Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Tequila_Sunrise 02-07-08, 04:22 PM	The Tequila Sunrise Tome of Collected House Rules and Variants (http://lucasbuchanan.com/Downloads) Inside you'll find dozens of simple and effective variants to make your game more streamlined and more fun, organized by Player's Handbook chapters (and a DMG chapter). TS
nonsi 02-08-08, 06:15 PM	Several notes / questions: Determining ability scores with card dealing Nice inspiration, but you should allow repeat if no single ability scored 15 or more. Elves Nice case, but it's not such a good idea to transfer abilities from one race to another. Half-Orcs Given their savage background, they're supposed to generally be more accustomed than others to be impulsive and address problems in a more violent approach. This justifies the -2 to CHA. But since they're also supposed to be quite scary, +4 to intimidate will offset this aspect to the positive. Otoh, Half-Orcs are presented as far more muscular and massive than humans. This warrants +2 to their CON. As for the Survival bonus – nothing too powerful or problematic thematically. Bonus Feats Imo they should come from a list, but it's always supposed to be versatile (see my lists of bonus feats). If your class provides you with Stunning Fist, you should have access to a decent reservoir of SF-related feats. No Class-Specific Multiclassing or Alignment Restrictions LG/NG Warlock... doesn't stick if you think of it. All the Best Class Benefits I can easily imagine how all non-casters would have at least 1 Rogue level along the way. Limited Multiclass Abilities Didn't quite understand how you determine the modified values. The Paladin +20 to an ability score at level 20 is nuts imho. Multiclass Caster Level Bonus Decent, but not comprehensive enough. If you're a Wizard, the same bonus applied to you Wizard levels from taking Fighter levels should be applied if you took Bard levels. Free 0-Level Spells This requires the removal of 0-Level Spells that affect HP. No Cross-Class Skills Show me a character that won't max out UMD or a combatant that won't max out Tumble. No Opposed Rolls This would limit the defender's possibility to suck or excel. More Skill Points I don't agree that all classes should have more than 2 SkPts / level, which emphasize they're extremely focused at other things. I do agree that most shouldn't though. No Background Skills Bad call. If you have the mechanics, why in the world make it vague ? No Skill Synergies Don't believe a lot of players would go for it. Modified Skills Really liked the diplomacy variant. UMD not simplified enough to warrant variation. Folded Skills Don't like – reduces realism (except Knowledge (History & Local), which make sense). Spot and Listen as all-class skills Makes no sense. Full spellcester always on the alert for ambushes seems awkward thematically. Leadership feat does not exist good call, since it's vague. Skill Focus Makes it actually useful as levels accumulate, but makes no sense if you just took it. Fast Movement as a feat How does it operate with Dash feat ? Brew Potion (up to 9th level) Reasonable and goes well with fantasy literature. Craft Arms and Armor (+1 not needed for other enhancements) Good call. This requirement always seemed odd to me. Damage Reduction and magical plusses Very good call that makes the weapon's strength count fro something. Weapons' Simplification Really didn't like. Check out my approach. At 1st it's more complicated than any system I know, but the complication is limited to grasping the principles and has no in-game bearings. The advantage with my approach is that you get to really mold your combat style and hand-pick your combat strengths (and the different weapons' advantages are quite balanced). Polymorph spells modification Not well-defined enough.
Krusk 02-08-08, 10:42 PM	Looking forward to reading it, don't have time right now, but I do remember that I liked how you redid epic levels.
