Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Endarire Jun 02, 2009 15:56:53	I'm DMing a campaign starting at ECL1 that will hopefully run to 20. Nearly all sources are allowed, but I'm concerned about balancing melee. Barbarbarian1 is a common dip for melee builds because it gives pounce and rage, often traded for whirling frenzy. I believe whirling frenzy should be available, but not at level 1. Does allowing swapping rage for whirling frenzy at level 4 seem reasonable? I want to allow martial characters their things, but an extra attack per round for 1 fight per day with no penalty in melee seems too much for a 1 level dip. What do you believe the long-term consequences of this switch would be? Also, melee characters need pounce when full attacks become common. Is 1 Barbarian level and 10' faster movement a fair trade for pounce? I believe so, but I also seek your balancing advice. Current House Rules Character Creation General -We start at level 1 (ECL1) with 20 experience points and a 32 point buy. All material allowed pending DM discretion. No infinite or nearly infinite loops. Age -You can be any age that's at least the human equivalent to a teen, but if you take any mental bonuses from aging, you also take the appropriate penalties. Alignment -We aren't using alignment. Alignment-specific spells like detect evil or holy word don't exist. Abilities, items, and classes requiring a specific alignment probably exist in some altered form. We'll talk should you be concerned. Classes General -No favored classes or XP penalty for multiclassing. -Classes use fractional BAB. Cleric -We're using the Turn Undead Level Check variant from Unearthed Arcana. Rogue -Sneak attack damage (and similar abilities like a Scout's skirmish) function in areas of low light and concealment, but not total cover or concealment. -An appropriate Knowledge check against a creature normally immune to crits (undead, elementals, constructs, etc.) allows you to identify weak points and perform critical hits and sneak attacks. The DC is 5 + the DC needed to identify the creature. Such knowledge can be communicated, like telling an ally, "Aim for the vampire's chest!" or "Hit the top-right swirly thing on the fire elemental!" Typically, learning a creature's weak points applies to all creatures of that type, allowing someone who knows the weak point on a vampire to strike other vampires in that region with sneak attacks and critical hits. For a typical 5HD wraith, the Knowledge (religion) DC to identify it is 15 and the DC needed to find and communicate its vulerable points is 20. Wizard -Abrupt Jaunt uses a swift action, not an immediate action. Creatures General -Intelligent (non-mindless) undead, constructs, and other creatures can be affected by mind-affecting effects like charm monster or heroism. Feats General -These feats are banned! Divine Metamagic, Persistent Spell, Sanctum Spell. -Normal and greater turning attempts can be used to fuel divine feats like Sacred Boost. -Touch range spells are also legal targets for Persistent Spell. Changed Feats -A feat that gives +2 to two skills like Alertness also gives you training in those skills. -Combat Expertise is no longer limited to 5 BAB. Instead, it works with any BAB. -Dodge gives +1 dodge AC against all targets. Abilities affecting the specified Dodge target are instead applied to a target of your choice. -Skill Focus gives +5 to a chosen skill and this skill is always treated as a class skill. You are also considered trained in that skill. -Improved Critical also automatically confirms all criticals with that weapon. -Toughness instead grants +1 HP per current or future level or hit die. -Weapon Focus grants +1 accuracy with a specific weapon +1 more per 4 points of BAB. Greater Weapon Focus improves this to +1 per 2 BAB. Epic Weapon Focus increases this to +1 per BAB. -Weapon Specialization grants +1 damage with a specific weapon +1 more per 4 points of BAB. Greater Weapon Specialization improves this to +1 per 2 BAB. Weapon Supremacy and Epic Weapon Focus increases this to +1 per BAB. Item Creation -There are no slot affinities nor extra costs for using an unaffiliated slot. Items General These items are banned! Candle of Invocation, Thought Bottle. Armor & Shields -Soulfire is a +5 property. Weapons -The Spellblade property instead grants unbeatable spell resistance against a certain spell. Spells that don't check SR are unaffected. Maneuvers -Iron Heart Surge's effect should instead read as such: "When affected by a non-instantaneous mind-affecting