Character Generation Rules(3.5)

[sambouchah]

After having DM'd for my group for almost six years now, I still have trouble deciding my character generation rules. I would like to know the CharGen rules of thumb, the generally accepted go to rules I guess.

So what are your character generation rules for your games?

Thanks,

Sam!

[HaikenEdge]

Level 10, 48 point buy, one free source of level adjustment, gestalt, standard wealth by level. Everything 1st and 2nd party (no third party).

Because player characters are supposed to be special. If they weren't, they'd be NPCs.

[Zombimode]

My players can use all official 3.5 material and most 3.0 material that hasn't been updated to 3.5 (that is Savage Species, Book of Vile Darkness, most of Oriental Adventures and most of the Forgotten Realms books).

No Dragon Compendium.

If we are playing in one of the published settings, my players are discouraged to use setting specific material from other settings.

For other settings (not published by WotC), the use of setting specific material (from published settings) should be discussed with me beforehand.

The use of Truenameing is allowed, but should discussed with me before the first session.

I expect my players to bring reasonable charakters, that is not TO builds, but this has not come up so far in 5+ years of GMing 3.5


On the charakter side, I will typically provides some guidelines for what is fitting for the campaign and what is not. In general, I'm wary of "loners", charakters with "communication deficits" and other traits that provide problems for the charakter to be part of a team, to interact with the other characters and NPCs/the environment.

Thats about it. Most of the points are guidelines, not hard rules. I'm also willing to make houserules for minor details if it helps to bring a charakter concept alive (especially if I can see that the player is willing to work within the rules but can't because of some minor detail).


Edit: since the above poster mentioned starting level and point buy:
The starting level depends on the campaign in question. In general I don't like starting at 1st level. Level 3 is where most of my campaigns started.
Point Buy total also depends on the campaign. My E6 campaings use 28 point buy. My Eberron campaigns use 32 pb.

[OldTrees1]

32 point buy
Standard WBL
All 1st party material available provided it is visible and remains balanced with the rest of the party.
No LA buyoff but LA/RHD is recalculated upon request/need.
At least 1 homebrewed feat/race/class/mechanic/... that passes DM approval(works rather nicely on its current test run)

[prufock]

It really varies from game to game for me. Generally, I allow 32 point buy, with a dice-rolling equivalent if people want it. Classes are pretty much all "official" 3.5 (that is, anything with the WotC stamp on it). I'm pretty open with races, but that depends on the setting. My most strict one has been my Weird West setting, which only had 11 playable races, with 16 possible templates. I've adapted the level adjustment method from E6 for my games going forward. Standard wealth by level. Starting level varies depending on what sort of campaign I'm writing.

[Amphetryon]

Roll for Point Buy: The group collectively rolls 4d6x7, the best 6 3d6 results become the point buy off of which everyone builds Characters.

Level depends on campaign.

Generally speaking, we use the old Test of Spite ban list, with all other 1st party sources available.

[Uncle Pine]

Starting level varies, 32 point buy, standard WBL, LA buyoff. Everything 1st party is allowed, including Dragon Magazine, plus a selection of 3rd party sources (Advanced Bestiary, some Encyclopaedia Arcane books, Hyperconscious). Players can bring at the table anything that isn't an infinite loop and know that anything they use will be used against them.

[sambouchah]

How do you all run every sourcebook? I have trouble finding most things my players use unless they give me an exact page number. At this point I have most WotC material either memorized or know the book. But I generally use SRD only/books we have a physical copy of. I dunno, all sources just seems so big to me right now.

[Zombimode]

I dunno, all sources just seems so big to me right now.

Hm, why? Its the responsibility of your players to know what their abilities do and to point you to the book and page.

[sambouchah]

Hm, why? Its the responsibility of your players to know what their abilities do and to point you to the book and page.

Mainly because my players don't fully read their abilities/don't remember them well enough unless it's core. So I have to remember what each Ability is and how it works or everyone gets confused and I get argued with over my rulings. That's when I get frustrated and have to remind everyone of Rule Zero(which shuts them up quickly).

However, we've played with all sources allowed for three years now. It's just to the point now where level 15 rolls around and everyone completely annhialates my encounters unless they are several CR higher than the party. That may be usual but I don't like having my newer/weaker players mad at me when a character dies(despite many fiats to help them out) because the optimizers have made things harder.

