Common 4E Houserules - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Common 4E Houserules

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Dranack
Jan 09, 2012 22:55:41 So, I'm finally getting back into a 4E campaign. I haven't had nearly as much XP with 4E as other editions, so consider me a noob. Are there any common houserules you folks use to make the game run a little more smoothly? Any suggestions will be appreciated.
#2
incenjucar
Jan 09, 2012 23:11:30 Using the Dark Sun inherent bonus rules is very very popular, as is handing out free Expertise feats.
#3
FLAvatar
Jan 10, 2012 0:32:37 A single minor action to draw and use potions and most other (minor action) consumables, and handwaving away a lot of the equipment juggling that would otherwise be required. Drinking a potion is more fun for everyone when it doesn't require 1 whole turn's worth of actions, feat investment, and/or specialized magic items.

Allow the corner squares of a Large or larger creatures to count as a side for flanking, otherwise they are very sad and lonely locations.

Let both versions of Magic Missile exist.

Ignore the encumbrance limits for mounts as often as possible, unless the players are regularly trying to haul every last bit of dungeon furnishing back to town for sale. The limits as is are too low for most races in heavy armor, and some of the bigger fellas (dragonborn, warforged, goliaths, minotaurs, et al) could move faster if they carried their horses instead of riding them.
#4
The_Jester
Jan 10, 2012 1:00:07 I'm fond of allowing action points to be used to re-roll Daily powers.

Not permitting extended rests until after a certain number of encounters.

Doubling monster damage and increasing hit points.

Removing options that decrease the number you can crit on (so not critting on a 19 or 18).
#5
Tony_Vargas
Jan 10, 2012 2:43:10
So, I'm finally getting back into a 4E campaign. I haven't had nearly as much XP with 4E as other editions, so consider me a noob. Are there any common houserules you folks use to make the game run a little more smoothly? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Nope, works fine as-is.

The addition of Essentials has made it a bit unwieldy, though, so I have seen a lot of DMs limit available content. Not exactly the same as a house-rule, but pretty close. Typically it's 'no Essentials' or 'Essentials only.' You see "off-line character builder only" occassionally.

#6
bone_naga
Jan 10, 2012 2:52:04
Using the Dark Sun inherent bonus rules is very very popular, as is handing out free Expertise feats.

This, although on the flip side some of us just ban the expertise feats (or all static bonus feats) instead of giving them out for free.

I've also previously used a houserule (before monster damage values were fixed) where all characters and monsters applied their level bonuses to damage as well as attacks. Actually I may bring that one back for my current campaign, although it does favor classes that frequently make multiple attacks.

Extended rests only occur at the end of "chapter" or adventure (my campaign has different combat pacing so it's not unusual that the party may only have 1-2 combat encounters in a day, which would otherwise make dailies really strong encounter powers).

I handle encumbrance more on a common sense "how much are you carrying and how big is that stuff" manner.

That's all I can really think of right now. Not too much to fix with 4e.
#7
dernic
Jan 10, 2012 6:16:27 A nice thing that was added by my DM in a campaign was some kind of a group power.

He called it "Swift Recovery"
- useable in and out of combat
- Daily Power
- Minor Action (the whole group has to agree to use the power, usable in any PC's turn)
- restores every player to full HP and restores half of any PC's healing surges (if you have 10 surges per day you'll get 5 surges)
- Penalty: extended rest requires double of the normal time (12 hours instead of 6 hours or 8 hours instead of 4 hours for Eladrin, Drow and the like)
- does not restore any daily powers or action points

Whats it good for? Its an alternative to a situation I'm sure most of you are familiar with: Your group is somewhere in a hostile area, probably in a dungeon and runs out of healing surges... Oh lets just rest in this dark cavern, I'm sure no enemy will get around the next corner for the next six hours. So even after a hard fight the group still has the energy to look for a safe spot.

