Post/Author/DateTime	Post
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:04 AM	I use a LOT of house rules. Some players don't care, and just allow me to adjudicate as DM, no questions asked. Some would like to be able to look up the rules and know them. I used to keep them in a word document, but I'd have to redistribute it every time I make minor changes. Sometimes, I make little changes in my head while at work, and don't update the doc. This way, they can access it from anywhere, and I can always keep it up-to-date from wherever I am. I'm not opposed to this also being a discussion thread, nor would I be offended if this got ignored. At any rate, I'll reserve a few posts, and then fill them in after I review, edit, and add the unwritten minor changes to each section of rules. I'd love to hear about your house rules, and hear your thoughts on my house rules.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:04 AM	The Composite Psionics-Arcana-Divine-Shadow-Binding-And-More! Transparency Rule Related and Foreign Systems: Some forms of the supernatural operate on similar principles. These are related principles. Arcane Magic, Shadow Mysteries, and Psionic Powers are related. Divine Magic, Nature Magic, and Truenaming are related. Binding and Incarnum are related. Systems which are not related are foreign to one another. Cancellation Effects: Any spell, power, or other ability which has a dispelling effect, or otherwise affects effects which would be suppressed in an antimagic field fall under the general heading of cancellation effects. Cancellation effects easily manipulate their own kind of magic, but have a more difficult time destabilizing foreign magics. Any attempt to use a cancellation effect that requires a roll of some kind is subject to a -4 penalty against foreign principles, or a -2 penalty against related principles. If the attempt initiates an opposed roll, both parties receive the penalty (effectively negating it). _____craft: Spellcraft and Psicraft are now more appropriately divided into separate skills for all unique systems: Spellcraft (Arcane), Psicraft (Psionics), Shadowcraft (Shadow), Divinitus (Divine), and Natura (Nature). Optionally one could also add Vocoverus for truenamers and Soul Study for binders and incarnates, but it will probably not be of much use to those systems. Spells, powers, and mysteries can be identified with appropriate checks, but the check is subject to a -10 penalty against foreign systems, or a -5 penalty against related systems. If a character can cast or manifest multiple systems of powers, the penalty is reduced by -2. NEW AND UNTESTED: The penalty can also be reduced by -2 with a "skill trick" that requires 4 ranks of the appropriate skill. Use ____ic Device: Use Magic Device and Use Psionic Device are now part of one skill: Item Command. Like Knowledge, Perform, Profession, and Craft, Item Command is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Item Command skills, each with its own ranks, each purchased as a separate skill. Much like Craft (blacksmithing) and Craft (woodworking), you now have Command Item (arcane) or Command Item (incarnum). With checks similar to the checks available for UMD and UPD, you may use items that you normally could not activate. Any class which had UMD or UPD as a class skill now has Command Item as a class skill. When you take this skill, you choose one system of magic as the primary system. You can use a Command Item check on an item from a foreign system, but your check is made at a -10 penalty; related systems' items can be used at a -5. NEW AND UNTESTED: As a "skill trick" (detailed in Complete Scoundrel), you can reduce these penalties by 2. This "trick" requires 6 ranks in Command Item and 2 ranks in any "_____craft" skill. Also as a "skill trick", you can permanently change your focal system to a different one. This "trick" requires 4 ranks in Command Item and 1 rank in the "_____craft" skill that relates to the new focal system. Resistance: Many creatures have spell resistance or power resistance, but no magic or psionic ability whatsoever. I don’t believe any penalties or bonuses need to be applied in one direction or the other to folks trying to punch through any form of resistance. Detect X: Anything with an effect similar to detect magic can detect the existence, quantity, strength, and location of other systems’ effects, but not the school, discipline, or path. NEW AND UNTESTED: As a "skill trick" which requires 2 ranks in the particular system's "_____craft" skill, you know what the typical qualities are of another system's schools, disciplines, or paths, and can identify them with your system's Detect spell, power, or mystery.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:43 AM	Each character gains a trait at ECL 5 of their player's choice, and gains an additional trait of the DM's choice. At ECL 15, 25, etc, the character develops an additional trait of the DM's choice. Choices should be made with an eye towards the character's most salient habits, quirks, and personality traits, but keeping another eye toward optimization as well is perfectly acceptable. Abrasive - +1 intimidate, -1 diplomacy and bluff. Absent-Minded - +1 all knowledges, -1 survival, sense motive, spot and listen Aggressive - +4 initiative, -1 to AC Brawler - +1 unarmed & grapple, -1 weapons Cautious - +1 dodge when defensive, -1 on fear effects Daywalker - No light sensitivity, half darkvision range Nightsighted - +1/4 darkvision range, -1 on spot in light Deranged - +2 Cha, -1 Wis, combat stress yields 5% every round to behave as if confused Detached - +1 will, -1 reflex Dishonest - +1 bluff, -2 