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PersonMan
2010-05-12, 07:44 PM
I'll be starting a new campaign soon, and am wondering what sorts of houserules to add to my current list. This group is relatively low-optimization, so don't worry about them breaking anything.

So, what are some good houserules you use/have used/will use/have had used on you?

Barbarian MD
2010-05-12, 07:51 PM
Swiping the list of the best from a campaign I'm in:

My DM gives a feat at every other level, rather than every third. It's great for making versatile characters, since feats are normally in such short supply.

Monks get full BAB.


Favored Classes-- this is an idea swiped from the intrepid rathgar (a fellow playgrounder); the favored class feature of the different races is severely underplayed. from now on, in addition to the rules already in place, for each level taken in a race's favored class, a character gains an additional 2 hit points and 2 skill points. if it is the character's first level, they instead gain an additional 3 hit points and 3 skill points. for classes with a favored class listed as "any", the character's first class counts as their favored class (gestalt characters characters can pick one of their two first classes if they fall into this category).

Sorcerers get metamagic feats.


weapon finesse (and intuitive attack, etc): at +11 bab, these feats allow you to add the appropriate ability mod to damage instead of strength in melee combat


EDIT: PersonMan, what is your sig quote in reference to?

hangedman1984
2010-05-12, 07:53 PM
Make the concentration skill wisdom based instead of constitution based. Wisdom covers mental focus, which is what concentration is supposed to represent. Also concentration is used almost exclusively by casters, and i've never seen someone play a caster with high constitution.

krossbow
2010-05-12, 07:57 PM
Strength Decreases the Armor check penalty by 1 and Increase the Maximum Dexterity Bonus by 1 for Every +4 modifier you have. This allows Stronger Characters to Shoulder extra Heavy Armor effectively (this would be getting into random homebrew, but Specialized reinforced fullplate with negative Dexterity modifiers can be crafted for exceptionally strong individuals).

Any Attack that beats an AC by 5 or more is referred to as a "true blow" and deals normal Damage. Simply beating the AC only deals half Damage (in order to not hurt the melee PC's too much, All non-PC's have their AC reduced by 5). This adds more gradual benefits to AC for PC's.

Ambidexterity changed up/combined with Oversized two weapon fighting. Ambidexterity: allows you to Wield a non-light weapon in your offhand with 0 penalty and Deal 1.0 strength modifier damage.

Double Weapons, such as a Double axe, Deal 1.5 strength modifier damage with the main hand of it and .5 modifier strength damage with the offhand.

All casters Use 2 stats: Intelligence or wisdom for their Save DC's, Charisma for bonus spells per day.

spells that are normally a standard action are a full round action.

You must perform a concentration check to Cast a spell; the DC is equal to 5x the spell level. You can "Extend" the casting of a spell by one full round and roll an additional d20 to make difficult checks as you take your time.

Barbarian MD
2010-05-12, 07:59 PM
Also concentration is used almost exclusively by casters...

Except for initiators (ToB), for whom this rule would be bad.

Along those lines, though, I would advocate feats that allow for alternate ability scores, but with an extra kick. Like a feat that lets you use Str instead of Cha for Intimidate, but also gives Str as a bonus on saves against fear effects.

The Shadowmind
2010-05-12, 07:59 PM
Make monks proficient with their fists, is the most common one.
I recommend removing alignment restrictions, and multiclass penalties.

Kish
2010-05-12, 08:00 PM
Favored Classes-- this is an idea swiped from the intrepid rathgar (a fellow playgrounder); the favored class feature of the different races is severely underplayed. from now on, in addition to the rules already in place, for each level taken in a race's favored class, a character gains an additional 2 hit points and 2 skill points. if it is the character's first level, they instead gain an additional 3 hit points and 3 skill points. for classes with a favored class listed as "any", the character's first class counts as their favored class (gestalt characters characters can pick one of their two first classes if they fall into this category).

This makes humans even more overpowered and penalizes multiclassing. I'd call those both Bad Things, m'self.

Krazddndfreek
2010-05-12, 08:02 PM
and i've never seen someone play a caster with high constitution.

...who do you play with? O.o

EDIT: Also, since its lowOp, I doubt you'll really need to worry about house rules. Except for giving the monk full BaB and change flurry of blows to an attack action or full attack.

PersonMan
2010-05-12, 08:06 PM
EDIT: PersonMan, what is your sig quote in reference to?

My teacher giving an assignment about an "up-and-coming" minority.

Also, thanks for the suggestions! I'll be using most of these.

I don't think that the longer casting+concentrating is necessary, since my players don't really optimize much(mostly blasters) and would probably howl like dying animals if I implemented this rule.

The Dark Fiddler
2010-05-12, 08:09 PM
This makes humans even more overpowered and penalizes multiclassing. I'd call those both Bad Things, m'self.

Do what I did when I houseruled similar (favored class gives 1 HP, 1 extra skill point); human favored class becomes Any NPC class?

drengnikrafe
2010-05-12, 08:12 PM
Eliminate multiclass penalties. As it was once said "They went to so much trouble to make sure everybody levels up at the same time, and then threw it out the window with those penalties."

If your group is really lazy, eliminate class skills. It saves a lot of time. Also, who says fighters can't learn to do anything that isn't on their list very well? Aren't those things already covered by skill bonuses?

The best houserule I ever worked with arranged feats into 3 tiers, and had them stack on themselves. So in order to get Endurance you need Toughness. But when you get Endurance, you get an extra 3 HP, and you can't get Endurance until 3rd level. Or, in order to get Weapon Artistry or Weapon Finesse you need Duel. But when you get WA or WF, the bonus ot Duel goes up by 1. Then, when you get Insightful Strike (a feat with PreReqs of Duel and WA, and being level 9), your bonus to Duel goes up by 1, your bonus to WA goes up by 1 (somehow or another) and you get the benefits of the new feat as well. This makes fighters a lot better, when each feat they take that required Weapon Focus will give them another +1.

krossbow
2010-05-12, 08:14 PM
One thing my group does to make paladins more fun is to make Smiting more Encouraged, and less Rationed.


Allow a Smite to affect every attack made during a round when the paladin declares they're doing it; Allow a paladin to do so safely once every 2d6 rounds at level 1, safely once every 1d6 rounds at level 8, and once every 1d4 rounds at level 16. Have it exhaust the paladin and inflict non-lethal damage if they do it before this period.

Also, Just allow any good alignment for paladins.

PersonMan
2010-05-12, 08:15 PM
If your group is really lazy, eliminate class skills. It saves a lot of time. Also, who says fighters can't learn to do anything that isn't on their list very well? Aren't those things already covered by skill bonuses?

