House Rules: Mine and What do ya'll have? [3.5/PF]

[dragonfan6490]

So I've got a decent set of House Rules and was wondering what ya'll had and what ya'll thought of these.

My House Rules are for a fairly high powered, heroic game.

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A. At Character Creation, when rolling stats, roll three sets of 4d6, rerolling one’s and two’s.
B. Alignments are out; instead, an Honor System will be implemented, detailed below. One can still play a “good” or “lawful” or “chaotic” character, but it will be shown by their personal code of Honor and role playing abilities. Because of the lack of “official” alignment, all spells that rely on alignment will be made null and void.
C. When a character makes a full attack, each attack will be made at one’s highest base attack bonus.
D. When a character moves and attacks, it will be counted as a full attack under the normal rules for a full attack.
E. On a successful attack, add the character’s BAB to damage. This applies only to the first successful attack of the round.
F. When rolling for HP, reroll one’s and two’s, unless rolling a d4, in which case reroll one’s.
G. Cross-Class Skills cost only one skill point, but still have a limit on the number of skill ranks a character can have in them.
H. When rolling a Bluff check or other similar social interaction, what you actually say and how you say it will grant a bonus or penalty on the roll.
I. When selecting a Power Source, the Warlock may choose from the Sorcerer Heritage List in the Pathfinder RPG Book and gain those special abilities. The Power Source will do little mechanically to the Warlock; only change the flavor of its invocations.
J. For Skills, use the Pathfinder skill rules.
K. Rituals from Relics and Rituals will be available, and players may feel free to research Rituals or create their own.
L. Weapon Group Feats from Unearthed Arcana will be implemented.
M. You may apply Weapon Finesse to the Scimitar and Quarterstaff, but you cannot two-hand the Scimitar when applying Weapon Finesse.
N. Should the Player wish, they may use the Spell Point System from Unearthed Arcana. Regardless, if a character is using the traditional spell slot system, anytime they expend all of the spells of a certain level, they will take that level in Sub-dual Damage.
O. Incantations from Unearthed Arcana may be implemented.
P. To enter a Prestige Class, one must undergo a test, simulating the “prestige” of it.
Q. For the purpose of Heroics, when a player is dropped to -10 hp, they are still concious, but may only take a standard action or a move action, no five foot adjust, full round, immediate, or swift actions. All swift actions become standard actions at this point. At -11, the character is considered unconcious and begins dying. They have as much hp below -10 as they do Constitution. So, if a character has 14 Constitution, they die at -24 hp. Likewise, the Instant Kill Variant from the DMG will be Implemented.
R. The Action Point System will be implemented for Players and Important NPC’s.
S. Fate will play a role in this Campaign, and each Player will receive one Fate Point per session to use to save their character from certain death.
T. I do not use the XP method of character level progression suggested in the 3.5 Player’s Handbook and the 3.5 Dungeon Master’s Guide. I do not grant experience after every session, but instead the characters will level up at the speed of plot.
Ta. There will be no XP costs for things such as Magic Item Creation or spells with XP costs. Due to this, the DM reserves the right to veto anything that would disrupt game balance. The DM will invoke this right as little as possible.
U. Most importantly, DM appeasement in offerings of food, Dr. Pepper, and Mt. Dew, in exchange for B.S. Tokens, exchangeable once per session if your character is just that screwed.
V. Races use Prime20's (over on the Homebrew Forum) adaptations.
W. Most Classes published by WotC are available.

So what do ya'll think? What are some of your House Rules that you've come up with?

[sofawall]

H. When rolling a Bluff check or other similar social interaction, what you actually say and how you say it will grant a bonus or penalty on the roll.

This rule would make me never ever say anything, ever, in any situation, and also would make me never ever put any points into any social skill, even as a bard or high-charisma character.

Why should the character who is focused at Diplo (high cha, max ranks) be worse that the character who is only decent (high cha, cross-class ranks) just because the player of the first character is an introverted, shy person who isn't good at public speaking and the second is someone who has taken courses to improve his speaking and works as a police hostage negotiator?

[Starscream]

Started my own thread for gathering some a while back. Here's what I came up with:

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General
* For the most part, any official WOTC sourcebooks are allowed. Setting specific stuff, however, must be approved by DM.
* 32 point character buy.
* Homebrews of any kind must be approved.
* Racial Substitution levels and Monster Classes are typically allowed. In the case of Monster Classes, if the monster in question has multiple "versions", you can stop at a particular version and begin advancing in PC classes. For instance, if you play as a Ghoul, you don't have to advance all the way to a Ghast to begin taking PC levels. You can stop at the point where you have all the powers of a standard Ghoul.
* When rolling HP, roll twice and take the better result.
* LA Buy Off is allowed.

Classes
* Clerics are proficient with the favored weapon of their deity.
* Druids can either have Wild Shape or an animal companion. Not both. If they give up Wild Shape they get the Shapeshift class feature from PHBII instead.
* Monks use Fax Celestis's variant.
* There are no favored classes. You can have up to 3 classes with no penalty. If you take a fourth you get the 20% xp penalty regardless of your levels.
* Monks and paladins may multiclass freely.
* Base classes mostly do not have alignment restrictions. Some however may not work well with certain alignments; a good Dread Necromancer is improbable as creating undead is an evil act, for instance. This is to allow more freedom for roleplaying. You can be a Barbarian and still have a strict code of honor (meaning you are lawful) without being "civilized" in the traditional sense.
* Paladins are a special case. A paladin can be any of the four "extreme" alignments. The variant paladins from UA are used, depending on which matches your alignment (Paladin of Honor, Freedom, Tyranny, or Slaughter).
* Prestige classes may still have alignment restrictions. There are no good Blackguards for instance. Others will have their restrictions lessened. Assassins can be neutral for example. Only if the theme of the class in inherently tied to a particular alignment will there be a restriction.

Alignment
* Alignments aren't as restrictive as some DMs rule. A good character (even a paladin) can do the occasional bad deed and get away with it, as long as they have a good reason. An evil character can have a decent streak and still be evil. One exception: characters who want to take anything from the Book of Exalted Deeds must be REALLY good. Those who want stuff from Book of Vile Darkness must be REALLY bad.
* Evil characters are discouraged but not banned. You need to come up with a good reason why you would be working with these guys, and more importantly, why they would agree to work with you. If the other players vote that they don't want an evil teammate, or don't think their characters would accept one, you can't play one. Just play neutral with a rotten streak. Don't worry, by the above rule, you can still kick the occasional puppy and get away with it.