I know many of you will probably not agree with it and write a shitload of arguments why this should not be... but its a houserule so I dont care.
#8
frothsof
Jan 10, 2012 6:22:04 its not really a houserule but eliminating skill challenges from the game
#9
dernic
Jan 10, 2012 6:33:40 Actually it doesnt, it should just show that a couple of people are calling on their last inner reserves to make it out of somewhere alive, we're not metagaming or something with it. Skill challenges do not suffer.
#10
frothsof
Jan 10, 2012 7:18:50
Actually it doesnt, it should just show that a couple of people are calling on their last inner reserves to make it out of somewhere alive, we're not metagaming or something with it. Skill challenges do not suffer.

i wasnt referring to your post, just to the op
#11
Dranack
Jan 10, 2012 8:36:10 Good suggestions so far. Let me clarify for future posts. My group is fairly small, doesn't get to play often(2x/month usually). When we do get to play, it is usually a 3-4 hour session every couple of weeks. That means I am looking to optimize for speed. We don't have long campaigns, just 1 or 2 episode mini adventures.
Having said that - any other advice or house rules?
#12
Darkwolf_Bloodsbane
Jan 10, 2012 9:09:53 That''s pretty often. I'd kill to play 'only' 2x a month.
#13
GelatinousOctahedron
Jan 10, 2012 10:25:57 The main ones I would use if I ever DM:

Everyone gets melee training for free at first, weapon and implement expertise at 6, and improved defenses at 11.

Inherent Bonuses

No mechanial benefit of an extended rest until 2 milestones.

Con shamans and druids both get chain proficiency for free and swarm druid resistance works in chain. All templar clerics get scale prof or heavy shield for free. Warpriests able to switch out one encounter power for a different warpriest power for free. All wardens can second wind as a minor action, dwarfs as a free action (not sure about that, but I would at least give it as a feat to encourage non-dwarf wardens). I am willing to fix other classes that should have received errata if I think about them, but these are what come to the top of my head.
#14
Garthanos
Jan 10, 2012 10:29:49
The main ones I would use if I ever DM:

Everyone gets melee training for free at first, weapon and implement expertise at 6, and improved defenses at 11.

Inherent Bonuses

No mechanial benefit of an extended rest until 2 milestones.

Con shamans and druids both get chain proficiency for free and swarm druid resistance works in chain. All templar clerics get scale prof or heavy shield for free.

Can I get plate with the Armored Warlord feat that normally gives me scale? We could call it Knighted Lord instead ;p

