D20 total conversion

[Ceres]

Copied from previous post:

I have been game mastering roleplaying-games for six years now, and have built up an extensive amount of homebrew rules. I have been thinking of adding them to a homebrew-forum for quite some time now, but I'm afraid the system is so extensively modified that you can't really call it D20 anymore.

I want to know if anyone on this forum is interested in a version of D20 with almost every single rule modified (usually quite heavily), and if this is the right forum to post an entire new role-playing system (which it can probably be called). If not I would like to know about other rpg-forums where it will fit better.

Changes include:
- No more classes or levels.
- Character creation system based on point-buy for every aspect of your character.
- Completely new initiative-system which get rid of 6-second rounds in favour of 1-second "shots" (similar to Feng Shui)
- Damage system for hitting specific body parts, bleeding, broken bones etc.
- Completely new magic-system based on "true names" (inspired by the Earthsea trilogy) and mana.
- New abilities, including parrying, dodging, new armour and weapon rules etc.

I guess a few of the custom rules can be used without using the others, and some more can be used alone with some modifications. However, most of them build on other custom rules, and it can be hard to pick and choose. The system is also not heavily focused on balance, and is very easy to "sploit" if your players are munchkins. In my setting the rules have given:

- More cinematic combat
- More realism
- Explanations for how magic works

at the cost of game pacing, though this improves as players get used to the system.

So, are anyone interested? The rules are quite extensive, and I don't want to use hours to write it all down if no one wants to use them, so please post a reply if this sounds like something to use in your setting. If you have any questions, please ask.

I apologise for my poor English, as I am Norwegian. If I have made any serious mistakes, please point them out, as this is the only way I'll learn.

Cheers

Ceres

PS: This system, as it stands, is not designed to be used in a standard D&D campaign (And at least not a high level one). The system may be said to be roughly designed around characters with the approximate power of third-level characters, where stats higher than 18 really shouldn't exist. As TheDon remarked, a character with a high enough intelligence-score will gain xp from buying skills using my system. Many of the rules I will add in the combat-section further complicate using this system along with a high-level campaign.

A campaign using my complete custom rule set will be very different from playing with standard D&D rules. It can almost be considered a separate gaming-system from D20 entirely.

However, I am adding this to the net so that the most people possible can benefit from it, and if people seem interested enough, I intend to add optional rules that will make it possible to use some of my rules in conjugation with different types of campaigns. And please, if you think some of the rules seem interesting, but don't want to add other aspects, post your question and I will do my best to help implement that rule into whatever campaign you are playing. Just ask :)


So here goes :)

PS: Where not stated differently, standard D&D rules apply.

[Ceres]

Character creation in my system is very different from standard D&D. It is point-buy all the way to give the player maximum freedom. For the same reason, classes have been removed as I feel they limit freedom.

Stats:
Stats are separate from the other character attributes, and are not bought in the same way. Therefore you can in theory use any sort of ability-score creating system from standard D&D, though using point-buy might be more in tune with my systems philosophy of freedom and control.
In my campaign we used 25 point-buy.
Stats have many different uses in my system than in D&D, something I will get back to.

After stats are determined the player can buy skills, saves, feats and such with his starting xp. In my campaign I gave each player 5000 xp.

Skills:
The experience-cost of skill-points vary depending on your intelligence, your ability-score witch the skill depends on, and the number of ranks you already have in the skill. To calculate the cost of a skill-point, this equation is used:

(100xp - (Int. x 5xp)) + (Current rank x (5xp - Ability mod.))
base cost cost increasement

Here are some tables to make it more understandable:

BASE COST
{table=head]Intelligence|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17 |18+

Cost|
85|
80|
75|
70|
65|
60|
55|
50|
45|
40|
35|
30|
25|
20|
15|
10[/table]

COST INCREASEMENT
------------Ability Mod of skill------------
{table=head]Rank|- 4|- 3|- 2|- 1|+ 0|+ 1|+ 2|+ 3|+ 4+

1|
0|
0|
0|
0|
0|
0|
0|
0|
0

2|
9|
8|
7|
6|
5|
4|
3|
2|
1

3|
18|
16|
14|
12|
10|
8|
6|
4|
2

4|
27|
24|
21|
18|
15|
12|
9|
6|
3

5|
36|
32|
28|
24|
20|
16|
12|
8|
4

6|
45|
40|
35|
30|
25|
20|
15|
10|
5

7|
54|
48|
42|
36|
30|
24|
18|
12|
6

8|
63|
56|
49|
42|
35|
28|
21|
14|
7

9|
72|
64|
56|
48|
40|
32|
24|
16|
8

10|
81|
72|
63|
54|
45|
36|
27|
18|
9

11+|
+9|
+8|
+7|
+6|
+5|
+4|
+3|
+2|
+1[/table]

Example: How to use these tables:
Menedos Es Vinicius, a minotaur warrior from Sargea wants to improve his riding skill. He has a dexterity score of 15, an intelligence of 12 and already has a rank of 3 points. He decides to improve his skill to 6 points.

Looking at the "base cost"-table he finds that he has a base skill-cost of 40, because of his intelligence (this cost is the same for all skills. He multiplies it by three to get the base-cost for his three new skill-points: 40xp x3 = 120xp.

He must then add the cost increasement for buying the specific fourth, fifth and sixth point. Looking at the "Cost increasement"-table, finding his dexterity-mod of +2, he finds that the cost is +9 for the fourth rank, +12 for the fifth rank and +15 for the sixth rank.

Adding it all together he gets: 120xp + 9xp + 12xp +15xp = 156xp for all three ranks.

Old Example, using equations:
Menedos Es Vinicius, a minotaur warrior from Sargea wants to improve his riding skill. He has a dexterity score of 15, an intelligence of 12 and already has a rank of 3 points.

100 xp - (12 x 5xp) + 3 x (5 xp - 2) = 49 xp.

For some it might seem tricky to use an equation every time you increase a skill, but it gets easier if you chop it up. Think of 100xp - (Int. x 5 xp) as the base cost, and (5xp - Ability mod.) as the cost increasement.

Menedos has a base cost for all skills of 40, and a cost-increasement for all dexterity-based skills of 3 xp. Then he can easily calculate that his first point costs him 40 xp, the second 43, the third 46, and so on.

These mean that it is easy for intelligent characters to have a knack at many skills, while true mastery of a skill is hard without a good score in the skills attribute.

