Post/Author/DateTime	Post
rbrt_Spade 07-06-05, 01:47 PM	dms/players what were some house rules that you liked in your game?-im making house rules and are seeing if thier are some good ones. :P
TmDurn7 07-06-05, 02:06 PM	Well, i like a general 1=fail 20=success. I think it allows for heroics, and that's what makes lots of games cool; people being able to pull of amazing feats because they're heroes/villians. I mean, that's why the story is following these particular characters, cause they're not regular people, but extraordinary ones who have great potential.
srkingdavy 07-06-05, 02:08 PM	this belongs in another board... but... these are what I do. Players are dead at -CONMOD rather than negative 10, and have a CON% chance of stabilizing. Badass points are awarded for good roleplaying (same as action points, see Unearthed Arcana) Wizards & Sorcs get bonus feats as per fighter (bonus feats must be wizard related: item creation, metamagic, spell focus etc.) Sorcerers have Eschew Materials at first level Craft points (from Unearthed Arcana) Weapon Proficiency Groups (again... Unearthed Arcana) Paladins are a prestige class (see... I think Unearthed Arcana) CASCADING ROLLS: a natural 20 on any skill check, to-hit, saving throw, etc. do NOT automatically succeed. In such a case, roll another d20 and add that result. Keep rolling as long as natural 20s come up. The same goes with natural 1s: subtract 1d20, and reroll as long as natural 20s come up. If a player rolls 3 natural 20s in a row on an attack, the defender dies, no matter what. (the chances of this happening are 1 in 8000, it hasn't come up yet...) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT! WRITE ALL YOUR HOUSE RULES DOWN AND SHOW THEM TO YOUR PLAYERS. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOUR PLAYERS KNOW YOUR HOUSE RULES!
Ilikan Holyaxe 07-06-05, 02:32 PM	I personally like the rule that untrained skills are counted as -5, for sheer newbishness in the skill, and one rank will bring it back up to +1.
Sildatorak 07-06-05, 02:39 PM	I use fractional multiclassing similar to what is described in UA, with a slight difference in saves. Save=(1/2*levels with save as good)*(1/3*levels with save as bad) with an additional +2 if any levels of good save are there That means a fighter 1/rogue 1/ranger 1 would have a base will save of +1, and fort and reflex saves of +2 (you drop any fractions).
Merestil Haye 07-06-05, 03:06 PM	Opposed tumble checks. There were two published in the 3.0 splatbooks. Option one allowed a character with ranks in the Tumble skill who threatened an area the tumbling character was passing through to make a Tumble check to oppose the movement The defending character makes his Tumble check first, and if he exceeded 15 then that became the DC of the check to pass the defender. That was published in Sword & Fist. Option two allowed any character to oppose a Tumble check by making a Reflex save with a DC equal to the Tumble check result. A success meant that the defender took the AoO he would normally be allowed for the tumbling character's movement if he had not Tumbled. We use option 2 in our games. The tumbling character makes one tumbling check. The defender gets +2 to his save per character the tumbler has already tumbled past, and +10 if the tumbler is passing though the defender's space and would not be allowed to with normal movement. If the tumbler is damaged by an AoO from a character whos space he would pass through, his movement ends at the last legal space.
VirgilCaine 07-06-05, 03:57 PM	Continuing Poison Damage http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/variantcontinuingpoison.html Concentration Against Poison Damage http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/concentrationagainstpoison.html Letting Bards and Rangers search for traps http://www.tcnj.edu/~pennisi2/rogue.html
Thoronmir 07-06-05, 05:40 PM	If you're new to the game, I advise against adding house rules. Try playing the game according to the RAW for a while. If you feel that something is unbalanced or does not represent the style of game you and your players prefer, then you should develop specific house rules to address those issues. House rules should be used like a scapel, not a hammer.
SodaGuy 07-06-05, 05:47 PM	My DM does this thing were an attack has a random chance of hitting a certain body part. And you can try to aim to pick where you hit. It works pretty well. Also, I used to keep track of good and bad things that players did in secret. Then I could modify the things that happen to them based on their unconscience alignment.
