the rest of the group what it is and what you think it does. If you beat this by at least 5, you know the special abilities of the creature, and can tell this to the rest of your group. If you beat this by 10 or more, you recognize that this is an advanced/unique creature, but gain no more info. 10. No one has access to a Monster Manuel at the table, whether or not it is your own. 11. When playing any genre other than 3.5 we use whatever rules can be used from 3.5 (like no Ambidexterity, for example) 12. Weapon Group feats instead of normal. 13. We use AP from Ebberon 14. Sorcs, Psions, Weilders, and Psychic Warriors all gain a number of bonus known spells equal to the number of bonus spell slots they do (or would, in the case of psionic chars) receive. 15. Dodge grants a flat +1 dodge bonus. No need to target. 16. No smoking 17. No alcohol 18. No profanity 19. Keen and Improved Critical stack 20. If you are a spellcasting character, you must own the books from which you draw your spells, and have them every game, or you must copy the spells down word for word onto a piece of paper. 21. You have 30 sec. to decide what to do in combat. If you do not, you loose that turn. 22. On checks: If you roll a natural 1 or 20, you roll again. If you rolled a 1, you apply a -10 against your next result. If you rolled a 20, you apply a +10 to your next result. This stacks, i.e. if you roll 2 20s in a row, you add a +20 to your third roll. 23. Monks can freely multiclass into psionic classes, except weilder. 24. If you get 2 natural 20s in a row, roll a third time. If this last roll beats the target's AC, treat it as a coup de grace. For those games in which I want a really gritty feel: 1. Firearms are given different criticals according to their caliber 2. VP/WP system 3. Instead of having a number of WP equal to your Con, WP ARE your Con. When you would loose WP, you loose Con. However, instead of the normal rules for dying, you die at a negative number equal to your original Con Mod, so someone with a Con of 16 dies at -3. 4. Double Tap does double damage, Burst Fire does triple. 5. Most, but not all, DCs are upped by 5. This is what I can think of right now. Perhaps more later. :D
Mnky 11-25-05, 03:24 PM	Only two: 1) Nobody who dies under level 6 (or with under 6 hd) can be raised by any means, even wishes. Without this rule murder investigations are a lot easier. I chose level 6 because from level 7 there are enemies like the bodak and medusa with instant kill abilities. 2) Devils (the lawfull ones) can look like humans when on the material plane while keeping all natural attacks/spells ect. Spot check D.C. 20 to recognise one.
Toran_A_Sunder 11-25-05, 09:16 PM	If someone already posted this sorry. Only big one I can think of: Monks and Psions can level up interchangeably with no problems. It just makes sense to us that the mental discipline needed in one class easily transfers into the other.
Grizzled Gryphon 11-27-05, 01:10 PM	Agreed. I guess I am just looking at it from a fighter's perspective. They have so many feats available, they could burn two or three on this version of toughness and wind up with more hit points than a barbarian. Plus, they would still have more feats available for attack chains. To me, this rule seems to take away the one advantage the barbarian class enjoys over the fighter. Anyway, it does not really matter. It is his game and he can do as he likes. I just think it is an interesting rule and I was curious about how popular it is in his game. Your fighter could only take this once, as it caps out at D12.