Additional rule - Languages:
I was unhappy with the standard system for learning languages, as I thought it was way too cheap to learn them, and that you either knew or did not know a language, with no grey-zones. I therefore made my own system for learning languages, based on my skill system.

Basically it treats all languages as two intelligence-based skills, one for speaking, and one for reading/writing. Both have a maximum rank of five, and the read/write skill in a characters language can never exceed his speak skill in it. Each character is also given free points to put in their mother-tongue equal to half their intelligence score (round down).
Ranks:
1: Understands just the most basic of expressions ("Where's the bathroom?", "Help me?"), but is quite lost in real conversation. Can write very simple messages, filled with errors.
2: Understands simple language when spoken slowly, and can get most messages through if he takes his time. Can write most messages, but must use a long time.
3: Can converse quite proficiently in the language as long as the subjects aren't too complicated. Can get most messages through when writing.
4: Language almost perfect, but with a noticeable accent. Can write about anything, but with several errors.
5: Speaks the language fluently with no accent. Writes perfectly.

Another way of doing this is to remove the skill-rank system for reading/writing and instead create an advantage called literacy, or disadvantage called illiteracy, as described in my answer to Krellens post below. Advantages and disadvantages are described later in this chapter.

Saves:
Saves are handled differently from skills, because they are more powerful. Like skills they also depend on the ability the save depends on, but not on intelligence. Thus fortitude is only influenced by constitution, reflex by dexterity and will by wisdom.

150xp - (Ability score x 4xp) + Current rank x (100xp - Ability score x 4xp)

SAVE COSTS
------------------------------Ability score of save-------------------------------
{table=head]Rank|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|2 0+

1|
138|
134|
130|
126|
122|
118|
114|
110|
106|
102|
98|
94|
90|
86|
82|
78|
74|
70

2|
226|
218|
210|
202|
194|
186|
178|
170|
162|
154|
146|
138|
130|
122|
114|
106|
98|
90

3|
314|
302|
290|
278|
266|
254|
242|
230|
218|
206|
194|
182|
170|
158|
146|
134|
122|
110

4|
402|
386|
370|
354|
338|
322|
306|
290|
274|
258|
242|
226|
210|
194|
178|
162|
146|
130

5|
490|
470|
450|
430|
410|
390|
370|
350|
330|
310|
290|
270|
250|
230|
210|
190|
170|
150

6+|
+88|
+84|
+80|
+76|
+72|
+68|
+64|
+60|
+56|
+52|
+48|
+44|
+40|
+36|
+32|
+28|
+24|
+20[/table]

Example, using tables:
Fayed, the halfling scoundrel, wants to improve his reflex-save. He allready have a rank of two, and wants to up it to four. His dexterity is 16, and being the aility used for reflex saves, he looks it up in the chart. According to the table, his third rank will cost 158xp, and his fourth rank 194xp. He adds them together for the final cost: 158xp + 194xp = 352xp.

Old example, using equations:
Macarios, priest of the word, wants to raise his will-save. He has a wisdom of 10, and already has 2 ranks in will.

150xp - (10 x 4xp) + 2 x (10 x 4xp) = 190 xp.

As with skills, 150xp - (10 x 4xp) can be seen as the base cost, and (10 x 4xp) as the cost increasement. For Macarios this means 110 xp for his first rank, 150 xp for his second, 190 xp for his third etc.

Weapon proficiency:
In my system base attack bonus, weapon focus and weapon specialization are all melded together in weapon proficiency. Weapon proficiency is bought in a similar way to skills and saves, and depends on wisdom (mostly because I try to make all attributes about equally powerful).

(20xp + current rank x 10xp) x (10 - wis. mod)
This is quite a lot more expensive than saves and feats, because these ranks are very powerful when using my custom combat-system.

WEAPON TYPE COST
--------------------Wis. Mod--------------------
{table=head]Rank|- 4|- 3|- 2|- 1|+ 0|+ 1|+ 2|+ 3|+ 4+

1|
280|
260|
240|
220|
200|
180|
160|
140|
120

2|
420|
390|
360|
330|
300|
270|
240|
210|
180

3|
560|
520|
480|
440|
400|
360|
320|
280|
240

4|
700|
650|
600|
550|
500|
450|
400|
350|
300

5|
840|
780|
720|
660|
600|
540|
480|
420|
360

6|
+140|
+130|
+120|
+110|
+100|
+90|
+80|
+70|
+60[/table]

Example, using tables:
A player creates a new character, Einar the Horrible, a dwarven axe-master. He puts five ranks into weapon type G (axes) right away. He has a wisom-score of 13. Looking at the table he finds that his first rank will cost 180, the second 270, third 360, fourth 450 and fifth 540. Adding them together, he gets: 180xp + 270xp + 360xp + 450xp + 540xp = 1800xp.

Old example, using equations:
Objolnor Hjalmeralden, the seafaring half-elf wizard, wants to increase his skills in throwing weapons (type E). He has a wisdom-score of 14, and one rank in throwing-weapons already.

(20xp + 1 x 10xp) x (10 - 2) = 240 xp.

Here the base cost is 20xp x (10xp - wis. mod.), and the cost increasement 10xp x (10xp - wis. mod): 160, 240, 320 etc.

So what is a weapon type? In my system a weapon type is a group of weapons which is fought with in much the same way:

Weapon types:
A: fists, punching daggers, natural weapons
B: Daggers, short swords, rapiers
C: Maces, clubs, staffs, hammers
D: Spears, tridents, strange French pole arms
E: All throwing-weapons including other weapon-types when thrown
F: Crossbows, guns
G: Axes, picks
H: Lances
I: Flails, nunchakus, spiked chains
J: Longswords, greatswords
X: Exotic weapons (One separate weapon type for each)

Feats:
Feats are a much wider term in my system, and generally we call them advantages. An advantage can be an elfs low-light vision (races have to pay for all their special qualities), coming from a privileged family or the ability to fight proficiently with two weapons.
The examples I give will be of the latter type, as these are the ones I have systemized. I encourage anyone using this system to come up with their own advantages, although this requires that the DM knows the system well, and can make a proper estimate of its cost (Though, admittedly, most of mine are probably not very well balanced either, but balance was never the first priority of my system).
For many other examples of advantages look in the GURPS-books.