Misc.
* As in 4th edition, you add either your STR or CON bonus to fortitude saves, your INT or DEX bonus to reflex saves, and your WIS or CHA bonus to will saves.
* Open Lock and Disable Device are the same skill: Thievery.
* Hide and Move Silently are the same skill: Stealth.
* Spot and Listen are the same skill: Perception.
* Toughness is replaced with Improved Toughness.
* If the caster succeeds on a DC 25 Spellcraft or Knowledge (Arcana or Religion) check, he can cast Identify without the 100gp component.

Spellcasting
* Alter Self, Polymorph, and Polymorph Any Object are banned. There is no way to balance these. To make up for it a little, Disguise Self now has a duration of 1 hour per caster level, and can be used to disguise yourself as another Creature Type. You can't use it to change your size by more than one category, however. It can also be cast on others (changing the name to just "Disguise").
* Shapechange is not banned. Level 9 spells are supposed to be broken. Might as well just ban all of them if you are looking for balance.
* Wraithstrike is banned. It's just too cheesy.
* Shivering Touch: Banned! Also known as the "Defeat any dragon without a save spell".
* Celerity and Greater Celerity: No Bloody Way!
* No Disjunction. Players rejoice, your items are safe. To make up for this, certain spells that could ordinarily only be affected by Disjunction (such as prismatic wall), can now be affected by Greater Dispel Magic.
* Divine Metamagic: Persist is not allowed. It is too powerful.

Prestige Classes
* These are mostly allowed, but please clear them with the DM a few levels ahead of time. This keeps you from wasting feats and such only to have me say "no".
* Non-spellcasting PRCs are almost always allowed. Martial characters lag behind spellcasters in terms of power anyway, so a nice PRC can help to close the gap.
* I particularly don't like PRCs that give full casting progression. As a general rule, if a PRC costs at least one caster level per 5 class levels, it will be acceptable. If you have to multiclass to a non-spellcasting class in order to qualify, that will be taken into consideration. I just don't want players who can cast as a Wizard 20 and get lots of free goodies besides.
* If the Prestige Class doesn't fit the above guidelines, don't lose hope: these things are negotiable. Possible fixes may include toughening the entry requirements or requiring that certain spell slots are permanently used up (such as in the Archmage class) in order to get the PRC's class features.

Notes
* All rules that apply to the player apply to the DM as well. If I say a spell or PRC is banned, then you won't meet any NPCs who have it either.
* I may, very rarely, allow an exception to one of these rules if there is a good reason. If it fits the story, you might find a scroll of Polymorph as treasure for instance. But you won't be able to find them in stores or copy them into your spellbook. If you don't abuse exceptions like this they may become more common.
* Please note that these House Rules are not intended to be a cure-all. Some classes are just naturally more powerful than others. The game will never be perfectly balanced, but with any luck we can close the gap enough that everyone can have fun.
* These rules are not all inclusive. There may be other stuff that is deemed overpowered and requires a fix. Stuff that is very underpowered might also receive a boost.

[icefractal]

Why should the character who is focused at Diplo (high cha, max ranks) be worse that the character who is only decent (high cha, cross-class ranks) just because the player of the first character is an introverted, shy person who isn't good at public speaking and the second is someone who has taken courses to improve his speaking and works as a police hostage negotiator?

I think this one varies from group to group, so whether it's a good house-rules depends on the players. It makes as much (or as little) sense as the fact that Thog, the dumb barbarian with a veteran player, ends up being in position to avoid AoOs, make more attacks, and gain advantages; meanwhile Sun Tzu Caesar, the tactical genius with a newbie player, ends up provoking lots of AoOs and being in the wrong place much of the time. If your group wants to play out Bluff/Diplomacy, then abstracting it is like abstracting combat to a single die roll (which itself would be fine if the group isn't into tactical combat).

P. To enter a Prestige Class, one must undergo a test, simulating the “prestige” of it.

My feelings on this depend on several things:
1) How available are the tests? Is one guaranteed to be available at the point a player reaches the level to enter the class? And if not, can the player delay level-up until then, while still gaining XP?
2) How difficult are the tests, and how soon can you retry one?
3) Can players restructure their previous class/feat choices if they fail to get into a necessary prestige class? I'm thinking of things like Mystic Theurge or Eldritch Knight here - without them, those multiclass combinations just don't work.

[Harperfan7]

Here's a list of house rules that don't come from a book. Some stuff comes from the playground. Its not the full list of my house rules, just ones that aren't already published and some other things I came up with.

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Pcs have elite array.

Damage Steps and Wounds
The more a character is injured the harder it gets for him to fight on. There are three different damage steps which brings penalties to all throws, checks, and attack rolls based upon the relation of total hitpoints to suffered damage.

75-100% Hp no penalty
50-75% HP -1, -5ft., 10% spell failure (hurt)
25-50% HP -2, -10ft., 20% spell failure (wounded)
0-25% HP -3, -15ft., 30% spell failure (mauled)

Example: A knight with 40 total hitpoints takes a heavy hit by an ogre’s club, dealing him 11 points of net damage. His Hipoints sink under the ¾ margin, and he suffers a –1 penalty to his rolls.

The speed penalty isn’t an actual penalty to speed. It’s a subtraction from the total distance moved per round (to a minimum of 5ft.) and it doesn’t affect 5ft. adjustments. For example, if you take a single move and your speed is 30ft. and you are mauled, you can move a total of 15ft. that round. For a double move, it would be 45ft.

Whenever a creature suffers more than 50% of its total hit points, through a single hit, it must make a Fortitude save against DC = damage. If the Save fails, the creature is nauseated from the pain until healing magic or first aid can be applied. If the save succeeds, the victim of the attack is sickened from the pain for 1d4 rounds.

