1)stats must be rolled in any of the following ways but must be done in front of the dm.Final base attributes before racial adjustments cannot be higher than 18.
a) (3d6) 6 times (reroll 1's) plus 12 discretionary points on a 1 for 1 basis.
b) (4d6 drop the lowest 8 times) choose 6
c) (3d6) 8 times plus 10 discretionary points.
d) or take the following 18,17,16,14,12,10
2)you may choose any race approved by the DM with up to a +2 LA.
a) if you choose a race with +0 LA you will recieve 2 bonus feats
b) if you choose a race with a +1 LA you will recieve 1 bonus feat.
3) First 2 levels of hit points are max hit points. after that you may either roll(not suggested, you must stick with the roll) or accept 3 for every d4, 5 for every d6, 6 for all d8, 7 for any d10, and 9 for all d12.
4)You may not enter into a prestige class untill your sixth class level.
5) All character related backstories, builds, spells, feats, classes, equipment, and races must be preapproved by the DM before use.
6) Anything game breaking or too overpowering must be remade or adjusted for the enjoyment of all players. (example jack be quick is ok if all players are optimizers but pun-pun is not) Character power must be relatively close to the other players characters' power. An agreement must be reached between the dm and the player of the character, spell, or ability that is broken or the character must be remade.
7)enjoyment of all the players is the primary focus of the gaming sessions. DM rulings on rules not contained in a book or too vague for the purpose used may be changed by a UNANIMOUS vote by all players in the group. (Except when necessary for story line purposes)
8) character sheets are to be left in the possesion of the dm between gaming sessions.
9)all die rolls are to be made into the box on the table in view of everyone and may not be picked up untill the action is resolved(including all dm rolls that the players or characters would know about happening) this includes all npc and enemy attack rolls. But not hide checks made by enemies waiting in ambush.
10) Attributes increase every 4 levels and are done as follows.
Choose 1 stat if the stat starts at 11 or less you recieve 3 points, if it starts between 12 and 15 you gain 2 points to the chosen attribute, 16 or higher you recieve 1 point.
11)If a character dies its wealth is redistributed as the dm sees fit (usually 1 not too powerful item to each team memberand the rest is given to his family or someone or the dm's choosing) Character wealth is not to be redistributed among the other players as this tends to create a serious power gap.
12) All players will start each in game day with one fate reroll which can be taken any time even after a result is announced by the dm but the second roll must be accepted even if it is lower. The player must announce he is using his reroll before he rolls the die. The reroll may be used on a monster attacking that character or the player himself
13) All players will start each game day with one destiny reroll which must be taken before a result is anounced by the DM but the player may choose the better roll. Before the roll a player must announce that he is using his destiny reroll. The reroll may be used on a monster atttacking that character or the rolls of the player himself.
14) To speed up game play all die must be rolled at the same time attack and damage die together different forms of damage will be pointed out by different colored dice. Players must have there actions ready when ther time comes around, book opened to the page of the spell he is casting etc. All players playing spell casters must have listed on there character sheets spell list the book name and page number that the spell is found on. Each individual attack roll is still made seperately but with damage at the same time. Each player has one minute to call his action or loose his turn due to character indecision.
15) If a player readies an action he states he has a readied action then writes it down on a slip of paper with the triggering circumstance then places it face down in front of him till the action is triggered then turns it up for the dm to see.
16) If a character goes invisible he must keep track on graph paper only to be shared with the characters and monsters who would know where he was.
17) With the exception of skill checks all 1's are failures or misses and all 20's are a success's or hits. You may take 10 on a trained skill with no roll when allowed by taking 1 minute. You may take 20 on a trained skill (you still roll a d20) this takes a time equal to 1 minute for each point of difference between what you rolled and what you needed to succeed.ex( say you need an 18 for a success and you roll a 15 it will take you 3 minutes to succeed, but if you need a 18 and roll a 3 it will take you 15 minutes.
18)Books are limited to those owned by the dm and known about by the players . All new books must be presented to the group and will then be allowed into play during the next gaming session.
19) On all critical hits there is a 20% chance for a debilitating effect to occur to the creature being struck. This will then be decided by the player rolling on a table presented by the dm (depending on the creature type). These effects stack with all other effects
20) Summoned creatures are real and the same every time yousummon them and as such may be equiped, if a creature is killed before it is sent back you loose use of it for 48 hours game time. The creature is sent back to its plane of existance with 0 hit points and needs time to heal.
What do you think of these house rules, are they fair and do any take away from the gaming experience? Should I scrap some of them, change some of them, or add any others to this list.
thanks for any help
1. I had a spreadsheet for figuring out averages, but not on this computer. So just some guesses:
a) Averages 10.5 each, plus the 12 points.
b) I'm guestimating an average of 10 through 15
or maybe 11-16, making this the worst.
c) I think each roll would average about 1 point higher, making this better than a). Probably 9,10,11,12,13,14. You could get 2 18's this way but then your other 4 stats would be pretty mediocre.
d) Probably better than C, as noted, unless you have 4 stats that you can dump completely.
The real question is, why the options?? You make the PC's power really dependant on guessing the right one. I'd pick one method and stick to it.
2. A feat isn't worth as much as an LA. Maybe try 2 feats per LA. That's still probably weaker, but a player might be able to exploit it for specific builds. Recommend that most players take the LA.
3. Smart players will take the default. Kinda like #1, it's bad to give the option. Gambling-minded players will just screw themselves in the long run; they won't get lucky 10 levels in a row.
4. ?
5. Good. Should be done in every group.
6. Also good, but obscure. Examine characters carefully but only go for a rough balance or you'll run into micro-management/favoritism/etc. issues.
7. I'd just stick with "rule 0" (DM's word goes). DM's tend to change their mind from unanimous player opinion anyway.
8. Ya, this is easiest.
9. k.
10. The 2nd option is balanced with the 3rd but the 1st is underpowered unless the player has exactly 11 in a stat. A +1 modifier on a dump stat just isn't worth much. It will rarely have a good use and players will rarely pick it, so whatever.