The best houserule I ever worked with arranged feats into 3 tiers, and had them stack on themselves. So in order to get Endurance you need Toughness. But when you get Endurance, you get an extra 3 HP, and you can't get Endurance until 3rd level. Or, in order to get Weapon Artistry or Weapon Finesse you need Duel. But when you get WA or WF, the bonus ot Duel goes up by 1. Then, when you get Insightful Strike (a feat with PreReqs of Duel and WA, and being level 9), your bonus to Duel goes up by 1, your bonus to WA goes up by 1 (somehow or another) and you get the benefits of the new feat as well. This makes fighters a lot better, when each feat they take that required Weapon Focus will give them another +1.

Class skills, I'm thinking of just saying: (# of class skills+Int mod) skills are class skills.

Tier-feats thing: I have no idea what you're saying. I get the premise, but the examples near the end, after the Endurance/Toughness thing just...Bleh.

nefele
2010-05-12, 08:16 PM
I'll be starting a new campaign soon, and am wondering what sorts of houserules to add to my current list. This group is relatively low-optimization, so don't worry about them breaking anything.
But... what do you want to accomplish with the houserules?

Less bookkeeping? More verisimilitude? A boost to non-casters? More options for everyone? Less options for everyone? A newb-friendly rule set? Something else?

I suggest you give us a hint, because what houserules suit you depends on your needs. :smallsmile:

IdleMuse
2010-05-12, 08:17 PM
I use a rule whereby the threshold for Death (RAW at -10hp) is instead the negative of your CON score. This can screw over low-con casters at low levels, but tbh it's not like they should be jumping in front of bugbears anyway. What it does do is make CON a little bit more relevant for fighters and their ilk, plus is cool and crunchy.

PersonMan
2010-05-12, 08:19 PM
But... what do you want to accomplish with the houserules?

Less bookkeeping? More verisimilitude? A boost to non-casters? More options for everyone? Less options for everyone? A newb-friendly rule set? Something else?

I suggest you give us a hint, because what houserules suit you depends on your needs. :smallsmile:

Well, I'm both looking for general fun-enhancing/useful stuff, partially less bookkeeping, partially more options. Balancing casters/non-casters isn't really a problem.

I'm also just looking to see what houserules are common around here out of curiosity.

demidracolich
2010-05-12, 08:30 PM
For druids, no natural spell (obviously), also we tend to not allow wildshape and encourage using shapeshifting variant. We also interpret the no animal companion at first level as you do get an animal companion starting 4th level.
Also we tend to not allow celerity, also pretty obvious.
For fighter, paladin, and monk, we generally use our simple fixes: replace with warblade, crusader, and unarmed sword sage respectively.
We generally try to go for tier 3 in terms of classes.
As for others I can't think of any right now.

Curmudgeon
2010-05-12, 08:32 PM
Common house rules cover rules flubs, convenience, neglected weapons, and realism.

Flubs:

Monks are proficient with unarmed strikes.
You can cast Feather Fall (redefined as an immediate action spell) when flat-footed.
No ranged full attacks without provoking attacks of opportunity. Going strictly by the letter of the rules full attacks (melee or ranged) never provoke, but I treat this as just sloppy work by the rules authors. Each ranged shot provokes an AoO.
Rules Compendium mashes concealment and all other miss chances together so they don't stack; however, they provide an out for the DM to modify the miss chance for specific situations. I use that DM option to modify the miss chance to be exactly what it would be without this RC "update". :smalltongue:
Convenience:

Level 0 spells are always cast spontaneously.
Make Massive Damage saves only when the damage is 50+ and also exceeds half your remaining hit points.
Neglected weapons:

Treat great crossbows (Races of Stone) the same as heavy crossbows for feats and other rules that specify heavy crossbows, since

all the crossbow rules use specifics needlessly:
Choose a type of crossbow (hand, light, or heavy). You can reload a crossbow of that type more quickly than normal.
great crossbows were defined later, after these needlessly specific rules.
Great crossbows remain exotic weapons.
If you like slings: apply the Rapid Reload feat to them, just as you would to a crossbow, for free action reloading. You can also use Manyshot with slings, up to a maximum of four bullets in the sling pouch.
Realism:
Split actual movement around a non-moving move action. Example: move 15' to a door, open it, and then go through the doorway that same round using the rest of your movement. (Or walk and chew gum at the same time. :smallsmile:)
Falling damage hits a maximum of 50d6 (for falling 500') rather than the standard 20d6 of the rules for most creatures. The 20d6 limit still applies if the creature has wings.

PersonMan
2010-05-12, 08:39 PM
Falling damage: Actually, I'm thinking of using my own variant for that. It basically increases more exponentially:
10-40':1d6/10 ft fallen
50'-80': 1d8/10 ft fallen plus Fortitude save DC 10+# of dice of damage or "critical" fall, x1.5 damage.
90'-130': 1d10/10 ft fallen plus "critical fall" chance, see above.
140'+:1d12/10 ft fallen plus "critical fall"; see above
200'+: Fort save or die, if success you still take the full damage

Makes falling way more deadly.

Movement split: Didn't even realize we were using that as a houserule and it wasn't RAW. Interesting.

We're not using massive damage.

Da Beast
2010-05-12, 08:39 PM
I like to condense the skill list (hide and move silently become stealth, open lock gets rolled into disable device, things like that), give everyone free skill focus for knowledge: local for whatever their home region is. Sometimes I'll let someone swap this out for a different skill focus for things like a nomad who didn't grow up in any one place long enough to justify SF:KL. I also let everyone pick two skills that will always count as class skills for their character, but I think I like this rule more:


Class skills, I'm thinking of just saying: (# of class skills+Int mod) skills are class skills.

hangedman1984
2010-05-12, 08:40 PM
...who do you play with? O.o

Well the primary stat (int, wis, or cha) generally gets the highest score, followed by dex, and elves are popular so thats a -2 to con....

Curmudgeon
2010-05-12, 08:48 PM
Falling damage: Actually, I'm thinking of using my own variant for that. It basically increases more exponentially
You do realize that (except for the cap) that's one of the things they got right, don't you? Damage (i.e., kinetic energy at impact) is linearly proportional to distance fallen, up until about when you reach terminal velocity. I don't see how adding a lot of complexity while getting away from realism can improve the game.

PersonMan
2010-05-12, 08:50 PM
You do realize that (except for the cap) that's one of the things they got right, don't you? Damage (i.e., kinetic energy at impact) is linearly proportional to distance fallen, up until about when you reach terminal velocity. I don't see how adding a lot of complexity while getting away from realism can improve the game.

Meh. I just like making falling much more dangerous. I could just add more damage or whatever, but...yeah.

You're right. I think I'll change it.

Gorbash
2010-05-12, 08:57 PM
Well the primary stat (int, wis, or cha) generally gets the highest score, followed by dex, and elves are popular so thats a -2 to con....