legophreak 11-27-05, 03:30 PM	House Rules: 1. All new characters are created at the same time, in the presence of the DM. This one did slide once, and it just got ugly. Not anymore... 2. 30 point buy creation with starting stats of 9. Points cost an amount equal to their modifier (minimum of 1 point). 3. All classes get an additional Feat at level 5, 10, 15, and 20. 4. Paladin replaced with Homebrew Champion class, which is a paladin that can be applied to any of the 9 homebrew deities. 5. All clerics and champions must worship a patron deity, or the pantheon as a whole, and champions may choose one domain, and apply it's benefits. 6. Arcane magic can cause sanity. 7. Wizards, Sorcerers, Bards, and Rangers have all been changed. 8. There are no monks 9. Barbarians, and Sorcerers must start at level 1, unless approved from the DM. 10. Dodge gives a +1 across the board, or a +2 to a specific target. 11. Players can only be resurrected a total of 3 times (pre-epic), and only clerics who follow a certain deity can perform the task. 12. Improved Critical, and Keen play nicely together. 13. Everything said at the gaming table is considered in game character speech. If you need to say something OOC, pass the DM a note. 14. Players may call upon their patron (if they follow one) in a time of need or desperation for help or a miracle of sorts. Doing so has dire consequence afterwards. This is treated kinda like the Hand of God from Shadowrun, except you are not limited to just one use, and each time you do it, the consequences get expotentially worse (including your own death). 15. 20, 20, hit AC insta-kill rule is in effect. 16. death from massive damage rule is in effect. 17. Weapon group variant replaces weapon proficiencies. 18. contacts, and craft points are used as described in UA. 19. craft and profession are class skills for all classes. 20. all classes must maintain at least 1/2 their level in ranks in either a craft or a profession (or both if desired). 21. Bribing the DM grants you " death insurance " That's all i can think of right now, as if that's not enough...
Gailbraithe 11-29-05, 11:06 PM	1. Barbarians may multiclass out of Barbarian, but no one may multiclass into Barbarian unless character spends 1d6 years as an NPC roaming with real barbarians, living as they do. 2. Barbarians must take active steps to maintain their Barbarian status. Too much civilized living and your next level will be as a fighter. 3. Banned: Wizard, use Sorceror, Warlock, or Archivist instead. 4. Banned: Cleric, use Favored Soul, Warlock or Archivist instead. 5. Banned: Psion, Psychic Warrior, Soulknife, Wilder. 6. Archivists may select spells from any and all spell lists, provided they can find a written transcription of the spell or witness its use. 7. Archivists, and only archivists, use the Sanity rules. 8. Archivists begin play with a small selection of magic items to be determined by the DM. 9. Favored Souls may not become Sorcerors and vice versa. 10. Favored Souls and Sorcerors may multiclass out, but no one may multiclass into either class after 3rd level without special DM permission. 11. Shellshock rules are in effect. 12. Live table is in effect. 13. Failure to move one's own minature results in action forfiet. 14. Do not bring side-projects to the table, do not make me repeat myself. 15. The DM cannot be bribed, but we do encourage you to give your best try.
Bester 11-30-05, 12:30 PM	5. Banned: Psion, Psychic Warrior, Soulknife, Wilder.I can understand why you might not want to deal with psionics, but I'm curious as to why you're banning the Soulknife. The only things that force it to be a psionic class are its flavour text and psionic focus. Remove the psionic focus (just give the soulknife +10 movement instead of Speed of Thought), and you don't need to deal with psionics at all.
LordHumungus 12-02-05, 12:06 AM	1. Know your abilities- if you cast a spell/use an ability etc. and don't know what it does, it does nothing. 2. Dodge(and all other abilities that give a bonus vs. one opponent)work for all opponents that you are aware of. 3. Toughness bumps your HD up....yes, I give the Barb a d20 4. The DM always accepts bribes, but they rarely get you anything. :P 5. If you don't know what you are doing when your turn comes, I hum the Jeopardy music(from the Game Show). If I finish, your turn is gone. 6. Everyone rolls in the open, even me(DM). 7. Roll 2 dice for HP and take the best. 8. If you do something utterly stupid, like pimp slapping Lord Manshoon, relieving yourself in the King's audience hall, etc. etc......well, that's why we keep a paper shredder beside the table. Sadly I have had to use this a couple of times. 9. Only a few people know how to make firearms. No, they won't teach you. They are incredibly expensive, but much more powerful. 10. If you want to interrupt the game and tell some unrelated story or anecdote, make it good, because it will cost you 100xp per character level. Prolly a few more, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment.