[Aleolus]

Open book, homebrew allowable with DM permission
Stats roll 1d20, reroll anything lower than x (normally 11)
Two extra starting feats

[HaikenEdge]

How do you all run every sourcebook? I have trouble finding most things my players use unless they give me an exact page number. At this point I have most WotC material either memorized or know the book. But I generally use SRD only/books we have a physical copy of. I dunno, all sources just seems so big to me right now.

I've been playing and DMing 3.5 for about 12 years now, and along with a lot of optimization work and practice, I've basically memorized everything of note in the edition, and anything I don't know off the top of my head, I can either Google (for Dragon, Dungeon, Ravenloft, Dragonlance and Rokugan), or find using some combination of dndtools, Therafirm and Realms Help. It's the primary reason I don't allow homebrewed, because that's stuff I'd have to look into and judge the balance of anew, whereas, with 1st and 2nd party materials, I at least already have an understanding of where the balance will be.

[Uncle Pine]

How do you all run every sourcebook? I have trouble finding most things my players use unless they give me an exact page number. At this point I have most WotC material either memorized or know the book. But I generally use SRD only/books we have a physical copy of. I dunno, all sources just seems so big to me right now.
How do your players know what a feat/ability/etc. does if they can't give you a page number or at least the book, especially for things that aren't where you'd usually look for them (i.e. Mindsight isn't in LoM's feat section)? I usually devote the first half of the first session of a campaign to character creation (sometime even the entire first session, if 4-5 players are newcomers who play d&d for the first time) which more often than not turns into a brainstorming exercise to translate a given concept into a playable character, so knowing where things are is a non-issue. The same goes if someone dies: as this usually happens at the end of the session, the last 30 minutes of the session or the first 30 of the next one are used to build the to-be-introduced character. If players are expected to come with full fleshed out character they should also note the source of every exotic feat/ability/etc.
Example: - Player: Hey, I was thinking to take Nexus Method, what's your opinion about it?
- DM: Dunno, what's that?
- Player: Feat, Dragon #319. Do I also need to learn the summon monster X spells?
[30 seconds later]
- DM: Oh right, that feat. It doesn't say you do, so you don't.
- Player: Cool!
Although memorizing big chunks of stuff helps, smart book sorting and having a couple of index of stuffs works too.


Mainly because my players don't fully read their abilities/don't remember them well enough unless it's core. So I have to remember what each Ability is and how it works or everyone gets confused and I get argued with over my rulings. That's when I get frustrated and have to remind everyone of Rule Zero(which shuts them up quickly).
If the players can't remember what their abilities do, have them write it down on the character sheets or on a piece of paper they keep with their sheets. It's especially helpful with initiators, casters and manifesters because they usually have a bigger pool of abilities than, say, Bob the Big Stupid Fighter.


However, we've played with all sources allowed for three years now. It's just to the point now where level 15 rolls around and everyone completely annhialates my encounters unless they are several CR higher than the party. That may be usual but I don't like having my newer/weaker players mad at me when a character dies(despite many fiats to help them out) because the optimizers have made things harder.
Help the newer players build better character, ask the older players to lower their optimization level a bit and/or challenge each player in a different manner. Brainstorming for character creation can help newer players getting the gist of the system, and even older players will benefit from reading some feats/classes/abilities a couple more time.

[ComaVision]

4d6b3 rolled attributes, health rolled too except for first level.
All books and Dragon Magazine available (no third party).
Standard wealth by level. I basically play right by the book.

[Telonius]

Start at first level. (Especially if there are new players). 4d6, reroll 1s once, best three. Full HP on first level. Don't try to break the game. Respect other players. Your character must play well with the group.

Other houserules applicable to first-level characters:
Ban list similar to Test of Spite. Heavily houseruled Paladin codes. Druids are PHB2 variant, except they get the Ranger's companion progression. Rangers get the Druid's companion progression. Clerics are Cloistered. Ditch the +1 BAB requirement on Weapon Finesse. Monks get full BAB. Each character is issued one Handy Haversack (encumbrance is annoying) and your choice of a Masterwork Weapon or Masterwork Armor; neither the haversack nor the equipment count against starting gold. LA 0 or +1 races are typically approved, unless it wouldn't make sense in the setting. Talk to me if you want to play something with RHD or higher LA, and we may be able to work something out. Third-party materials considered on a case-by-case basis.