Why would Elves be popular as casters, they don't give bonuses to Int scores? Except from Gray Elves, but that's a different story.

Also, why dex? Why do you need to hit and AC that bad as a caster anyways? Without armor, your AC is crap anyways, your attacks are touch attacks usually, so why bother?

Con covers hit points, concentratio checks and fortitude saves. Since all save or dies are Fort, and you're a caster, making you a primary target, guess which save you'll be rolling most of the time.

For the record, my gnome wizard lvl 16 has Con 22. If any gold remains from boosting Caster Level, I'll probably buy Tome of +4 Con.

nefele
2010-05-12, 08:58 PM
@PersonMan: Cool, then. :)

My standard houserules are:

Remove alignment.
Remove favorite classes and multi-classing penalties.
A boost to skills. Usually two more skills/lvl for everyone, merge Spot+Listen to Perception, Open Lock+Disable Device to Disable Device, Hide+Move Silently to Stealth.
Background Bonus: 4 bonus skill points to one Profession or Craft skill, plus one skill counts as a class skill permanently. (Use Magic Device cannot be chosen.)
The Giant's Diplomacy variant. Sometimes a more freeform style, where all social skill checks determine tone of voice, body language etc, but the NPC's reaction will depend mostly on what you say.
Allow some race-specific PrCs for everyone. (Like Blade Bravo or Halfling Outrider. Why shouldn't a human do all that, eh?)
UA traits.
Instead of UA flaws, which usually mean that everyone suffers a totally irrelevant "drawback", take one extra feat at 1st level.



Depending on the campaign, these often come into play:

Generic Classes (lots and lots of customization).
Weapon Groups.
Defense bonus (+ Armor as Damage Reduction).
Full casters need a second casting stat, player's choice, for determining DC. (E.g. Wizards get more spells with high Int, but their spell DC is based off Wisdom. It's a minor nerf, but it allows for more complicated characters, tailored to the player's taste. You can play a charismatic Wizard or a perceptive one. You just can't dump EVERYTHING except Int and Con.)
The TWF chain becomes one feat which scales with level. (I think it's one of Fax's homebrews.) Similar fix for archery.
Full-BAB monks.
Give Spontaneous Healing to anyone with access to Cure spells. Don't like clerics? You don't need them!
Ruthlessly ban anything that doesn't fit a specific setting, usually beginning with Paladins.

hangedman1984
2010-05-12, 09:10 PM
Why would Elves be popular as casters, they don't give bonuses to Int scores? Except from Gray Elves, but that's a different story.

Also, why dex? Why do you need to hit and AC that bad as a caster anyways? Without armor, your AC is crap anyways, your attacks are touch attacks usually, so why bother?

Con covers hit points, concentration checks and fortitude saves. Since all save or dies are Fort, and you're a caster, making you a primary target, guess which save you'll be rolling most of the time.

For the record, my gnome wizard lvl 16 has Con 22. If any gold remains from boosting Caster Level, I'll probably buy Tome of +4 Con.

never said it was the most optimized, just the most popular among my group.

My original point still remains, concentration makes more sense being wisdom based as opposed to constitution based.

Gorbash
2010-05-12, 09:14 PM
never said it was the most optimized, just the most popular among my group.

And I wasn't saying it was optimized (although it is), I was just saying that common sense suggests that Con is more important than Dex.

Anyways, at some point Concentration checks are irrelevant because of the fixed DC and you can't fail it even on 1, so my group uses this formula:

Defensive Casting equals 10 + Attacker’s Base Attack Bonus + Spell’s Level.

That way, it scales with level and it makes more sense for spellcasting to be dificult when you're trying to do it next to a skilled opponent.

Tumble is affected the same way, so tumbling through opponent's threatened space is equal to 5 + Attacker's BAB and tumbling through his square is equal to 15 + Attacker's BAB.

Tyger
2010-05-12, 09:18 PM
We have several that I like in my group, though it usually depends on the DM and the campaign, many of these are used pretty much all the time:

1) Tumbling in Medium and Heavy Armour is possible, though, like Swim checks, is subject to twice the Armour Check Penalty.

2) Shields and bucklers provide double the listed AC bonus.

3) Your character dies when his hp total reaches minus his Constitution score, not -10.

4) Casters with either Orisons or Cantrips may select one of those spells per 5 caster levels, which are usuable at-will.

5) There are no favoured classes. The entire mechanic is bull****.

6) The toughness feat text is replaced with the text from Improved Toughness.

7) Monks are full BAB classes.

8) Alignment restrictions on any class are null and void. Ditto races. Alignment rules are another one of those things that has always made my brain hurt.

9) Cohorts (when allowed at all) may not be capable of producing spawn.

10) Any weapon crafted of Mithril (the weapon must be a legal weapon for Mithril crafting) becomes a valid weapon for the Weapon Finesse feat. Additionally, any one handed weapon crafted of Mithril becomes, effectively, a light weapon for the purposes of Two-Weapon fighting, and all other related TWF feats. Actually got this one here.

Tinydwarfman
2010-05-12, 09:24 PM
You do realize that (except for the cap) that's one of the things they got right, don't you? Damage (i.e., kinetic energy at impact) is linearly proportional to distance fallen, up until about when you reach terminal velocity. I don't see how adding a lot of complexity while getting away from realism can improve the game.

Indeed, falling should instead scale to your HD, and just be more deadly in general. No more barbarians jumping off of the moon and surviving.

krossbow
2010-05-12, 09:40 PM
Indeed, falling should instead scale to your HD, and just be more deadly in general. No more barbarians jumping off of the moon and surviving.

Well, the damage there is more the friction from reentry.


but there have been people who've fallen out of planes with no parachutes before and lived; Just its highly unlikely and requires the proper Situation. Now, you Have people in MAGICAL armor; One would think that would be just as effective, if not more, at keeping people alive than most of our theoretical ways of surviving such a situation.

Jane_Smith
2010-05-12, 09:45 PM
At the beginning of the game I give my players 3 Fate tokens, all 3 have the names of the player they belong to written on them.

At any point in the game, you can give the DM your fate token as an immediate action at any point you roll a d20 roll, but before you know the results. If you have a fate token to give, the dm (me) takes it, and you get to roll an automatic 20, criticals included, automatic success.

HOWEVER, the DM keeps a pool of fate tokens. AT ANY TIME in the game, even immediately after receiving it, or a month later in-game, or irl... or two campaigners later, it doesnt matter - the dm can then give the token back to the player whenever a npc or monster or trap, etc, is rolling a d20. They also get an automatic success/critical/etc against a player.

Let the good times roll. I love watching players experressions when a dm hordes the tokens and eyes the stash every turn during a critical moment...