11. Ya.
12. Falls under a "quirk". Kinda interesting and can't possibly screw the game up. Sure, go for it.
13. Ditto. Though lots of minor rules add confusion (see #0).
14. K just make sure you have the dice or that the players are willing to get them. Also see #0.
15 & 16. K but see #0.
17. Seems screwy (see #0) and potential imbalanced. I'd nix this.
18. Ya, good. Every group should do this.
19. There have been discussions on this. Can cause serious trouble for a PC simply from a couple bad rolls, which could upset a game or at least a PC. Also falls under #0. If you do this make sure the table is really making the game more fun and make sure the table entries are minor enough to keep from totally screwing someone over.
20. Only adds more #0 and opens a door for polymorph-like abuse. I'd nix this.
0. General: A lot of rules add confusion and it takes work for the players to learn them. Make sure your players are into this. If you're modifying old rules for your group, then it'll be much easier for them. Otherwise it may turn people away or cause them to ignore them or they may just forget or screw it up.
1. I had a spreadsheet for figuring out averages, but not on this computer. So just some guesses:
a) Averages 10.5 each, plus the 12 points.
b) I'm guestimating an average of 10 through 15
or maybe 11-16, making this the worst.
c) I think each roll would average about 1 point higher, making this better than a). Probably 9,10,11,12,13,14. You could get 2 18's this way but then your other 4 stats would be pretty mediocre.
d) Probably better than C, as noted, unless you have 4 stats that you can dump completely.
The real question is, why the options?? You make the PC's power really dependant on guessing the right one. I'd pick one method and stick to it.
This gives them option, I will tell them which is best statistically but they may still choose.
2. A feat isn't worth as much as an LA. Maybe try 2 feats per LA. That's still probably weaker, but a player might be able to exploit it for specific builds. Recommend that most players take the LA.
this gives something to the people who want to play regular races, I will look into it but 2 feats per LA may be too much to give I will look into it though.
3. Smart players will take the default. Kinda like #1, it's bad to give the option. Gambling-minded players will just screw themselves in the long run; they won't get lucky 10 levels in a row.
smart players will take the default but some idiots love to gamble I will not take that from the idiot.
4. ?
sorry about that prestige can not be chosen till at least level 6.
5. Good. Should be done in every group.
agreed this way it is in writing and they can't argue.
6. Also good, but obscure. Examine characters carefully but only go for a rough balance or you'll run into micro-management/favoritism/etc. issues.
I have a very wide birth when it comes to this though I only use it in extreme circumstances. I do not micro manage I like to give players freedom
7. I'd just stick with "rule 0" (DM's word goes). DM's tend to change their mind from unanimous player opinion anyway.
This gives the players a chance to correct me if they all think I am wrong, that way they can't as a group say that I am unfair.This has never been used against me and I have been doing it for 5 years now.
10. The 2nd option is balanced with the 3rd but the 1st is underpowered unless the player has exactly 11 in a stat. A +1 modifier on a dump stat just isn't worth much. It will rarely have a good use and players will rarely pick it, so whatever.
Most playerYeah but again it gives them an option
sorry be back tomorrow to finish
back now to finish
sorry had to take my daughter to the er for stitches.
14. K just make sure you have the dice or that the players are willing to get them. Also see #0.
np I have plenty of dice.
17. Seems screwy (see #0) and potential imbalanced. I'd nix this.
how is it unbalanced?
19. There have been discussions on this. Can cause serious trouble for a PC simply from a couple bad rolls, which could upset a game or at least a PC. Also falls under #0. If you do this make sure the table is really making the game more fun and make sure the table entries are minor enough to keep from totally screwing someone over.
The tables are real simple and the debilitating injuries are healed with cure spells or better. This actually works to bring a new element to combat, my players love it even when they are critted in the lungs and loose some of there movement or 2 points of constitution from shortness of breath.
20. Only adds more #0 and opens a door for polymorph-like abuse. I'd nix this.
It is necessary to be able to do this for summoned creatures to become useful in most of my battles
2) Do you still penalize XP, or is this in place of the XP penalty? t.
3) obviously tilted towards taking the set value, but if they want to roll, let them
4) Most you need to be around there anyway, not that big of a deal
5) Pretty Standard there
6) Same, nothing out of the ordinary, though try to tell them what you consider 'broken' before they take it, not after
7) if you are able to abide by the vote, no major issue
8) Pretty Standard
9) No problem
10) High power game I from the looks of it... No players will complain about more power. Point buy players may take advantage of this though (leaving stats at 11 on purpose to raise later).
11) Might get complaints there, if you give out items, what prevents them from trading them back around. Some players might feel gipped if one player gets a lot more of the wealth than they do (even if they are more powerful). If the player makes a new character, do they get access to any of their old items, or to the living players just keep them? If he doesn't, do you give him extra wealth to keep up, or will be be that much farther behind?
12-13) Can't see any player complaining there
14) Will you punish players that don't own a lot of dice? Seems harsh. I've run the 1-minute rule for actions... just don't do it for new players, they need some time to learn the game. It's not bad for melee types, but can be a little harsh on some casters if you level very fast and they don't know their whole spell book by heart. This rule worked well in 1e/2e, but is a little bit harder in 3e w/ the large feat/skill/etc lists
15) Seems unnecessary.. what's wrong with him just declaring it out loud?
16) ok, having trouble imagining how that would work.... he's keeping track of where he is on a graph paper, but how do YOU know where he is, unless he's passing the paper to you every round? Don't really see how that works out. If you have a plan that you didn't write, maybe it would, but with that info it doesn't look good (theory is, practice isn't)
17) ok
18) ok
19) It might be worse off for players. Every 50 hits or so will debilitate a player. If it was a temporary condition and REPLACED the HP damage, then maybe. Otherwise every 5 crits might kill a player. Hard to say what you mean by debilitate, but I'd be wary of it. Lower that to 5-10%, and make it a temporary (wears off after encounter) then maybe
20) so you summon the SAME creature each time? Ok I suppose (though that creature might get p-o-ed after a few times
Summary: none of these are game breaking. Mostly just add to player power (got a pretty high power game going). You'll have to ramp up your encounters pretty high with these rules, otherwise they'll be wiping the floor w/ everything.