[OldTrees1]

How do you all run every sourcebook? I have trouble finding most things my players use unless they give me an exact page number. At this point I have most WotC material either memorized or know the book. But I generally use SRD only/books we have a physical copy of. I dunno, all sources just seems so big to me right now.

I have character gen take place at session 1. Players rarely ask for too many obscure things. So I can usually find and check them faster than the players can collectively finish character gen. If I can't find it during character gen (they can help if they wish) then it is too obscure. Players can locate things later and show me at the beginning of each session or at level up periods(since they always forget to level up between sessions).

[LentilNinja]

Starting level varies.
28 point buy.
All 1st & 2nd party material is allowed (I ask my experienced players not to play anything game breaking)
3rd party material and/or material from other d20 systems is sometimes allowed. Homebrew is very rarely allowed.
Any changes to classes are ones given by those who worked on the system (like the suggested fixes for the Hexblade class).
If EXP isn't being used (just level up when I say so), 1 point of LA disappears 4 levels later than you can buy it off.
Crits aren't confirmed.

I like to play as much by the books as possible. I don't like to change anything unless an official source has suggested it (like letting Practiced Spellcaster increase the Warlocks EB damage). Anything else is just a result from playing other d20 systems, like not confirming crits.

[erok0809]

More often than not I use the following:

Roll 4d6, take the best 3, 7 times, drop the lowest, arrange these however you like. If your rolls are too low (total less than +8, or no score >=16) you can reroll.

The level I start at changes depending on the campaign's story.

Max health. I like sturdy PCs.

Flaws and Traits from UA are fine.

All 3.5 sourcebooks are allowed, but DM approval is needed for anything from the Forgotten Realms, because there tend to be a decent number of overpowered things there. Eberron tends to be fine. Dragon Magazine tends to not be allowed, because I don't have any of those. Basically, you can use just about anything you want, but if it isn't in core or a Complete book, ask me first. I'm pretty permissive. No Homebrew though, unless it's ridiculously cool, and even then it takes a lot of scrutiny first.

It's up to the player to write down what all their abilities/feats do, but at the start of the campaign I expect to see your character sheet and have anything I don't recognize shown to me. I pretty much check at each new feat slot, but it's not super scrutinizing, mostly just checking to make sure the players know what they're doing.

I confirm crits, and also do a confirming crit fail system that just works the opposite of confirming crits, where if you miss on the confirm then you fumble. There's no chance of hurting yourself, mostly you trip and fall prone or drop your weapon.

I do use EXP, but the exp on the table for encounters is a guideline, I give more than that most of the time, under the guise of roleplay exp or "because I feel like it" exp.

I tend to go over WBL, but that's not a rule, that's just me giving too many rewards. I like high powered games, because then I can do some high powered stuff too, and both me and my players like playing superpowered characters.

[VariSami]

36 pt. point buy
Max health per level
LA buy-off
Level-independent XP awards (UA)
Standard level advancement table
No flaws

This is the standard which I use. I agree with the philosophy that PCs should be special individuals and it allows me to have NPCs with better than average stats without making them overpowered in relation to the PCs. Max health also increases the benefit of better class HD which benefits martials in particular. I tend to run games with relatively few (combat) encounters so the combination of level-independent xp awards and the faster progression offered by the standard level advancement table allow the characters' progression to keep up the pace despite this. Also, regarding flaws, I just find that system flawed. In at least one game, I also houseruled according to Monte Cook's suggestion in the Collected Book of Experimental Might that characters gained a feat at every level.

As for the material, all 3.X material except Dragon and Dungeon magazines is available at DM digression. I also have quite a few 3rd party books which are available quite freely, in particular Monte Cook's Complete Book of Eldritch Might and Collected Book of Experimental Might.

[Ashtagon]

Level 1, LA +0 races only, roll stats as 3d6 six times, in order. No flaws. Human bonus feat (and races with an equivalent bonus feat) must be a "skill bonus" feat from the PHB.

[nedz]

Group 1:
Elite array or Roll 4d6b3

Group 2:
Elite array, but with PF racial mods (typically either a stereotypical +2,+2,-2 or a floating +2)

I use Elite array or Non-elite array for NPCs — well if they are of consequence anyway.

[Ettina]

Heavily houseruled Paladin codes.