Seffbasilisk
2010-05-12, 11:54 PM
@Jane_Smith: That, I intend to steal and implement this very week if I can.

My usuals are:
Sorcerers get Eschew Material Components as a bonus feat.
Toughness scales past level 3, as Improved Toughness, but starts off as the base 3.
Half-Orcs get a +2 to Wisdom and a +2 to Survival.
Gnomes get punted.

Physics_Rook
2010-05-13, 04:07 AM
Here is a list of House Rules that I've found useful.

GM Related
Allowable D&D Material.
You must notify the DM of all WotC material you plan on using to build your character.
In general, all WotC material is fair game, but the DM still needs to approve it anyway.

Characters
Action Points.
At the beginning of every game session, all players receive an action point.

An action point can be spent to reroll the last die the player rolled. The player can choose to take either the orginial roll or the new roll.
Example: Player Bob just rolled a d20 to attack, and the result was a 3. He spends an action point to reroll the d20 with a new result of 15. Bob can choose to keep either the 3 or the 15, he chooses to keep the 15.
Example: Player Steve is rolling 2d6 sneak attack damage. The result of his first d6 is 1. The result of his second d6 is 5. Steve wants to spend an action point, but the only roll he can affect now is the last roll he made (the d6 that resulted in a 5).

Action points can be hoarded, and hoarding is encouraged.

There is no restriction on how frequently you can spend action points.

Alignment.
The alignment requirements and restrictions for Classes and Prestige Classes are changed to alignment suggestions.

Multiclassing.
There are no experience penalties for multiclassing.

Hitpoints.
All PCs receive double the maximum amount of hit points at first level.

All PCs receive maximum hit points at every level after first.

Base Attack Bonus & Saves.
Fractional saves and base attack bonuses from Unearthed Arcana are used.

Class Abilities.
Monks receive full base attack bonus.

The Flury of Blows class feature (found primarily in the Monk class), takes only a standard action to activate.

The Favored Enemy class ability of the Ranger now allows precision damage and critical hits against favored enemies normally immune to such things.

Classes or Prestige Classes that advance your arcane spellcasting level stack for determining familiar abilities.

The potential experience loss from the death of a familiar is now only 100xp per every class level that that stacks for determining familiar abilities.
Example: If a wizard 2/sorcerer 2 loses a familiar, the potential xp loss is 400xp.
Example: If a wizard 10/fighter 5 loses a familiar, the potential xp loss is 1000xp.

Once per day, if your familiar would be dealt enough damage to be killed, you may make a Willpower save DC 10+(damage dealt). If successful, your familiar lives and is left with 0 hit points. This ability works regardless of whether or not you are on the same plane as your familiar.

Replacing a familiar requires either one month and one day (instead of one year and one day), or until the next experience level for that character is reached, whichever takes longer.

Spellcasters capable of casting 0th level spells receive bonus 0th level spells for high ability scores. The number of bonus spells you receive is equal to one plus your ability modifier divided by four rounded down, or "1 + ( (Ability_Modifer) / 4 )" rounded down.
Example: The progression for 0th level spells continues in the manner shown here.
8 - 9 = 0 bonus 0th level spells.
10 - 11 = 1 bonus 0th level spell.
12 - 13 = 1 bonus 0th level spell.
14 - 15 = 1 bonus 0th level spell.
16 - 17 = 1 bonus 0th level spell.
18 - 19 = 2 bonus 0th level spells.

Ability Scores.
Ability score increase points are now given out at every level divisible by three (instead of every level divisible by four).
Example: Characters receive bonus attribute points at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, ect ...

Skills.
All skills are considered class skills for both PCs and NPCs.

Speak Language is a class skill for both PCs and NPCs, meaning it requires only 1 skill point to learn a language.

Open Lock is replaced with Disable Device.

Tumbling past an opponent's square requires a DC check equal to 5 + Opponent's BAB.

Tumbling through an opponent's square requires a DC check equal to 15 + Opponent's BAB.

Skill synergy bonuses don't stack.

There is no limit on the number or type of skill tricks a character can have.

Characters may choose a single profession, craft, or perform skill. At each level, the chosen profession/craft/perform skill automatically receives enough free bonus skill points to max out the number of allowable ranks in that skill. These bonus skill ranks cannot be retrained.

Feats.
Feats gained through experience levels are now given out at every odd level.
Example: Characters receive feats at levels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 ect...

All players automatically gain the Leadership feat as a bonus feat at 6th level.

All players automatically gain the Landlord feat (found in Stronghold Builder's Guidebook 3.0, page 10) as a bonus feat at 9th level.

The attack bonus from the Weapon Focus feat is equal to your level divided by 5 (rounded down) plus one.

The damage bonus from the Weapon Specialization feat is equal to your level divided by 5 with a minimum of +2.

All players automatically gain the Spell Cinematics feat, as a bonus feat at 1st level.

Spell Cinematics [General]

Your spells have a distinct cinematic theme reflected in their manifestation.

Benefit: Choose a theme for your spells, such as "Fire", "Ice", or "Accordions". All spells you cast have this theme in their manifestation, although this does not actually change the spell in any way. You cannot use this feat to make your spells invisible, and this spell does not alter any of the actual mechanics of the spell in any way. A theme does not have any actual effect on the mechanics of the spell. For example, a fireball themed to appear as a screaming frostball still behaves exactly like a fireball, and deals only fire damage.

You may choose to apply the effects of Spell Cinematics as you desire on a per spell basis during casting. You gain a number of themes available to apply to your spells equal to 1/2 your level plus your primary spellcasting ability modifier (e.g. a 4th level wizard with a 12 Intelligence has 3 themes). You may apply more than one theme to a spell. At the beginning of each day, you may choose to change the concepts for your Spell Cinematics themes.

Special: All spellcasting players receive this feat for free at 1st level.



Levels & ExperienceExperience. Bonus experience is awarded for being an active participant in the game and role-playing your character appropriately.

Experience is rewarded for defeat as well as success (albeit less xp is rewarded for defeat).
Level Adjustments. Level Adjustments can be bought off, as per the Unearthed Arcana variant rules.

Game MechanicsRetraining.
Retraining is allowed, provided the DM okays your changes.
Making Ranged Attacks Into Melee.
When making a ranged attack into melee, you may forego the -4 penalty to attack. If you choose to forego the penalty, all allied combatants in the melee are considered flat-footed against your attack when determining whether or not you hit them on a miss.
Encumbrance.
The weight and bulk of coins is ignored in favor of faster and simpler game play. Abuse of this rule is unwise.