1) haven't done the math to compared the choices, but seems a bit unnecessary, I'd just got w/ one method, but your call
some players like choices.
6) Same, nothing out of the ordinary, though try to tell them what you consider 'broken' before they take it, not after
always do but I know occasionally (this happened to me about 6 years ago, but only the one time, I can usually see what is coming before it happens)
7) if you are able to abide by the vote, no major issue
I do not think I would have a problem with abiding as long as all players agree, but in my years of dming I have always had this active but it has never been a unanimous vote. My players tend to think that I am very fair.
10) High power game I from the looks of it... No players will complain about more power. Point buy players may take advantage of this though (leaving stats at 11 on purpose to raise later).
yes very high powered, and if they chose to to raise there lower less necessary stats, they do so at the detriment of there primary stats.
11) Might get complaints there, if you give out items, what prevents them from trading them back around. Some players might feel gipped if one player gets a lot more of the wealth than they do (even if they are more powerful). If the player makes a new character, do they get access to any of their old items, or to the living players just keep them? If he doesn't, do you give him extra wealth to keep up, or will be be that much farther behind?
the things that I give players are like rope lantern and stuff,no magic unless story based. all magic items go elswhere this was instituted because I had a guy who would go into a contract with new character to buy them better supplies if they would sign over all there supplies at death, I put a quick stop to this. No one has ever complained about it.
14) Will you punish players that don't own a lot of dice? Seems harsh. I've run the 1-minute rule for actions... just don't do it for new players, they need some time to learn the game. It's not bad for melee types, but can be a little harsh on some casters if you level very fast and they don't know their whole spell book by heart. This rule worked well in 1e/2e, but is a little bit harder in 3e w/ the large feat/skill/etc lists
I have plenty of dice to go around, and my players have plenty, newbies get free reign of my dice bags except my solid siver dice.(within reason)I give all players a chance to learn but it quickly makes the players who decide to be casters become very organized. This has never been a issue as I do not expect new players to be able to do this right off the bat, but I ease them into it and they become really quick whitted thinkers.
15) Seems unnecessary.. what's wrong with him just declaring it out loud?
I had a player once say that I was bypassing his readied actions(for the record I was not, these creatures just went after magic users first), this has stopped him from ever saying that again.
16) ok, having trouble imagining how that would work.... he's keeping track of where he is on a graph paper, but how do YOU know where he is, unless he's passing the paper to you every round? Don't really see how that works out. If you have a plan that you didn't write, maybe it would, but with that info it doesn't look good (theory is, practice isn't)
just before his move I get to see where he was and to tell if he was in the middle of anything that happened that round, and if I trigger anything like an Aoo he must show me that I went through his threatened area.It actually works very well.
19) It might be worse off for players. Every 50 hits or so will debilitate a player. If it was a temporary condition and REPLACED the HP damage, then maybe. Otherwise every 5 crits might kill a player. Hard to say what you mean by debilitate, but I'd be wary of it. Lower that to 5-10%, and make it a temporary (wears off after encounter) then maybe
It is only active until they are hit with a cure wounds, heal spell, or healing check debilitations include the following loss of 5-10 foot move per move action, (dazed)only able to take 1 action for one round, -2 to hit, -1 to ac, -2 to dex. and also can give reasons for each one for story purposes. for example dazed his was critted in the head, -2 to hit (critted on the arm artery),-2 to dex critted on the leg artery,loss of move could be lung shot. etc.
Summary: none of these are game breaking. Mostly just add to player power (got a pretty high power game going). You'll have to ramp up your encounters pretty high with these rules, otherwise they'll be wiping the floor w/ everything.
I have definately never had a problem with creating challenging encounters for my players, they wipe the floor with random encounters and that is ok with me, but they have a challenging great time against my planned encounters. The main thing is that they have learned to run away and regroup when the time calls for it.
my new house rules for high power 3.5 campaign.
1)stats must be rolled in any of the following ways but must be done in front of the dm.Final base attributes before racial adjustments cannot be higher than 18.
a) (3d6) 6 times (reroll 1's) plus 12 discretionary points on a 1 for 1 basis.
b) (4d6 drop the lowest 8 times) choose 6
c) (3d6) 8 times plus 10 discretionary points.
d) or take the following 18,17,16,14,12,10
Personal preference aside (I think point buy is the way to go unless it's a one-shot), I'd say keep it simple, but otherwise no worries.
8) character sheets are to be left in the possession of the dm between gaming sessions.
I'd allow players to have copies of their own character sheets, if convenient. They might want to read up on something.
9)all die rolls are to be made into the box on the table in view of everyone and may not be picked up until the action is resolved (including all dm rolls that the players or characters would know about happening) this includes all npc and enemy attack rolls. But not hide checks made by enemies waiting in ambush.
Not necessarily the best choice if you would like to keep the capabilities of the NPC's hidden, but I'm guessing that's not a priority.
10) Attributes increase every 4 levels and are done as follows.
Choose 1 stat if the stat starts at 11 or less you recieve 3 points, if it starts between 12 and 15 you gain 2 points to the chosen attribute, 16 or higher you recieve 1 point.
I like this house rule, actually. The lowest stats are the dump stats, and if it's a dump stat it's because it's no important to the character's efficiency, so choosing to bump it up 3 points if they choose is likely NOT what a power-gamer would do. Choice is good.
11)If a character dies its wealth is redistributed as the dm sees fit (usually 1 not too powerful item to each team member and the rest is given to his family or someone or the dm's choosing) Character wealth is not to be redistributed among the other players as this tends to create a serious power gap.