Sunder Limb
Pre: Improved Sunder
Benefit: You can attempt to sunder an opponents limb (or horn) with a melee attack at a -4 penalty. If you hit, they must make a DC (= to damage dealt) fortitude save or lose use of that limb. If your attack is a critical hit and they fail the save, their limb is ruined and has to be regenerated (if your weapon is vorpal and you land a critical hit, the opponent doesn‘t get a saving throw). You cannot sunder a head.
Enemies immune to critical hits are immune to this ability. If the opponent is healed to full health they regain use of their limb(s). A ruined limb cannot be healed (except with regenerate).
If you sunder an arm, they lose use of that arm (losing any shield bonus to AC and losing the ability to use a two handed weapon). If the opponent attempts to cast a spell with a somatic component with a sundered arm, they suffer 50% spell failure (cumulative with arcane spell failure), 100% if both arms are sundered. If you sunder a leg, their speed is halved and they cannot run. If you sunder both legs, they fall prone and can only crawl. If the opponent has wings, you can sunder a wing making them lose the ability to fly. If you sunder a horn, the opponent can no longer make attacks with that horn, and if the opponent uses two horns for the same gore attack, its' base damage is halved.
You cannot sneak attack and sunder a limb in the same attack. You do not gain a bonus or penalty to attacks when sundering a limb based on weapon size, but the weapon used must be bludgeoning or slashing.

Pin-limb
Pre: PBS, Precise Shot, Sneak Attack +1d6
Benefit: Whenever you would normally sneak attack an opponent with a bow or crossbow, you can instead attempt to lodge an arrow into one of their joints, rendering it useless. When you use this ability, you must make a successful attack roll against your opponents AC at a -4 penalty. If successful, the opponent must make a DC (10 + your Dex Mod + # of die of sneak attack damage) fortitude save or lose use of that limb after taking normal damage for the attack.
Anyone who fails their save against this ability can attempt to snap the arrow and pull it out. This requires a full-round action, one free hand, and a DC 10 + arrow/bolt's enhancement bonus str check, but it returns the limb to normal. Anyone who pulls an arrow/bolt out of a pinned limb must make a DC (same as attack) fort save or be nauseated for 1 round. A successful save leaves them sickened.
If you pinned an arm, they lose use of that arm (including any shield bonus to AC and the ability to use a two handed weapon). If the opponent attempts to cast a spell with a somatic component with a pinned arm, they suffer 50% spell failure (cumulative with arcane spell failure), 100% if both arms are pinned. If you pinned a leg, their speed is halved and they cannot run. If you pin both legs, they fall prone and can only crawl. If the opponent has wings, you can pin a wing making them lose the ability to fly.
If the opponent is immune to sneak attacks, they are immune to this ability. If the opponent is cured to full health they regain use of their limb(s).
If the weapon used is magical, increase the DC by 1 per +1 of enhancement bonus. If the weapon used has the Bane, Holy, Unholy, Anarchic, or Axiomatic enchantments, increase the DC by 1 per die of extra damage dealt to the enemy.

Parry
Pre: Dex 13+, Combat Reflexes
Benefit: Whenever anyone tries to attack you with a weapon, you can expend an attack of opportunity to try to parry their attack. This functions as an opposed attack roll. If your attack roll is higher than theirs, you parry the attack. You cannot make more parries in any one round than you have attacks in a full attack action. Your first parry in a round uses your full attack bonus, the second uses your first iterative attack, and so on. If you are fighting with two weapons, you may parry with either at your discretion and may make as many parries as you have attacks with both weapons up to your max number of AoO‘s per round. If you are hasted or are using a weapon with the speed enchantment, you gain an extra parry each round (up to your max number of AoO's).
You take a -2 penalty when attempting to parry with a light weapon (-4 if unarmed) and gain a +2 bonus when parrying with a two handed weapon. If you are two weapon fighting with a shield via improved shield bash and you use your shield to make a parry, you gain its shield bonus to armor class to your parry roll (but not its enhancement bonus if it’s enchanted as a weapon). You cannot use a currently animated animating shield to parry. A monks unarmed attacks are considered light weapons (-2, not -4).
If your opponent is using power attack, you take a penalty to your parry roll equal to the number your opponent subtracts from his attack roll. If your opponent is larger than you, you take a penalty to your parry roll equal to their size penalty to attack.
You can only make one parry attempt for each enemy attack roll. Every attack you use to parry with, you lose during the following round (they reset at the end of your turn). You have to be aware of an attack to parry it, though you can parry flat-footed because of combat reflexes (you cannot parry a feint that leaves you flat-footed).

Improved Parry
Pre: Dex 13+, Combat Reflexes, Parry
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus when using parry, and the penalty for using a light weapon decreases by 2.

Riposte
Pre: Dex 13+, Combat Reflexes, Parry
Benefit: Whenever you parry an attack, you may immediately expend another AoO to counterattack your opponent as a free action during their turn at the same attack bonus as the parry. This does not use an additional attack from the following round. If you are fighting with two weapons, you riposte with the weapon you did not parry with (at the base attack bonus as the parry).

Diplomacy (use Rich's fix)

Crossbow Damage

Hand Crossbow 1d3+1
Light Crossbow 2d4
Heavy Crossbow 2d4+2

Mighty composite shortbows can have up to a +2 str bonus.
Mighty composite longbows can have up to a +4 str bonus.
Mighty composite greatbows can have up to a +6 str bonus.

Rapier x4 critical
Dagger 19-20/x2 if slashing, x3 if piercing, always x3 if thrown

Heavy Flails and Falchions can be used one handed with exotic weapon proficiency.

If you are using weapon finesse with a mithril weapon, you gain a +1 bonus to attacks (doesn't stack with enchancement).

Chainmail +5 AC +3 Dex -4 acp 25% 30lbs.
Breastplate +6 AC +2 Dex -5 acp 30% 40lbs.
Splint Mail +7 AC
Banded Mail +7 AC
Half-Plate +8 AC
Full-Plate +9 AC

Diehard - lowers wounded penalty threshold to 50%, 25%, and 10%. Doesn’t die until negative constitution score of hp (Con 18 = -18 hp). This is in addition to its normal benefits.

If you have improved sunder and cleave, and you sunder an opponents weapon, you get a free attack against that opponent at the same bonus of the sunder attack.

If you have improved overrun, you can overrun more than one creature per round, though each square occupied counts as two squares.

Druids gain wild shape, but not animal companions or spontaneous summoning.