There is no such thing as Medium Encumbrance. Light Encumbrance is now extended to include both light loads and medium loads. This has no effect upon class features or abilities affected by Medium Armor. Medium Armor still acts exactly like medium armor, only medium loads have been changed, as no character can ever have a medium load now (as they no longer exist).
Drawing & Sheathing Weapons.
Sheathing a weapon requires the same amount of effort as drawing a weapon.
Example: The Quickdraw feat would allow you to draw a weapon as a free action, as well as sheathe a weapon as a free action.
Example: A character with a +1 Base Attack Bonus or higher can draw or sheathe a weapon during a move-action.
Magic Items.
Any magic item that takes up only one hand, will only take up one-half of the hand magic item slot.
Example: A Glove of Storing only takes up 1/2 of the hand magic item slot. So a character would be able to wear 2 Gloves of Storing.

Magic items are now considered to be magical effects which can be applied in any combination and on any item. (e.g. you can now create a Shirt of Striding and Springing, or a Hat of Wizardry I & Elvenkind.)
The World Environment.
Fall damage now deals xd6 damage where x = (Distance_Fallen / 10)^2. In other words, divide the distance fallen by 10 and then square it, and the result is x. For simplicity, round your distance fallen to the nearest 10 foot increment. Terminal velocity for an earth like planet caps at 3000ft for most medium sized humanoid creatures.
Example fall damage table.
10ft = 1d6
20ft = 4d6
30ft = 9d6
40ft = 16d6
50ft = 25d6
60ft = 36d6
70ft = 49d6
80ft = 64d6
90ft = 81d6
100ft = 100d6
3000ft = 90,000d6 (Avg = 315,000 HP of damage).
New Actions.
As an immediate action in response to an attack directed at either the player or an adjacent creature/square, the player may forgo their next turn. As a benefit, they may add their base attack bonus to either their own AC or the adjacent creature/square's AC. Doing this provokes an attack of opportunity.

Once per encounter, as a free action, a character can make an appropriate Knowledge check of DC 10 + (Monster HD) to allow themselves the ability to score precision damage (such as Sneak Attacks) and critical hits against identified monsters that are normally immune to precision damage for duration of the encounter.
Example: A Knowledge Religion check against a 2 hit die Human Commoner Zombie is DC 12 (10 + 2HD). Success means the character can now apply precision damage (such as Sneak Attacks) and make critical hits against the monster for the rest of the encounter.

Spells
Level 0 Spells.
Level 0 spells are always cast spontaeneously.
Healing Spells.
All Cure and Inflict spells cast outside of an encounter can be treated as though they were maximized at the cost of having their casting time increased to 1 minute.
Spell Components.
Spell components with a cost less than 50*(Your Class Level) are ignored, up to a maximum of 1000gp.
Example: A level 2 Wizard must keep track of all spell components worth 100gp or more. A level 22 Sorcerer needs to keep track of spell components worth 1000gp or more.
Feather Fall.
Feather Fall is an immediate action to cast, and can be cast while flat-footed.

Death & DyingNegative hit points.
Your negative HP cap is equal to your Constitution score.
Example: A character with a 12 Constitution score would be dying between -1 HP and -12 HP, and dead at -13 HP.

The player of a character that is dying may not announce either how close to death they are, or how far under 0 hitpoints they are.

A character adjacent to a dying character may make a free Heal check DC10 to determine how close to death a character is. This action provokes an attack of oppurtunity.
Stabilizing.
Stabilizing when you're dying is d100 versus your Constitution score.
Example: A character with an 8 Constitution would have to roll 1d100 and score equal to or less than 8 on the result.
Death by massive damage.
The "death by massive damage" rules are not applied to PCs, BBEGs, and some supporting characters.

Death by massive damage occurs when the total amount of damage from a single instance exceeds twice victim's Constitution score.
Coming back from the dead.
Creatures with only one hit die do not lose a point from any of their ability scores when they are raised from the dead.

And remember, all these rules are subject to quick and even unexpected change by the DM. :smallbiggrin:

Hope this helps.
:smallsmile:

gooddragon1
2010-05-13, 04:16 AM
HP per level
Half+Con+1

Barbarian
14 Con
LVL 1: 14
LVL 2: 14+9 (6+2+1) = 23

ETC...

Aotrs Commander
2010-05-13, 05:26 AM
Some of the more basic ones I now use as a matter of course (though I'm in a higher-optimisation environment):

TWF gets full Strength on the off hand.

Death from hit point damage comes at negative 1/2 maximum hit points.

Death from massive damage is laughed out of the room as the hold-over from AD&D as it is (where 50 damage was actually hard to reach).

Fighters get a feat every level (the ones that are now effectively their dead levels don't have to even be fighter feats, they can be any, like those gained every 3rd level).

On skill checks (only) 1 = -10, 20 = 30 (Among other things, this means caster above about level 10 can still fail concentration checks while casting defensively.)

A character proficient in medium or heavy armour reduces ACP by the character's Str bonus, to a minimum of -2. Shields are exempt (they always have their ACP).

Altair_the_Vexed
2010-05-13, 06:20 AM
I use different dice per size category for falling damage: Diminutive= d2 Tiny= d3 Small= d4 Medium= d6 Large= d8 Huge= d10 Gargantuan= d12 Colossal= 2x d8
Because very small creatures have very low terminal velocities, I also cap the dice on an increasing scale with size.

Amphetryon
2010-05-13, 06:23 AM
Fighters in my campaign get a Feat every level, plus their 1st level bonus Feat - 21 Feats in 20 levels total. Makes leveling easier and more consistent for n00bs, and gives the Fighter some chance to be more than just a hyper-specialized 1-trick pony.

Haarkla
2010-05-13, 06:34 AM
Natural healing = 1+lvl hit points/day.

I find this the single most neccessary house rule. This makes low-magic and clericless parties much more viable.

Coins weigh 1/150th of a pound. - For more realistic precious metal prices.

No alignment restrictions for bards. - Bards are the keeper of much history and lore. They undergo extensive training, memorising music and words. Prohibiting a lawful alignment makes no sense.

Shademan
2010-05-13, 06:57 AM
spears can be used one-handed as martial weapons

new item: throwing dagger. same as dagger but -2 to melee attack and increased range

bows and crossbows get bonus damage equal to your dex bonus

no alignment restrictions for any core baseclass.
xcept paladin, which must be any good

Fitz10019
2010-05-13, 07:11 AM
Feat swap: if you take a feat and later get the exact same feat from your class levels, the class-based feats becomes an open bonus feat at that level.

Gnaeus
2010-05-13, 08:10 AM
For druids, no natural spell (obviously), also we tend to not allow wildshape and encourage using shapeshifting variant.

Thats pretty far from obvious. Many people don't like that houserule.

Personally, I prefer either a set bonus for polymorph/WS forms (Any Medium Animal gives you +2 Str, +1 NA, etc. This is the Pathfinder approach) OR setting the maximum stat + NA increase from polymorph type effects to your Wildshape or Caster level (so a level 5 druid can gain a maximum of 5 points of Str, Dex, and NA from any form he assumes, but he still can't raise them above the base forms stats, a 3rd level wizard gains a maximum of +3 NA from his alter self, etc.)