Choice is good, which is why i don't really like this one. You mean when a character dies a big glowing hand from the sky comes down and starts dividing the dead pc's wealth? I think once the game mechanics have been laid out by the DM, the in-game behavior of the PC's should be HANDS OFF.
I see this as being heavy-handed, and really should not be necessary unless your players are terminally Chaotic Selfish alignment.
12) All players will start each in game day with one fate reroll which can be taken any time even after a result is announced by the dm but the second roll must be accepted even if it is lower. The player must announce he is using his reroll before he rolls the die. The reroll may be used on a monster attacking that character or the player himself.
Does this mean that the player can re-roll a monster's attack roll if it directly affects him? And will you allow it on damage rolls which involve multiple die (could he reroll both of the 2d6 from greatsword strike, or just 1d6? And if he can reroll both dice, what about all 5d6 from a Fireball?)
13) All players will start each game day with one destiny reroll which must be taken before a result is anounced by the DM but the player may choose the better roll. Before the roll a player must announce that he is using his destiny reroll. The reroll may be used on a monster atttacking that character or the rolls of the player himself.
I like the ideas, and it should certainly give the players more wiggle room (and fewer excuses should they do something dumb and pay the price).
15) If a player readies an action he states he has a readied action then writes it down on a slip of paper with the triggering circumstance then places it face down in front of him till the action is triggered then turns it up for the dm to see.
I'm not certain that I understand this one. Why not tell you and write it down? Depending on the circumstances NPC's may be able to deduce their readied action. . .
18)Books are limited to those owned by the dm and known about by the players . All new books must be presented to the group and will then be allowed into play during the next gaming session.
. . . allowed into play at the next session following DM approval.
20) Summoned creatures are real and the same every time you summon them and as such may be equipped, if a creature is killed before it is sent back you loose use of it for 48 hours game time. The creature is sent back to its plane of existence with 0 hit points and needs time to heal.
So a druid who summons a wolf with Summon Nature's Ally I is actually summoning the same wolf each time? Can he cast SNA I twice, for a wolf each time, or would the same wolf simply be unsummoned from the first spell to answer the second? What happens if a Ranger/Druid casts SNA I three times, once from his Ranger spelllist and twice from his Druid spells? And if it IS a different wolf each time the spell is cast, and one wolf is killed, what happens if the Ranger/Druid tries to resummon a wolf from the Ranger spell list (assuming that the wolf that died was the one summoned by the Druid SNA?)
Not to mention that presumably, wolves are from the PC's plane of existence, aren't they? So a killed wolf:
a) disappears from battle and reappears wherever it came from at zero HP,
b) goes nowhere, but is at 0 HP,
c) ???
Sounds a little overly complicated. . . I'd ditch this one. . .
A friend of mine used a modified rolling system and it like most rolling methods always come up with blah numbers you never feel satisfied with. 25, 28 and 32 points respectively allow for total control depending on what level of power the game your running needs.
As for the rest its personal choice and if it works for you then run with it :D
my new house rules for high power 3.5 campaign.
1)stats must be rolled in any of the following ways but must be done in front of the dm.Final base attributes before racial adjustments cannot be higher than 18.
a) (3d6) 6 times (reroll 1's) plus 12 discretionary points on a 1 for 1 basis.
b) (4d6 drop the lowest 8 times) choose 6
c) (3d6) 8 times plus 10 discretionary points.
d) or take the following 18,17,16,14,12,10
I'm taking choice d, no matter what. Guaranteed awesome array. The others may be able to provide something better but more easily something worse. Generous indeed. I expect high powered bad guys as well. That's ok. I like high powered games.
2)you may choose any race approved by the DM with up to a +2 LA.
a) if you choose a race with +0 LA you will recieve 2 bonus feats
b) if you choose a race with a +1 LA you will recieve 1 bonus feat.
I always play humans. Thanks for the two feats. I can never have too many feats. I don't care what other players choose.
3) First 2 levels of hit points are max hit points. after that you may either roll(not suggested, you must stick with the roll) or accept 3 for every d4, 5 for every d6, 6 for all d8, 7 for any d10, and 9 for all d12.
The latter, yes please! My 16 from above will be in CON.
4)You may not enter into a prestige class untill your sixth class level.
With the exception of the Master Specialist from Complete Mage which was specifically designed to be entered much before 6th level, this is actually the standard of all prestige classes. Based on prerequisites many require a minimum of a higher level, but 6th level is already the standard minimum.
5) All character related backstories, builds, spells, feats, classes, equipment, and races must be preapproved by the DM before use.
That's pretty much how the game runs anyway. I'd be leary you're being a control freak for specifically mentioning it, but I shrug it off considering how generous you already have been. I am concerned on what particular feats and spells you have a problem with such that players needs your specific permission to take them, provided you are allowing use of a particular source book.
6) Anything game breaking or too overpowering must be remade or adjusted for the enjoyment of all players. (example jack be quick is ok if all players are optimizers but pun-pun is not) Character power must be relatively close to the other players characters' power. An agreement must be reached between the dm and the player of the character, spell, or ability that is broken or the character must be remade.
The game is admittedly high powered. Characters are going to be powerful. What's "overpowering" in this case is very subjective. Also, I should not be punished for making an effective character while someone else "chose poorly". I'd rather you fix the poorly made character. I'd be glad to help the player with better options and have him make the decision.
7)enjoyment of all the players is the primary focus of the gaming sessions. DM rulings on rules not contained in a book or too vague for the purpose used may be changed by a UNANIMOUS vote by all players in the group. (Except when necessary for story line purposes)
Ok.
8) character sheets are to be left in the possesion of the dm between gaming sessions.
This has been pretty much standard for 3E. In 2E players usually kept the character sheets. This became an informal rule because cynical DMs complained of possible player cheating of altering character sheets. Nowadays it's just convenient since players no longer have to concern themselves of remembering to bring their character sheet. Real life tends to interfere with gaming. Having all the gaming materials in one place just make things easier.