zenlike 12-02-05, 05:00 AM	I like to grant player's a regional feat every 5 levels provided they have spent some time in the region they will be acquiring the feat from. My apologies if something like this has already been posted. :rolleyes:
Kalriem 12-02-05, 08:18 AM	Why do you people keep apologizing for your house rules? It's a thread for your house rules, not your house rules which also happen to have not been posted before. :rolleye2:
zenlike 12-02-05, 02:09 PM	Why do you people keep apologizing for your house rules? It's a thread for your house rules, not your house rules which also happen to have not been posted before. :rolleye2: You are right. I apologize. P.S: I will let all my people know right away. ;)
Gailbraithe 12-02-05, 02:46 PM	I can understand why you might not want to deal with psionics, but I'm curious as to why you're banning the Soulknife. The only things that force it to be a psionic class are its flavour text and psionic focus. I intend to have psionics show up in my campaign at a later date, after a major event. I want soulknives to start popping up then -- legions of them in fact -- and they will seem less cool if I've already allowed an arcane version. None of my players has the EPsiHB, so AFAIK none of them even knows the Soulknife exists, outside the fact its banned. They certainly don't know the details, since they're all 2nd Ed. veterans, and the soulknife is new to 3.5 I'm actually banning most of the non-PHB classes, at least as far as initial character creation goes. Basically I allow the extended base classes only after they've been discovered in the game world. Like, you can only take levels in Spellthief or make a new Spellthief after one has been encounter in play. Or if you want access to Wu Jen, Sohei, etc. you have to travel to Rokugan. Likewise if you have to create a new PC while you are in naymbe (Atlas Games's fantasy Africa, which I use in my campaign), then you're limited to the native Naymbe classes. While I'm not an evil DM, PCs die often enough that this system works well for me, and prevents a common headache caused by an overabundance of classes. Namely, I tend to start my campaigns in small outlaying border areas, with small populations and few high level NPCs, and a smattering of low level dungeons. After that area is "pacified", I encourage the PCs to explore the rest of the world (sending them off on missions across the world). The problem being that one wouldn't expect to find a highly specialized class like Spellthieves or Hexblades in a small border town where its hard to even justify magical training of any sort.
WhtKnt 12-02-05, 03:00 PM	Here are a few of ours: Leveling Up It happens when I say it does. We don't track experience points and, on average, the characters tend to level up about every two to three adventures (or one if its a particularly long one). Raise Dead Raise dead doesn't exist. Resurrection is possible, but it ain't easy. First, it's an incantation, which makes it very risky. If you can find someone willing to do it, the spirit of the deceased must be contacted and asked if they want to return (you can skip this step, but many people won't go to the trouble of trying a resurrection unless they know for sure the subject wants to come back, since the spell fails if they don't). Then, the subject's deity must be petitioned to permit the subject to return (which requires a pretty compelling argument, in most cases). Finally, the ritual can be performed only by a priest that worships the subject's deity. Gods tend to get angry when their followers resurrect people that aren't of their religion. Domain Spells Clerics do not get a bonus spell as a domain spell. Nor can they spontaneously cast cure spells by sacrificing a spell slot. Instead, they are permitted to sacrifice a slot to spontaneously cast a domain spell of the same level. I felt that this better represented the ability to channel the power of one's deity. No Alignment We do not use alignment. Taint (see Unearthed Arcana) is used and takes the place of "evil" in several spells and abilities, while characters are expected to define allegiances (as in d20 Modern). Rangers and Paladins Paladins do not exist. There is a prestige class that mimics the paladin, but one exists for each individual deity, with powers bestowed that reflect the deity's spheres of interest. Rangers are a prestige class, per Unearthed Arcana. Action Points Action points are used, ala Eberron. Wounds and Vitality We use the wounds and vitality rules from Unearthed Arcana. I feel that this better reflects the way that wounds work in the real world. The abstraction of hit points has always been a problem for me. Armor as DR Likewise, armor functions as DR (as well as enhancing armor class), as explained in Unearthed Arcana. Magic Items Potions, scrolls, and wands are pretty common in my campaign, and can be purchased through special arrangements (many churches, for example, keep a stock of healing potions on hand). Anything else in the way of magic tends to be fairly rare. Aside from the aforementioned, magical items are made for a specific purpose, not because a wizard has extra time on his hands. When a magical item of signficance is found, you can bet that it has some kind of history associated with it; even a lowly +1 dagger. The more powerful magical items are almost never sold. Silver Standard Most civilized regions of Jenneria operate on a silver standard, as described in The Black Company. The availability rules for equipment from that volume are also used. There Will Be a Test Later No one gets into a prestige class without taking a test appropriate to the class. If you want to be an assassin, you have to go to the guild and they will give you an assignment. Do well, and you're in. Do poorly, and they've never heard of you when the guard comes knocking. Want to be a ranger? You have to take the test. Arcane archer? Take the test. ¿Habla Trade Tongue? There is no common language in my world. There is a language called Trade Tongue that many people speak, but not everyone is familiar with it. Furthermore, it is limited in the ideas it can communicate (primarily dealing with trade, obviously).