Quietus
2010-05-13, 08:37 AM
Let's see... some of my favorites...

Paladins : Paladins of no deity are as the book describes. Paladins who follow a deity must instead have alignments specifically matching their deity's, so Hextor's Paladins would be Lawful Evil. Alignment-based abilities are changed so they make sense (Hextoran Paladins would Detect/Smite Good, for example), and their Code instead is based around that deity's scriptures, rather than "Uphold Law and Good".

Clerics : Must be beholden to a deity. I just like this one, I don't like people going "I worship time, and travel!", because they like those domains.

Sorcerer : Eschew Materials at level 1 as a bonus feat

Casters in general : Cantrips/Orisons are castable at-will. Cure Minor can only bring a character to 1 HP maximum, but can be spammed when an individual is in the negatives.


There's a few other die-rolling ones we use, like stacking criticals, +/- 10 on 1's/20's, no auto-fail/auto-success on anything, etc... but for flavor purposes, the ones listed above are those I am most fond of.

dextercorvia
2010-05-13, 12:23 PM
Clerics : Must be beholden to a deity. I just like this one, I don't like people going "I worship time, and travel!", because they like those domains.

Can they choose Christopher Lloyd or H. G. Wells?

Also, I like to ignore material components for all casters. Otherwise it's "I can bend the universe to my will, if this spider would quit biting me while I look for the mercury."

Tyger
2010-05-13, 12:35 PM
Natural healing = 1+lvl hit points/day.

I find this the single most neccessary house rule. This makes low-magic and clericless parties much more viable.

How does the extra one point of HP healing make that large a difference? I can see it for a mage at level one, but at level ten, the extra point doesn't seem like that big a deal.

nefele
2010-05-13, 04:26 PM
Also, I like to ignore material components for all casters. Otherwise it's "I can bend the universe to my will, if this spider would quit biting me while I look for the mercury."
Hah, that's hilarious. :smallbiggrin:

I've played one game where we were absolutely anal about material components, and without Eschew Materials. It wasn't a vanilla game though, it was gestalt (everyone had at least one side of full caster), low to mid-level, in a half-primitive world. Looking for and using components was an excuse to talk about an early ritualistic society, superstitions, how the laws of nature were perceived before science came along etc. Gosh, that sounded awfully academic, but actually we had tons of fun, improvising rituals and "rules" of magic all the time.

That said, it was a bookkeeping nightmare, and when the campaign ended we didn't try it again. :smalltongue:

Masaioh
2010-05-13, 04:42 PM
My group doesn't use XP. Leveling is session and/or encounter-based. Calculating XP is a nightmare, especially when we usually have at least one new/inexperienced player in every session.

As a corollary, XP costs for spells, etc. instead use gold and/or material components equal to XP*10. This also allows you to use material components for epic spells, which I think is a nice touch flavour-wise.

Epic Spellcasting is nerfed, if we use it at all. A limit is place on mitigation, preventing DC 0 spells.

Gorbash
2010-05-13, 05:20 PM
My group doesn't use XP. Leveling is session and/or encounter-based. Calculating XP is a nightmare, especially when we usually have at least one new/inexperienced player in every session.

http://www.penpaperpixel.org/tools/d20encountercalculator.htm

lesser_minion
2010-05-13, 05:23 PM
Personally, I recommend the "don't bother with XP" rule as well. Having some hard and fast guidelines isn't going to stop the DM ignoring them in any event, and I think the DM is usually a pretty good arbiter of when the time is right.

Frank and K have an amusing rant on the other problems XP poses, and I'd actually recommend looking at some of their suggestions even for low-powered games - the eight item rule, in particular, seems like a pretty good idea to me.

It was kind of refreshing to learn that I wasn't the only person to think that the way item slots work - restricting items based solely on what they are, instead of what they do - was a bad idea.

nedz
2010-05-13, 05:36 PM
Death at Neg Con rather than -10

Being brought back from the dead costs 1000 XP, increasing by 1000 XP each time you do it. If you don't have 1000 XP - the spell fails. So - no raise dead for 1st level characters

Languages
For each point of Int Bonus, plus additional skill points if you wish, you can acquire additional languages as follows:
- 1 point if the language is in an alphabet you know, 2 points otherwise. (See PH3.5 pp 83)
- You have had an opportunity (reflected in your background) to acquire the language.

Clerics must get their spells from a Deity
Clerics cast domain spells spontaneously. Clerics do not cast curing spells spontaneously unless they have the relevant (eg healing) domain.

Greenish
2010-05-13, 05:48 PM
Some of these have already been mentioned, but off the top of my head:

More skillpoints for everyone. (+4 to the base each level, or so.)
Skill contractions: mostly same as PF (linguistics, acrobatics etc.) but also ride + swim + climb = athletics.
Perceive (listen + spot + search) is a class skill for everyone.
More class skills for most classes.
No flaws, extra feat on first level, feats every second level.
Some skill tricks made normal parts of the skills. (Such as healing hands, wall jumper, clever improviser, whip climber. If you have X ranks in the related skill, you can do it.)
No multiclassing penalties or favoured classes.
Half-orcs don't have penalties to mental stats.
Death at -con score HP.
Sorcerers get free eschew materials.
Unlimited cantrips/orisons.
And stuff.

DonEsteban
2010-05-14, 07:19 AM
Here are some that seem reasonable to me, but which I've not tested yet.

Skill Focus makes its skill a class skill
Likewise for Diligent and other two skill boosters
There is an interesting variant for turning here (http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations/advanced-rules/turning.html)
Touch AC includes shield bonuses (and possibly even armor bonus/2)

dextercorvia
2010-05-14, 10:05 AM
Hah, that's hilarious. :smallbiggrin:

I've played one game where we were absolutely anal about material components, and without Eschew Materials. It wasn't a vanilla game though, it was gestalt (everyone had at least one side of full caster), low to mid-level, in a half-primitive world. Looking for and using components was an excuse to talk about an early ritualistic society, superstitions, how the laws of nature were perceived before science came along etc. Gosh, that sounded awfully academic, but actually we had tons of fun, improvising rituals and "rules" of magic all the time.

That said, it was a bookkeeping nightmare, and when the campaign ended we didn't try it again. :smalltongue:

To be fair, I started playing AD&D 1e, and most of my experience is in 2e. I had DM's require that you had to keep track of each component, purchasing as many copies as you thought you would require.

I prefer the way 3.x handles it, even if it is silly that a first level Wiz can rifle through a (presumably tied) pouch filled with assorted weirdness and gather, a pinch of salt in less time than he can draw a dagger. But considering all of the fluff about Sorcerers having in-born talent, it totally makes since to me to give them Eschew Materials.