diplomacy Honest - +1 diplomacy, -1 bluff and sense motive Distinctive - +1 reputation, -2 disguise Druggie - only two saves required to recover from addiction, -4 to resist addiction Resistant - +4 to resist addiction, halved benefits of beneficial drugs Tweaker - all positive and negative effects of drugs increased by 50% Easygoing - +1 gather info, -1 intimidate and sense motive Elitist - +1 manifester level on one discipline, -1 on all others. one point of augmentation in that discipline will be free. Spellgifted - +1 caster level on one school, -1 on all others Farsighted - +1 spot, -2 search Nearsighted - +1 search, -2 spot Focused - +1 concentration, -1 spot and listen Hard of hearing - +1 spot, -2 listen Hardy - +1 fort, -1 reflex Illiterate - +1 on any non-Int skill, illiteracy Lithe - +10 land speed, -1 on all HD rolls including first (0 result allowed) Musclebound - +1 str checks, -2 dex checks Portly - +4 to resist bull rush/overrun, half land speed, no speed penalty in armor Skinny - +1 escape artist, -1 on str checks Passionate - +1 fort, -1 will Plucky - +1 will, -1 on all wisdom skill checks Polite - +1 diplomacy, -2 intimidate Reckless - +3 melee damage, -1 AC and -1 attack roll Relentless - +2 on con checks and checks to resist tiring out, fatigue = exhaustion Saddleborn - +1 ride, -1 handle animal Slippery - +1 escape artist, -1 grapple Specialized - +1 on craft, profession, or knowledge, -2 on others of same type Suspicious - +1 sense motive, -1 diplomacy and intimidate Torpid - +1 on will saves, -4 on initiative Uncivilized - +1 on Ride, Handle Animal, Survival, and Wild Empathy checks; -1 on Appraise, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Sense Motive, and all Knowledge skills except Nature
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:44 AM	My feat changes included the full text, and the changes got lost in there. I don't want to have to highlight each class's changes in red, so I'm only going to post the changes I've made to the classes. In future campaigns, one simple solution to make the classes more balanced and more interesting may be to simply use Szatany's (http://boards1.wizards.com/member.php?u=208266) Ultimate Classes. All classes are allowed to take any of the Class Feature Variants (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedClasses.html) from Unearthed Arcana or the PHB2 except for Spontaneous Divine Casting. (I only disallow SDC because I haven't had a chance to assess its effects or to playtest it.) Also, any class or PrC that has alignment restrictions no longer has to abide by them. However, those restrictions are a good indicator of what kind of alignment most members of the class would have, so make sure to have good backstory and/or roleplaying indicators of why your character has taken up a path so rarely followed by men and women of his alignment. The only exception to this is the paladin; they must still be either LG or LE. The Blackguard and the Reformed offer options for paladins of honor or tyranny who fail to uphold their codes. Barbarian: Starting at 3rd level and at every three barbarian levels thereafter (6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th level), a barbarian may choose to gain Trap Sense as normal, or instead to gain the Toughness feat. Bard: All bards, including variant bards, gain the abilities listed in the Dead Levels (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a) article. Cleric: Clerics (and most variant clerics) use the same Spells per Day progression as the Wizard (not including domain spells). Cloistered Clerics (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedCoreClass.html#cloistered-cleric), however, have the normal number of Spells Per Day listed in the PHB and SRD. Any cleric that can turn or rebuke undead gains the abilities listed in the Dead Levels (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a) article. Druid: Druids use the same Spells per Day progression as the Wizard (not including domain spells). To reduce headaches, all druids must take a racial substitution level, class feature variant, or other variation that replaces the confusing, wild, and crazy standard Wild Shape. (such as Aspect of Nature (UA), Shapeshift (PHB2), or Shifter Substitution (RoE).) The Shapeshift variant replaces Wild Shape but not your Animal Companion; Shapeshift Druids gain an animal companion much like a normal druid, except that the shapeshift druid's effective druid level is one-half his druid level. Fighter: Fighters gain the abilities listed in the Dead Levels (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a) article at every level except 5rd. . . - Weapon Flexibility (Ex): Starting at 5th level, once per day you may spend 1 hour warming up and practicing with a weapon in order to change the designated weapon for any feat you have that applies to only a single weapon (such as Weapon Focus). This ability functions in the same way as the Weapon Aptitude gained by a 1st-level warblade. Paladin: Paladins of freedom or slaughter do not exist; the way of the paladin requires one to toe the line, even if the line is self-imposed. Also, paladins are made, not born, therefore Paladins of Honor and Paladins of Tyranny are all Prestige Paladins who have earned the title of "paladin" with their deeds. Paladins also gain abilities listed in the Dead Levels (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a) article at 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, and 14th level.. Requirements for the prestige paladins and slight modifications to the tyranny code of conduct are below. Ranger: Poor little rangers. They gain their animal companion at 4th