Kalriem 12-02-05, 03:16 PM	Raise Dead Raise dead doesn't exist. Resurrection is possible, but it ain't easy. First, it's an incantation, which makes it very risky. If you can find someone willing to do it, the spirit of the deceased must be contacted and asked if they want to return (you can skip this step, but many people won't go to the trouble of trying a resurrection unless they know for sure the subject wants to come back, since the spell fails if they don't). Then, the subject's deity must be petitioned to permit the subject to return (which requires a pretty compelling argument, in most cases). Finally, the ritual can be performed only by a priest that worships the subject's deity. Gods tend to get angry when their followers resurrect people that aren't of their religion. So what happens if I don't worship anyone? Just for the sake of argument, let's say I'm a psion, and I reject the gods because they are not only not perfect examples of their alignment, and they make mistakes and are not omniscient, but they depend upon their worshipers for their power, which I view as weak (seeing as how I'm a psion and all my power comes from me). How do I get raised then? Or do I simply get zapped for giving the gods the proverbial Finger? :smirk:
WhtKnt 12-02-05, 03:24 PM	So what happens if I don't worship anyone? Just for the sake of argument, let's say I'm a psion, and I reject the gods because they are not only not perfect examples of their alignment, and they make mistakes and are not omniscient, but they depend upon their worshipers for their power, which I view as weak (seeing as how I'm a psion and all my power comes from me). How do I get raised then? Or do I simply get zapped for giving the gods the proverbial Finger? :smirk:Don't die. No, seriously. The religious structure of Jenneria is such that people who don't worship anyone usually end up in Limbo when they die. No cleric will try to raise them. Of course, your party cleric could do so, if he's willing to risk upsetting his own god.
Arnkel 12-02-05, 03:33 PM	11. Shellshock rules are in effect. What are shellshock rules? Sounds interesting.