Oh, yes. I'm DMing my first paladin (who worships Ilmater), and the code is so nonsensically crippling for anything other than a straight-up kick-in-the-door game versus inherently evil monsters. I decided to houserule it as the following:

a) paladin powers are granted by a diety, who must be Lawful Good (paladin variants like Freedom, Slaughter, etc are the same but with different diety alignments who grant different styles of abilities). Unlike clerics, dieties typically pay a lot more attention to their paladins. While the 'lose your powers if your alignment changes too much' rule is inherently built into powers granted by dieties, losing your powers for a single infraction like a paladin does requires that the diety deliberately chose to pull your powers. Since most dieties have way more clerics than they have time to pay attention to, they'll only pull their powers for a single infraction if said infraction is extremely obvious to the diety. Paladins are rarer, and are more favored by their gods, so they also get more attention.

b) not all Lawful Good dieties are the same, so the code is adjusted based on the diety. For example, if a vampire repents and begs the paladin to help him redeem himself and become a good guy, a paladin of Pelor could fall for letting the vampire live, while a paladin of Ilmater could fall for killing the vampire. (After all, Ilmater has said he'd forgive the Maiden of Pain, who tortured him, if she ever repented of what she'd done.)

c) D&D dieties are not omniscient, so it's possible that the occasional slip-up on the paladin code might be overlooked because the diety was too busy to watch the paladin at that moment. In addition, they are not fools either, and will not punish their paladin for choosing the best option that was realistically available to them. However, they might pull the powers from a mind-controlled paladin if they deem it necessary to avoid the mind controller from using the paladin's powers to do evil. In that case, the atonement process is expedited because it wasn't the paladin's fault that he or she fell.

I'll see how it goes, but so far, my character's paladin hasn't really run into any serious issues. It's a bit odd for her to be using a whip to beat people into submission, but she's only doing so in self-defense in situations where her greatsword isn't appropriate, so I'm letting it go.

[sambouchah]

I think that my main problem is staying interested in the campaign, in all honesty. I have such big ideas and plot twists and things, but my players optimize to the point of causing a Deity genocide(this happened once). I get bored when I'm just throwing monsters at then and would greatly prefer a more RP based game, but my players want to kill, kill, KILL. I'm going to talk about them at our next session so I can see whether or not I need to seek out a new gaming group.

I think if I limited the book use, and asked them to focus more on role play, that I would enjoy it more. A mix of RP and combat is what I would be going for.

[Uncle Pine]

I think that my main problem is staying interested in the campaign, in all honesty. I have such big ideas and plot twists and things, but my players optimize to the point of causing a Deity genocide(this happened once). I get bored when I'm just throwing monsters at then and would greatly prefer a more RP based game, but my players want to kill, kill, KILL. I'm going to talk about them at our next session so I can see whether or not I need to seek out a new gaming group.

I think if I limited the book use, and asked them to focus more on role play, that I would enjoy it more. A mix of RP and combat is what I would be going for.

Passing the DM's cape to someone else, even temporarily, can also work: I remember when I lost inspiration after a very stupid TPK cut short an "epic" campaign (epic in the sense of cool, not 21st+ level) and played for a couple of short adventures first as a Kratos expy and then as a "Korg". Being a player for a couple of months really helped me putting together a couple of ideas for the campaign I am DMing right now, in which I somehow managed to turn expert murderhobos (my players) into acceptable/good roleplayers (we even had one entire session in which no one rolled a single attack roll).

[sambouchah]

Passing the DM's cape to someone else, even temporarily, can also work: I remember when I lost inspiration after a very stupid TPK cut short an "epic" campaign (epic in the sense of cool, not 21st+ level) and played for a couple of short adventures first as a Kratos expy and then as a "Korg". Being a player for a couple of months really helped me putting together a couple of ideas for the campaign I am DMing right now, in which I somehow managed to turn expert murderhobos (my players) into acceptable/good roleplayers (we even had one entire session in which no one rolled a single attack roll).

The rest of the group either refuses to DM or have busy schedules that would prevent them from it. I've gotten to play 2 characters total in almost three years, and that's only if you count "one shots".

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

I'm pretty flexible. Current game is:

Fractional BAB/Saves
no class skills - I've replaced them, more or less, with a character justification. If you can answer the question "why is Bartleby the Paladin trained in forgery?" in a way that seems reasonable,then you can take the skill.
Stats are roll 4d6 drop low, and I'm pretty lenient on allowing re-rolls.
I generally run lower-level games, so I do levels more or less by fiat rather than keeping track of experience. My players generally don't do much crafting so experience costs for things haven't been an issue yet.

