A few house rules - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

A few house rules

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
kkdragonlord
May 29, 2008 18:33:11 [b]Changes to Weapons table:[/b]

Martial Weapons:
+2 Great Axe 1d12
+3 Long Sword 1d8 Versatile

Superior weapons:
+3 Greatsword 2d6
+3 Bastard Sword 1d10
+2 Double-Axe 2d6 High-Crit

[b]Vitality Points and Wound Points[/b]

hit points are renamed to vitality points
healing surge is renamed to adrenal surge
negative hit points are renamed to wound points

Vitality points represent character exhaustion, turning deadly strikes into flesh wounds, cuts and bruises, near-misses and such. When "bloodied" the character is getting tired, at half capacity and is bleeding a little from superficial cuts and bruises.

- When a character reaches the Bloodied condition he loses 1 wound point, every time a character takes a critical hit he also loses 1 wound point.

- Fatigue is an additional condition: -1 to attacks and -1 to speed.

- The player has to keep track of how many wound points the character has, the total wound points is equal to the bloodied amount, at 0 vps he is bleeding and dying.

- When he is low on Vitality points, if he gets hit and take enough damage to go to 0 Vps or, he takes a lethal blow. Subtract the excess damage from the current amount of wound points.

- The character becomes fatigued and must roll endurance DC 15+(total wounds lost) or fall unconscious and start dying, on a 1 he also loses 1wp (the player can choose not to roll and auto-fail)

- If he succeeds he may stay conscious and on his turn can take 1 action/round, but he will bleed an additional 1wp for every action he takes that is not a minor action.

- At the beginning of the next round he bleeds another wound point and makes a dying check, if it succeeds he can roll to stay conscious again at the previous DC+ points bled, if it fails he falls unconscious, if its a 1 he bleeds another Wp

- If the player rolls a 20 on either roll, the character stabilizes with 1 Vp but is still fatigued until he recovers all wounds

- When wound points reach 0 the character is dead, if failed to stabilize 3 times, the character is dead

- If another character uses first aid to stabilize the character, he goes to 1 Vp and can act again, but is fatigued until he recovers all wounds, on a 1 the failed attempt deals 1 damage to wounds.

- A separate first aid can allow the character to spend adrenal surges, on a 20 the first aid recovers 1wp.

The only ways to heal wound points are:
a) Extended rest= 5%Wps (minimum 1)
b) Full rest = 10%Wps (minimum 2)
c) First aid DC15 and 5 min rest immediately after combat= 5%Wp min1 (10%Wp min2 on a 20, requires the use of an adrenal surge)
d) First aid DC10* and extended Rest or full rest = +5% Wps min1 (+10% min2 on a 20) *+5% min1 for every additional +5 the check beats the DC.
b) Magical healing like the +1d6 of healing word or the spell cure light wounds
(magical healing always recover an equivalent amount of vitality points as well)
c) Magical healing from potions, items and other sources

Heroic Feat: Toughness (replaces the normal rules for toughness)
Prerequisites: Con 15
You gain +5 hit points per tier. You get a +2 bonus to your remain conscious rolls and may fail one stabilizing roll without immediately falling unconscious. Furthermore you will only bleed 1 additional wound point if you take an action greater than a minor action (instead of the normal 1 Wp per action).

Paragon Feat: Die Hard
Prerequisites: Toughness, Con 17
The character can make his check to stay conscious without having to roll the stabilizing check e does not bleed any additional wound point for taking actions.

[b]Combat Options:[/b]

Thrusting Charge
You get a +1 to hit on a successful charge

Powerful Charge
You deal +2 damage on a successful charge

Small Size:
+2 to stealth rolls

Extra class and racial feats
At every Odd level (except the 1st, 11th and 21st) the character may choose an additional feat that has his race or class as a prerequisite.

Economy
Normal items will follow Medieval Age prices from the Rolemaster supplement ...And a 10 foot pole
Magic items will either be found or created through Rituals with no loss of energy for Disenchanting.
Residuum can be stored inside Astral Diamonds, up to 10 item levels of residuum per diamond.
Items with higher levels than the caster can be created but need an Arcana Check of 15+item level to the max of 4 levels higher than the caster, if the check is failed the excess amount of residuum is wasted.
Specific enchanting rituals may be learned to make specific magic items, but they require specific components defined by the DM.