9)all die rolls are to be made into the box on the table in view of everyone and may not be picked up untill the action is resolved(including all dm rolls that the players or characters would know about happening) this includes all npc and enemy attack rolls. But not hide checks made by enemies waiting in ambush.
However, when players see you roll behind the DM screen, they'll know something's up. Then you have to make "fake" rolls behind the screen so that they won't necessarily know if something's up or not, and I really hate that. That's a DM vs. Player attitude. It's fine for you always to roll behind the screen. Roll out in the open for the Really Important rolls such as a monster attack that could kill a party member, a saving throw a monster makes that the party Really Needs for it to fail the roll, etc.
10) Attributes increase every 4 levels and are done as follows.
Choose 1 stat if the stat starts at 11 or less you recieve 3 points, if it starts between 12 and 15 you gain 2 points to the chosen attribute, 16 or higher you recieve 1 point.
Generous. Makes up for those who didn't choose option d earlier. It would depend upon my mood which option I'd choose. I do know that 17 is the most likely candidate to become an 18 at 4th level.
11)If a character dies its wealth is redistributed as the dm sees fit (usually 1 not too powerful item to each team memberand the rest is given to his family or someone or the dm's choosing) Character wealth is not to be redistributed among the other players as this tends to create a serious power gap.
Bad call. Uh-uh. No way. This is purely an issue for the players/party. It's fine for the player of the dead character to have a "will", but you don't get to decide what the party does with its stuff. Now I'm back to thinking you're a control freak DM.
12) All players will start each in game day with one fate reroll which can be taken any time even after a result is announced by the dm but the second roll must be accepted even if it is lower. The player must announce he is using his reroll before he rolls the die. The reroll may be used on a monster attacking that character or the player himself
I've played with something like this before. My only concern is that you'd be overcompensating the power which you are giving the party by giving even more power to the bad guys. However, as long as character death is not common or otherwise an expendable commodity I'm fine with it.
13) All players will start each game day with one destiny reroll which must be taken before a result is anounced by the DM but the player may choose the better roll. Before the roll a player must announce that he is using his destiny reroll. The reroll may be used on a monster atttacking that character or the rolls of the player himself.
What's the difference from the previous rule?
14) To speed up game play all die must be rolled at the same time attack and damage die together different forms of damage will be pointed out by different colored dice. Players must have there actions ready when ther time comes around, book opened to the page of the spell he is casting etc. All players playing spell casters must have listed on there character sheets spell list the book name and page number that the spell is found on. Each individual attack roll is still made seperately but with damage at the same time. Each player has one minute to call his action or loose his turn due to character indecision.
Now I know you're being a control freak.
15) If a player readies an action he states he has a readied action then writes it down on a slip of paper with the triggering circumstance then places it face down in front of him till the action is triggered then turns it up for the dm to see.
An@l retentive control freak.
16) If a character goes invisible he must keep track on graph paper only to be shared with the characters and monsters who would know where he was.
But I'd prefer a DM who trusts his players not to metagame. A player who forgets should just be told once.
17) With the exception of skill checks all 1's are failures or misses and all 20's are a success's or hits. You may take 10 on a trained skill with no roll when allowed by taking 1 minute. You may take 20 on a trained skill (you still roll a d20) this takes a time equal to 1 minute for each point of difference between what you rolled and what you needed to succeed.ex( say you need an 18 for a success and you roll a 15 it will take you 3 minutes to succeed, but if you need a 18 and roll a 3 it will take you 15 minutes.
Ugh. The normal skill rules are less complicated and more player friendly. Sounds more like control freakdom.
18)Books are limited to those owned by the dm and known about by the players . All new books must be presented to the group and will then be allowed into play during the next gaming session.
Personal bias: If I can play a crusader, I'm happy. :D
19) On all critical hits there is a 20% chance for a debilitating effect to occur to the creature being struck. This will then be decided by the player rolling on a table presented by the dm (depending on the creature type). These effects stack with all other effects
Ugh. Hurts the party big time since an individual bad guy is only on screen one encounter and he was supposed to die anyway while the party is always on screen and if a TPK, game over. Melee types are hurt worse than others since they tend to be directly attacked more.
20) Summoned creatures are real and the same every time yousummon them and as such may be equiped, if a creature is killed before it is sent back you loose use of it for 48 hours game time. The creature is sent back to its plane of existance with 0 hit points and needs time to heal.
Increases complexity of the spell because now you have to determine and account for the equipment and makes the spell more powerful by virtue of the creatures being more powerful by virtue of having the equipment.
my new house rules for high power 3.5 campaign.
1)stats must be rolled in any of the following ways but must be done in front of the dm.Final base attributes before racial adjustments cannot be higher than 18.
a) (3d6) 6 times (reroll 1's) plus 12 discretionary points on a 1 for 1 basis.
b) (4d6 drop the lowest 8 times) choose 6
c) (3d6) 8 times plus 10 discretionary points.
d) or take the following 18,17,16,14,12,10
2)you may choose any race approved by the DM with up to a +2 LA.
a) if you choose a race with +0 LA you will recieve 2 bonus feats
b) if you choose a race with a +1 LA you will recieve 1 bonus feat.
3) First 2 levels of hit points are max hit points. after that you may either roll(not suggested, you must stick with the roll) or accept 3 for every d4, 5 for every d6, 6 for all d8, 7 for any d10, and 9 for all d12.
4)You may not enter into a prestige class untill your sixth class level.
5) All character related backstories, builds, spells, feats, classes, equipment, and races must be preapproved by the DM before use.
6) Anything game breaking or too overpowering must be remade or adjusted for the enjoyment of all players. (example jack be quick is ok if all players are optimizers but pun-pun is not) Character power must be relatively close to the other players characters' power. An agreement must be reached between the dm and the player of the character, spell, or ability that is broken or the character must be remade.