PS: Many of my example feats deal with rules in my custom combat-system.

Examples:
Power Attack: You do more damage, but hit less often. If you have no ranks in this feat you do one additional point of damage per three points of to-hit penalty. For each rank in this feat, the penalty is reduces by one, to a maximum of -1 at two ranks.
Cost: 200xp/rank (2 max)
Quick Attack: You attack with a weapon in just two shots, or attack at once with two weapons in three shots. Without any points in Quick attack this gives you a -4 to hit and damage. For every rank in Quick attack this penalty is reduced by one, to a maximum of -2 at two ranks.
Cost: 200xp/rank (2 max)
Off-hand Attack: Without any points in this feat, attacking with an off-hand weapon gives you a -4 penalty to hit. For every rank you put in off-hand attack this penalty is reduced by one, to a maximum of +0 at four ranks.
Cost: 100xp/rank (4 max)
Sneak Attack: You gain a bonus to damage when you attack an opponent who is denied his dexterity-bonus to armour-class. For every rank in this feat you do one more point of damage on a sneak-attack to a maximum of +5 at five ranks.
Cost: 150xp/rank (5 max)
Parry: Parrying is an immediate action that takes one shot to use. This gives you an AC-bonus against a single attack equal to your parry rank or your weapons parry-rating, whichever is lower. Every player begins the game with one rank in parry.
Cost: 150 xp/rank
Deflect Projectiles: Without any ranks in this feat, you parry arrows at a -2 penalty, and crossbow bolts at -4. For every rank in this feat, that penalty is reduced by one, to a maximum of +0 on both at four ranks.
Cost: 100xp/rank (4 max)
Grapple: Base grapple score is (weapon type A - 2). For every rank in grapple, this increases by one to a maximum of +2 at four ranks.
Cost: 150xp/rank (4 max)
Trip/Disarm/Bull Rush/Sunder: All start at -2 at the appropriate check, but do not grant the defendant an attack of opportunity. For each rank in any of these feats, that is increased by one, to a maximum of +4 at six rank. Each of these four feats is bought separately.
Cost: 150xp/rank (6 max)
Rapid Shot: Without this feat, when firing a bow without using one shot to load it gives you a -4 penalty both to to-hit and damage. For every rank in rapid shot the penalty decreases by one, to a maximum of -2 at two ranks.
Cost: 200xp/rank (2 max)
Quick draw: You can draw a weapon or other item in just one shot, instead of two.
Cost: 200xp
Shield Focus: Gives you +1 additional AC when you block with a shield.
Cost: 300xp
Dodge: Instead of gaining just +1 AC when dodging, you add your entire dexterity-modifier. This means that dex. mod. is added twice to your AC when dodging. Max Dex applies to dodging.
Cost: 300xp
Far Shot: Same as standard D&D
Cost: 300xp
Improved initiative: Same as standard D&D
Cost: 300xp
Toughness: Your Constitution counts as one higher when calculating damage-threshold.
Cost: 300 xp +(100xp x current rank)

Disadvantages:
Similar to how "flaws" from unearthed arcana are the opposite of feats, disadvantages are the opposite of advantages. Disadvantages give you additional xp at the cost of penalties to some aspects of your character.
In general, disadvantages should give you about half as much bonus xp than an advantage with the opposite effect, to avoid the party turning into a freak show.

Alternate rule: Quirks:
When I started my campaign I wanted to encourage my players to develop their characters personalities, and nothing does that as free xp. A quirk is a minor trait of a character that sets him apart. It can be a personality-trait such as "honest" or "brutal", a common phrase they use ("For the glory of Amn!"), or something else entirely. I gave my characters 50xp for each quirk they made, to a maximum of 250xp for 5 quirks (I did allow them to make more, of course, just not give them xp for it).

Awards: I tend to give characters about 250 xp after each gaming-session. This might not seem like much, but I allow characters to buy skills and abilities cheaper if they have used them a lot during the session (making character progress seem more logical, instead of "I have killed 20 goblins, now I know how to throw fireballs!"). I decrease the cost to a minimum of 3/4 the price if they have been used a lot. Not too much, but enough to have an effect. Depending on how realistic you want your campaign to be and how often you get to play, you might want to increase or decrease the xp gained each session.

That should just about cover my character creation rules. Next: Equipment

[Ceres]

Right. Here come my custom rules for equipment. Many of these rules also depend on my combat rules, so some of them might be a bit unclear. I will do my best to make them as understandable as possible, though.

Armour:
The armour rules have changed quite a bit from standard D&D. Instead of deflecting attacks, they give you something similar to a damage reduction (Though not quite. I'll get back to this in the combat system). An even bigger change is that, because of my called-shot system (Again, will be explained in the combat-section) armour is bought separately for each "body-part".
The body parts are:
- Legs
- Arms
- Abdomen (groin and stomach)
- Chest
- Head
This means that you could, for instance, have a chain shirt with a full knight’s helmet and studded leather on your arms and legs. This gives players more freedom to design their armour, and opens for more tactical combat.

Here is my table for armour-rules. Explanation will follow:
ARMOUR
{table=head]Armour|AC|Type|ACP|Max Dex*

Padded|
1|
1|
0|
+0

Leather|
2|
1|
0|
-1

Studded|
3|
1|
0|
-1

Hide|
3|
2|
-1|
-1

Chain/scale|
4|
2|
-1|
-2

Light metal|
5|
3|
-2|
-2

Heavy metal|
6|
3|
-2|
-3[/table]
*Starts at +8

AC is the armour bonus applied to the specific body part.
Type decides if your armour is considered light, medium or heavy, derived from the table below.
ACP is the armour check penalty of your armour. Simply add them all together to find the total ACP.
Max dex This starts at +8, and is then reduced by the values as shown in the table.

PS: Arms and legs count as one half armour-part each. Thus someone with chain mail on both legs only gets -2 to max dex and ACP, not -4. If he only had chain on one leg, this would give him only half the penalty (round up).

ARMOUR TYPE
{table=head]Type mod.|Type

<6|
Light

7-10|
Medium

11+|
Heavy[/table]

Example:
Einar the Horrible, a dwarven pit-fighter wants to make a new armour. He decides to have his sword-arm covered in light metal, have a huge, metal belt, bare chest, studded leather trousers and a pot-helmet. The DM decides the belt should be considered about as good as scale, and the pot-helmet equivalent to light metal. He then adds the scores together.