level, as normal, but the ranger’s effective druid level is equal to his ranger level - 3. Rangers also gain the abilities listed in the Dead Levels (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a) article. Rogue: Rogues gain the abilities listed in the Dead Levels (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a) article. Sorceror: Poor little not-quite-wizards. They may either use the Composite Sorcerer Fix (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=224419), or the Battle Sorceror (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedCoreClass.html#battle-sorcerer) variant. I may allow Composite Battle Sorcerers, but I'm not sure. Would that be over- or under-powered? Tell me what you think. Also, Sorcerors may give up the ability to obtain a familiar to choose any of the Specialist Wizard variants that require a Wizard to permanently give up the ability to obtain a familiar. Wizard: Wizards gain the abilities listed in the Dead Levels (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a) article. Crusader: All Crusaders may choose from the Stone Dragon and Devoted Spirit disciplines, as normal. Their third discipline, however, is based on alignment. Chaotic crusaders can choose from the Tiger Claw discipline, Evil crusaders can choose from the Shadow Hand discipline, Lawful crusaders can choose from the White Raven discipline, and Good crusaders can choose from the Setting Sun discipline. If a crusader is both Lawful and Good, he must choose which discipline to make into a class discipline; all crusaders only get three class disciplines. The skill associated with the chosen discipline is added to the crusader's skill list (replacing Diplomacy). Hexblade: When a Hexblade chooses bonus feats, they may choose any feat for which they qualify from the Fighter's bonus feat list, in addition to the feats listed in Complete Warrior. Samurai: At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, the Samurai gains the Martial Study feat for free. The maneuver chosen, however, must be from either the Diamond Mind or the Iron Heart disciplines. Also, the Samurai has a d12 hit dice. Swashbuckler: At 6th, 12th, and 18th level, Swashbucklers gain any feat for which they qualify from the Scout's bonus feat list for free. Ninja: A ninja may choose between Trapfinding or Wisdom in Action at 1st level. If she chooses Wisdom in Action, she cannot benefit from any base class's Trapfinding by multiclassing. She can, however, gain Trapfinding from a prestige class. . . - Wisdom in Action (Ex): A Ninja does not measure speed in how fast she can travel, but in how quickly she can act and react. When unarmored and unencumbered, a ninja adds her Wisdom bonus (if any) to her Initiative. Warlock: At 14th, 17th, and 20th level, warlocks may choose to learn one additional invocation from the list available to them, choosing an invocation of two grades lower than the highest grade of invocation they know. This replaces the additional d6 of Eldritch Blast damage that they would normally gain at this level. To qualify to become a paladin of tyranny, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Alignment: Lawful evil. Base Attack Bonus: +4. Skills: Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) 2 ranks, Ride 4 ranks. Feats: Mounted Combat. Spellcasting: Ability to cast protection from good as a divine spell. Special: Ability to rebuke undead. Also must have followed the tenets of the paladin of tyranny's code of conduct for one year. Code of Conduct: A paladin of tyranny must be of lawful evil alignment and loses all class abilities if he ever willingly commits a good act. Additionally, a paladin of tyranny's code requires that he does not lie to authority figures, act with discipline (not engaging in random slaughter, keeping firm control over those beneath his station, and so forth), help those who reliably maintain or foster a strict social order, and punish those who challenge authority (unless, of course, such challengers prove more worthy to hold that authority). To qualify to become a paladin of honor, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Alignment: Lawful good. Base Attack Bonus: +4. Skills: Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) 2 ranks, Ride 4 ranks. Feats: Mounted Combat. Spellcasting: Ability to cast protection from evil as a divine spell. Special: Ability to turn undead. Also must have voluntarily followed the tenets of the paladin of honor's code of conduct for one year. Code of Conduct: A paladin of honor must be of lawful good alignment and loses all class abilities if she ever willingly commits an evil act. Additionally, a paladin of honor’s code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:45 AM	New: If you lose your status as a paladin, whether of tyranny or honor, you may immediately retrain one feat and 4 skillpoints per 5 character levels you have attained. The new feat must be one you could have qualified for at the level you took the original feat. Blackguard Requirements To qualify to become a blackguard, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Alignment: Any evil. Base Attack Bonus: +6. Skills: Hide 5 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks. Feats: Cleave, Improved Sunder, Power Attack. Special: The character must have formerly been of a good alignment, and faced a serious crisis of belief that caused her to renounce her former walk of life and become evil. Blackguards who have levels in the paladin of honor class (that is to say, are now ex-paladins) gain extra abilities the more levels of paladin of honor they have. Reformed To qualify to become a reformed, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Alignment: Any good. Base Attack Bonus: +6. Skills: Heal 5 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks. Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Stunning Fist. Special: The character must have formerly been of an evil alignment, and faced a serious crisis of belief that caused her to renounce her former walk of life and become good. Class Skills The reformed's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Ride (Dex). Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier. Reformed Spell List Reformed choose their spells from the following list: 1st Level: bless weapon, cure light wounds, inflict light wounds, magic weapon, remove fear, sanctuary, summon monster I*. 2nd Level: bull’s strength, calm emotions, cure moderate wounds, eagle’s splendor, inflict moderate wounds, remove paralysis, shield other, summon monster II*. 3rd Level: cure serious wounds, daylight, inflict serious wounds, remove curse, protection from elements, summon monster III*. 4th Level: cure critical wounds, freedom of movement, inflict critical wounds, neutralize poison, summon monster IV*. * Good creatures only. Fallen Paladins of Tyranny Reformed who have levels in the paladin of tyranny class (that is to say, are now ex-paladins) gain extra abilities the more levels of paladin of tyranny they have. A fallen paladin of tyranny who becomes a reformed gains all of the following abilities that apply, according to the number of paladin levels the character has. 1-2: Smite evil 1/day. (This is in addition to the ability granted to all reformed at 2nd level.) 3-4: Purifying Touch. The reformed can use this supernatural ability to quickly take down an enemy with a touch. Each day she can deal a total number of points of nonlethal damage equal to her Charisma bonus x her level. This attack deals lethal damage against undead and creatures with the evil subtype. An opponent subjected to this attack can make a Will save (DC 10 + reformed level + reformed's Cha modifier) to halve the damage dealt. 5-6: Sneak attack damage increased by +1d6. (This depends on what I give the Reformed in place of sneak attack. Probably an increase in unarmed damage dice size by one die type.) Smite evil 2/day. 7-8: Celestial summoning. Once per day, the blackguard can use a summon monster I spell to call forth a good creature. For this spell, the caster level is double the reformed's class level. 9-10: Archon companion. In addition to the celestial mount, the reformed gains (at 5th level) a lantern archon as a companion. This companion gains all special bonuses as a celestial mount when the reformed gains levels. 11 or more: A fallen paladin of tyranny of this stature immediately gains a reformed level for each level of paladin he trades in. The character level of the character does not change. With the loss of paladin levels, the character no longer gains as many extra abilities for being a fallen paladin.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:45 AM	Bad Luck Roll: When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, roll a d20. If you roll a 1-5, you overextend yourself and let your guard down, provoking an AoO. If you roll a 6-10, you swing too forcefully, falling off balance (and prone). (This represents nothing more than the degree of bad luck your character is experiencing at that moment, therefore isn't affected by any character attributes, except for...) If you have any luck feats, the bad luck roll is increased by 1 before results are determined. This means that if somehow you have 10 luck feats, natural ones represent nothing more than an unlucky missed swing.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:46 AM	ni
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:47 AM	feuhr
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:47 AM	You may spend 1 action point to increase or decrease the result of any d20 roll that you make. No exceptions. If it is a hidden roll that the DM is rolling in secret, the DM will modify the roll in the most beneficial direction. You may spend 1 action point to increase or decrease the result of any d100 roll that you make. If it is a hidden roll that the DM is rolling in secret, the DM will modify the roll in the most beneficial direction. You may spend 2 action points to gain additional uses of class abilities, as written in the ECS. This also extends to a Hexblade's Curse and other class's abilities not in the PHB and ECS. You may spend 3 action points to gain an additional use of any ability that you can normally use only 1/day, 2/day, or 3/day, such as a half-dragon's breath weapon, or certain fae's spell-like abilities. You can spend 1 action point to imbue an infusion in one round, even if it normally takes longer than one round. You can spend 1 action point to reduce a spell, power, or infusion that normally takes a full round to cast down to one standard action. Among other benefits, this allows sorcerors to use Quicken Spell at the cost of action points. You can spend 1 action pont to automatically stabilize. You can spend 1 action point to increase a critical confirmation roll by 5 + your Base Attack Bonus, or to decrease a bad luck roll by 5 + your base attack bonus. You can spend 1 action point to gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC for one round. (if you roll 2 dice for your action points, it is a +2, and so on) Also, some feats, especially from Eberron splatbooks, allow you to use action points for other things. If you do not have the feat, you may pay double the ability's cost in action points to use the ability in the feat.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:48 AM	Bjork?