7)enjoyment of all the players is the primary focus of the gaming sessions. DM rulings on rules not contained in a book or too vague for the purpose used may be changed by a UNANIMOUS vote by all players in the group. (Except when necessary for story line purposes)
8) character sheets are to be left in the possesion of the dm between gaming sessions.
9)all die rolls are to be made into the box on the table in view of everyone and may not be picked up untill the action is resolved(including all dm rolls that the players or characters would know about happening) this includes all npc and enemy attack rolls. But not hide checks made by enemies waiting in ambush.
10) Attributes increase every 4 levels and are done as follows.
Choose 1 stat if the stat starts at 11 or less you recieve 3 points, if it starts between 12 and 15 you gain 2 points to the chosen attribute, 16 or higher you recieve 1 point.
11)If a character dies its wealth is redistributed as the dm sees fit (usually 1 not too powerful item to each team memberand the rest is given to his family or someone or the dm's choosing) Character wealth is not to be redistributed among the other players as this tends to create a serious power gap.
12) All players will start each in game day with one fate reroll which can be taken any time even after a result is announced by the dm but the second roll must be accepted even if it is lower. The player must announce he is using his reroll before he rolls the die. The reroll may be used on a monster attacking that character or the player himself
13) All players will start each game day with one destiny reroll which must be taken before a result is anounced by the DM but the player may choose the better roll. Before the roll a player must announce that he is using his destiny reroll. The reroll may be used on a monster atttacking that character or the rolls of the player himself.
14) To speed up game play all die must be rolled at the same time attack and damage die together different forms of damage will be pointed out by different colored dice. Players must have there actions ready when ther time comes around, book opened to the page of the spell he is casting etc. All players playing spell casters must have listed on there character sheets spell list the book name and page number that the spell is found on. Each individual attack roll is still made seperately but with damage at the same time. Each player has one minute to call his action or loose his turn due to character indecision.
15) If a player readies an action he states he has a readied action then writes it down on a slip of paper with the triggering circumstance then places it face down in front of him till the action is triggered then turns it up for the dm to see.
16) If a character goes invisible he must keep track on graph paper only to be shared with the characters and monsters who would know where he was.
17) With the exception of skill checks all 1's are failures or misses and all 20's are a success's or hits. You may take 10 on a trained skill with no roll when allowed by taking 1 minute. You may take 20 on a trained skill (you still roll a d20) this takes a time equal to 1 minute for each point of difference between what you rolled and what you needed to succeed.ex( say you need an 18 for a success and you roll a 15 it will take you 3 minutes to succeed, but if you need a 18 and roll a 3 it will take you 15 minutes.
18)Books are limited to those owned by the dm and known about by the players . All new books must be presented to the group and will then be allowed into play during the next gaming session.
19) On all critical hits there is a 20% chance for a debilitating effect to occur to the creature being struck. This will then be decided by the player rolling on a table presented by the dm (depending on the creature type). These effects stack with all other effects
20) Summoned creatures are real and the same every time yousummon them and as such may be equiped, if a creature is killed before it is sent back you loose use of it for 48 hours game time. The creature is sent back to its plane of existance with 0 hit points and needs time to heal.
What do you think of these house rules, are they fair and do any take away from the gaming experience? Should I scrap some of them, change some of them, or add any others to this list.
thanks for any help
Over Powering, But im more Hardcore. tho not so much hardcore that i argue over 25 point buy or fighters useing Pot of pro evil.
So Rule 1 / 2 Is overpowering. if a player is argueing that your to "hard" slap them. your very nice.
The problem is your rule of "Players being over powering" Your High HP and such are High and over powering.
However. If your games are fine and you do not mind. Then the only problem i can see is one of your players saying "Its to hard" when its not.
Only good thing i can see a player saying is "its kinda to easy"
But yes your rules are more then Fair. i dont see why people should argue agest your rules inless you have something randomly dumb like "All monsters have X5 Hitpoints!"
Overall, there seems to be a tendency to micro-mange/rule the player behavior in your house rules. Several can be replaced by simply discussion what you want to achieve with the (hopefully mature) players.
1) Stats: You will end up with very high stats. If that's what you want, then good.
2) Race: Races with LA tend to provide substantially more benefits than a feat or two.
4) PrC: Why the restriction? Most PrCs work that way anyway. Others are probably made to be accessible earlier.
5) Pre-approval: Common sense.
6) This rule is so vague, it's useless. It should not be a rule at any rate, it should be a warning/notice: if your character appears to be unbalanced, we will have to adjust it.
8) Sheets: Why? Do you not trust your players?
9) Fine, but again that might not be necessary if your players are trustworthy.
10) A reasoning would be good here.
11) Power gap or not, I don't see why this cannot be done in a fashion that doesn't break the suspension of disbelief. Mature players can simply decide that these items belong to the character's church/family/friend/etc.
12, 13) Pick one (I'd pick fate).
14) Too much micro-management. If you want players to be fast, tell them. If they are mature enough, it shouldn't be a problem. I'd also recommend that you make all players be responsible for special rules that their characters need (spells, grappling, tumble, etc.)
17) How are these different from the standard rules and why?
20) Interesting. I'd like to hear how this works out. What happens if you summon 1D3 creatures instead on just one, though?
I only have a few comments:
One. Not all prestige classes start a level 6. Some are designed specifically and explicitly to start sooner than that. Rather than a rule changing that, imo you should instead enforce a rule that says players must consult with you on how they meet the prerequisites for any PrC before joining it. This lets you cut out cheesy maneuvering, while still allowing for those few prestige classes that are balanced for earlier acquisition.
Secondly: Character sheets belong to the player who created him/her. They do not belong to you. You have no right to keep it between games. A player may loan it to you, if they have to miss a session and think you may need it, but otherwise the sheet is the player's. My character is My person and he goes home with me.
(while you didn't mention this- in any campaign where it's come up so far to me, the DM also tried to keep character sheets after campaigns were over, and after characters died. They seem tied together part and parcel to me and.. just.. no. )
Just my .02
-S
my new house rules for high power 3.5 campaign.