[b]*Updated: June 06*[/b]
#2
stvesa
May 31, 2008 20:43:47 Pretty extreme Vitality/Wound System... Depending on how the game goes, I'm thinking of implementing this Wound System....
"Whenever a Character enters the Bloodied condition, he must make a saving throw. If the saving throw is failed, the Character gains 1 Wound. For every Wound the Character has, lower his Maximum (not current) Hp by 1. As Hp drops, the Character's Healing Surges restore less Hp and his Bloodied value changes. Every time the Character is hit while Bloodied will trigger this saving throw as well. Every time a Critical Hit is successfully made, the victim gains 1 Wound. Wounds can only be healed by Daily Powers and extended medical attention.
Daily Powers that heal Hp restore wounds at a rate of 1 per Die rolled.
Extended medical attention comes in the form of the Heal Skill. Make a Heal Check DC 20 + (1/3 Lv of Character being treated) + (5 if Paragon) + (10 if Epic). This Check requires 6 Hours of effort. For every 1 Hour of treatment beyond 6, the roll receives a +1 (maximum of +8). Upon making the Check successfully, reduce the total Check result by the DC. Reduce Wounds by ½ of this value."
#3
kkdragonlord
Jun 01, 2008 20:16:21 Really cool take on it =)

what i was trying to accomplish was just making hps more believable with as little effect on the game as possible, as it turned out, it even became beneficial to tough and lucky characters somewhat.
I figured magical healing would be commonplace, so the wounds are there just for fluff.

The direction i am going now is on setting a target number of damage, say 2xhealing surge, that if taken to wounds in a single blow will activate a saving throw with -1 for every 10 points of damage and a bonus for Con Mod.
If the attack is also a Crit, double the penalty for the saving throw.
If the save is failed a severe wound was inflicted that will add a penalty to the characters effectiviness such as crushing or breaking of bones, crippling wounds, and such, or even the sundering of items (magic ones get a save if attacked by lower level creatures, items with bonus equal to the items level above the attacks level)
The healing of these wounds will take time and treatment mostly, paragon to epic healing, or ritual healing based on specific herb components (most magic is for fleshwounds and bleeding), endurance checks will affect normal healing though, I´ll probably come up with a simple Xdays or XExtended rests needed.

ill have to make a list of conditions though.
#4
stvesa
Jun 01, 2008 21:34:05 I think you've got a good idea there. ^_^ I know everyone has their own outlook on things, I personally enjoy the superfantastic unrealistic style... which doesn't mean I don't like the idea of adding difficulty via a Wounds system. =D
Because 4E is meant to be a quicker paced experienced (which may be good or bad based on your style) I wanted the Wounds system to flow relatively fast during combat. Damage, saving throw, apply Wound, reduce Max Hp, move on. No matter how you cut it though, a system of this variety is bound to slow combat down a bit especially if you apply it to monsters. Oh well, I'm willing to playtest a houserule and admit whether or not it works. =)
#5
kkdragonlord
Jun 06, 2008 8:50:57 If the character takes a considerable amount of damage that get through to the wound points he may suffer an additional effect from the blow. Crits have a bigger chance of causing such effects and the effects are rolled kinda randomly but with a bell curve to lower the odds of a severe effect. Example:

The Fighter has 42 vps total and is at 10vps, he takes a blow that deals 11 dmg (which is equal to his surge amount), he must roll a save with an added -2 for every additional surge amount the damage represents (the blow must reach the wound points to trigger the roll), he also adds a bonus to the save equal to his Con modifier, in case he fails the save he will suffer an additional effect. Crit rolls double the penalties for the save.

Some of the effects of critical wounds can only be lessened by Heal checks for a period of time or powerful healing rituals. Endurance checks may lower the time for recovery of broken bones.

Items make a save with a +1 bonus for every 3 levels of the item, if the damage they take is sufficient, they are broken.

[u]Critical Wounds Table (attacker rolls 2d10)[/u]
(bell curve, middle rolls are more common)
2 dmg/break ring
3 dmg/break implement/weapon
4 dmg/break Arm item/shield/off hand
5 dmg/break head item
6 dmg/break neck item
7 dmg/break hand item
8 dmg/break Feet item
9 dmg/break waist item
10 prone
11 ongoing 2(save ends)
12 penalty -2ac/-2attack(save ends)
13 dazed (save ends)
14 stunned (save ends)
15 weakened (save ends)
16 Blinded (save ends)
17 penalty short rest -2ac/-2attack*
18 Unconscious (save ends)
19 Break/disable body part: roll d20 (30 days; Roll Endurance DC15, every point after lowers 1 day to min of 1)*
20 loss of body part roll d20;**

*Heal Check: a successful heal check is necessary every time the character takes a short or extended rest to allow the healing of the wound for the day.