Sorcerers gain Intimidate as a class skill, eschew materials as a bonus feat at first level, and a bonus feat at 5th and every five levels thereafter. These bonus feats must be “power” based, such as spell focus or spell penetration.

Disable Device can be used to disable crossbows, siege engines, and wands/scepters/staves. Crossbows and siege engines are considered “difficult”, though siege engines add +5 per size category larger than medium. Wands/scepters/staves are considered “wicked”. Crossbows fail on the first attempted shot and must be restrung. Siege engines either lose their wheels as wagons or break on the first shot and must be repaired, and siege engines always take twice as long as normal to disable. Wands/scepters/staves can be just “disabled” or rigged to backfire, though this increases the DC by 5.

[dragonfan6490]

This rule would make me never ever say anything, ever, in any situation, and also would make me never ever put any points into any social skill, even as a bard or high-charisma character.

Why should the character who is focused at Diplo (high cha, max ranks) be worse that the character who is only decent (high cha, cross-class ranks) just because the player of the first character is an introverted, shy person who isn't good at public speaking and the second is someone who has taken courses to improve his speaking and works as a police hostage negotiator?

The bonus or penalty is between 1 and 4, its an attempt to give roleplaying a mechanical effect, to be used at the discretion of the DM. I'm sure it doesn't work for all groups, but mine is fairly RP-oriented.

My feelings on this depend on several things:
1) How available are the tests? Is one guaranteed to be available at the point a player reaches the level to enter the class? And if not, can the player delay level-up until then, while still gaining XP?
2) How difficult are the tests, and how soon can you retry one?
3) Can players restructure their previous class/feat choices if they fail to get into a necessary prestige class? I'm thinking of things like Mystic Theurge or Eldritch Knight here - without them, those multiclass combinations just don't work.

1. The tests are fairly easy to come by and I'll be trying to make them available when the player is ready to take the class. If not, I would let them delay level-up if they want.
2. The tests I think will be easy to moderate difficulty, mixing a bit of RP and strategy. If failed, they would be able to retry in a level or so.
3. If they fail to get into the prestige class, I would allow them to restructure their character using a mechanic similar to that found in PHB2

[jokey665]

My current house rules.

It's a google docs link, should be open to everyone.

Some of them are still being tweaked and such, but that's what I've got right now.

Edit: If you have questions about some of the documents I reference in there (weapon groups, epic stuff, etc) just ask and I'll post the link.

[Eurus]

This rule would make me never ever say anything, ever, in any situation, and also would make me never ever put any points into any social skill, even as a bard or high-charisma character.

Why should the character who is focused at Diplo (high cha, max ranks) be worse that the character who is only decent (high cha, cross-class ranks) just because the player of the first character is an introverted, shy person who isn't good at public speaking and the second is someone who has taken courses to improve his speaking and works as a police hostage negotiator?

On the other hand, why should what the player says have no impact whatsoever? It's rather lame to have a character just roll intelligence when confronted with a puzzle rather than having the players try to work it out, why doesn't the same apply to social situations?

Doesn't roleplaying kind of assume that you try to act like your character would? If you're playing Thog the cliche orc barbarian but talk like you're incredibly smart and charismatic, the other players and DM would be entirely within their rights to be annoyed. Why does the same not apply in reverse?

[drengnikrafe]

My house rules are fairly loose, so I'll just go with the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

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1. Feats that previously built off each other are now arranged into trees, and actually build off each other. When you have all 7 feats in the Weapon Focus tree, you get a +7 bonus.
2. Don't worry about encumberance. If you start to get totally unreasonable, I'll stop you, but for the most part it's okay.
3. Starting equipment is assumed to be: Whatever weapon you want (up to 3, all normal), any light or medium armor, an adventurer's kit (that contains virtually every mundane, non-weapon armor), any items needed for your class (lockpick, holy symbol, etc), and 5 gp.
4. No skills are cross class. Ever. In a related story, no multiclass penalties.
5. There are specific races you can use that are a little different from the normal races. Some of them have mental bonuses.
6. Stats rolled are based on a needlessly complicated system involving equations based on points and contingency points. You get 6 points, and may spend them as follows:
0 points - 3d6
1 point - 2d6 + 6
2 points - 2d4 + 10
3 points - 1/2d6 (round down) + 15
Arrange stats as desired. Leftover points increase stats as follows:
3-7: +3
8-14: +2
15-17: +1
18: +0
Racial adjustments are made thereafter.
7. You can only play a weird race if you've proved you can roleplay well. If you fail to roleplay it well, you will be asked to stop playing as it. I don't like weird races.
8. Roleplaying experience is a lot more than the book suggests it should be.
9. If you show no progress towards roleplaying or skillfully playing characters for several session in a row, you will be removed. If you already do a good job, you won't. (I know this isn't really much of a house rule, but it is the truth).
10. By spending 3 skill points per rank, you can take Knowledge: All. It's the equivelent to taking skill points in all knowledge skills.

[Jergmo]

Some of these make me cringe, but it's not my place to pass judgement on the way others do things. My own could probably use some additional work.

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Note: Various variant class rules are allowed. For examle, a fighter can select their own skill set (6 + Craft (or, hell, replace Craft with something if you want. Why should every fighter know how to craft things?)). If you wanted to make a finesse-oriented fighter, you could, for example, go with Balance, Bluff, Escape Artist, Jump, Sense Motive and Tumble, and sacrifice fighter bonus feats for sneak attack progression for flanking and feinting.
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Penalties From Damage

50% health: Moderate Injuries (Deeply bruised, pierced, or sliced open)
Arm: -2 to all attacks and all skill checks involved in using that arm. 20% spellcasting failure chance.
Abdomen: -2 to attack rolls involving the tail and Balance, Jump and Tumble skill checks.
Leg: -2 to all Dexterity bonuses for AC (if any) and Balance, Climb, Jump, Move Silently and Tumble skill checks involving that leg.
Torso: -1 penalty to attacks and Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Jump, Move Silently, Ride, Swim or Tumble checks.
Wing: Flying speed reduced by one-half and maneuverability by one category.
Head: -2 penalty to Initiative, Listen and Balance. 20% spellcasting failure chance.