1)stats must be rolled in any of the following ways but must be done in front of the dm.Final base attributes before racial adjustments cannot be higher than 18.
a) (3d6) 6 times (reroll 1's) plus 12 discretionary points on a 1 for 1 basis.
b) (4d6 drop the lowest 8 times) choose 6
c) (3d6) 8 times plus 10 discretionary points.
d) or take the following 18,17,16,14,12,10
2)you may choose any race approved by the DM with up to a +2 LA.
a) if you choose a race with +0 LA you will recieve 2 bonus feats
b) if you choose a race with a +1 LA you will recieve 1 bonus feat.
3) First 2 levels of hit points are max hit points. after that you may either roll(not suggested, you must stick with the roll) or accept 3 for every d4, 5 for every d6, 6 for all d8, 7 for any d10, and 9 for all d12.
4)You may not enter into a prestige class untill your sixth class level.
5) All character related backstories, builds, spells, feats, classes, equipment, and races must be preapproved by the DM before use.
6) Anything game breaking or too overpowering must be remade or adjusted for the enjoyment of all players. (example jack be quick is ok if all players are optimizers but pun-pun is not) Character power must be relatively close to the other players characters' power. An agreement must be reached between the dm and the player of the character, spell, or ability that is broken or the character must be remade.
7)enjoyment of all the players is the primary focus of the gaming sessions. DM rulings on rules not contained in a book or too vague for the purpose used may be changed by a UNANIMOUS vote by all players in the group. (Except when necessary for story line purposes)
8) character sheets are to be left in the possesion of the dm between gaming sessions.
9)all die rolls are to be made into the box on the table in view of everyone and may not be picked up untill the action is resolved(including all dm rolls that the players or characters would know about happening) this includes all npc and enemy attack rolls. But not hide checks made by enemies waiting in ambush.
10) Attributes increase every 4 levels and are done as follows.
Choose 1 stat if the stat starts at 11 or less you recieve 3 points, if it starts between 12 and 15 you gain 2 points to the chosen attribute, 16 or higher you recieve 1 point.
11)If a character dies its wealth is redistributed as the dm sees fit (usually 1 not too powerful item to each team memberand the rest is given to his family or someone or the dm's choosing) Character wealth is not to be redistributed among the other players as this tends to create a serious power gap.
12) All players will start each in game day with one fate reroll which can be taken any time even after a result is announced by the dm but the second roll must be accepted even if it is lower. The player must announce he is using his reroll before he rolls the die. The reroll may be used on a monster attacking that character or the player himself
13) All players will start each game day with one destiny reroll which must be taken before a result is anounced by the DM but the player may choose the better roll. Before the roll a player must announce that he is using his destiny reroll. The reroll may be used on a monster atttacking that character or the rolls of the player himself.
14) To speed up game play all die must be rolled at the same time attack and damage die together different forms of damage will be pointed out by different colored dice. Players must have there actions ready when ther time comes around, book opened to the page of the spell he is casting etc. All players playing spell casters must have listed on there character sheets spell list the book name and page number that the spell is found on. Each individual attack roll is still made seperately but with damage at the same time. Each player has one minute to call his action or loose his turn due to character indecision.
15) If a player readies an action he states he has a readied action then writes it down on a slip of paper with the triggering circumstance then places it face down in front of him till the action is triggered then turns it up for the dm to see.
16) If a character goes invisible he must keep track on graph paper only to be shared with the characters and monsters who would know where he was.
17) With the exception of skill checks all 1's are failures or misses and all 20's are a success's or hits. You may take 10 on a trained skill with no roll when allowed by taking 1 minute. You may take 20 on a trained skill (you still roll a d20) this takes a time equal to 1 minute for each point of difference between what you rolled and what you needed to succeed.ex( say you need an 18 for a success and you roll a 15 it will take you 3 minutes to succeed, but if you need a 18 and roll a 3 it will take you 15 minutes.
18)Books are limited to those owned by the dm and known about by the players . All new books must be presented to the group and will then be allowed into play during the next gaming session.
19) On all critical hits there is a 20% chance for a debilitating effect to occur to the creature being struck. This will then be decided by the player rolling on a table presented by the dm (depending on the creature type). These effects stack with all other effects
20) Summoned creatures are real and the same every time yousummon them and as such may be equiped, if a creature is killed before it is sent back you loose use of it for 48 hours game time. The creature is sent back to its plane of existance with 0 hit points and needs time to heal.
What do you think of these house rules, are they fair and do any take away from the gaming experience? Should I scrap some of them, change some of them, or add any others to this list.
thanks for any help
1. The creation methods are fine, but will be over powered. As long as you know it will be a high powered game thats fine.
2. As stated before I don't think a bonus feat is equal to LA in most cases, esp since it is limited to 1st level feats.
3. Nothing wrong with this. Not over powered and not hurting the players since they have a choice.
4. Little restrictive considering your other rules leads to high power. As long as they are able to qualify based on normal rules I see no problem with them entering when they can.
5. Fine just becareful to be fair.
6. Don't like. Too much room for arguments. What if one player wants to make an unopptimized fighter, does he have to make his better or does everyone else make theirs weaker? What is over-powered considering your creation rules?
7. No problem with this. Kind of how I do my game.
8. Fine
9. Seems a little micromanagement to me, but if you are concerned with cheating.
10. A little over powered but might stop stat dumping.
11. Does this mean they can not share loot? Do you say fighter gets this from the hoard and wizad gets this and they have no say in who gets what?
12. Indifferent
13. Indifferent - They are basicly the same, just that one lets you reroll after you know what happened.
14. Its your game, but I hate doing this. no real reason why just do. I do agree with limit on amount of time to decide what to do.
15. Interesting
16. nothing wrong with this.
17. Nothing really wrong with this.
18. You have the right to limit books.
19. Don't like. Players will get hurt by this more than monsters in the long run.
20. Don't like. Makes summoners way too powerful. I place this +3 armour on this summoned creature.
All in all not bad. I don't like the idea of giving players inherant power (high stats, bonus feats, free LA) and then restricting what they can do with it (rebuild too powerful builds, no PrC until level 6) It seems to go agaisnt each other.