Finarin Panjoro 07-06-05, 06:27 PM	Here are the house rules for my current campaign: 1. Dodge provides a +1 dodge bonus to AC against all targets. 2. Combat Expertise provides a +2 bonus to AC to anyone wielding a small or large shield per point of BAB sacrificed (to a maximum of +10). This does not apply to bucklers or tower shields. 3. Metamagic feats are applied as a move action by spontaneous casters (bards and sorcerors). A spell that takes more than a standard action to cast requires an additional move action to apply metamagic. 4. Cleave and Great Cleave can be used when an attack of opportunity drops an opponent to attack another opponent, however you may only cleave any single target once per round from an attack of opportunity (you cannot combine great cleave and combat reflexes to land multiple free attacks on a target who did not provoke an attack of opportunity). 5. Readying an action to limited charge may be done as a full-round action as long as you do not take a 5 foot step. If you ready to attack a target the limited charge can be part of the attack so that you may charge OR 5 foot step and attack them depending on their location when they trigger your ready action. 6. Knowledge skills provide an additional +1 bonus to synergistic skills for every 5 additional ranks (+3 at 10 ranks, +4 at 15 ranks, +5 at 20 ranks). 7. Death effects reduce a subject to dying on a failed save rather than dead. They take a number of negative hit points equal to the number by which they failed their save. If they fail their save by 10 or more they are dead. This is real damage and must be healed normally. This applies to a subject who accumulates negative levels equal to his level as well. A subject with more negative levels than his character level is dead (ie. Character level –1 equals death, character level 0 equals dying). 8. Raise Dead and similar spells never cause level loss. Instead the raised character gains a special permanent negative level. This negative level can only be removed by gaining experience points equivalent to the total needed to advance to the next level (a 2nd level character would have to acquire 2000 xp to remove 1 negative level and so would lose that negative level sometime during his time at 3rd level) (The PCs xp requirement should be noted on his sheet). 9. Sorcerors gain Diplomacy as a class skill and receive Eschew Materials as a virtual feat at first level. This virtual Eschew Materials applies only to sorcerer spells and no other class spells including prestige classes that grant plus one caster level in a previous class. 10. Fighters have access to two additional fighter-only feats: Skill Emphasis and Weapons Master (see feat descriptions). 11. Half-orcs receive the standard stat modifications and the following additional advantages: +2 racial bonus to move silently checks, +2 bonus on saves vs. non-lethal damage (as the Endurance feat), they may sleep in light or medium armor without penalty, they may take the Diehard feat without meeting the prerequisites, and the may take the Scent ability as a feat. 12. Half-elves receive a +2 bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks rather than a +1. 13. Multi-class Characters may begin play at first level with apprentice levels in two classes. They receive the average of all abilities (BAB, hp, skill points, spells, etc) plus the DM will select half of the appropriate special abilities from each class to give them at first level. They receive the rest of their abilities at 2nd level when they must complete their two partial classes (they may not take a level in a third class at 2nd level).
snowlynx 07-06-05, 11:16 PM	House rules...? Ummm.... 1)I wrote up a list of what I was and wasn't allowing in my game; it's only a vague list because I have a lot of books and I just wanted to clarify the things that really didn't fit in my world. 2) I allow many of the class variants for Unearthed Arcana. (which ones I allow are on the list from #1.) 3) I make ressurection/bringing back the dead more difficult by making it a process which involves traveling (in spirit) to the appropriate plane and proving to the diety who has the soul that it's important the dead individual be ressurected. I chose to do this because I figured that while PCs are likely to go on great and heroic quests to save a friend, it gives ressurection a big storyline plot instead of being something just done everyday. Mind you, the spell levels don't change; it's just no longer a 'cast the spell then you're done' sort of ressurection. My current PCs are about to go on such a mission; if the do really well I might just have the god reward them with something as well.
Bowlich 07-06-05, 11:32 PM	I've been playing with my group for so long its difficult to know when the house rules ends and the actual runs start. We have a lot of variations that just "happened" I misruled something or changed something at one point in time and we just kept it because it worked (there were some things that we changed and didn't like). Some of the big once are: For the purposes of damage reduction, you use the gp value of the weapon to determine what it can beat instead of if its +1, +2, +3 etc. So a flaming +1 greatword can take out dr 20/+2. I had some mages that would just take familiars as if they were feats, stuff them in a bag and ignore them for the campaign... so I told them they had to actually remember to feed them/water them/entertain them/make some use of them on a regular basis or the familar would become displeased and leave. Monk's unarmed attacks can beat damage reduction +1 at level 3, +2 at level 6, +3 at level 9, this is so the monk's unarmed skills remain on par with the weapons that the players typically get at those levels. I use the metamagic feats are move equivalent actions for spontaneous casters as mentioned above. You cannot lose levels, such as through negative levels, if you lose a level you are simply deducted the experiance of that level and are forced to regain that experiance prior to being able to gain your next level. Knowledge checks can be taken be made as an intelligence check if the player doesn't have training in knowledge.