I'm fine with flaws and traits, and generally opening up sources of power for players. The game I'm in is quite low-op; I've got 4 players, all level 1. Our Cleric took Investigator as his feat, our Monk took Run with a flaw and our Bard took Negotiator. I'm not too worried that they'll abuse things.

If it's in an official book, it's probably allowed; if it's in a Dragon Magazine, it might be allowed; if it's in a 3rd party book, it's probably not but what the hell ask anyway.

[ExLibrisMortis]

[...] diety [...] diety [...] dieties [...] dieties [...] diety [...]
Sorry, but I have to point this out: the other word for 'a god' is spelled 'deity (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deity)' (think de-us with -us replaced by -ity (from Latin -itas)). 'Diety (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diety)' is, apparently, a word (I did not know this until I looked it up), and it means 'good for a diet' (and I hope it's that kind of diet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Diet_(Holy_Roman_Empire))). To be fair, paladins are certainly some of the most likely people to have a diet (right after monks, wu jen and perhaps certain druids), but I didn't think you meant that.

Anyway, I agree with everything you said. Maybe minor deities could have ridiculous paladin codes (say, Lolth?), but not the big ones. Without a certain degree of practicality, I don't think you can become popular enough, and remain stable enough, to survive in the killer arena that is the Great Wheel.

[Ashtagon]

Sorry, but I have to point this out: the other word for 'a god' is spelled 'deity (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deity)' (think de-us with -us replaced by -ity (from Latin -itas)). 'Diety (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diety)' is, apparently, a word (I did not know this until I looked it up), and it means 'good for a diet' (and I hope it's that kind of diet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Diet_(Holy_Roman_Empire)))...

Were you expecting perhaps a diet of worms (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Worms)?

[lytokk]

4d6b3 6 times drop the lowest with a free 18. Pretty much anything first party is open for use in my game, but the players need to be able to point me to any spell, ability, feat or magic item they use within 10 seconds of me asking for it. If a characters stats are either too low or too high they reroll. Some point swapping is allowed if (for example) the rolls are all above 10 but the player really wanted to play a dumb barbarian. Haven't really had problems with the groups this way.

If your players are in it straight up for the combat, you're not going to get them to RP. If they're all optimizing out the wazoo, the best advice I could give you is to only allow t3-t6 classes and run it a little treasure light. That should bring the power level down to a more manageable level.

[ComaVision]

'Diety (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diety)' is, apparently, a word (I did not know this until I looked it up), and it means 'good for a diet' (and I hope it's that kind of diet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Diet_(Holy_Roman_Empire))). To be fair, paladins are certainly some of the most likely people to have a diet (right after monks, wu jen and perhaps certain druids), but I didn't think you meant that.



Whatever you eat is your diet, so any living character likely has a diet.

[Ettina]

Sorry, but I have to point this out: the other word for 'a god' is spelled 'deity (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deity)' (think de-us with -us replaced by -ity (from Latin -itas)). 'Diety (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diety)' is, apparently, a word (I did not know this until I looked it up), and it means 'good for a diet' (and I hope it's that kind of diet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Diet_(Holy_Roman_Empire))). To be fair, paladins are certainly some of the most likely people to have a diet (right after monks, wu jen and perhaps certain druids), but I didn't think you meant that.

Crud! Why can I never remember how to spell 'deity'?

[sambouchah]

I think they would RP if I asked them to. They're all just unsure of WHO their character is and exactly sure of WHAT. Any advice?

[Amphetryon]

I think they would RP if I asked them to. They're all just unsure of WHO their character is and exactly sure of WHAT. Any advice?

How cliche do you wish to get, and how comfortable do you think they are/would be with a deeper RP request/requirement? An off the cuff suggestion would be to have their next quest-giver ask each of them, in-Character, why she should entrust these specific people with the mission she's sending them on, and look for in-Character responses.

[sambouchah]

How cliche do you wish to get, and how comfortable do you think they are/would be with a deeper RP request/requirement? An off the cuff suggestion would be to have their next quest-giver ask each of them, in-Character, why she should entrust these specific people with the mission she's sending them on, and look for in-Character responses.