Tequila_Sunrise 02-09-08, 12:15 PM	First, thanks for the feedback. I'll answer your questions but won't respond to all of the things you don't like because I wrote this collection of variants so that DMs can pick and choose the ones they like. None of them are truly dependent on another, though I did suggest that a couple be used in conjunction with another. Elves Nice case, but it's not such a good idea to transfer abilities from one race to another. Any suggestions? No Class-Specific Multiclassing or Alignment Restrictions LG/NG Warlock... doesn't stick if you think of it. Well a Good "warlock" would be either a mortal valiantly struggling against their dark heritage or more likely would only be a "warlock" on the character sheet. In play they would be a Blessed of Celestials or some such. Limited Multiclass Abilities Didn't quite understand how you determine the modified values. The bonus is limited to a value equal to class level, in other words. No Background Skills Bad call. If you have the mechanics, why in the world make it vague? A good number of the variants I collected are aimed at reducing unnecessary paperwork and number crunching. Folded Skills Don't like – reduces realism (except Knowledge (History & Local), which make sense). These variants aren't much concerned with realism--simplicity is the name of the game. Leadership feat does not exist good call, since it's vague. Glad you like. Banning Leadership is a fairly common house rule I've seen because it basically gives two PCs to one player and hence, more complication and longer rounds. Fast Movement as a feat How does it operate with Dash feat? Dash gives +5 speed in light/no armor, right? How it interacts with Fast Movement would be up to the DM, but personally if a player wants to burn to feats to get +15 speed I'm okay with that. Polymorph spells modification Not well-defined enough. It doesn't need to be; this house rule is barely even a house rule. It basically just encourages DMs to exercise discretion when dealing with a commonly problematic spell. I look forward to reading it, don't have time right now, but I do remember that I liked how you redid epic levels. The epic project is next on my pdfs-to-do list. :)
BigGus 02-10-08, 07:27 PM	Wow TS, you really must have put some time into this! :tiphat: There are several good variants in here which I haven’t seen before. The Dice Pool, Elf, Small Characters and Alertness/ Skill Focus ones jumped out at me as ones I’d consider using. I think there are several pretty bad variants in here, but that’s not a criticism towards you; I’d want to see as many as possible in there (other than those advocated by only one or two people and considered complete stupidity by everyone else). Which leads to my one actual criticism; while for some things you include multiple variants, for others you include only one, and not the best one IMO (to be fair, I should really have replied to your request for the best houserules on this forum, but I have so many it would have taken ages, so I never got round to it). The ones which particularly bothered me were; Natural Spell: This can be made perfectly viable by changing it a metamagic feat with a +1 spell slot adjustment, as suggested by Warweaver on this thread http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=976803 Toughness: I’ve seen lots of different variants of this, and yours is a bit overpowered for my taste (although not the most overpowered I’ve seen by a long way; I’ve seen one guy on these forums say he lets it give 3HPs per level). My personal favourite is: Gives bonus hit points equal to half your level, rounded down, with a minimum of 3 at levels 1-7 and a maximum of 10 at level 20+. Can be taken multiple times, stacks. Mordenkainen’s Disjunction: There are several nerfs of this floating around, of which my preferred one is Witch’s version which I quoted in my “Epic Fixes and Variants” thread. Time Stop: Rather than banning it outright, I prefer Zardnaar’s version (from the same page as the Warweaver Natural Spell nerf above) which has Time Stop “going back to 2nd ed- any spell cast during timestop fizzles once timestop ends with the exception being spells in effect on the caster. You can heal, buff and move around during timestop and thats about it.” One minor proofreading error; you say “loose” when you appear to mean “lose” at least twice (on pages 5 and 9). But other than that, a very good job; I look forward to the epic version. Maybe when you’ve done that (and any others you may have planned?) you could put them together into a sort of “Unearthed Arcana II”.