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:49 AM	should be enough posts. I don't think I'll overflow on # of words, but I like a healthy number of organizational categories.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-27-06, 06:51 AM	Dodge – Prerequisite: Dex 13. Benefit: During your action, you designate an opponent and receive a +1 dodge bonus to Armor Class against attacks from that opponent. You can select a new opponent on any action. A condition that makes you lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) also makes you lose dodge bonuses. Also, dodge bonuses stack with each other, unlike most other types of bonuses. Special: You gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against all opponents when fighting defensively or executing the total defense action. This overrides the usual single-target benefit of the Dodge feat, but stacks with the benefits of Combat Expertise, having 5 ranks in Tumble, and/or the normal benefits of fighting defensively or total defense. A fighter may select Dodge as one of his fighter bonus feats. Diehard – Prerequisite: Endurance, Con 11. Benefit: When reduced to negative hit points (but not dead), you automatically become stable. You don’t have to roll d% to see if you lose 1 hit point each round. You may also choose to act as if you were disabled, rather than dying. You must make this decision as soon as you are reduced to negative hit points (even if it isn’t your turn). If you do not choose to act as if you were disabled, you immediately fall unconscious. When using this feat, you can take either a single move or standard action each turn, but not both, and you cannot take a full round action. You can take a move action without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other action deemed as strenuous, including some free actions, such as casting a quickened spell) you take 1 point of damage after completing the act. This damage may kill you. Also, you receive a +2 on saving throws vs death effects and coup de graces. Your negative hit point death threshold is extended by half your Constitution modifier (round down, minimum 1). This stacks with the effect of Endurance. Normal: A character without this feat who is reduced to negative hit points is unconscious and dying. Endurance – Prerequisite: Con 11. Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus on the following checks and saves: Swim checks made to resist nonlethal damage, Constitution checks made to continue running, Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from a forced march, Constitution checks made to hold your breath, Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from starvation or thirst, Fortitude saves made to avoid nonlethal damage from hot or cold environments, and Fortitude saves made to resist damage from suffocation. Also, you may sleep in light or medium armor without becoming fatigued. Finally, your hit point total can fall 1 point lower per four character levels before you die. For example, Regdar has Endurance and is a 7th level fighter. When his hit point total reaches 0, he’s disabled. When it reaches –1, he’s dying. When it gets to –11, he’s dead. When he reaches 12th level, he must have –13 hit points to die from hit point loss. Normal: A character without this feat who sleeps in medium or heavier armor is automatically fatigued the next day, and dies at –10 hit points. Special: A ranger automatically gains Endurance as a bonus feat at 3rd level. He need not select it. Improved Toughness – Prerequisite: Base Fortitude save bonus +2, Toughness Benefit: You gain a number of hit points equal to your current Hit Dice. Each time you gain a HD (such as by gaining a level), you gain 1 additional hit point. If you lose a HD (such as by losing a level), you lose 1 hit point permanently. Special: A fighter may select Improved Toughness as one of his fighter bonus feats. Toughness – Benefit: You gain +3 hit points at 1st level, and 1 additional hit point at 7th level and every 7 levels thereafter. Special: A character may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects stack. A fighter may select Toughness as one of his fighter bonus feats. At each level that a barbarian gains Trap Sense, he may instead choose to gain Toughness. Studious - +2 on Research and +1 on all Knowledges. NEW SKILLS Research (Int) – Usable untrained Check: Researching a topic takes time, skill, and some luck. The GM determines how obscure a particular topic is (the more obscure, the higher the DC) and what kind of information might be available depending on where the character is conducting his or her research. Information ranges from general to protected. Given enough time (usually 1d4 hours) and a successful skill check, the character gets a general idea about a given topic. This assumes that no obvious reasons exist why such information would be unavailable, and that the character has a way to acquire restricted or protected information. The higher the check result, the better and more complete the information. If the character wants to discover a specific fact, date, map, or similar bit of information, add +5 to +15 to the DC. Generally, the goal of a Research check is an opportunity to re-roll a Knowledge check. In such a situation, the Research check DC is 2 lower than the original Knowledge check DC, and, if successful, allows the character to retry the Knowledge check once. Try Again?: Yes, but any Research checks made beyond the first render the character fatigued. If they are already fatigued, then they become exhausted. If they are already exhausted, they fall unconscious and sleep for 1d8 hours. (Note: If they can cast remove fatigue, more power to ‘em – players are rarely so tenacious in non-combat situations.) Special: A character can take 10 on a Research check if they have 5 or more ranks. Any class that has all Knowledge skills as class skills also has Research as a class skill. Other thematically-appropriate classes may also have it as a class skill; consult your DM regarding a specific class that you believe should have Research. A character with the Studious feat gets a +2 bonus on all Research checks. Synergy: If you have 5 ranks in any Knowledge skill, you gain a +2 bonus on Research checks related to that Knowledge skill. Time: A Research check takes 2d4 hours. Technology (Int) – Not usable untrained In most ways, functions like a Craft skill, except that it can't be used untrained and isn't a class skill for anyone except currently-secret prestige classes. More details available in-character as the dwarves of the Mror Holds develop technology and increasing amounts of it are exposed or leaked to the rest of Khorvaire. Synergy: If you have 5 ranks in Technology, you gain a +2 bonus on Dismantle checks related to intricate mechanical items. Even the best lock in the PHB is considered a simple mechanical item and the bonus does not apply to it. You also gain a +2 bonus on any skill checks related to construct physiology (such as warforged). If you have 5 ranks in Dismantle, you gain a +2 bonus on Technology checks related to repairs, modifications, or upgrades. Combined Skills Hide and Move Silently are now Creep. Spot and Listen are now Perceive. Disable Device and Open Lock are now Dismantle. Characters who have put ranks in both skills now have some free points to spend. Hotfix – until a better solution presents itself, classes that only grant one of the two parents skills, such as Bard which grants Listen but not Spot, may purchase ranks in Perceive at half cost. One point buys two ranks, and a single d20 is rolled, but two different results are announced.