I, personally have started investing more time to flesh out NPCs to encourage RP. I think they would continue to play in aN in depth RP game if I asked and helped them out.

[Uncle Pine]

I think they would RP if I asked them to. They're all just unsure of WHO their character is and exactly sure of WHAT. Any advice?

If Shiniland or Shinoland sounds familiar to you, do not open the following spoiler.
Make it personal. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheGamePlaysYou) Really personal. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TrappedInAnotherWorld) If players have problems imagining how fictional characters should behave into a fantasy d&d world, turning the players into characters can spice things up. Depending on how you pull it off, you can run a campaign with a light tone or with a much darker one (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KilledOffForReal). You can even choose to make everyone aware of the whole picture from the beginning (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DownTheRabbitHole) or plan a big reveal (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TomatoInTheMirror) (given your situation, the former seems to fit better). It worked for me, or rather it's still working: it's the set up of the campaign I'm running at the moment in two different groups. :)

[SolarSystem]

Best of three separate sets of 4d6b3 - All die rolls MUST have an approved witness (Myself or other players, usually)
All first party material, minus psionics with allowance for DM veto on stuff I don't like or don't want in my campaign world.
This is usually determined case-by-case if it comes up, though I generally ban psionics outright.) I'm not really draconian about this - just some stuff I consider too powerful (with some research to back it up) or is seriouly out of synch with the nature of the campaign.

If they want to use something I'm not familiar with, I make sure to read the stats throughly and understand them as best I can.

Outside die roll witnessing, character creation can be done on their own time before the first session. E-mailed character sheets for review save time.

[Jallorn]

So far, I'm more of a power gamer than my players, so it's always been me going, "Hey, wanna try this cool thing I found?" And them going, "Eh, I like my fighter/rogue/etc."

It occurs to me now that we might have had a better time with a less battle-centric game than DnD, and maybe something more like WoD or something.

[Curmudgeon]

Point buy (Dungeon Master's Guide, page 169) dictated by Tier (using the Tier System for Classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?266559-Tier-System-for-Classes-%28Rescued-from-MinMax%29)):

15 point buy (This is where the Wizard is.)
22 point buy
28 point buy
32 point buy
40 point buy (This is where the Monk is.)
You might try 50 here, but realistically: just forget it. :smallsigh:
(This assumes you're going to start in your primary class. If you change the primary class in later levels you'd retroactively lose points if necessary, but would never retroactively gain points.) You get more points for the classes that are hard to make work otherwise. Spellcasters will still dominate the game, but it happens a few levels later.

No dice rolling before the game begins. If the game starts higher than level 1, every level after that gets ½ HP above average (which averages the same as rerolling all 1s). Character height and weight are always average for the race unless there's a mechanical reason (like the Skinny (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#skinny) or Stout (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#stout) traits) for variance. Starting wealth is also average.

All official D&D sources allowed, but I may need to borrow a source and make a copy of the relevant pages for my records. Non-D&D d20 System sources (Kingdoms of Kalamar, Dragonlance, & c.) aren't allowed. Dragonlance Campaign Setting is specified to work for both D&D and Dragonlance, so that book and the required Dragonspawn errata from Bestiary of Krynn, Revised are acceptable.

No secondary characters at all. No Leadership, familiars, companions, mounts, or whatnot. I've found that including those NPCs steals game time away from players of unaccompanied PCs, and it's simply not fair. There are plenty of ACFs which will replace class feature NPCs like familiars and Animal companions.

Favored Classes
Favored classes under the normal rules help avoid multiclassing XP penalties, but provide nothing favorable for those class choices. These house rules accentuate positive qualities more than negatives.

If your first class level is in a favored class you get your choice of either a bonus [Racial] or [Regional] feat or 100 gp as a one-time benefit. (You need to meet the feat prerequisites as usual.) Favored Class: Any does not qualify for the bonus feat option (just the gold). A character with Favored Class: Fighter starting as a Fighter may instead select a [Fighter] feat at 1st level, and Favored Class: Monk starting as a Monk may select both regular level 1 Bonus Feat selections (or a Fighting Style (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#monkVariantFightingSty les) and one regular Bonus Feat), without needing to satisfy prerequisites for any of those Monk feats. Monks can use as well as select those feats without needing to meet prerequisites, and they're also proficient with their unarmed strikes.