One of my most fun 3.5 experiences was a campaign that began with a shipwreck and we spent the first few encounters gathering up things that were lost or ruined. Getting that pinch of salt or soot to cast Comprehend Languages became pretty urgent when the native village showed up with spears.

Serpentine
2010-05-14, 10:17 AM
Flat copy-paste from my houserules file. Because I'm nice, I'll break it up into categories.

Races
Humans
• Medium: As Medium creatures, humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Human base land speed is 30 feet.
• 1 extra feat at 1st level.
• 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level.
• Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Speak Language skill.
• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass human takes an experience point penalty, his or her highest-level class does not count.

Dwarves
• +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, dwarves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Dwarf base land speed is 20 feet. However, dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).
• Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dwarves can function just fine with no light at all.
• Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
• Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.
• Stability: A dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.
• +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Dwarven. Bonus Languages: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Undercommon.
• Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass dwarf’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing
- This is the normal "underground" dwarf, in my game a Hock-Barrock dwarf. There's another variety, the Hill dwarf, but I haven't figured out how to change them yet.

Elves
Sylvan Elf
Small and fine-featured, Sylvan elves are flighty and mischevous, and have an affinity for fey and the joys of life and nature. Their hair and eyes range widely in colour, but usually dark hair and natural-coloured eyes such as blue and green, though other colours such as especially bright ones, amber, and metallic hues are not uncommon. They prefer light, unrestraining clothing of natural textiles in bright shades.
• +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Elf base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. All elven weapons are considered Martial, not Exotic.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.
• +2 Diplomacy checks with Fey creatures.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.
• Favored Class: Sorcerer. A multiclass elf’s sorcerer class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
• Sylvan elves can cast Prestidigitation and Dancing Lights once per day.

Arbour Elf
Taller and grander in physical appearance than others of their race, Arbour elves have a reputation for being aloof and arrogant (even by elven standards). They usually have pale hair, often of silver or gold, and often have gold, amber, violet, bright blue, piercing green or similar type eyes. They prefer regal, elegant clothing of white, silver, yellow, or gold, with cloaks of deep blue or purple.
• +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Elf base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. All elven weapons are considered Martial, not Exotic.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.
• Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass elf’s wizard class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
• Arbour elves can cast Prestidigitation and Mage Hand once per day.
- Can't think of a skill for them to have a bonus in.

Bog Elf
Bog (or Wild) elves are barbaric and tribal. Bog elves’ hair color ranges from black to light brown, lightening to silvery white with age, and their eyes are usually of earthy colours such as brown, hazel or green. They dress in simple clothing of animal skins and basic plant weaves.
• +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Elf base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. All elven weapons are considered Martial, not Exotic.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.
• +2 Knowlege (nature) checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.
• Bog elves can cast Dancing Lights and Ghost Sound once per day.
• Favored Class: Ranger. This trait replaces the high elf’s favored class.

Drow
• +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Spell-Like Abilities: Drow can use the following spell-like abilities once per day: dancing lights, darkness. Caster level equals the drow’s class levels.
• Weapon Proficiency: A drow is automatically proficient with the hand crossbow, the rapier, and the short sword. All elven weapons are considered Martial, not Exotic.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Elven, Undercommon. Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Aquan, Draconic, Drow Sign Language, Gnome, Goblin.
• Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds drow for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area.
• +2 Knowledge (dungeoneering)
• Favored Class: Wizard (male) or cleric (female).

Gnomes
Also see the Gnome monster listing.
• +2 Constitution, -2 Strength.
• Small: As a Small creature, a gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• Gnome base land speed is 20 feet.
• Low-Light Vision: A gnome can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Familiarity: Gnomes may treat gnome hooked hammers and any other gnome weapons as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions.
• Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Gnome. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc. In addition, a gnome can speak with a burrowing mammal (a badger, fox, rabbit, or the like, see below). This ability is innate to gnomes. See the speak with animals spell description.
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has one of the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level.
• Favored Class: Bard or Wizard. A multiclass gnome’s bard or wizard class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.

Half-Elves
Also see the Half-Elf monster listing.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, half-elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Half-elf base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunity to sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: A half-elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• +1 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
• Elven Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered an elf.
• If raised by humans, half-elves gain one extra feat at first level. If raised by elves, all elven weapons are considered Martial rather than Exotic.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass half-elf takes an experience point penalty, her highest-level class does not count.

Half-Orcs
Also see the Half-Orc monster listing.
• +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence.
A half-orc’s starting Intelligence score is always at least 3. If this adjustment would lower the character’s score to 1 or 2, his score is nevertheless 3.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, half-orcs have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Half-orc base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision: Half-orcs (and orcs) can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and half-orcs can function just fine with no light at all.
• Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc.
• If raised by humans, half-orcs gain one extra feat at first level. If raised by orcs, all orc weapons are considered martial rather than exotic.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal.
• Favoured Class: Barbarian. A multiclass half-orc’s barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.

Halflings
Also see the Halfling monster listing.
• +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength.
• Small: As a Small creature, a halfling gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• Halfling base land speed is 20 feet.
• +2 racial bonus on Climb, Jump, Listen, and Move Silently checks.
• +1 racial bonus on all saving throws.
• +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear: This bonus stacks with the halfling’s +1 bonus on saving throws in general.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls with thrown weapons and slings.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Halfling. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc.
• Favored Class: Rogue. A multiclass halfling’s rogue class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

Planetouched
Aasimar, tieflings and other planetouched are custom-made according to the ancestor creature. The following is a guide, rather than hard rules.
• +2 ancestor creature’s best ability, -2 ancestor creature’s worst ability.
• Resistance 5 to one energy the ancestor creature is immune or resistant to.
• +2 to the ancestor creature’s two best skills.
• Darkvision 60ft or low-light vision, if the ancestor creature had it.
• +4 to saves against one supernatural effect the ancestor creature is immune to (e.g. petrification).
• Possibly a penalty to reflect a vulnerability of the ancestor creature.
• 1d4 distinctive physical features.
Basics
Abilities
Automatically have an 8 and a 18. Other 4 rolled with 5d6, drop lowest 2. Rerolls at the discretion of DM.

Skills
Some cross-class skills may be swapped for class skills if the DM is convinced that it furthers the character concept.
Each character receives 1 extra skill point per level to be spent on one “hobby” skill – Craft or Profession, or another skill that doesn’t directly benefit the class if it can be justified as “hobby” to the DM.