Thelon Fairblade 10-27-06, 01:34 PM	I like the flavor of the trait rule. The player gets to improve the way they wanted the character to be, and the GM gets to reflect the character has been played. I like it. For the feat changes, I suggest you indicate what has changed. Dodge looks the same, and so does Diehard. Endurance, i can see it extends the death zone.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-28-06, 01:38 AM	CHANGES ARE POSTED IN RED.
Aramek 10-30-06, 12:16 AM	The only glaring House Rule I can think of is: On a roll of 1, on a "to hit" roll is a Critical Fumble. You provove an AoO from anyone threatening you. Dangerous when surrounded.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-30-06, 12:25 AM	I decided to change this thread more. I'd like to make it an open discussion of house rules. I'd love to hear about your house rules, and your thoughts on my house rules. I know that's kinda the point of this forum anyway, but it gets to be a drag to have to read so many threads and only get a tidbit of information/ideas from each one. Well, whether or not anyone posts, everyone's welcome to. I'll still be able to use this thread for my players, regardless. :) Long live the RAW-burners*! *That was a bra-burners pun. No, I didn't think it was very funny, either.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-30-06, 12:27 AM	Oh, hello again Aramek. Not every 20 is a crit. In the same vein, I don't like every 1 being an autofumble. If they roll a 1, I have them reroll it. On 11-20 they're fine, on 1-5 they hit themselves, on 6-10 they fall prone. I may change 1-5 to the AoO thing that you do; the players don't like hitting themselves very much.
FriendlyBiscuit 10-30-06, 05:20 AM	Updated: two more feats and the base classes from the PHB. I also made the +2 save vs death effects from the Diehard feat apply to Fort saves when someone performs a coup de grace on the character. I just remembered that I've changed a handful of the traits, and added a handful of my own new traits. Altogether, that's two handfuls, which easily deserves a treatment of red-colored "this is a change" fontness. However, that's going to be a little time consuming and I may put it off INDEFINITELY.
rydi123 10-30-06, 07:46 AM	only really bad thing i see are the traits. they should be rebalanced to not hurt the characters. as they stand they give you -2 for every +1, which is unfair to just thrust on a character. or are they only optional?
FriendlyBiscuit 10-31-06, 12:10 AM	only really bad thing i see are the traits. they should be rebalanced to not hurt the characters. as they stand they give you -2 for every +1, which is unfair to just thrust on a character. or are they only optional?Traits are from Unearthed Arcana, and an optional element in any game.Traits are aspects of a character's personality, background, or physique that make him better at some activities and worse at others. In many ways, traits resemble feats: A character can have only a limited number of traits, and each trait provides some benefit. Unlike feats, however, traits always carry a corresponding drawback. In addition to their game effects, traits suggest characteristics about the character's personality that might lead to interesting roleplaying opportunities. Together with a character's class and feat selection, traits offer a way for game mechanics to encourage deeper character backgrounds and consistent roleplaying. Traits serve as an interesting starting point for roleplaying, reminding players of their characters' most prominent strengths and weaknesses. However, roleplaying a certain aspect of a character's personality does not require possessing the trait. For example, a paladin can be honest and forthright without the Honest trait. The player should roleplay the character consistently even though the character's honesty has no effect on his skill checks. http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedTraits.htmlI use them in my campaign. Generally, a small bonus to something you're good at is well worth a bigger penalty to something you're bad at. It's not quite a freebie, but it's still a nice bonus. They also serve as guides to make roleplaying a little easier. You're in a confusing situation, and you don't know what your character would do? Well, you seem to have written down that he is Cautious, or Reckless, or whatever, so instead of metagaming the best possible tactic, you play to your character's personality "Traits".
FriendlyBiscuit 10-31-06, 04:17 AM	Holy crap! The typos abound in my Classes section. I edited the most glaring ones. In my defense, I was very tired. I'm going to stop editing before I get very tired (and inaccurate) again.
Sarig the Genie 10-31-06, 02:56 PM	Bard: Bardi sages (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedCoreClass.html#bard) cannot be Chaotic. Learning and research tends to be stunted by chaotic impulses. A bardic sage who becomes chaotic cannot progress in levels as a bardic sage, though he retains all his bardic sage abilities. All bards, including variant bards, gain the abilities listed in the Dead Levels (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a) article. Learning and research tend to be shunted by chaotic impulses? Do you use an alternate alignment system? Never heard of the stereotypic CE wizard? Usually chaotic elves who seems to be quite capable of learning and research? ;)
FriendlyBiscuit 11-01-06, 03:53 AM	The original restrictions for the bardic sage: The bardic sage must be neutral good, neutral, or neutral evil. The true pursuit of knowledge cares little for ethical extremes. A bardic sage who becomes chaotic or lawful cannot progress in levels as a bardic sage, though he retains all his bardic sage abilities. seem even stranger, to me. Maybe I'll just scrap the alignment requirements for the sage altogether; I've already been tempted to scrap alignment requirements for all classes many times.