Note: Body part must be hit again when below 25% health for the penalties to rise.
Note #2: Once an opponent's body part reaches Severe injury, by means of a repeated strike on an already injured part or pwning some n00b, you have the option to attempt to sever the limb. Should the damage dealt be sufficient, success is had and combat will turn to Dwarf Fortress style glory.

25% health: Severe Injuries (Bone has been snapped, area severely pierced or split open.) Victim begins suffering from continual bleeding damage until injuries are healed.
Arm: Penalties rise to -8. 40% spellcasting failure chance.
Abdomen: Penalties rise to -8.
Leg: Penalties rise to -8, movement rate reduced by one-half.
Torso: Penalties rise to -5 and movement speed is reduced by one-half.
Wing: Wings can only be used to glide clumsily and can only take off from an elevated position. When attempting to land, victim must roll a Dexterity check (DC 17) or crash, taking 2d6 damage.
Head: Constitution check (DC 17) or go into shock and suffer additional damage equal to base damage of the weapon used to cause the injury. 40% spellcasting failure chance.
Bludgeoning: Cannot speak command words properly or cast spells with verbal components.
Piercing: Severe eye damage. -4 penalty to ranged attacks and Spot. An additional hit means blindness.
Slashing: -4 penalty to Initiative, Listen and Balance.

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Point Buy (32 point buy in use)

9 = 1 point 14 = 6 points
10 = 2 points 15 = 8 points
11 = 3 points 16 = 10 points
12 = 4 points 17 = 13 points
13 = 5 points 18 = 16 points

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General Changes
Combat Facing implemented.
Defense Bonus is implemented. Should a character choose this style of defensive combat, they lose all armor proficiency.
Long jump DC = result of check minus 5.
Note For Armor: Full AC as normal, with half the bonus counting as a Hardness score. In cases such as a breastplate or studded leather, round down. IE: AC +5 = Hardness 2. Natural armor also applies, but only for the type of armor with the highest bonus.
Speed = Dex score + Con score + Base speed / 1.5 rounded down to the nearest 5. Creatures without Constitution scores use their Strength score rather than Constitution.
The Weapon Specialization feat is not restricted to fighters - the prerequisite is changed to character level 4th.

Rich Berlew's Diplomacy variant, Knowledge checks variant, and Polymorph variants implemented. Rich Berlew, have my babies. See the "Gaming" section of Giantitp. Although you'll only really need to look at the Knowledge checks variant assuming you have ranks in a knowledge skill. You need not worry yourself with the details of Diplomacy except for synergy. The Polymorph variant applies to a druid's Wild Shape.

Reloading a sling is a free action if you take the Rapid Reload (Sling) feat, which now exists. Rapid Shot, as well as Manyshot (so long as it is a masterwork sling) can be used with slings. Sling bullets weigh 0.2 pounds each.

The gaze of a Basilisk paralyzes, instead of turning to stone, likewise for Gorgon. (Which is what Medusae will be called). In addition, serpentine basilisks have been added.

The Spell Point system is in effect. The spell point cost of a spell is changed to (spell level x spell level /2, round up).

Arcane Archer
Base Attack Bonus requirement lowered to +4, Elf or half-elf requirement removed. 6/10 caster progression, requires Craft Magic Arms and Armor instead of Precise Shot.
Imbue Arrow Note: An arcane archer also has the ability to place a "touch attack" spell upon an arrow and deliver the spell through a ranged attack. When the arrow is fired and successfully hits a target, the spell is activated on the target as though the arcane archer herself had cast it from the correct range. It takes a standard action to cast the spell and fire the arrow. The arrow must be fired in the round the spell is cast, or the spell is wasted.

Arcane Trickster
Spellcasting requirements lowered to at least one arcane spell of 2nd level.

Blackguard
Base Attack Bonus requirement lowered to +4.

Druid
Druids may sacrifice the ability to gain an animal companion in favor of gaining one of the following domains: Plant, Animal, Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Weather.

Druids are also proficient with the greatclub.

Duelist
Base Attack Bonus requirement reduced to +4.
Canny Defense: Remove the "per duelist class level" part.
Precise Strike: Changed to first level. +2d6 at level 3, +3d6 at level 5, +4d6 at level 7, and +5d6 at level 9.

Dwarven Defender
Base Attack Bonus requirement reduced to +5.

Eldtritch Knight
At first level, an Eldtritch Knight gains Armored Mage (light) and Armored Mage (medium). Requires ability to cast 2nd-level arcane spells and +3 BAB. Full spellcaster progression.

Fighter
Fighters have Good Reflex saves as well as Fortitude.

Loremaster
Reduce Knowledge rank requirements to 8 and the metamagic or item creation feat requirements to two.

Monks
Full BAB progression.
A monk can move up to their bonus to speed and still make a full round attack/flurry of blows.

Rangers
Ranger level for determining animal companion is level -3 rather than 1/2 level.

Rogue
Rogues can use light shields and bucklers.

Shadowdancer
Lowered required ranks in Hide to 8. Dismissing a shadow does not incur an experience penalty. Shadow Illusion can be used at will.

Sorcerers
At first level, Sorcerers gain Eschew Materials as a bonus feat.
Add Diplomacy, Intimidate and Sense Motive to Class Skills List.
A familiar's bonuses are increased by PrC caster level increases.
Innate Arcana (Ex): Sorcerers may their Charisma modifier rather than Intelligence for Knowledge(Arcana) and Spellcraft checks.

Bloodlines
Aberrant: Gains Knowledge (dungeoneering) as a class skill.
Abyssal, Elemental, Infernal: Gains Knowledge (the planes) as a class skill.
Celestial: Gains Heal as a class skill.
Draconic: Gains Listen and Spot as class skills.
Fey: Gains Knowledge (nature) as a class skill.
Undead: Gains Knowledge (religion) as a class skill.

Wizards
A familiar's bonuses are increased by PrC caster level increases.
Specialist wizards do not ban schools; instead, spells from penalized schools have a cost equal to one spell level higher.