Bester 12-02-05, 03:57 PM	I intend to have psionics show up in my campaign at a later date, after a major event. I want soulknives to start popping up then -- legions of them in fact -- and they will seem less cool if I've already allowed an arcane version. None of my players has the EPsiHB, so AFAIK none of them even knows the Soulknife exists, outside the fact its banned. They certainly don't know the details, since they're all 2nd Ed. veterans, and the soulknife is new to 3.5Oh, interesting. I misunderstood your reasons. That'll prove to be a lot of fun, I'd wager. :D
Gailbraithe 12-02-05, 04:30 PM	What are shellshock rules? Sounds interesting. A few years back I was taking an Intro. to Psychology class, and we we're covering post traumatic stress disorder, and then that weekend I was running a combat, and my players we're basically hip deep in blood and gore, half of it their own, fighting this deperate struggle to keep half their comrades from hemmoraging (slipping past -10 hp) while fending off a seemingly unstopping wave of bugbears, and it occured to me that by all rights, no PC should make it past 3rd level without suffering from some pretty serious psychological trauma. Spending days on end wandering around subterean catacombs with hideous monstrosities lurkinmg around every corner, and every third door waiting to shoot an arrow into your face, that has to take a toll on a person. It also helps that I know several Vietnam veterans who were Green berets, and they're all nuts. So, over the last few years, I've been tinkering with a variant of CoC's sanity rules that work with combat, and lead to shellshock. The rules i've got aren't in a state where I feel like sharing them (though I might do that some day), but the current system models real combat fatigue pretty well. One of the signifigant side effects of my shellshock rules is that after a few years of adventuring, most adventurers are incapable of leading normal lives. They tend to draw blood in bar brawls, flip out and go psychotic on over-aggressive city guards, and have flashbacks at inappropriate moments. Drug addictions, sleeping disorders, and nervous breakdowns are also possible. There are also break thresholds - basically once you've seen a certain amount of action, then lesser piddling stuff doesn't bother you. You become Blooded, and eventually you become completely numb to combat - but at the price of being unable to feel real emotions anymore. There are also certain feats that characters can only get after experiencing a certain amount of violence and mayhem, things like Thousand Yard Stare (gives bonus to Intimidate and Will Saves), F*ck You Smile (cause a target of lower level to become shaken as a quick action), and Let's Go Psycho (fail 3 attack rolls in a roll and get a free use of Rage, 1/day). The rules I'm working on a totally inappropriate for light or high fantasy, but I tend to run a very gritty Lovecraftian-horror style game.
Tusz 12-02-05, 05:26 PM	My house rules: -Dodge is a straight +1 dodge bonus to AC. -No paladins. Instead, there's a holy-warrior class that isn't alignment-restricted. -All other PHB classes are allowed, plus the hexblade (with a d8 hit die) and soulknife (minus psionic flavor). -Stuff I've made (classes, items, races, etc) are allowed. -Weapon Groups and Spell points variants from UA.
Kalriem 12-02-05, 07:18 PM	Don't die. No, seriously. The religious structure of Jenneria is such that people who don't worship anyone usually end up in Limbo when they die. No cleric will try to raise them. Of course, your party cleric could do so, if he's willing to risk upsetting his own god. Oh... I guess I'll learn to enjoy twittling my thumbs for the rest of eternity, eh? :twitch: Or go insane trying. :evillaugh
savant_warlord13 12-04-05, 07:02 PM	ok guys lets hear them all here are some of mine 1. we give small exp alotment if the player gets a drink\snack to the dm when he asks for it 2. we only allow the phb at the table3. we mix rules from certan sets 4. we give role playing exp 5 we allow the pcs to play whatever type of charter they want (as long as it meets ecl requirmetns) 6 we allow all feats\spells\templates from books we own why can you only have the PHB at the table? that seems like a pretty stupid rule, but I would like to hear the reson before passing judgement
thought_riot 12-04-05, 09:09 PM	why can you only have the PHB at the table? that seems like a pretty stupid rule, but I would like to hear the reson before passing judgement Well I'm prety sure its just the PHB for the player's. If the DM can only have the PHB, I don't think it's feasible unless he has supreme memory.
Callae 12-05-05, 03:46 AM	This is the character creation sheet being used in my current game. I think it technically counts as a house rule: ------------------------------------- Name: Race: Class(es): Party Role: (eg: Tank, Face, Offensive Support, Defensive Support) Why (Name) is in (Association A): (Association A being the military in the case of my current campaign) Description: (Physical stuff only; estimate physical ability scores in descriptive terms, involving them in your description; describe important equipment; no numeric stat suggestions) Background: (Describe basic history; slight adventuring background, nothing too experienced; approximate alignment descriptively; estimate mental ability scores in descriptive terms, involving them in your background; no numeric stat suggestions) Any other details that don't appear elsewhere: ------------------------------------- DM handles numeric CharGen, and each player gets to review and make suggestions about changes to their characters before the first gaming session. ~C EDIT: In addition, in my game players also don't know their character's alignment. That way, it doesn't straight-jacket them. My players and I agree it is for the best.