Sarig the Genie 11-01-06, 01:20 PM	The original restrictions for the bardic sage: seem even stranger, to me. Maybe I'll just scrap the alignment requirements for the sage altogether; I've already been tempted to scrap alignment requirements for all classes many times. Heh, agreed, that looks even more weird :)
FriendlyBiscuit 11-01-06, 02:29 PM	I asked my d20 what it thinks about alignment restrictions, and it rolled a 1. So, up in the Classes section, I've basically ruled alignment restrictions away, though they still are a good guide to what most people of a given class type should be.
taski 11-02-06, 05:36 PM	I asked my d20 what it thinks about alignment restrictions, and it rolled a 1. So, up in the Classes section, I've basically ruled alignment restrictions away, though they still are a good guide to what most people of a given class type should be. I like that idea. I've done basically the same thing for my game. It opens up some interesting multiclass combos that otherwise wouldn't work. A monk/barbarian, for instance, would be really awesome from a roleplaying standpoint -- calm and collected most of the time, squirreling away his emotions until the time comes to release it all in a focused blast of white-hot fury. It can be pretty fun trying to justify the breaks from the stereotypical molds of the classes. The possibilities for a paladin/bard... the proselytizer who's actually convincing... the diplomatic peacemaker with a big holy stick... the man whose zeal for goodness inspires others to greatness... etc.
FriendlyBiscuit 11-02-06, 07:38 PM	Speaking of alignment, I've put the Blackguard and the Reformed up in the PrCs. I don't have the Reformed's class abilities decided yet. A lot of it depends on the prereq feats for the class. The blackguard has power attack, cleave, and improved sunder for prereqs. Death and destruction is clearly the name of his game. With the Reformed, I wanted to go the route of less-fatal victories. One option was Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm, and Improved Trip. The thing with that, however, is that a Paladin is fairly MAD (multi-ability dependent), and Intelligence isn't high on their list of priorities. Combat Expertise requires 13 Int, whereas Power Attack only requires 13 Str, something a lot more likely and practical for most paladins. However, I kinda like the idea of a good paladin disarming a guy, tripping him, and then offering mercy to the downed combatant if he surrenders (with all her buddies surrounding him with swords drawn). Unarmed combat works too, though. Beat em down with nonlethal damage, render them harmless, and then give them a stern talking-to. Fisticuffs are pretty stereotypically heroic, too; in many of the movies we watch, the good guys disdain bloody, brutal weapons, roll up their sleeves, and lay the smack down. Another advantage to the unarmed combat line is that it gives me something that can progress in place of the blackguard's sneak attack. Also, the Blackguard gets a form of Lay on Hands similar to what he used to have as a paladin [of honor]. I didn't want to give the Reformed a Deadly Touch ability identical to what he used to have as a paladin of tyranny, as it can lead to accidental, swift deaths, but the nonlethal-damage theme gave me an idea for a damaging touch that wouldn't burden his conscience and his decision-making process every time he used it. This all worked together rather well, so tentatively I'm sticking to this. It's not like Sneak Attack and the Hide skill are things you would typically expect to see in an anti-paladin, but they worked and gave the Blackguard a little more flavor. Hopefully the nonlethal/unarmed-ness will give my Reformed its own unique spin. The guy from Waking Lands did it even different, and went for the knightly image, requiring his paladins to have Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, and Spirited Charge. At any rate, the various ideas for the Reformed were drawn from: http://www.wakinglands.com/htm_files/prestige_classes_paladin.htm http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedPrestige.html#prestige-paladin http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedCoreClass.html#freedom-slaughter-and-tyranny http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/paladin.html http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/blackguard.html Side note: I just realized that an Animal Companion and Shapeshift make for a killer-good one level dip. Barbarian 1/Druid 1/Fighter 2/Rogue 1 could dish out ridiculous melee damage all by itself, with the animal companion flanking for fun and profit. I definitely will delay the druid's Animal Companion to 2nd level... should I delay it all the way to 4th, just like the SRD/RAW ranger?
FriendlyBiscuit 11-05-06, 03:37 PM	Leaving various thoughts about Druids at the back of my mind, I added the rules I've been using for the base classes from Tome of Battle and the Complete X series.