———————————————————————————————————————————
Metamagic Feat Changes
Chain Spell: Unavailable.
Cooperative Spellcasting: The spell point cost of a cooperative spell is split by the number of spellcasters contributing. IE: If three level 5 wizards were to work together to create a fireball, each would pay 1 spell point rather than 3. If there is an uneven point distribution, such as the same example with two wizards, round the point cost up after division; each wizard would pay two spell points.
Improved Cooperative Spellcasting: Added feat. Allows a group of spellcasters to combine their mana pools to create higher spells, up to a maximum of 1.5x the highest spell level known of the most powerful manifester. IE: The three level 5 wizards mentioned above can emulate a spell of up to 5th level. However, they aren't powerful enough to emulate it on their own. Two 3rd-level spell levels would be the equivalent of one 4th-level spell, and two 4th-level spells are the equivalent of a 5th-level spell. So, should this spellcasting circle gain a fourth 5th-level wizard, they could then complete a 5th-level Wall of Force spell. Proper research of the spell is still required, and only spellcasters of the same spellcasting type can work together.
Innate Spell: Works like the Archmage High Arcana Spell-Like Ability.

Spell Changes

Any Spell That Causes Attribute Damage/Penalty/etc.: These spells can only bring a creature's base attribute score down to 3. IE: If you were to cast Ray of Enfeeblement on an average ogre (21 strength), you could bring it down to 13 strength.

Sorcerer/Wizard
Celerity/Greater Celerity: Unavailable.
Enlarge/Reduce Person: Increase to 4th level. Attribute changes are equal to those of a creature increasing or reducing in size category. Enlarge/Reduce Person, Mass increased to 7th level.
Fabricate: Allows you to convert 1 cubic foot per level for all materials.
Freedom of Movement: Grants a +5 circumstance bonus to saves against paralysis/slow/grapple/escape artist checks/etc., and allows you to move at full speed through environmental effects such as solid fog/web/etc.
Gate: If you attempt to call a creature, it receives a Will save.
Knock: Substitutes Open Lock for Spellcraft.
Mage's Disjunction: Automatically counters an Antimagic Field. All spells and spell-like abilities currently active within the burst are dispelled. Negates the effects of magic items for 3d4 rounds instead of destroying them.
Magic Mouth: Trigger range of Close.
Mage's Magnificent Mansion: Doesn't allow you to bar creatures from entering, should they discover the portal.
Orb Spells: Changed to the Evocation school.
Polymorph Any Object: Does not exist.
Protection from X: Grants a +4 bonus on saves against possession/charm/compulsion etc. instead of immunity. Summoned creatures must make a Will save with a +10 DC to attack.
Ray of Enfeeblement/Exhaustion/Energy Drain/etc.: Allows a Fortitude save to negate.
Rope Trick: Increase to 5th-level.
Statue: Returning to normal state uses a standard action.
Shapechange: Takes a full round and provokes attacks of opportunities, does not grant spell-like abilities.
Sleep, Greater: 4th level spell added, as sleep, but with no limit to HD and affecting a single creature. (Hey, Beholders get it, why not the rest of us?)
Solid Fog: Halves movement speed, rather than reducing it to 5 ft.
Summon Monster: Duration changed to 2 rounds + 1 round per level.
Teleport: A mage's destination must have a teleportation circle set up.
Time Stop: Only allows you to cast spells within your personal bubble.
Wall of Force/Forcecage: Subect to Dispel Magic.
Foresight: Duration of 1 min./level.
Wail of the Banshee: Centered on you and allows a Will save if it is higher.
Wind Wall: Range of Close and 10 ft./two levels long and 5 ft./two levels high. Same deal for Wall of Force/etc. Magical projectiles have a 50% miss chance.

Cleric/Druid
Blasphemy/Holy Word: Allows a Will save.
Dispel Evil/etc.: Allows a Will save for Outsiders to resist being banished at a -10 penalty.
Elemental Swarm: Allows you to summon 2d4 Large elementals, 1d4 Huge elementals, or 1 greater elemental and lasts 1 min./level.
Entropic Shield: Arrows, rays, and other ranged attacks have a 20% miss chance instead of automatically missing.
Protection from X: Grants a +4 bonus on saves against possession/charm/compulsion etc. instead of immunity. Summoned creatures must make a Will save with a +10 DC
Remove Blindness/Deafness: Reduced to 2nd level.
Summon Monster/Nature's Ally: Duration changed to 2 rounds + 1 round per level.

———————————————————————————————————————————
Dodge [General]
Prerequisite
Dex 13.

Benefit
You receive a +1 dodge bonus to armor class against attacks from an opponent.

Special
A fighter may select Dodge as one of their fighter bonus feats.

Elemental Magic Mastery [Metamagic]
Your mastery of a particular element has yielded impressive results.

Prerequisites
Energy Substitution in the specified element, ability to cast 4th level spells and 10 ranks in Spellcraft.

Benefit
Grants resistance 5 to the specified element and bonus spell damage of that element equal to ½ caster level.

Special
You may take this feat multiple times, applying it to different elemental damage types.

Luck of Heroes [General]
Through pluck, determination, and resilience, you survive in the most trying of circumstances.

Benefit
You receive a +1 luck bonus on all saving throws.

Maximized Attacks [General]
You have learned to maximize the effect of your attacks while performing a short concentrated attack.

Prerequisites
4 ranks in Concentration and Weapon Specialization with at least one weapon.

Benefit
All attacks with a weapon you have Weapon Specialization in do maximum base damage for a full round. Usable once per encounter.

Special
A fighter may select Maximized Attacks as one of their fighter bonus feats.

Mobile Spellcasting [General]
Prerequisites
Dex 13+, Combat Casting, ability to cast 2nd level spells

Benefit
When casting a spell, you can move both before and after the spellcasting, provided that your total distance moved is not greater than your speed and you succeed on a Concentration check with a difficulty class equal to (15 + spell level). As normal, spellcasting in this manner provokes attacks of opportunity if you pass through a threatened square.

Weapon Focus [General]
Choose one category of weapon. (IE: Axes, swords, bows, unarmed, or ray, if you are a spellcaster).

Prerequisites
Proficiency with selected weapon, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit
You gain a +1 bonus on all attack and damage rolls you make using the selected weapon.

Special
You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new category of weapon.

A fighter may select Weapon Focus as one of his bonus feats. They must have Weapon Focus with a weapon to gain the Weapon Specialization feat for that weapon.