Type: 2 (1/2 arm, rounded up) + 2 (belt) + 1 (studded leather trousers) + 3 (pot helmet) = 8. Looking at the table, Einar finds that his armour is considered medium. This will reduce his movement speed, just like in standard D&D.

ACP: -1 (arm) -1 (belt) +0 (trousers) -2 (helmet) = -4

Max Dex: 8 (base) -1 (arm) -2 (belt) -1 (trousers) -2 (helmet) = +2

Additional rule - Strong back:
Armour check penalties and max dex quickly become quite ugly with my system, and I wanted to make some adjustments. At the same time, strength became an ever worse attribute with each rule I introduced. To solve both of these problems I introduced the "Strong back" rule.

The rule is simple, and allows strong characters to more easily manoeuvre in heavy armour than weak characters. Simply add the characters strength-modifier to the armour check penalty and max dex modifier of the armour when worn, and heavily armoured brutes will shine again.

Blocking and parrying: Blocking and parrying are two special actions that can be used to increase your defense. These are executed by using shields and weapons respectively. When parrying you lose one "shot" of actions in order to increase your armour by a certain amount. This armour bonus works both as standard AC and dmage reduction (explanations of these rules will be in the combat-chapter). The Block-bonuses for shields are:
SHIELD BONUS
{table=head]Shield|Block

Light|
+1

Heavy|
+2

Tower|
+3[/table]

Block bonus can be increased by one by taking the shield-focus feat (See character creation)

Parrying works similar to blocking, however special rules apply as described in the feats-section of Character creation. The maximum bonus you can have in parrying depends on the weapon (see table in spoiler below).

MSR:
MSR, or minimum strength required is a little rule I've introduced to get rid of weapon sizes. With this system, a strong enough character can use a greatsword in one hand without difficulty, while a poor old beggar will have troble wielding a longsword in two.
the MSR of a weapon is the strength-value required to use a weapon perfectly in your main hand. If you wield a weapon in your off hand its MSR increases by two. If you hold it in two hands, its MSR decreases by three.
If you do not meet the MSR of a weapon, your to-hit value decreases by a number of points equal to the differance up to a maximum of -5. It is impossible to wield a weapon with an MSR more than 5 over your strength (Or 3 in case of an off-hand weapon and 8 in case of a two-handed weapon)

Table giving parry value, MSR and weapon type:

{table=head]Weapon|Type|MSR|Parry

Unarmed|
A|
1|
2|
+0

Gauntlet|
A|
3|
2|
-1

Dagger|
B|
4|
2|
-1

Shortsword|
B|
8|
3|
-1

Rapier|
B|
8|
4|
-2

Light mace|
C|
8|
2|
-2

Club|
C|
7|
2|
2

Heavy Mace|
C|
11|
2|
+0

Morningstar|
C|
10|
2|
-1

Quarterstaff|
C|
12|
3|
-1

Light hammer|
C|
6|
2|
-1

Warhammer|
C|
13|
1|
-2

Greatclub|
C|
15|
1|
-2

Sap|
C|
4|
1|
-3

Halfspear|
D|
9|
2|
+0

Shortspear|
D|
14|
2|
-1

Trident|
D|
12|
2|
-1

Longspear|
D|
15|
1|
-1

Guisarme|
D|
16|
1|
-2

Halberd|
D|
15|
1|
-2

Ranzeur|
D|
16|
1|
-3

Siangham|
D|
5|
1|
+0

Dart|
E|
2|
1|
-1

Sling|
E|
7|
2|
-1

Javelin|
E|
9|
2|
-1

Throwing axe|
E|
7|
2|
-2

Light Crossbow|
F|
9*|
1|
-2

Heavy Crossbow|
F|
12*|
1|
-3

Handaxe|
G|
7|
2|
+0

Light Pick|
G|
8|
2|
-1

Battleaxe|
G|
12|
1|
-1

Heavy Pick|
G|
11|
1|
-1

Greataxe|
G|
17|
1|
-2

Dwarven Waraxe|
G|
14|
1|
-2

Light Lance|
H|
9|
1|
-3

Heavy Lance|
H|
13|
1|
+0

Light Flail|
I|
11|
3|
-1

Heavy Flail|
I|
15|
2|
-1

Nunchaku|
I|
6|
3|
-1

Spiked Chain|
I|
15|
3|
-2

Sickle|
J|
6|
2|
-2

Longsword|
J|
10|
3|
-3

Scimitar|
J|
9|
4|
+0

Falchion|
J|
14|
3|
-1

Guisarme|
J|
16|
1|
-1

Bastard-sword|
J|
14|
3|
-1

Kukri|
J|
5|
2|
-2

Shortbow|
K|
8*|
1|
-2

Longbow|
K|
12*|
1|
-3

Scythe|
X|
14|
1|
+0

Shuriken|
X|
6|
1|
-1

Whip|
X|
8|
2|
-1

Net|
X|
9*|
2|
-1[/table]
*This is the MSR for using the weapon in two hands.

SHIELDS
{table=head]Block|ACP|MSR

Light|
+1|
8**|
-1

Heavy|
+2|
11**|
-2

Tower|
+3|
15**|
-10[/table]
**This is the MSR for using the shield in your off-hand

Note: Characters in my campaign have a lower strength in general than a standard D&D one, a very strong fighter having a strength of 14. You might want to adjust the MSR-values if characters tend to have higher strengths. (Unless you want barbarians dual-wielding greatswords, which is fine with me :D)

Critical hits:
Critical hits have been removed in my system, because getting a good to-hit throw allready means you do loads of damage (see combat-system). To keep the weapons with good critical ranges and modifiers up to par with other weapons they instead gain a bonus to hit as shown in the table below:

CRITICAL BONUS
{table=head]Critical|To-hit bonus

20/x2|
+0

19-20/x2|
+1

20/x3|
+1

18-20/x2|
+2

x4|
+2[/table]

[Ceres]

The combat rules are designed to be used with my custom character creation system and equipment system, just as my equipment and character creation systems are made to be used with the combat system.
Hopefully, the rules which have been unclear in my previous posts will be satisfyingly explained here.