Vacerious 07-06-05, 11:55 PM	If you're new to the game, I advise against adding house rules. Try playing the game according to the RAW for a while. If you feel that something is unbalanced or does not represent the style of game you and your players prefer, then you should develop specific house rules to address those issues. House rules should be used like a scapel, not a hammer. agreed. but if you have to have house rules: 1)pc's have six seconds to act in combat, to simulate the stress of battle better. if they don't act in six seconds, then they lose their turn. 2)all actions involving PrC's and monster races must be approved by DM first. 3)donating snacks/money to the dm leads to great rewards.:ayyyy!: 4)looking over the dm's screen and all other forms of cheating WILL end in a TPK. Guaranteed. sorry if these seem more like general rule, but i haven't had to deal with many good house rules.
braindead345 07-07-05, 12:28 AM	1. Bring your own food, drinks, dice, books, etc. If you chip in to buy pizza, only those that pay get to eat it. 2. Open rolls only. The die rolls must be made so all players can see the results (the DM must roll openly also, but does not have to reveal what bonuses/penalties apply). 3. No distractions at table allowed. Cel phones must be set to vibrate. No non-game related materials permitted. You are there to game, not to surf the web, watch TV or any of a million other things that you feel you must do at the same time as we play. Reasonable exceptions are allowed for child care and pets. 4. No rule lawyers. We are here to play, not to argue about every aspect of the rules. 5. DM may refuse to allow players the right to play any race, class, or alignment of the DM's choosing. The DM also reserves the right to deny access to equipment (but not spells-except in low magic campaigns). 6. Stealing from a fellow player character is not allowed. Punishment will be enforced. Stealing from a player (in RL) automaticly boots you from the game no exception. 7. Players must respect the customs of the place where the game is being played. Alcohol, tobacco, or drug use is only allowed at the disgression of the owners of the gaming location. The consumption of certain foods (i.e. eating beef jerky at the home of a vegetarian) and drink is within the scope of the owner's rights. The allowance of profanity and racial slurs is also at the owner's disgression. DMs have the right to choose whether or not any of the above is forbidden at the game; however this does not grant the right to permit the such substances or language without the consent of the owner of the property where the game is being held. 8. Talking-stick. All players must remain in character durring play unless a "talking-stick" or designated signal is in use. If you say your character does something, he does it (or attempts to). 9. Punctuality is required. Penalties will be levied upon players who show up late or leave early. DMs my wave penalties, provided established protocols are met. Players must inform the DM of any reasons they must be excused prior to game start. DMs must inform the players of any reasons he might have to end the session early prior to starting the game session. Reasonable allowances for missing a session entirely must made, preferably in advance of the game session. 10. Shared costs. The purchase of items that will be of use to the entire party (i.e. a wagon, healing potions, holy water, etc) may have the expense shared equally by all party members. The cost of armor, weapons, spell componets, food, and personal use items is the sole responsiblity of the character that requires it. When a dispute arises concerning the need for a particular item, each party character gets one vote. Ties are determined by the DM in any manner the DM sees fit. If the item is purchased, every character shares the expense. If the item's purchase is voted down, individual characters may opt to purchase the item in question, but may refuse to allow non-paying-party-members access or use of the item.
Palomides 07-07-05, 12:36 AM	- Turning undead is simply 1d6*[turning level] of damage to undead within 10ft rad. - fumble on natural 1 - wizards choose spells for the day and can cast any of these spell ie if wizard has 3 1st level spell that he can learn for the day he can choose expedious retreat, magic missile and shield but can cast shield 3 times in his day. This is to favor the use of different spell and the use of utility spells. - Bypassing damage reduction with magic weapons as proposed on Monte Cook web site and other rules that I am not yet familiar with.