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Dranack Jan 09, 2012 22:55:41	So, I'm finally getting back into a 4E campaign. I haven't had nearly as much XP with 4E as other editions, so consider me a noob. Are there any common houserules you folks use to make the game run a little more smoothly? Any suggestions will be appreciated.
#2 incenjucar Jan 09, 2012 23:11:30	Using the Dark Sun inherent bonus rules is very very popular, as is handing out free Expertise feats.
#3 FLAvatar Jan 10, 2012 0:32:37	A single minor action to draw and use potions and most other (minor action) consumables, and handwaving away a lot of the equipment juggling that would otherwise be required. Drinking a potion is more fun for everyone when it doesn't require 1 whole turn's worth of actions, feat investment, and/or specialized magic items. Allow the corner squares of a Large or larger creatures to count as a side for flanking, otherwise they are very sad and lonely locations. Let both versions of Magic Missile exist. Ignore the encumbrance limits for mounts as often as possible, unless the players are regularly trying to haul every last bit of dungeon furnishing back to town for sale. The limits as is are too low for most races in heavy armor, and some of the bigger fellas (dragonborn, warforged, goliaths, minotaurs, et al) could move faster if they carried their horses instead of riding them.
#4 The_Jester Jan 10, 2012 1:00:07	I'm fond of allowing action points to be used to re-roll Daily powers. Not permitting extended rests until after a certain number of encounters. Doubling monster damage and increasing hit points. Removing options that decrease the number you can crit on (so not critting on a 19 or 18).
#5 Tony_Vargas Jan 10, 2012 2:43:10	So, I'm finally getting back into a 4E campaign. I haven't had nearly as much XP with 4E as other editions, so consider me a noob. Are there any common houserules you folks use to make the game run a little more smoothly? Any suggestions will be appreciated. Nope, works fine as-is. The addition of Essentials has made it a bit unwieldy, though, so I have seen a lot of DMs limit available content. Not exactly the same as a house-rule, but pretty close. Typically it's 'no Essentials' or 'Essentials only.' You see "off-line character builder only" occassionally.
#6 bone_naga Jan 10, 2012 2:52:04	Using the Dark Sun inherent bonus rules is very very popular, as is handing out free Expertise feats. This, although on the flip side some of us just ban the expertise feats (or all static bonus feats) instead of giving them out for free. I've also previously used a houserule (before monster damage values were fixed) where all characters and monsters applied their level bonuses to damage as well as attacks. Actually I may bring that one back for my current campaign, although it does favor classes that frequently make multiple attacks. Extended rests only occur at the end of "chapter" or adventure (my campaign has different combat pacing so it's not unusual that the party may only have 1-2 combat encounters in a day, which would otherwise make dailies really strong encounter powers). I handle encumbrance more on a common sense "how much are you carrying and how big is that stuff" manner. That's all I can really think of right now. Not too much to fix with 4e.
#7 dernic Jan 10, 2012 6:16:27	A nice thing that was added by my DM in a campaign was some kind of a group power. He called it "Swift Recovery" - useable in and out of combat - Daily Power - Minor Action (the whole group has to agree to use the power, usable in any PC's turn) - restores every player to full HP and restores half of any PC's healing surges (if you have 10 surges per day you'll get 5 surges) - Penalty: extended rest requires double of the normal time (12 hours instead of 6 hours or 8 hours instead of 4 hours for Eladrin, Drow and the like) - does not restore any daily powers or action points Whats it good for? Its an alternative to a situation I'm sure most of you are familiar with: Your group is somewhere in a hostile area, probably in a dungeon and runs out of healing surges... Oh lets just rest in this dark cavern, I'm sure no enemy will get around the next corner for the next six hours. So even after a hard fight the group still has the energy to look for a safe spot. I know many of you will probably not agree with it and write a shitload of arguments why this should not be... but its a houserule so I dont care.
#8 frothsof Jan 10, 2012 6:22:04	its not really a houserule but eliminating skill challenges from the game
#9 dernic Jan 10, 2012 6:33:40	Actually it doesnt, it should just show that a couple of people are calling on their last inner reserves to make it out of somewhere alive, we're not metagaming or something with it. Skill challenges do not suffer.
#10 frothsof Jan 10, 2012 7:18:50	Actually it doesnt, it should just show that a couple of people are calling on their last inner reserves to make it out of somewhere alive, we're not metagaming or something with it. Skill challenges do not suffer. i wasnt referring to your post, just to the op
#11 Dranack Jan 10, 2012 8:36:10	Good suggestions so far. Let me clarify for future posts. My group is fairly small, doesn't get to play often(2x/month usually). When we do get to play, it is usually a 3-4 hour session every couple of weeks. That means I am looking to optimize for speed. We don't have long campaigns, just 1 or 2 episode mini adventures. Having said that - any other advice or house rules?
#12 Darkwolf_Bloodsbane Jan 10, 2012 9:09:53	That''s pretty often. I'd kill to play 'only' 2x a month.
#13 GelatinousOctahedron Jan 10, 2012 10:25:57	The main ones I would use if I ever DM: Everyone gets melee training for free at first, weapon and implement expertise at 6, and improved defenses at 11. Inherent Bonuses No mechanial benefit of an extended rest until 2 milestones. Con shamans and druids both get chain proficiency for free and swarm druid resistance works in chain. All templar clerics get scale prof or heavy shield for free. Warpriests able to switch out one encounter power for a different warpriest power for free. All wardens can second wind as a minor action, dwarfs as a free action (not sure about that, but I would at least give it as a feat to encourage non-dwarf wardens). I am willing to fix other classes that should have received errata if I think about them, but these are what come to the top of my head.
#14 Garthanos Jan 10, 2012 10:29:49	The main ones I would use if I ever DM: Everyone gets melee training for free at first, weapon and implement expertise at 6, and improved defenses at 11. Inherent Bonuses No mechanial benefit of an extended rest until 2 milestones. Con shamans and druids both get chain proficiency for free and swarm druid resistance works in chain. All templar clerics get scale prof or heavy shield for free. Can I get plate with the Armored Warlord feat that normally gives me scale? We could call it Knighted Lord instead ;p