Attack bonus
Attack bonus is split into two different bonuses. The first one is "To-Hit bonus", which works much the same way as regular attack bonus, and "Damage Bonus".
"To-hit" signifies your chance to hit something (though not necessarily very hard), being modified by among others dexterity (for both melee and ranged) and your skill in the specific weapon.
"Damage Bonus" signifies the amount of damage you dish out when your weapon first hits, being modified by strength and skill, among others.

Your total bonus in each depends on a number of factors:

To-hit Bonus (all): d20 + Weapon type bonus + Dexterity mod. + critical bonus + size adjustment - "called shot" penalty + misc. bonus.

Damage Bonus (melee): d20 + Weapon type bonus + Strength mod. + misc. bonus. + Weapon damage dice

Damage bonus (ranged): Weapon type bonus + misc. bonus + weapon damage dice

Example:
Roy the fighter has 17 strength, 10 dexterity, is medium size, and has three ranks in weapon type J. He is wielding a +1 greatsword.

To-hit bonus: d20 + 3 (ranks, weapon type J) + 0 (dex. mod) + 1 (19-20/x2 critical) + 0 (medium size) +1 (misc. enchantment) = d20 +5

Damage bonus: d20 + 3 (ranks, weapon type J) + 3 (Strength mod) +1 (misc. enchantment) + 2D6 (greatsword)= d20 + 2D6 +7

Armour Class
Like attack bonus, Armour class is split into two different types: Dodge Bonus and Armour bonus. You could say that "Dodge Bonus" is the opposite of "to-hit" bonus, and "Armour Bonus" the opposite of "Damage Bonus".

Your "Dodge Bonus" is anything that makes you not get hit by a weapon in the first place (such as dodging or blocking)

Your "Armour Bonus" is anything that reduces damage once being hit is unavoidable, for example armour. All your bonuses on "Dodge Bonus" also apply to "Armour Bonus".

Your total bonus in each depends on a number of factors:

Dodge Bonus: 10 (base) + Dexterity mod. + shield/parry/dodge bonus +misc. bonus.

Armour Bonus: 10 (base) + Dexterity mod. + shield/parry/dodge bonus + armour + misc. bonus.

Example:
Garabrud is a hulking ogre fighter. He has dexterity of 8, 2 natural armour, and is clad in "light metal" armour everywhere but the head.

Garabrud's Dodge bonus is 10 (base) -1 (Dex. mod.) = 9

Garabrud’s Armour Bonus is 10 (base) -1 (Dex. mod.) +2 (natural armour) = 11

Additionally, his Armour bonus is +5 (16) everywhere but his head.

When you attack someone you roll a d20 and add your "to-hit"-bonus. If your result is equal to or higher than your opponents Dodge bonus, the attack is a hit.

To determine how much damage you did, you remove any bonuses to "to-hit" from your result that do not also apply to damage, and add any bonuses that only apply to "damage bonus". You then subtract your opponents Armour bonus from this result, and you have damage dealt.

Example:
Roy the fighter engages in combat with Garabrud the ogre. He strikes with his greatsword towards the chest of the ogre.

He rolls a d20 and gets 16. He adds his "to-hit" bonus of 5 for a result of 21, easily hitting the ogre's Dodge Bonus of 9.

When finding damage dealt, Roy keeps the d20 result of 16, but ignores the rest of the "to-hit" bonus. He then adds his damage bonus to the 16 of 2D6 +7. He gets a 7 on the 2D6 for a total damage result of 30!

He subtracts the ogre's chest's Armour Bonus from the result, for a total damage dealt of 30-16 = 14, leaving a devastating wound on the ogre's chest.

Benefit of this system: Using these rules, what damage you deal is much closer related to how well you hit your opponent than in standard D&D. Here, even though rolls of 8 and 16 are both hits, this doesn't mean that they do same amount of damage. Attack rolls become (in my experience) more exiting and potentially dangerous.

Also it does, in my opinion, make more sense that your dexterity decides whether you hit, and that your armour might protect you somewhat, rather than the "all or nothing" armour of D&D.

Damage system
In my system, getting damaged doesn't just mean you subtract a number from your hit-point total and keep on fighting. A solid blow might leave you weakened, stunned or even shatter your skull. The most basic rule is one I call "damage total", which replaces hit-points.

When you take damage, you note down the amount of damage taken. If you are hit again, you add that damage to the total as well. This is similar to hit-points, except that you add up damage instead of subtracting it from a total. When your total damage taken reaches a certain threshold, you will suffer penalties. The amount of damage you can take before suffering any ill effects is determined by your constitution score, as shown in this table:

DAMAGE TOTAL
{table=head]Damage taken|Ill effects

<Con|
None

Con|
-1 to all d20

Con x1.5|
-2 to all d20, Fort DC 10 (unconsciousness)

Con x2|
-4 to all d20, Fort DC 15 (unconsciousness)

Con x2.5|
Fort DC 20 (unconsciousness), Fort DC 10 (Death)

Con x3|
Fort DC 25 (Unconsciousness), Fort DC 15 (Death)

Con x4|
Fort DC 15 (Death), every sequence[/table]

This means that if you take more damage than your constitution score, you suffer a -1 penalty on all d20-rolls. (NOTE: This penalty does not apply to fortitude saves against death or unconsciousness). If one and a half times your constitution score you suffer a -2 penalty to all d20-rolls, and you must also succeed in fortitude save DC 10 to avoid unconsciousness.

If you after reaching 1,5 times your constitution score in damage take just one more point of damage, you must roll to avoid unconsciousness again. When you reach 2,5 times your constitution-score in damage you must succeed in fortitude save of DC 10 or die. Failing such fortitude save is the only way you can die using this system (Note that it's not designed to be used with high-level characters.)

If you take four times your constitution in damage, you must succeed in a fortitude saving throw every sequence to avoid death.

Example:
Redcloak the goblin has a constitution-score of 11. On his character-sheet he has made a table showing his different damage-thresholds:

{table=head]Damage taken|Ill effects

<Con|
None

11|
-1 to all d20

16|
-2 to all d20, Fort DC 10 (unconsciousness)

22|
-4 to all d20, Fort DC 15 (unconsciousness)

27|
Fort DC 20 (unconsciousness), Fort DC 10 (Death)

33|
Fort DC 25 (Unconsciousness), Fort DC 15 (Death)

44|
Fort DC 15 (Death), every sequence[/table]

[spoiler]Redcloak is hit by Roy the fighter for a massive 17 points of damage. He rolls a fortitude save of 12, and stays awake. Redcloak then attempts to hit Roy, but with a penalty of 2 to his attack rolls, he misses.
Roy then hits Redcloak again, this time for a weak 3 points of damage, not enough to give Redcloak a -4 to his rolls, but he still has to roll against unconsciousness (DC 10), since his damage total is still Con x1,5 after the new inflicted damage. Redcloak rolls a fortitude save of 5, and falls unconscious.