effect such as charm monster or dominate person; or movement-impairing effect like being grappled or being stuck on a patch of grease, you can activate Iron Heart Surge to end one such effect on you. For example, you would no longer be charmed or dominated, your grappler would lose its hold on you, or you could move freely in that patch of grease until you left it. You can do this even when not in control of your actions or when you can't move, but you must be conscious to activate Iron Heart Surge. Finally, when using Iron Heart Surge, you gain +2 morale accuracy until the end of your next turn." Movement Flight -All directly upward movement costs double. Moving directly upward with Clumsy maneuverability instead costs quadruple, and with Perfect costs single. -All directly downward movement (diving, falling) costs half. Free falling costs nothing and you may move up to 750' per round. -To remain airborne, a creature with Clumsy or Poor maneuverability requires a move action moving fully forward, Average requires only half forward distance, and Good or Perfect requires no forward movement, allowing hovering. A creature with the Hover feat has no minimum forward distance. Races -These races are banned! Warforged. -The overwhelming majority of elves in Xeen are gray elves. Gray elves are like standard elves from Player's Handbook but also have +2 INT and -2 STR. -Half-elves also receive bonus skill points (as human) and longbow/shortbow/rapier/longsword proficiencies (as elf). Half-elf stats are otherwise as normal. -Half-orcs also receive bonus skill points (as human) and rage 1/day (as orc). Regardless, half-orcs are +2 STR and either -2 INT or -2 CHA as the player chooses. Half-orc stats are otherwise as normal. -Kobolds are -2 STR and +2 CHA and aren't light-sensitive. Their stats are otherwise as normal. -Orcs are able to rage once per day as a Barbarian. This rage stacks with Barbarian rage and similar abilities, and can be swapped for rage variants like whirling frenzy. Also, orcs get +4 STR and -2 to two mental stats (INT, WIS, CHA) of your choice. Finally, orcs aren’t light sensitive. Orc stats are otherwise as normal. Skills -All classes get a minimum of 4+INT mod skill points per level. -Normally, all skills have a max rank of a creature's hit dice+3. -Disable Device also affects locks. There is no skill Open Lock. -Climb, Jump, and Swim are folded into one skill, Athletics. Each rank in Athletics is a rank in Climb, Jump, and Swim. -Balance and Tumble are folded into one skill, Acrobatics. Each rank in Acrobatics is a rank in Balance and Tumble. Spells -Material components with a trivial cost aren't needed to cast spells. -These spells are banned! alter self, astral projection, celerity, disjunction, draconic polymorph, genesis, polymorph, polymorph any object, shapechange, wraithstrike. -Any creature called such as with gate or planar binding requires at least 1 minute before it can start to call another creature. -Inflict spells have no saves. -Dispel magic when targeted against a creature or an object is all or nothing. If it overcomes the effect with the highest caster level, it dispels everything; else, it does nothing. Misc. -Expect any effect that produces an infinite or a nearly infinite loop to be banned or drastically changed. -On all accuracy rolls, rolling a natural 20 then a natural 20 then confirming will automatically slay your target. -When you have enough experience to level, you need at least 8 continuous hours of sleep to level up.
#2 aje8 Jun 02, 2009 16:26:05	Um... as a general rule never ban ANYTHING that helps melee characters. I don't care if they're a Feral Half-Minatour with ToB and a whole bunch of dips..... they can't compete with Wizard 20 at any level 7th or beyond..... probably not at any level 5 or beyond. Thus, I would say even if it's strictly better than the standard class options, don't ban it. Also: About your house rules, why give all classes a minimum of 4+int mod skill points?
#3 pyro_azer Jun 02, 2009 16:48:21	I agree. Melee needs all of the help it can get. As a side note what is the starting xp for?
#4 Endarire Jun 02, 2009 17:35:02	Crafters. A Wizard may want to make scrolls of mage armor.
#5 phaedrusxy Jun 02, 2009 17:45:46	It depends a lot on how much your PCs optimize their characters. If the casters think lobbing fireballs is great, then I'd probably not allow someone to play a Half-minotaur Lion Totem Barbarian. If the party wizard casts Contact Other Plane several times a week, then let the melee guys do whatever they want. ;)