**Rituals: there are specialized healing rituals that allow the recovery of
body parts, they may need the part to be reattached to work.

d20: 1-5fingers, 6-7ears, 8-9thumbs, 10nose, 11-12hand, 13-14lower
arm, 15-16foot, 17-18lower leg, 19-20eye (+1ongoing for every 5 on
roll(save ends)

Rule for enemies:
If enemy is bloodied and character deals its surge amount of damage in a single attack, make a critical wounds roll.
(Elites and solos have such huge amount of hit points that its nearly impossible to trigger a crit wound roll)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 kkdragonlord May 29, 2008 18:33:11	[b]Changes to Weapons table:[/b] Martial Weapons: +2 Great Axe 1d12 +3 Long Sword 1d8 Versatile Superior weapons: +3 Greatsword 2d6 +3 Bastard Sword 1d10 +2 Double-Axe 2d6 High-Crit [b]Vitality Points and Wound Points[/b] hit points are renamed to vitality points healing surge is renamed to adrenal surge negative hit points are renamed to wound points Vitality points represent character exhaustion, turning deadly strikes into flesh wounds, cuts and bruises, near-misses and such. When "bloodied" the character is getting tired, at half capacity and is bleeding a little from superficial cuts and bruises. - When a character reaches the Bloodied condition he loses 1 wound point, every time a character takes a critical hit he also loses 1 wound point. - Fatigue is an additional condition: -1 to attacks and -1 to speed. - The player has to keep track of how many wound points the character has, the total wound points is equal to the bloodied amount, at 0 vps he is bleeding and dying. - When he is low on Vitality points, if he gets hit and take enough damage to go to 0 Vps or, he takes a lethal blow. Subtract the excess damage from the current amount of wound points. - The character becomes fatigued and must roll endurance DC 15+(total wounds lost) or fall unconscious and start dying, on a 1 he also loses 1wp (the player can choose not to roll and auto-fail) - If he succeeds he may stay conscious and on his turn can take 1 action/round, but he will bleed an additional 1wp for every action he takes that is not a minor action. - At the beginning of the next round he bleeds another wound point and makes a dying check, if it succeeds he can roll to stay conscious again at the previous DC+ points bled, if it fails he falls unconscious, if its a 1 he bleeds another Wp - If the player rolls a 20 on either roll, the character stabilizes with 1 Vp but is still fatigued until he recovers all wounds - When wound points reach 0 the character is dead, if failed to stabilize 3 times, the character is dead - If another character uses first aid to stabilize the character, he goes to 1 Vp and can act again, but is fatigued until he recovers all wounds, on a 1 the failed attempt deals 1 damage to wounds. - A separate first aid can allow the character to spend adrenal surges, on a 20 the first aid recovers 1wp. The only ways to heal wound points are: a) Extended rest= 5%Wps (minimum 1) b) Full rest = 10%Wps (minimum 2) c) First aid DC15 and 5 min rest immediately after combat= 5%Wp min1 (10%Wp min2 on a 20, requires the use of an adrenal surge) d) First aid DC10* and extended Rest or full rest = +5% Wps min1 (+10% min2 on a 20) +5% min1 for every additional +5 the check beats the DC. b) Magical healing like the +1d6 of healing word or the spell cure light wounds (magical healing always recover an equivalent amount of vitality points as well) c) Magical healing from potions, items and other sources Heroic Feat:* Toughness (replaces the normal rules for toughness) Prerequisites: Con 15 You gain +5 hit points per tier. You get a +2 bonus to your remain conscious rolls and may fail one stabilizing roll without immediately falling unconscious. Furthermore you will only bleed 1 additional wound point if you take an action greater than a minor action (instead of the normal 1 Wp per action). Paragon Feat: Die Hard Prerequisites: Toughness, Con 17 The character can make his check to stay conscious without having to roll the stabilizing check e does not bleed any additional wound point for taking actions. [b]Combat Options:[/b] Thrusting Charge You get a +1 to hit on a successful charge Powerful Charge You deal +2 damage on a successful charge Small Size: +2 to stealth rolls Extra class and racial feats At every Odd level (except the 1st, 11th and 21st) the character may choose an additional feat that has his race or class as a prerequisite. Economy Normal items will follow Medieval Age prices from the Rolemaster supplement ...And a 10 foot pole Magic items will either be found or created through Rituals with no loss of energy for Disenchanting. Residuum can be stored inside Astral Diamonds, up to 10 item levels of residuum per diamond. Items with higher levels than the caster can be created but need an Arcana Check of 15+item level to the max of 4 levels higher than the caster, if the check is failed the excess amount of residuum is wasted. Specific enchanting rituals may be learned to make specific magic items, but they require specific components defined by the DM. [b]Updated: June 06[/b]