Combat stun
Another rule to make combat deadlier and more realistic is combat stun. This is a fortitude save you must roll whenever you take damage (unless the damage taken is lower than your fortitude bonus +1).
If you fail the save, you are stunned for a number of seconds equal to the amount by witch you failed the save. To speed up combat it is recommended that the one who is attacked rolls this save when his attacker rolls for damage.

Example:
Belkar, the halfling, is kicked by a horse for 4 points of damage. Having a fortitude save of 3 he doesn't have to roll for stun. The next round, the horse bites him for 8 points of damage. Rolling a poor save of 6, Belkar is stunned for two seconds.

Called shots
My "called shot"-rules are probably the largest change to the combat system. It is probably the most time-consuming rule-change, but it can be a lot of fun, and adds a lot of tactic, danger and violence to combat.

A called shot is an attack (with any weapon, not just the ones that shoot) to a specific body-part. In my system, making a called shot is not an option. All attacks are called shots. When attacking an opponent you choose to attack his leg (left or right), abdomen, chest, arm (left or right), or head (assuming your opponent has all of these). Depending on where you attack, you get a penalty to your to-hit bonus for that attack. Note: This is only to-hit, not to damage (see attack-bonus section). The penalty to hit varies from body-part to body-part, as shown in this table:

{table=head]Body-part|To-hit penalty

Chest|
None

Arm (left/right)|
-2

Abdomen|
-2

Leg (left/right)|
-2

Head|
-4[/table]

Now for the fun and bloody part. When you have determined the damage done to the body-part you hit as with the "attack-bonus"-system above, you look up the result on the extensive table below to determine any special effects. Note that there is a different table for each body-part and each type of damage (bludgoening, slashing or piercing).

BLUDGOENING
{table=head]Damage|Legs|Abdomen|Arms|Chest|Head

1-4|
Dmg -1|
Dmg Normal|
Dmg -1|
Dmg Normal|
Dmg +1

5-6|
Dmg -1|
Stun DC 15|
Dmg -1|
Dmg Normal|
Stun DC 18

7-8|
Dmg normal|
Stun DC 18|
Dmg Normal|
Stun DC 10|
Unc DC 10

9-10|
Move -1/3|
Minor int. bleed|
-1 w. arm|
Stun DC 15|
Str, Dex, Con -1

11-12|
Prone DC 14|
-|
-2 w. arm|
Stun DC 18, Broken|
Int, Cha, Wis –D3

13-14|
Move -1/2|
Mod. Int. bleed|
-4 w. arm|
Con –D3|
Unc DC 18

15-16|
Prone DC 22|
Major Int. bleed|
-8 w. arm, Broken|
Con –D6|
Int, Cha, Wis –1 perm

17-18|
Move -3/4, Broken|
Stun DC 20|
-1 perm w. arm|
-1 Con perm|
Int, Cha, Wis –d3 perm

19-20|
Prone DC 26|
Severe Int. bleed|
-d3 perm. W. arm|
-d3 Con perm|
Paralyzed

21+|
Leg Destroyed|
-d6 con perm.|
Arm destroyed|
-d6 Con perm|
Killed[/table]

SLASHING
{table=head]Damage|Legs|Abdomen|Arms|Chest|Head

1-4|
Dmg Normal|
Dmg Normal|
-|
Dmg -1|
Dmg +1

5-6|
Dmg Normal|
Stun DC 10|
Minor bleed|
Dmg Normal|
Minor bleed

7-8|
Minor Bleeding|
Stun DC 14|
Drop iten DC 15|
Stun DC 10|
Mod bleed

9-10|
Move -1/4|
Stun DC 18|
-2 w. arm|
Stun DC 15|
Skill -4 perm

11-12|
Move -1/3, mod bleed|
Minor bleed|
Major bleed|
Stun DC 18|
Major bleed

13-14|
Prone DC 15|
Mod. bleed|
Severe Bleed|
Minor bleed|
Sense organ destroyed

15-16|
Prone DC 18|
Major bleed|
-4 w.arm|
Mod. bleed|
Severe Bleed

17-18|
Major Bleeding|
Stun DC 25|
Hand severed|
Major bleed|
Int, Cha, Wis –d3 perm

19-20|
Foot severed|
Severe bleed|
Arm Severed|
Severe Bleed|
Killed

21+|
Leg severed|
Dex, con, str -1 perm|
-|
Killed|
-[/table]

PIERCING
{table=head]Damage|Legs|Abdomen|Arms|Chest|Head

1-4|
Dmg -1|
Dmg Normal|
Dmg -1|
Dmg Norbal|
Dmg +1

5-6|
Dmg Normal|
Minor bleed|
Dmg Normal|
Dmg Norbal|
Dmg +2

7-8|
Minor bleed|
Mod bleed|
Minor bleed|
Minor bleed|
Skill -2 perm

9-10|
Mod bleed|
Stun DC 15|
Drop item DC 15|
Con –d3|
Skill -4 perm

11-12|
Move -1/3|
Stun DC 18|
Major bleed|
Major bleed|
Severe bleed

13-14|
Major bleed|
Severe bleed|
-2 w. arm|
Severe bleed|
Sense organ destroyed

15-16|
Prone DC 18|
Severe Int. bleed|
-4 w. arm|
-d6 Con|
Int, Cha, Wis –d6

17-18|
Move -2/3|
Stun DC 25|
Severe bleed|
-d3 Con perm|
Int, Cha, Wis –d3 perm

19-20|
Severe bleed|
Con –1 perm|
Arm destroyed|
Killed|
Killed

21+|
Leg destroyed|
Con –D3 perm|
-|
-|
-[/table]

Explanations of simple effects:
Dmg Normal: Attack only does normal damage, without any special effects.
Dmg -1/+1: Damage does one more/less damage. Note that extra damage gained this way is not used to determine other special effects.
Move -1/3: Movement speed is reduced my 1/3. This means a character who normally has a speed of 10 ft will have a speed of 6 ft.
Prone DC 14: The character must succeed in a fortitude saving throw of 14 or fall prone.
Stun DC 15: The character is stunned by a number of seconds equal to what he fails his fortitude-save by. This is used instead of combat-stun (see above), not in addition too.
-D3 Con: The character takes D3 temporary constitution damage.
-D6 con perm. The character takes D3 points of permanent constitution damage (cannot be healed naturally)
-2 w. arm: Character takes a -2 penalty to all d20-rolls where the damaged arm is used (attacking, pick-pocketing etc.).
-d3 perm. w. arm The characters has a d3 penalty to all D20 checks using the damaged arm permanently. The d3 is rolles once, not for every d20-check.