[Aldizog]

C. When a character makes a full attack, each attack will be made at one’s highest base attack bonus.

The primary purpose of adding iterative attacks to D&D was to add more uncertainty to the attack roll, since a mid-level fighter would be nearly guaranteed to hit his target on a 2+ with his main attack. (Power Attack was, in Core, another way of adding this uncertainty.) A secondary effect of the iteratives is to increase the slope of the power curve. By making them all at the top attack bonus, you remove purpose #1. I'd actually remove iteratives altogether rather than redefining them as you did -- unless you really do want the steeper power curve. Your rule makes a sharper jump in power from Ftr5 to Ftr6, or Rog7 to Rog8. Though that may be what you want.

T. I do not use the XP method of character level progression suggested in the 3.5 Player’s Handbook and the 3.5 Dungeon Master’s Guide. I do not grant experience after every session, but instead the characters will level up at the speed of plot.

Is LA buyoff possible in a situation like this? And how do you treat PCs when their players are absent? Are they present and subject to risk? Are they absent, but level up at the speed of plot anyway?

[Tequila Sunrise]

The no-XP rule is the only one that I use.

Here is my Tome of House Rules

[dragonfan6490]

I probably will use some sort of LA buyoff, but the game I'm currently running is high powered and I'm ignoring LA +1. Of course, I'm using Prime20's races as a base, so the only character that would've had LA (Aasimar), doesn't. I did want to increase the power curve for Fighters and the like, I'm not sure how it'll pan out. I may take it out, but then I might not.

[Drakevarg]

Spoiler

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-No Multiclassing penalties. They're just annoying and play heavily on stereotypes.
-Skills involving social interaction are out; any interaction with NPCs is Roleplay-based.
-Unarmed attacks deal lethal damage, threaten surrounding squares, and do not trigger AoOs. Concequently, Improved Unarmed Strike does not exist.
-No godslaying. Sorry, but you can't stab sentient metaphysical concepts in the face.
-Aid Another doesn't do anything. Mainly because it's too bloody vague. "I aid him." "How?" "By AIDING."
-Withdraws and 5-foot steps trigger AoOs like any other movement action within threatened squares.
-For starting ability scores, players roll 5d6b3. They may reroll as many times as they like, but they must reroll the entire set each time.
-RAW is always secondary to Rule 0.
-Cross-classing must be done in-character. For example, if a rogue decided to become a fighter, he must seek out a professional trainer or join the military. He can't simply pick up a greatsword and call it a day.
-Penalties from heavy armor and heavy loads stack.
-Greataxes deal 2d6 damage, not 1d12. Similarly, Scythes deal 1d8 damage, not 2d4. This is to keep scaling consistant.
-No Use Magic Device. You cannot "fake" magic.

These are just in general, mind. Campaign-specific rules get alot more convoluted.

[JaronK]

The following apply in all my games:

1) No multiclassing penalties. They're annoying.

2) You must attempt to roughly match the power level of the group and the requested power level of the campaign. This changes depending on campaign.

3) Pun Pun exists and is the god of exploits. Anything he thinks is exploitive will cause him to send a Nut Pun down to undo it, and maybe give you a cookie if your exploit was creative.

Other than that, it really changes by campaign and session.

JaronK

[Temotei]

House rules:

Spoiler

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• Giant's Diplomacy
• No multiclassing penalties
• Ranged attacks (except with thrown weapons) add Dexterity to damage
• Monk has full BAB and d10 hit dice
• If the monk picks Stunning Fist as a bonus feat, that's treated as a monk class feature
• All ACF's are allowed if cleared by me.
• Paladins turn undead as a cleric of their level.
• No disjunction.
• No dark chaos shuffle.
• No crazy stupid builds like Pun-Pun.
• Alternate turning rules in Complete Divine are allowed as an alternative to normal turns, which are also allowed. Normal turns gain a +1 bonus.
• I'll be using homebrew stuff for encounters/NPC's/items sometimes.
• I'll use group initiative for enemies only, and only when there are groups of weaker similar enemies.
• You may catch a falling person to try and break their fall, reducing damage. Make a Strength check of DC 10 + 2/10 feet fallen. If the person catching the other fails the check, they take 1d6 damage, but the other person's damage is reduced by 1d6 as well. Success means the person catching takes no damage, and the person falling takes normal damage minus xd6, with being how much the Strength check DC was beaten by (minimum 1d6). If they match the DC, treat it as reducing damage by 1d6. Armor check penalties apply--for every -2 penalty, falling damage is increased by 1d6.

[AngelisBlack]

No Tome of Battle, and the following spells are banned: Polymorph and the entire Polymorph line, Shapechange(usable as a scroll though), Avasculate and Avascular Mass.

As for what is allowed, all the alternate classes from Unearthed Arcana.

Special Rules: I will sometimes take pity if someone's dice rolls have been pretty much horrible and allow them a reroll.

[jseah]

Magic works as is. Refluffing spells is NOT allowed.
- Spells have the minimum display that can be interpreted from the text.
- Unless the text describes the spell specifically, the spell will only appear as the minimum required for it to work (eg. wall of iron appearing out of nowhere).


Magic works as stated. Basic phyiscs applies.
- Spells are interpreted to work by simplest route. Spells work the same way every time.
- Energy and matter creation is usually the simplest route.
- Getting creative with spell usage due to this makes me happy.

[Temotei]

Magic works as is. Refluffing spells is NOT allowed.
- Spells have the minimum display that can be interpreted from the text.
- Unless the text describes the spell specifically, the spell will only appear as the minimum required for it to work (eg. wall of iron appearing out of nowhere).


Magic works as stated. Basic phyiscs applies.
- Spells are interpreted to work by simplest route. Spells work the same way every time.
- Energy and matter creation is usually the simplest route.
- Getting creative with spell usage due to this makes me happy.

I hope you allow wish and prestidigitation to work differently in different cases?

[jseah]

I hope you allow wish and prestidigitation to work differently in different cases?

They work the same way based on the application you used them for.
Using prestidigitation to clean applies a specific effect (in this case, mimicking a good scrubbing with soap), cleaning doesn't change regardless of whatever you use it on.

I don't allow wish to exceed limits. If you ask for something not on the list, I look for a spell (or set of spells that sum to 9) that can be applied to acheive what you want.
If I can't find it, then it doesn't work. There are no downsides to wish (apart from those stated), I read wishes by intention.

[Danin]

Holy house rules batman! And here I thought I was doing too much...