Radin Of The Justice 07-07-05, 12:42 AM	we have a rule where a natural 20 is auto hit in combat and 1 is critical fumble. but on all other checks that dont get that a natural 20 gives a +10 bonus to the check and a natural one is -10 to the check
pres_man 07-07-05, 12:45 AM	PCs get 2 bonus skill points per level, these skill points may only be used on the following skills: Appraise Balance Bluff Craft Decipher Script Disguise Forgery Intimidate Any Knowledge except Arcana, Nature, or Religion Perform (bards may not use for their primary type of perform) Profession Sleight of Hand Swim Use Rope ------------------------------------------------------------------- SEARCH: Rogues can search for traps as an elf searches for secret doors. That is if the they come within 5 ft of a trap they get a free search (rolled by the DM). ------------------------------------------------------------------- Animals can be improved using the handle animal skill. To improve (advance) an animal it requires: 1. An animal can only be improved 1 HD at a time. 2. Handle animal check DC 20 + (New HD) 3. Cost of 100 gp x (New HD), if a person trains the animal themselves the costs is 1/2 as much. 4. Three weeks of training time, with at least two hours a day dedicated to training, for non-feat obtaining HD. If the increase in HD would allow a feat then it takes four weeks. Improved animals are difficult to handle and do not respond to handlers/riders who do not have at least 2 more HD than the animal. -------------------------------------------------------------------- NPC classes are always treated as a favored class for xp penalties. (Nice for those halfling warrior/wizard/eldritch knights)
Falfeir 07-07-05, 04:16 AM	i play d&d 3.0 and here are the house rules: character creation: roll 4d6, drop lowest, assign anywhere. roll of 4 "1"s get u a "18" ability score. roll of 4 "6"s gets a "19" skills: intuit direction is removed and placed in wilderness lore. extra languages: much more harder. if u spend 2 skill points u know a few words, 4 points can get somewhere, 6 points u know the lang, 8 points native lang, 10 points u know the lang, get bonuses when identifying ancient versions. same procedure for each language. u cant know more languages than your int modifier. when starting you must choose from the set given for your class and race. class skill for everyone tumble: rolling for 15 is changed to a opposed roll heal: each dmg taken should be recorded separately. heal check vs 10+dmg taken, success means u have stabled the wound and healed by an amount of check result - (10+dmg taken). no more than once per hour for each character feats: toughness : 1 hp per lvl
babysamurai 07-07-05, 06:42 AM	The only house rule I implement is allowing Monk's and Paladin's to multi-class freely. In general, house rules irritate me, they usually cause more contention in the game and hazy interpretations (there are enough arguments over the RAW, without adding more rules).
digoraccoon 07-07-05, 08:47 AM	A couple house rules I like using in my D&D games. I add house rules only for the purpose that the players have fun in the game. On leveling up: If you roll a 1 on hit points, you may reroll the die again until the number is not a 1. However, DM must be witness to all Hit point die rolls. On Negative Levels: Negative levels never cause actual level loss, but shaking off a negative level is a little harder. I generally up the DC between 5-10 more (This one my players wanted and I can understand the fustration of finally making it to 13th level only to get zapped back to 11th by a lowly Wight).
Ut-Napishtim 07-07-05, 10:12 AM	A couple folks got some pretty long lists there. One thing that my first DM did that I have always used in my games is that Paladins may be of any alignment - so long as it matches their deity's. Rather than being heroic champions of truth, justice, and the Amer... er, British way; they are fanatic "holy warriors" of a specific deity. Sometimes this means their powers might change accordingly, but isn't far off the Paladin variants in UA. The other thing I do as a house rule is translate the -1 CR for things with NPC levels into a -1 LA for my peeps. They have to have at least two levels in it though, and Aristocrat doesn't count as it's obviously PC worthy. This is good for players who want to play optional races as well since many are accompanied by two or three levels in Humanoid that will often make them too high for the game's starting level. Not everyone agrees, but since Humanoid offers no bonus feats, no spells, only two skill points/level, one good save, and uses the Cleric's BAB progression I don't really see it as a PC-worthy class. It also encourages other players to drop a couple levels in Expert or something as a "what I did before becoming and adventurer" sort of thing. That's pretty much all I've got.
rbrt_Spade 07-07-05, 10:16 AM	these are good i am a new dm and play by raw then!
imperialjunkie 07-07-05, 10:32 AM	Action points from Unearthed Arcana. Eberron uses them too, same as in UA. I like them. Adds feel of extraordinary luck that any hero worth his/her stripes should have.
rbrt_Spade 07-07-05, 10:34 AM	these are my house rules im using in my upcoming game-post any thoughts /or rules to add 1- rules are as written 2-minis/battle grid will be used 3-any prc from any book -i must see it though! 4-all things must be converted to 3.5 with the conversion guide for 3.0 books 5-pisonics is allowed 6- any race can be used from the monster manuals,players handbook,pisonics handbooks if it does not have a la of higher than +1- i must see though 7- pcs made up at l1 8- any class can be used from any book- i must see though 9-players can bring any book to the game and use any! 10-i will buy food/drink
Tusz 07-07-05, 10:44 AM	-Dodge gives the +1 bonus against all enemies. It's not that much, and my players and I would forget to add in the bonus vs. one enemy anyway. -When rolling HP above level 2, you can either roll the die or take half the die +1 (d8 would be 5, d6 would be 4, etc). At first and second level, you get max HP. -If you want to use a feat/weapon/PrC/whatever that's not core, let me look it over first. -Unearthed Arcana variants: weapon group proficiencies, action points.