Complex effects:

Bleeding: The character must succeed in a fortitude saving-throw (DC 15) every sequence, or take damage as according to the table below:

BLEEDING DAMAGE
{table=head]Type|Damage

Minor|
1 HP damage

Moderate|
D3 HP damage

Major|
D6 HP damage

Severe|
D8 HP damage and 1 constitution damage[/table]

If the character succeeds his save, his bleeding-level is reduced by one, and he takes the damage of his new bleeding-level. If the character succeeds in his saving throw against minor bleeding, he takes no damage, and the bleeding is stopped.

[Ceres]

Reserved for Magic-rules

[purplearcanist]

I am interested in helping you. d20 really needs a total reform.

Language system looks good.

Where are your disadvantages/advantages? I am interested in seeing them, and I might have a few to add.

In general, this is good. I would like to see all of the rules, so post them as soon as you can.

[Ceres]

Small update today. Begun adding my custom equipment-system. Unfortunately I have a lot on my schedule, and I can't add the rules for weapons and shields just yet. Feel free to comment or criticize, or design an armour with my system. Cheers!

Oh, and purplearcanist: I have added some advantages in one of the spoilers. They are the most feat-like of the advantages I have used in my game.
Mostly I will encourage DMs to make their own advantages and disadvantages, as there will be impossible to cover every thing a character can think of (GURPS tries, though). Maybe I will add some more examples when I'm done adding in the basics, though.
Took awhile before I saw your post. Same avatar and join date, and both pixies :P

[Krellen]

Your languages are backwards. It's easier to read/write than to speak.

[Ceres]

To Krellen: Hmm, I understand what you mean, but I think of it in another way. The reason you can't have more ranks in reading/writing than in speaking is that you have to know what a word understands before you can use it in writing. This system is also designed for a setting where the skill in reading and writing isn't that common, and people who can read or write are looked up to.

You might want to ignore the skill-points in reading/writing and instead add a special advantage called "literacy". Cost would depend on the setting (in mine it would probably be around 200 xp), and must be bought separately for each language. Once you have bought this advantage, you can automatically read/write at the same rank as you can speak.

In a setting such as Greyhawk, where literacy is the norm, you may go the other way around, and make illiteracy a disadvantage, giving you 100 xp or so.

Do you like any of these better, or didn't I fully understand your question?

[Krellen]

I'm saying that, when learning a foreign language, your written skills are almost universally better than your speaking skills. As an example, my brother is nearly fluent in written French, but he speaks like a five-year old; as well, I can read and write Spanish with fair clarity, perhaps equivilent to a grade schooler, but my speaking vocabulary isn't much beyond a three-year old.

Now, I don't have any examples to provide that don't include a Romance language, but what I'm saying is that if you can't write something, you shouldn't be able to say it, not vice-versa. Written vocabulary is almost universally greater than spoken vocabulary, even in native tongues. I can write antidisestablishmentarism, but don't ask me to say it.

Of course, if literacy isn't the norm, then the two skills should be divorced entirely - or rather, illiterate people shouldn't worry about the written side, while the literate would still tend towards having more literate fluency than spoken fluency.

[Ceres]

I see your point, and I think the method I included in my previous post (with advantages or disadvantages for literacy or illiteracy) would create a system that fit your view of how speaking vs. reading/writing skills work. I have included it as an option in the language system. I'll possibly have it replace my old one entirely, but I'll wait with that until after I have written the rest.

Thanks for the constructive criticism :)

[Edit] Oh, and even more equipment rules are up. Check 'em out, and don't be shy to comment or criticize.

[purplearcanist]

Your system looks pretty good.:smallsmile: Sorry, but I still don't see advantages/disadvantages.

I once was in this RPG Game that used a point buy system to determine a character's skills and we fought with foam swords.

Here is something you can add on:

Guilds: Put some guilds into your game. For each guild, make different ranks. Then, tack on some requirements for each rank (either quest based (ex: steal a valuable item for the guild) or skill based (10 ranks in profession(cooking)), make the requirements higher for each rank). Add an experience point cost to each rank, too. Finally, after each rank is attained, give players a unique ability(such as immunity to fear) or in-game benefit(easy travel), besides just being part of the guild. This system was in the RPG game I played.

[TheDon]

I'm looking at the skill formula and there seems to be a probleme (either with the formula or there's something I'm doing wrong). For the purpose of the test, lets say I'm an epic mage with 30 Int. and a Dex of 16 which is highly plausible. Said mage is trying to learn riding so he's puting his first rank.

100xp - (Int. x 5xp) + Current rank x (5xp - Ability mod.)

so it comes down to :
100XP - (30 x 5xp) + 0 x (5xp - 3)
100XP - 150XP + 0 x 2
100XP - 150XP = -50XP

So basicaly I gain xp from getting my first rank in riding?

[Ceres]

Ah, well. Thanks for the question, Don. I guess I haven't stated clearly enough that my character creation system is not designed to be used in a standard D&D campaign (And at least not a high level one). This will become clearer and clearer when I add more rules. The system may be said to be roughly designed around characters with the approximate power of third-level characters, where stats higher than 18 really shouldn't exist.

However, I am adding this to the net so that the most people possible can benefit from it, and if people seem interested enough, I intend to add optional rules that will make it possible to use some of my rules in conjugation with different types of campaigns.

I'll add some text to my original post to minimize confusion in the future.

[Edit] Saw your post first now, purplearcanist. Damn avatar :P The advantages I have currently are in the examples-spoiler under feats. As for your addition, I think such a guild system can be fun in a lot of campaigns, but I feel that it is a bit too setting-dependant to add to my base rules. My system is designed around a very "realistic" campaign, and I feel that guilds granting fear-immunity aren't really "realistic".