I think his #11 means:
If BoB PC dies, the DM determines what happens with his loot. the other PC's do not get to "loot" the dead and divide his gear.
I Don't think he meant it to mean- when the PC's kill monsters, the DM determines who gets what loot.
2) depends on how your LA works, but allright cool i guess? kinda powerfulish, can they take Flaws?
3) power play Cool!.
4)Perfectly fine.
5) Eh allright. Tho you might want to word this better. ive mad a WoodElf who started off on a Ship and all, and my backstory was nothing shorter then "My Elf wanted to explore the world and thought by Sea it would be best, but now wants to adventure". You might have players who want there character background to kinda be Mysterys. like the lonly hermit that dosnt have many friends. Why is he with the group? Shocker!.
6) Anything to powerful? what about the whole Rolling for Stats? Becouse i garantee your going to have some powerful characters with high stats. inless your whole group is jinx.
7) Eh, allright? not a problem, might slow game play down.
8) just dont lose em, ive had that happin before ...
9)no Secret Bum bum bum, THERES AN AMBUSH, none of that?. coz hideing DM rolls can be fine. but allright.
10) High power game play. Go go Monk or other classes that need alot of multibol stat points.
11) This is fine i agree with it. prevents one player from stealing the horde and becoming massivly powerful.
12) + 13) just give them luck rerolls from Scoudral or something. besides that this will slow game play down alot. considering they have to know what the Dice number was rolled by the DM, which means the DM isnt rolling hiddenly. which is fine in my books (So long as the DM is at least somewhat trustworthy)
14) CONFUSING!. SO MANY DICE!, you'll have alot of dice going around and this only works if the player has enough dice to roll. for example wizard casting Magic missle higher level with a bunch of added abilitys.
he might only have 2 d 4s, not enough to roll all the damage (Which could possibly be 5d4)
15) Your going to have to discuss what a "trigger" is. but allright. another thing to do agest this is ban your players from metegame thinking. but thats off subject.
16) Thought that was the norm thing to do. musta misunderstood what you meant.
17) eh Allright i guess its not a big Strech i can see random goblin getting lucky with something. it adds Flavor.
18) Cant complain.
19) So Duel wielding with high crit range is better then norm?
allright. i guess for high game play.
20) Wait what you want summon monster to be like this? why give them ITEMS STEAL THE ITEMS!, thats just something you might have your players doing. but allright kinda pointless i never realy see this coming into play all that much if at all.
UAMDB:
I think his #11 means:
If BoB PC dies, the DM determines what happens with his loot. the other PC's do not get to "loot" the dead and divide his gear.
I Don't think he meant it to mean- when the PC's kill monsters, the DM determines who gets what loot.
Character wealth is not to be redistributed among the other players as this tends to create a serious power gap.
This makes me think he determines what each PC gets as loot. It also makes me think that players can not share items.
In my games players are always trading items back and forth if the situation deems it.
11)If a character dies its wealth is redistributed as the dm sees fit (usually 1 not too powerful item to each team memberand the rest is given to his family or someone or the dm's choosing) Character wealth is not to be redistributed among the other players as this tends to create a serious power gap.
I agree. One game I was playing in had frequent PC deaths, and the other players even maintained a shopping list of items they wanted, with the general agreement that the next PC would be brought in carrying this stuff. It got so bad once that one player, after his PC death, didn't even bother rolling up a character at first. He just brought in all the items on the shopping list, then stated his character offed himself, then asked the other players for more to add to the shopping list.
To alleviate criticism of being a control freak, however, you may instead open up discussion with the players. It's a valid problem, but see if they have an alternate solution. One way would have the loot divvied up normally, but you as a DM reduce the amount of treasure found for a few adventures until their wealth is back in line with what you want. Another would have the new PC come in buck naked, pick up the fallen adventurer's equipment, and continue like nothing happened. Another would have the survivors loot normally, keeping items, but force them (out of their own free will) to donate an amount equivalent to the incoming PC's wealth to the temple or charity of the deceased character's choice.
17) With the exception of skill checks all 1's are failures or misses and all 20's are a success's or hits. You may take 10 on a trained skill with no roll when allowed by taking 1 minute. You may take 20 on a trained skill (you still roll a d20) this takes a time equal to 1 minute for each point of difference between what you rolled and what you needed to succeed.ex( say you need an 18 for a success and you roll a 15 it will take you 3 minutes to succeed, but if you need a 18 and roll a 3 it will take you 15 minutes.
Not unbalancing in spirit, but it adds unneeded complexity in my opinion. What about skill checks that normally take longer than one round? Gather Information takes 1d4+1 hours normally, Craft has a minimum of 1 day, and Profession can earn a wage with one check a week.
Normally taking 10 doesn't take longer - you're just not trying to do an exceptionally good job, and you're not distracted enough to do an exceptionally poor job. Making someone take a lot longer is unfair in my opinion, and unrealistic in places. For example, if I wanted to take 10 on Jumping across a 5' gap, there's no way I could hang in the air for a full minute.
Interesting variant on taking 20. Normally taking 20 means you take 20 times longer, as it's mechanically the same as 20 consecutive checks with rolling 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. Making a roll, and saying it takes the difference between the roll and the DC times as long would save in-game time. However, usually when someone's taking 20 they're doing it to save out-of-game time, when in-game time is of no importance anyway. So that part isn't much benefit.
18)Books are limited to those owned by the dm and known about by the players . All new books must be presented to the group and will then be allowed into play during the next gaming session.
Absolutely. Our group has one very lenient DM that accepts feats, spells, and even entire classes from a book that he hasn't read and nobody has, relying purely on the memory of the player. And yes, that memory is quite selective indeed, remembering the good parts better than they actually are and conveniently forgetting the drawbacks.