Tequila_Sunrise 02-11-08, 01:59 AM	Wow TS, you really must have put some time into this! :tiphat: There are several good variants in here which I haven’t seen before. The Dice Pool, Elf, Small Characters and Alertness/ Skill Focus ones jumped out at me as ones I’d consider using. I think there are several pretty bad variants in here, but that’s not a criticism towards you; I’d want to see as many as possible in there (other than those advocated by only one or two people and considered complete stupidity by everyone else). Glad you like it! The more I read the comments about my work on this board and others, the more I realize that at some point I need to go thru it again and add more commentary on the whys of these house rules. Which leads to my one actual criticism; while for some things you include multiple variants, for others you include only one, and not the best one IMO... Yeah, there were a lot more variants that people suggested to me than I put in this pdf. Often times I found myself having to seriously trim things down so that I didn't end up with half a page of variants just concerning Toughness, for example. Not that I couldn't spend half a page doing so, but I felt it would get boring, so I ended up choosing the house rules that I thought were simplest and best. Granted what I feel isn't automatically right, but then again it's my pdf. ;) Natural Spell: This can be made perfectly viable by changing it a metamagic feat with a +1 spell slot adjustment, as suggested by Warweaver on this thread http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=976803 Hm I may go back and add this one in, as there are quite a few people in between the "BAN IT!!!" camp and the "NS is fine" camp. [QUOTE=BigGus]Toughness: I’ve seen lots of different variants of this, and yours is a bit overpowered for my taste (although not the most overpowered I’ve seen by a long way; I’ve seen one guy on these forums say he lets it give 3HPs per level). My personal favourite is: Gives bonus hit points equal to half your level, rounded down, with a minimum of 3 at levels 1-7 and a maximum of 10 at level 20+. Can be taken multiple times, stacks. This is an example of things I trimmed down. While your way may or may not be better balanced than the one I recommended, consider how much text the RAW feat takes up. It's something like "You gain 3 hit points. This feat stacks with itself." The more words I add beyond those ten words, the more likely my readers are likely to just skip that house rule. Mordenkainen’s Disjunction: There are several nerfs of this floating around, of which my preferred one is Witch’s version which I quoted in my “Epic Fixes and Variants” thread. I actually do something similar to Witch, I just don't call my spell MD because it just feels misleading. At some point I will write up a pdf of my Expanded Basic Spells, which will include Superior Dispel Magic. *Sigh* Another project for another day. Time Stop: Rather than banning it outright, I prefer Zardnaar’s version (from the same page as the Warweaver Natural Spell nerf above) which has Time Stop “going back to 2nd ed- any spell cast during timestop fizzles once timestop ends with the exception being spells in effect on the caster. You can heal, buff and move around during timestop and thats about it.” I have to admit that my personal tastes did creep into my pdf, and this was one of those cases. I really just dislike anything in fantasy having to do with time travel; I tolerate Haste and Slow but I just recommended a ban on Time Stop because other people already have reasons to dislike it. But I'll take a look at the variant in your link. But other than that, a very good job; I look forward to the epic version. Maybe when you’ve done that (and any others you may have planned?) you could put them together into a sort of “Unearthed Arcana II”. We'll see...if I ever get to them.
Seldriss 02-11-08, 07:47 PM	For some reason, i can't access the link... :(
Tequila_Sunrise 02-11-08, 08:00 PM	Did you try putting the address into your address bar? http://lucasbuchanan.com/Downloads
Seldriss 02-12-08, 07:31 PM	Yes... I can connect to your website, but when i get to the download page, i can't download any of the pdf documents. It freezes and crashes. I tried with Firefox and Internet Explorer. I don't know what's wrong... Is there another way to get the pdf ?
Krusk 02-12-08, 08:21 PM	I accessed it fine with Opera, http://www.opera.com/ , but I doubt it is a browser thing. Are you right clicking on the link for the one you want and doing save target as? (on windows) and then choosing where to save it? Thats how I got it.
Tequila_Sunrise 02-12-08, 08:38 PM	Yes... I can connect to your website, but when i get to the download page, i can't download any of the pdf documents. It freezes and crashes. I tried with Firefox and Internet Explorer. I don't know what's wrong... Is there another way to get the pdf ? Sorry dude, I have no idea how to help with the link problem. I'm just getting into web construction, but it sounds like your computer is having a problem interacting with the download procedure. If you want, I could just email the pdf to you. TS
Seldriss 02-12-08, 08:58 PM	Problem solved. I tried after a reboot and it worked :D
Tequila_Sunrise 02-13-08, 02:35 PM	Great! I look forward to you comments.
skrap-san 02-13-08, 07:42 PM	I really fell for the card idea when assigning stats. But the two of each card made them unnecessary low, so my suggestion is to use three of each and then sum up as normal. This gives the super row of 18 17 16 14 13 12, but does not increase the probability too much. I haven't really done to hard playtests with it, but it doesn't seem to broken to my untrained eyes.