Though, as I noted above in my answer to TheDon's question, I will consider adding ways to implement aspects of other systems into mine and vice versa if there is enough interest around it. But only when I'm done adding all the rules I have allready created... Which might take a while :P

[Another edit] I thought up a quick way to make my skill system slightly more plausible to work for a high level campaign. Adding a simple maximum value should make it possible to use.

Minimum 10 xp ->(100xp - [Int. x 5xp]) + Current rank x (5xp - Ability mod.)<- Minimum 1xp

The system is still probably wildly unbalanced for high-level play. But a solution along these lines could solve some problems, without making it overly complicated.

[Yakk]

Alot of your math is overly complex. You should seek to create simpler versions that have the same feel.

Ie, your armor table:
Max dex = 8 + strength mod - AC/2
ACP = 0 + strenght mod - AC/3

Either do away with armor penalty, or generate a table based off of total AC.

Now, all you need is AC by type in each slot (to line up visual effects with game stats), and the other values "fall out" for free.

Padded/Silk: 1 AC per slot (note: silk is super expensive)
Leather: 2 AC per slot
Metal studs on Leather: 3 AC per slot
Hide: 3 AC per slot
Chain: 4 AC per slot
Piece Plate: 5 AC per slot
Full Plate: 6 AC per slot

Each of the above can be made "light" or "thin" for -1 AC in the slot.

Your save costs seem off.

Both your save and skill costs should be streamlined. There is little need to have the cost of something be determined down to 3 decimal digits -- that is a sign you need to clean up the mechanic.

One idea is the following:
base + mod

Mod goes up every (ability modifier that determines talent) ranks in the skill/save. Negative in your talent-skill adds a one-time boost to the mod cost, and make it go up 2 steps every notch.

Assuming base 100 and mod of 10, a price/talent matrix:


-2 -1 0 1 2 3
1 160 140 120 110 110 110
2 180 160 140 120 110 110
3 200 180 160 130 120 110
4 220 200 180 140 120 120
4 240 220 200 150 130 120
4 260 240 220 160 130 120
4 280 260 240 170 140 130


Or some tweak on it -- the goal is to reduce the number of significant digits involved.

...

Next, why not standardize your feat costs? Just make the sub-par feats a bit better, or take the strong feats and split them up.

...

For combat, your system doesn't encourage a very simple stereotype -- the "guy who is good with weapons". Instead you have people who are good at particular weapons, and being good with many weapons is next to impossible.

Knowing a second weapon type after you know a first isn't a huge advantage -- it is more of a flavour thing than anything else (especially given how bulky weapons are).

Lastly, your system ignores the fact that the method and style of fighting matters more than the weapon in many cases. A greatclub and a greatsword fight more similarly than a longsword and a greatsword does.

...

To steal from a different game, how about a few basic skills:
Combat (base)
+ Melee (con and wis)
++ Style (2H, S+B, TWF, Duel, Close)
+++ Weapon Types
+ Ranged (dex and wis)
++ Style (Close, Medium, Volley)
+++ Weapon Types

Both your Style and your Weapon Type skill are cheaper than your Melee or Ranged skill. They are capped at 1/2 of the Melee or Ranged skill.

Your ability to use a weapon is the sum of all 3 parameters.

Now building someone who is good at fighting with their fists is a (high melee) (high close) (high twf) (high fists) (high monk) skill character.

Meanwhile, a knight might know (high melee) (high S+B) (high 2H) (high sword) (high lance) (high shield).

If the Knight picked up a mace with a shield, she would be at 3/4 of max skill. The Knight fighting without a shield, using a 1 handed sword, would also be at 3/4 of max skill.

Note that the weapon types need not be exclusive, if you know "monk weapons" and "staff weapons", you only get to use the highest when using a quarterstaff.

...

Next, might I strongly encourage using the same base system for saves/skills and weapons. At most have a cost multiplier next to them.

This means that players only have to learn one system for all of the rank-based advancement mechanisms, and means that "bugs" will get ironed out faster rather than fester in a dark corner of the system.

...

Your system is probably fine, I just thought I'd toss out comments on the rougher spots. :)

IMHO, a fantasy gaming system should aim for:
1> Decision resolution.
2> Ability to create traditional archtype characters.
3> Math that is simple to do.
4> Fewer special-case rules, the better.

Rules that are broad and general are good. When in doubt, try to fit a rule into an existing mechanism, and see if it works.

[Ceres]

I must say, Yakk. Many of the changes you suggest are simply fantastic :) I never was good at simplicity, anyway. I made something that worked, and didn't really care so much how complicated it was, as I was always there to help my players with character creation.

I will seriously consider changing my rules more along the lines you suggest, but I won't have time for a while now. I'll have to add my custom combat system first, anyway. This might also help my campaign a lot.

Thanks, Yakk!

[Ceres]

Tiny update today. I have changed my mind from some of what I said in my comment to Yakk's post. The equations aren't as complicated as you though they were. There are in reality much closer to the system you suggested, but I can see how this can be hard to see (even had me confused).

Therefore I have added some tables and another example to the skill-system which will make things more understandable. I will make similar tables for saves and weapon-bonus-costs later.

You still have many very valid points, Yakk, but I don't feel thay are so gamebreaking that I can't add my combat system before checking on them (the system, as it stands, has been able to carry a campaign for nearly three years after all).

Hoping to add the combat-system as soon as possible, as I am entering a period with plenty of spare-time :)

[Edit] Changed my avatar. Beholder was sending out way too many bad vibes :P

[Ceres]

First update in a long time. Added many of my damage-rules (though not the best ones yet). Feel free to comment and come with questions or suggestions regarding the rules, as I'd like to see if there still is some interest in my system.

[The Corinthian]

This intrigues me, and I'd very much like to see continued development. I'd love to use it.

[Ceres]

Added the biggest tables yet! The Damage Tables :D Sure they are complex and huge, but they sure make combat more interesting. This feature is probably the one that need the most tuning if it is to be imported to a campaign that likes to keep game balance, but that wouldn't be too hard to do.

I'll be adding in-depth explanations in a sec, then I'll add my initiave-system, and then I'll be finished with enough rules to make them playable :) Please comment if you find anything you don't understand, or just to tell me that you like the concept.