FriendlyBiscuit 02-08-07, 02:03 AM	SOON! A reason for low-casters (paladin, ranger, hexblade, etc) to take full-casting PrCs! A reason for a sorceror to take a couple levels of wizard, or for a cleric to toss his armor aside and venture into the wild with his local druid to learn the spiritual laws of the land. These two things aren't very well supported by the rules. For a martial, weak caster, full-casting PrCs tend not to yield much besides full casting. Full weak casting... is weak. Crap. So the only three options, really, are to: ignore the PrC even though it suits your character, dip one level into a real spellcasting class, or fall increasingly behind the PrC's intended power curve. Those are pretty crappy options. Essentially, when I've finished the exact details and wording of the rules, players of a weak casting class will, upon entering a full-casting PrC, begin to cast using an appropriate full-casting class's rules. For example, a Hexblade 8/Fatespinner 5 would cast spells as if he were a hexblade 8/sorceror 5, or a paladin 6/radiant servant of pelor 11 would cast as if he were a paladin 6/cleric 11, or alternatively pal 6/favored soul 11. Of course, you wouldn't get the other benefits of the class such as turning undead, so on. You wouldn't outshine a character who was a full spellcaster all the way, but you'd be a lot better off than you would be with the three options under the old rules. The second rule is going to be a lot more complicated. I want a sorceror 8 to be able to study at the desk of a powerful wizard, take a couple levels of wizard, and gain the spells that a 9th and 10th level wizard would cast, then go back to gaining sorc spells at 11, or whatever. The idea is variation without interruption. The WotC method to solving the dual-caster problem is to advance both, often while giving other bonuses such as with Arcane Hierophant and Ultimate Magus. I think my solution is a little bit more elegant and conducive to organic, level-by-level character building, but fleshing out the exact rules is complicated and will take awhile. I'm really excited about both of these rules; most of my other houserules are simple variants of existing rules. These, however, manage to both be rather unusual and also fill some very vacant niches in D&D's player character ecosystem. I hope that my players will at some point be able to make use of them so I can see it in action!
FriendlyBiscuit 04-08-07, 08:55 AM	Still no fully-fleshed out details available about the aforementioned houserules. I've been busy, and I'm kinda putting house-rules on the back burner as I prepare for a major in-game event that will let characters redesign themselves from the ground up, with limitations to keep them from changing their character's flavor too much. The basic premise is that they gain access to an ancient tome (which is of course an artifact) that allows them to rewrite their truename. At that point, I'll present my characters with an organized little pamphlet that I am writing in Word that brings them all up to speed on exactly what houserules there are. Some of my characters forget houserules, and I forget to remind them... other times, someone's not present the day that I announce a particular houserule. Either way, adoption and awareness of any given rule is probably only at about 60%, because it's all either not written down or not organized. After my players are all up to speed and good to go, I'll transcribe the Word doc into boards-friendly formatting with all the [brackets] and whatnot. Probably a new thread so I can let this hodgepodged dinosaur die. I revised and updated most of the posts with some stuff that was easy to write in. The transparency rules are better, Diehard has been made even better, new skills are in, and I'm starting to add support for skill tricks.
IronMouse 04-08-07, 01:27 PM	Bad Luck Roll: When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, roll a d20. If you roll a 1-5, you overextend yourself and let your guard down, provoking an AoO. If you roll a 6-10, you swing too forcefully, falling off balance (and prone). (This represents nothing more than the degree of bad luck your character is experiencing at that moment, therefore isn't affected by any character attributes, except for...) If you have any luck feats, the bad luck roll is increased by 1 before results are determined. This means that if somehow you have 10 luck feats, natural ones represent nothing more than an unlucky missed swing. Just like probably all other fumble rules in existence, this variant does little besides nerfing already weak classes (melee types) and underpowered feats/fighting styles (TWF, great cleave, whirlwind etc. -> lots of attack rolls, lots of fumbles). It also makes high level fighters look highly incompetent - compared to 1st level commoners.
FriendlyBiscuit 04-09-07, 04:09 AM	I would agree... were it not for Action Points. Currently, my artificer is always running out of action points by hastening his infusions. My spellcasters are spending action points on their poor saves, and their low rolls when trying to squeeze off this or that touch attack. My brute-types, however, are running around with a fat load of action points that they pretty much never spend unless **** hits the fan. Stabilizing or not stabilizing became a non-issue, and I buffed Diehard because it was pretty much unnecessary. You'd think that they enjoy this... but actually a couple of em were complaining that they had no use for their action points. So I added in the crit-confirmation special use of action points... and realized that my brute-types would now be running around with a decent amount of action points that they saved up so as to confirm crits and make stabilization rolls. Thus the fumble roll was added, and the ability to reduce them in the same way as when boosting a crit confirmation. This way, they will run out of action points if they confirm every crit and deny every fumble, causing them to save action points for appropriate moments... for when it's truly time to be a hero, to never fail, never fall, and deliver devastating wounds.You can spend 1 action point to increase a critical confirmation roll by 5 + your Base Attack Bonus, or to decrease a bad luck roll by 5 + your base attack bonus.