Rolling
A natural 1 on a roll approximately counts as -10. A natural 20 approximately counts as +30. For example, a character has 20 ranks in Balance. A natural 1 would be approximately equivalent to a total of 10. He may not fall, but probably can’t move or do much else, either. A natural 20 would be about equivalent to a total of 50, and so would allow the character to succeed at whatever they intended to do and also possibly anything else with a DC of up to 50.
Very high rolls may grant a bonus on a subsequent check.
A skill, or possibly other, check greater than 40 may replicate a spell, magical or supernatural effect or ability at the discretion of the DM and imagination of the player.
Save or Die Spells (still under construction)
Save or Drop Deads
Finger of Death, Wail of the Banshee, Circle of Death, Slay Living, Weird, Phantasmal Killer, Symbol of Death
The target falls to -5 hp, and automatically fails all subsequent stabilisation checks. Break Enchantment (or a higher-level Cure spell used in the same way, or Remove Curse for spells of a lower level) removes the spell and returns the target to 0hp and unconscious. When the target falls to -10hp, they fall into a coma, are helpless, and take appropriate penalties for starvation and thirst if necessary. A Heal check DC 10 + spell level is necessary to realise the victim is still alive, unless that person knows the spell cast (spellcraft/Knowledge (arcana)). In order to come out of the coma, someone must perform 5 successful consecutive Heal checks (DC = Spell DC), and Break Enchantment cast at the same time.
For every round a character is unconscious from one of these spells, there is a cumulative 5% chance of losing one point from a random ability.

Cloudkill
As “Save or Drop Dead”, but comatose victim dies 1d4 rounds after reaching -10hp if not removed from the cloud.

Flesh to Whatever
Flesh to Stone, Glass strike, etc.
Target takes 1d6 Dex damage per round as their body turns to stone from the inside-out. When the target reaches 0 Dexterity, they are solid stone (or whatever). Cat’s Grace delays the transformation according to the extra Dex granted. Remove Disease slows the transformation by 1 round/3 caster levels. Break Enchantment ends the transformation. Once complete, removal applies as normal.

Baleful Polymorph/other Transformation
Transformation takes 2d4 rounds to complete. The Will save to retain self-awareness occurs the round after completion. If this save succeeds, the target may reattempt the Fortitude save in a number of rounds equal to ½ the caster level, at a new DC of the spell DC + the amount by which the first attempt was failed. If this save fails, the target may try again every 1d4 days + 1/previous attempt, at the new DC + 1 per attempt. A character that failed the initial Will save may retry in the same manner as the Fortitude save, before undergoing the Fortitude attempts.
- Too complicated?

“That Was So Cool” Spells
Power Word Kill?, Implosion, Destruction
The force of these spells has a magical kick-back that blasts the caster. If the target makes their save, the caster takes ¼ of the target’s HD in damage (e.g. 8d12HD = 2d12 damage). If the target fails, the caster takes ½ their HD in damage (Reflex save for half).

Disintegrate
A target that fails their Fort save takes 2d4 points of Con damage each round, of which 1 is drain, for a number of rounds equal to Caster Level. Bear’s Endurance slows it, but it can only be stopped before death with Break Enchantment.

Green Beam of Prismatic Spray
Target takes 1d6 Con/round until dead, or Break Enchantment used.

Greenish
2010-05-14, 11:21 AM
Flat copy-paste from my houserules file. Because I'm nice, I'll break it up into categories.

Races
Half-Elves
Also see the Half-Elf monster listing.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, half-elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Half-elf base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunity to sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: A half-elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• +1 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
• Elven Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered an elf.
• If raised by humans, half-elves gain one extra feat at first level. If raised by elves, all elven weapons are considered Martial rather than Exotic.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass half-elf takes an experience point penalty, her highest-level class does not count.

Half-Orcs
Also see the Half-Orc monster listing.
• +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence.
A half-orc’s starting Intelligence score is always at least 3. If this adjustment would lower the character’s score to 1 or 2, his score is nevertheless 3.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, half-orcs have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Half-orc base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision: Half-orcs (and orcs) can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and half-orcs can function just fine with no light at all.
• Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc.
• If raised by humans, half-orcs gain one extra feat at first level. If raised by orcs, all orc weapons are considered martial rather than exotic.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal.
• Favoured Class: Barbarian. A multiclass half-orc’s barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.

Planetouched
Aasimar, tieflings and other planetouched are custom-made according to the ancestor creature. The following is a guide, rather than hard rules.
• +2 ancestor creature’s best ability, -2 ancestor creature’s worst ability.
• Resistance 5 to one energy the ancestor creature is immune or resistant to.
• +2 to the ancestor creature’s two best skills.
• Darkvision 60ft or low-light vision, if the ancestor creature had it.
• +4 to saves against one supernatural effect the ancestor creature is immune to (e.g. petrification).
• Possibly a penalty to reflect a vulnerability of the ancestor creature.
• 1d4 distinctive physical features.Nice take on half-humans and planetouched, although the "1d4 distinctive physical features" seems unnecessarily random (shouldn't that be within the purview of the player?) and so many elf subraces seems redundant.

Out of curiosity, do you allow other races than those (and have you modified those)?

Kol Korran
2010-05-14, 12:18 PM
i've tried to gather many houserules for a campaign i'm about to start. the list and the discussion thereof can be found in this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8409158#post8409158)

i hope that helps, it's not yet finished

Serpentine
2010-05-15, 02:01 AM
Nice take on half-humans and planetouchedThanks, though credit where it's due: I got this from my ex. I think we collaborated, but I forget how much we each contributed.

although the "1d4 distinctive physical features" seems unnecessarily random (shouldn't that be within the purview of the player?)Eh, it's really flexible. If someone comes up with a description that works, I'll allow it. But if they prefer it to be random I'll make a list of bits and pieces of features and roll them randomly.

and so many elf subraces seems redundant.Have you seen D&D recently? :smallconfused: edit: To illustrate this, the d20srd (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm) describes no fewer than 6 types of elf, not including half-elves.
But they all make sense in my gameworld, anyway: Arbour elves are in the "homeland" of elfdom. They're the stereotypical "Tolkein elves": beautiful, mysterious, arrogant and full of themselves. They have a long-running war with the "homeland" dwarves.
Some years ago, there was a schism among the Arbour elves. Unfortunately I can't remember the details of it right now, but various groups left to form their own communities. Sylvan elves went into the Highlands, and hang around with fey. They're the more... well, fey type elves. All nature and sparkles.
Bog elves were the most bitter about the schism, and moved into an enormous swamp. They're feral, bestial type elves, the sort that don't like visitors.
Drow are... Drow. About the usual.
So yeah, there's a reason for them.

Out of curiosity, do you allow other races than those (and have you modified those)?Yes, and I don't think so just cuz I don't think anyone's played them (although someone has played a centaur before. I think I used a Savage Species-type progression, though). Case by case basis, basically. Though I usually prefer they don't get too silly.