#2 stvesa May 31, 2008 20:43:47	Pretty extreme Vitality/Wound System... Depending on how the game goes, I'm thinking of implementing this Wound System.... "Whenever a Character enters the Bloodied condition, he must make a saving throw. If the saving throw is failed, the Character gains 1 Wound. For every Wound the Character has, lower his Maximum (not current) Hp by 1. As Hp drops, the Character's Healing Surges restore less Hp and his Bloodied value changes. Every time the Character is hit while Bloodied will trigger this saving throw as well. Every time a Critical Hit is successfully made, the victim gains 1 Wound. Wounds can only be healed by Daily Powers and extended medical attention. Daily Powers that heal Hp restore wounds at a rate of 1 per Die rolled. Extended medical attention comes in the form of the Heal Skill. Make a Heal Check DC 20 + (1/3 Lv of Character being treated) + (5 if Paragon) + (10 if Epic). This Check requires 6 Hours of effort. For every 1 Hour of treatment beyond 6, the roll receives a +1 (maximum of +8). Upon making the Check successfully, reduce the total Check result by the DC. Reduce Wounds by ½ of this value."
#3 kkdragonlord Jun 01, 2008 20:16:21	Really cool take on it =) what i was trying to accomplish was just making hps more believable with as little effect on the game as possible, as it turned out, it even became beneficial to tough and lucky characters somewhat. I figured magical healing would be commonplace, so the wounds are there just for fluff. The direction i am going now is on setting a target number of damage, say 2xhealing surge, that if taken to wounds in a single blow will activate a saving throw with -1 for every 10 points of damage and a bonus for Con Mod. If the attack is also a Crit, double the penalty for the saving throw. If the save is failed a severe wound was inflicted that will add a penalty to the characters effectiviness such as crushing or breaking of bones, crippling wounds, and such, or even the sundering of items (magic ones get a save if attacked by lower level creatures, items with bonus equal to the items level above the attacks level) The healing of these wounds will take time and treatment mostly, paragon to epic healing, or ritual healing based on specific herb components (most magic is for fleshwounds and bleeding), endurance checks will affect normal healing though, I´ll probably come up with a simple Xdays or XExtended rests needed. ill have to make a list of conditions though.
#4 stvesa Jun 01, 2008 21:34:05	I think you've got a good idea there. ^_^ I know everyone has their own outlook on things, I personally enjoy the superfantastic unrealistic style... which doesn't mean I don't like the idea of adding difficulty via a Wounds system. =D Because 4E is meant to be a quicker paced experienced (which may be good or bad based on your style) I wanted the Wounds system to flow relatively fast during combat. Damage, saving throw, apply Wound, reduce Max Hp, move on. No matter how you cut it though, a system of this variety is bound to slow combat down a bit especially if you apply it to monsters. Oh well, I'm willing to playtest a houserule and admit whether or not it works. =)
#5 kkdragonlord Jun 06, 2008 8:50:57	If the character takes a considerable amount of damage that get through to the wound points he may suffer an additional effect from the blow. Crits have a bigger chance of causing such effects and the effects are rolled kinda randomly but with a bell curve to lower the odds of a severe effect. Example: The Fighter has 42 vps total and is at 10vps, he takes a blow that deals 11 dmg (which is equal to his surge amount), he must roll a save with an added -2 for every additional surge amount the damage represents (the blow must reach the wound points to trigger the roll), he also adds a bonus to the save equal to his Con modifier, in case he fails the save he will suffer an additional effect. Crit rolls double the penalties for the save. Some of the effects of critical wounds can only be lessened by Heal checks for a period of time or powerful healing rituals. Endurance checks may lower the time for recovery of broken bones. Items make a save with a +1 bonus for every 3 levels of the item, if the damage they take is sufficient, they are broken. [u]Critical Wounds Table (attacker rolls 2d10)[/u] (bell curve, middle rolls are more common) 2 dmg/break ring 3 dmg/break implement/weapon 4 dmg/break Arm item/shield/off hand 5 dmg/break head item 6 dmg/break neck item 7 dmg/break hand item 8 dmg/break Feet item 9 dmg/break waist item 10 prone 11 ongoing 2(save ends) 12 penalty -2ac/-2attack(save ends) 13 dazed (save ends) 14 stunned (save ends) 15 weakened (save ends) 16 Blinded (save ends) 17 penalty short rest -2ac/-2attack* 18 Unconscious (save ends) 19 Break/disable body part: roll d20 (30 days; Roll Endurance DC15, every point after lowers 1 day to min of 1)* 20 loss of body part roll d20;** Heal Check: a successful heal check is necessary every time the character takes a short or extended rest to allow the healing of the wound for the day. Rituals: there are specialized healing rituals that allow the recovery of body parts, they may need the part to be reattached to work. d20: 1-5fingers, 6-7ears, 8-9thumbs, 10nose, 11-12hand, 13-14lower arm, 15-16foot, 17-18lower leg, 19-20eye (+1ongoing for every 5 on roll(save ends) Rule for enemies:* If enemy is bloodied and character deals its surge amount of damage in a single attack, make a critical wounds roll. (Elites and solos have such huge amount of hit points that its nearly impossible to trigger a crit wound roll)