Favored classes listed for your character receive 1 extra skill point each level (4 at 1st level). The only Favored Class: Any race which qualifies for this is Half-Elf. (Humans already get both a bonus feat and extra skill points; Half-Elves need a little extra love.)

Multiclassing XP penalties don't happen as long as you have at least 1 level in a favored class. Favored Class: Any does qualify for this exception, so Human characters never have multiclassing penalties.

(Favored Class: First one chosen works the same as Favored Class: Any.)

[GreatDane]

The rules I used for the campaign I'm currently DMing:

32-point buy
Four extra skill points at 1st level, which may be spent on any Craft, Perform, or Profession skill
Characters may select any one skill ask a skill aptitude. This skill is always a class skill for the character.
No flaws
Content may be pulled freely from a specific list of books; everything else needs to be run by me first.

[LoyalPaladin]

Level 10, 48 point buy, one free source of level adjustment, gestalt, standard wealth by level. Everything 1st and 2nd party (no third party).

Because player characters are supposed to be special. If they weren't, they'd be NPCs.
You knew so much better.


32 point buy
Standard WBL
All 1st party material available provided it is visible and remains balanced with the rest of the party.
No LA buyoff but LA/RHD is recalculated upon request/need.
At least 1 homebrewed feat/race/class/mechanic/... that passes DM approval(works rather nicely on its current test run)
I'm somewhat similiar... However, I would tweak it a little. I do:
32 PB
LA Buyoff Allowed
No RHD
Standard WBL
All WotC content allowed
One special scaling item that is character specific.

[OldTrees1]

I'm somewhat similar... However, I would tweak it a little. I do:
32 PB
LA Buyoff Allowed
No RHD
Standard WBL
All WotC content allowed
One special scaling item that is character specific.

2 questions:
1)How well does the LA Buyoff + No RHD work for monstrous races(say randomly selected pages of the Monster Manuel)? I ask since it seems like it is tailored towards the more humanoid monstrous races(Ogres, Lizardfolk, and the like).

2)How do you do the special scaling items? I am curious on both the mechanics side(balance, well designed) and on how to get the players to think about them.

[Crake]

2 questions:
1)How well does the LA Buyoff + No RHD work for monstrous races(say randomly selected pages of the Monster Manuel)? I ask since it seems like it is tailored towards the more humanoid monstrous races(Ogres, Lizardfolk, and the like).

2)How do you do the special scaling items? I am curious on both the mechanics side(balance, well designed) and on how to get the players to think about them.

I suspect he meant no races with RHD, not that RHD is removed.

I personally run 35 point buy, average +0.5hp at every level (max at first), always level 1 start, I don't allow characer re-rolls, unless the player is willing to come in at level 1 with their new character, and I work hard to always give players some method to get their characters back if something bad happens.

I allow LA/RHD, however all creatures must have some kind of savage progression. If they lack a savage progression, I make one for the players.

I also use a personal houserule for optional gestalt which players can use for their LA/RHD, or for straight up gestalting if they wish. It's in my signature if anyone's interested in giving it a look at.


I think that my main problem is staying interested in the campaign, in all honesty. I have such big ideas and plot twists and things, but my players optimize to the point of causing a Deity genocide(this happened once). I get bored when I'm just throwing monsters at then and would greatly prefer a more RP based game, but my players want to kill, kill, KILL. I'm going to talk about them at our next session so I can see whether or not I need to seek out a new gaming group.

I think if I limited the book use, and asked them to focus more on role play, that I would enjoy it more. A mix of RP and combat is what I would be going for.

What level do you typically start your players at? I feel like it's rather high level, because low level characters would get curb stomped for running around "kill kill kill". My advice would be to start a game at level 1 if you want a more RP based game. The players start off much weaker, and will grow attached to their characters as they gain power over time, with hard earned gear and hopefully NPC relations, and no player's gonna be killing gods at early to mid levels unless they're pulling TO stuff, in which case whack them over the head with the DMG and say "no!" like they're a puppy.

I'll tell you what, level 1-12 can be months, possibly even up to a year of game time if your players aren't power levelling. To prevent them from doing so, make sure the enemies are smart, and numerous, but generally on par with them.

I made goblin wolfriders that had something like +6 to hit or the like, and they were CR1/3, including the wolf. It's not so hard. Ramp up encounter difficulty while keeping the CR increases minimal, make them WORK for their XP.