Tequila_Sunrise 02-13-08, 11:50 PM	I really fell for the card idea when assigning stats. But the two of each card made them unnecessary low, so my suggestion is to use three of each and then sum up as normal. This gives the super row of 18 17 16 14 13 12, but does not increase the probability too much. I haven't really done to hard playtests with it, but it doesn't seem to broken to my untrained eyes. I'm not sure I follow. You mean you deal out six piles of three cards each, and then add up the two highest cards from each pile? Sounds fine for those who like high powered games, but I like the original method because it assures that all PCs have the same total scores, if not exact control over them.
skrap-san 02-14-08, 02:01 AM	Almost, lets take it in steps. 1. make up the deck of card 3x4s 3x5s 3x6s etc up to 3x9s (18 total) 2. Shuffle the cards. 3. Make six Piles with two cards in each. 4. One pile is one ability. This grant you a bigger chance to get one or two around 15 and above, but mostly it keeps it in the mid range.
nonsi 02-14-08, 07:27 AM	Almost, lets take it in steps. 1. make up the deck of card 3x4s 3x5s 3x6s etc up to 3x9s (18 total) 2. Shuffle the cards. 3. Make six Piles with two cards in each. 4. One pile is one ability. This grant you a bigger chance to get one or two around 15 and above, but mostly it keeps it in the mid range. The most significant difference is that while his approach guarantees an average of 13 to all characters (save racial modofoers), with your approach a character might have [8,9,10,11,12,13] or [13,14,15,16,17,18]. Which is better - it's a matter of personal taste.
njdemke 02-20-08, 05:49 PM	I have been using the search function but hadn't found any alternative VOP rules until I just read your house rules with character points. I liked the fact that you took most of the core magical items you need and arranged them in a manner that allows a person to choose which ones fit their particular archetype. However, what would you do if you wanted to get rid of almost all magical items and not just the most frequently used magical items. I bought the Iron Heroes books that rebuilt D&D without magic casters and magic items but it was too complex and different for my DM to accept into the game. I was wondering if you had ever thought to make an alternative VOP for your house rules? I liked how you created feats that mimicked class features from other classes. As of right now with out such a feature D&D encourages heavy multiclassing in order to maximize class abilities for non casters. I was thinking that you could add to your list of class abilities that could be replicated by feats. Here is a list of some additional class abilities you might like: mettle divine grace, AC bonus Wis to AC, or Con to AC or Int to AC Special mount By the way hoq do you feel about increasing the number of feats available to each class so that classes can gain a few of these new class abilities?
Tequila_Sunrise 02-21-08, 03:21 AM	First a note to everyone: I've edited and updated my pdf with 'why fors' for each chapter and many specific variants. I have been using the search function but hadn't found any alternative VOP rules until I just read your house rules with character points. I liked the fact that you took most of the core magical items you need and arranged them in a manner that allows a person to choose which ones fit their particular archetype. However, what would you do if you wanted to get rid of almost all magical items and not just the most frequently used magical items. I bought the Iron Heroes books that rebuilt D&D without magic casters and magic items but it was too complex and different for my DM to accept into the game. I was wondering if you had ever thought to make an alternative VOP for your house rules? Glad you like my Character Points variant! If I were to completely remove magic items from the game, I think Character Points would be enough of a compensation. Other than those necessary 'standard' items, magic items are just icing on the cake, so to speak. If I wanted to give everyone access to more 'magic itemy' abilities, I'd probably give all PCs a free spell-like or supernatural ability (usable 1/day) of appropriate power every few levels. As to a specific VOP variant, I hadn't considered it. I guess I'm just not much into VOP one way or the other, although I did once have a player use it in my game. I liked how you created feats that mimicked class features from other classes. As of right now with out such a feature D&D encourages heavy multiclassing in order to maximize class abilities for non casters. I was thinking that you could add to your list of class abilities that could be replicated by feats. Here is a list of some additional class abilities you might like: mettle divine grace, AC bonus Wis to AC, or Con to AC or Int to AC Special mount Mettle is definately one for the list, along with many other non-core abilities. Divine grace, stat-AC boosters and special mounts I feel belong as class abilities, however. They provide significant benefits that improve with level so it feels wrong to have them so easily accessible, though maybe that's just me. I have made a 'Animal Companion for Any Class' variant, though I didn't include it in the pdf. With that variant, any given class basically trades away a class feature or two for an animal companion ala druid. Just because you shouldn't have to be an uptight crusader or a tree hugging hippie to have a pet that's worth a dam at high levels. By the way how do you feel about increasing the number of feats available to each class so that classes can gain a few of these new class abilities? You know, I completely forgot about that variant! A feat at each odd character level is a fairly common one. Will add!