Prophet Pax 07-07-05, 02:38 PM	I use a couple of house rules: 1) Breaking Weapons Weapons in medieval combats often broke from overuse, faulty craftsmanship, or improper care. To simulate upkeep and replacement costs I have implemented a system that will, on occasion, break a weapon without complicating combat any further. Here is how it works: When a PC or NPC makes an attack roll that results in a 1 on the die they must make a quick second roll. If the result is a 1 or 2 on the die the weapon breaks and is useless. If the weapon has a +1 enchantment bonus the weapon gets a +1 save modifier. Thus a +1 Halberd requires two consecutive rolls of 1 to break. If the weapon has a +2 enchantment bonus it can not break in this manner. Thus a +2 dagger can not break in this manner. The same holds true for a +1 Flaming Long Sword. The +1 enchantment gives the weapon its first save bonus and the Flaming enchantment gives the weapon its second. Bows and crossbows have basically the same rule applied to them. However, after rolling the first 1 there are two possible effects. On a second roll of 1 or 2 the bow or crossbow breaks and is rendered useless. On a roll of 3, 4 or 5 the bow string breaks and a round must be used to restring the bow. Replacement bow strings are 5 silver pieces. Enchantment bonuses also improve a bow’s durability. Thus a +1 Long Bow would require a second roll of 1 on the die to destroy the bow. However, the bowstring still has the same range in which it can break only it is shifted to 2, 3 and 4. If the bow or crossbow has a +2 enchantment bonus (or +1 bonus and special power) it can not break in this manner. A bow string treated with and Unguent of Timelessness can not break in this manner. Natural weapons are exempt from this rule. 2) Permanent or Severe Wounds If a character is ever reduced to -7hp or less in a single blow they must make a single roll on the Disfigurement Chart and apply the result to their character. For example, Borf is in a heated battle with a Dire Wolf and has taken several wounds that reduce him to 1hp. The Dire Wolf scores another hit for 8 pts of damage reducing Borf to -7. Blue Bonnet Borf must immediately roll on the Monster Section of the Disfigurement Chart. Borf then rolls percentile dice and checks the result. OH NO! Bad news for Borf and the future Mrs. Borf! The result was a 98 which means the Dire Wolf made a snack out of Borf’s *********… If Borf and Kynon get into a drunken brawl and Borf is reduced to -4 and then bleeds to -7 before Kynon sobers up enough to stuff a few leaves into Borf’s wounds then no disfigurement occurs. However if Borf is reduced to -1 and due to Kynon’s drunken perspective (the room is spinning badly) doesn’t realize that Borf has stopped moving and chops at him one more time taking him from -1 to -7 then a disfigurement HAS occurred. Once again Borf must roll his percentile dice only this time he must look at the Slashing Chart to reflect the damage done by Kynon’s battleaxe. YIKES! A result of 17 means that Kynon’s axe came down and sheered Borf’s face off! The spells and or time required to heal such wounds is listed below each of the different charts. If you would like me to post the charts let me know...they are long and i didnt want a huge post.
braindead345 07-08-05, 12:32 AM	10-i will buy food/drink Are you nuts? This can only lead to trouble for some obvious reasons. First off, players all have their own prefernces when it comes to food and drink. Also, do you know if your players have any food allergies or dietary restrictions? More importantly, do you want your players eating you out of house & home? You are better off using the "bring your own refreshments" rule and limiting them by the "customs of the gaming site" rules. This can be used to restrict sodas, or messy junk food (Cheeto's, potato chips, and unshelled sunflower seeds). If you want to prepare some snacks, go ahead. Just don't think everybody will like what you make or that it will be enough to feed everybody. Alternatively, you can rotate snack detail amongst you & the other players; however, you might find that the person in charge of the snack one week will forget or not even show up-leaving the group hungry that week.