A: When rolling for health, if you roll a d4 or a d6 you may re-roll 1's, a d8 or a d10 you may re-roll 1's or 2's, and a d12 you can re-roll a 1, 2 or 3.

B: No obviously stupid builds. No Pun-Pun, Fun-Fun, or any infinite loops.

C: No multiclassing penalties but:

D: Multiclass levels for base classes must remain within 1 of each other. So, the level 4 fighter / level 5 rogue isn't able to take a 6th level in rogue until he takes a 5th level in fighter.

E: You must complete a minimum of 1 / 2 of a prestige class, rounded up, before you can take another prestige class.

F: Giant's diplomacy, knowledge variants.

G: Custom magic items must be run by the DM. It may not be available here or ever.

H: Price guidelines and experience guidelines are just that. Guidelines.

There is probably more, but I can't think at 2am.

[Kurald Galain]

(1) use whatever books you like.
(2) munchkinry will be vetoed by the DM as necessary.
(3) don't be a jerk.

[ScionoftheVoid]

My house rules are still in progress but at the moment I have:

1. Any book or material that I have looked over and not specifically disallowed is allowed.
1a. Players must still give me a build outline for at least the next level or two, with aims for PrC's and such mentioned.

2. Multiclass penalties are not in place.

3. Pathfinder races are in use, any standard race of LA+0 to +2 may be suggested to me to be modified or simply allowed.

4. Death occurs at -[con score], rather than -10.
4a. On a similar note, your non-lethal damage defaults to 0 unless you have the Diehard feat (in which case it defaults to -[con score]).
4b. Spells or effects which make a character die at less hitpoints (e.g. Delay Death) also reduce the characters default non-lethal damage by an equivalent amount (unless otherwise stated).
4c. Non-lethal damage, when inflicted, is always calculated as [amount inflicted+amount previously inflicted-amount healed+0].

5. Anyone using a build which specifically says that it is not for use in play has effectively given me permission to open the gates to Baator, the Abyss, Gehenna and any other suitable place I can think of.

6. Invoking the Stormwind fallacy or the Oberoni fallacy is not allowed during my games, except to explain what they are.


I think that covers the bulk of them.

[Tyndmyr]

1. Multiclass penalties. Never played a game with them.

2. No infinite combos.

Thats pretty much it. We've dabbled with a great many of them, but most don't stick.

[Another_Poet]

H. When rolling a Bluff check or other similar social interaction, what you actually say and how you say it will grant a bonus or penalty on the roll.

I recommend you consider offering a Virtual Roll instead.

This brilliant houserule allows what you're going for (encouraging people to actually say something reasonable when bluffing/smooth talking), addresses both Sofawall's and Eurus' concerns, and tends to get players far more excited than a static bonus of 1-4.

ap

[Moak]

• Death at -ConScore
• HitDice: Reroll 1 on d4,2 on d6,3 on d8,4 on d10,5 on d12
• Everything in the books is allowed....but remember: the more you rise the power level,the more the challange will rise in power (where is the fun,elsewere?)
• Multiclass penalities are "on"...but the favourite class of every race is like "human" and "half-elf",because I don't want to gimp someone to play,say,a Dragon Shaman
• If Gestalt,LA and HitDice are only on a side of the Gestalt
• If Bloodline,you must pay a number of px "as if" the Bloodline Level was a sort of LA buyoff
• LA buyoff mode ON
• The fullcasting/manifesting PRC don't grant casting progression on the first level. Unless you are a warlock,because the rules hated you enough.
• Not-fullcasting/manifesting PRC move their first level that doesn't grant spell progression at the first level of the PRC
• If you lag a little behind because of the concept you are playing vs the rest of the group,don't be afraid. I will help you to find a way to shine. Yes,even you 20 level Astral Deva.
• Homebrew must be discussed with me BEFORE use it. I reserve the right to refuse anything.
• Skill are handled with the d20 Rebirth way
• Game is cooperetion to get fun. Remember that IN-game and OFF-game are SEPARATE. If you can't do this, if you aren't willing to accept that sometimes the story doesn't go where you want but where all the group want, you probably will not love my way to DM. I love to see conflict ensured for the drama even between PC. So, be prepared.

[Draz74]

G. Cross-Class Skills cost only one skill point, but still have a limit on the number of skill ranks a character can have in them.
J. For Skills, use the Pathfinder skill rules.

How are these compatible? I thought Pathfinder does away with skill caps for cross-class skills.

3) Pun Pun exists and is the god of exploits. Anything he thinks is exploitive will cause him to send a Nut Pun down to undo it, and maybe give you a cookie if your exploit was creative.

Win.

It's the cookie that really makes this a classy houserule.

[dragonfan6490]

How are these compatible? I thought Pathfinder does away with skill caps for cross-class skills.

It did, I like how Pathfinder condensed and combined some skills, but I guess I just like tradition, so I'm still using the max ranks from 3.5.

[Mystic Muse]

some of you guys gave me good ideas. Here's what I've got so far. I need to review the Pathfinder Monk sometime.

1.no multiclass XP penalties.
2.dodge doesn't exist. It isn't needed to qualify for prestige classes.
3.You don't have to finish a PRC if you can give me a good reason not to. If you just want one ability or something from the class I'm sure we can work something out.
4.There's no rules on multiclassing back to a class. If you multiclass from Paladin for example you can always go back.
5. Everybody is assumed to have the feat “able learner” in other words, unless a skill is class specific (like a Rogue's trapfinding. Or a wizard's spellcraft) it counts as a class skill.
6. The intelligence a Paladin mount would get does not override the mount's previous intelligence if its previous intelligence would be larger.
7.explain to me what you think your alignment means before playing it.
8. when rolling stats reroll 1s
9. Nothing above medium and nothing below small except through things like powerful or tiny build.
10. The bonuses on the Paladin's mount stack.
11. Instead of normal stats for your race you can get a +2 to one stat. You can play the normal version of your race as well.
12. no epic spellcasting, wish, reality revision and Polymorph are banned as well.
13. Homebrew must be discussed with me BEFORE use it. I reserve the right to refuse anything.
14. If a prestige class requires “any neutral” it means any of the Neutral alignments including neutral good and neutral evil
15. As in 4th edition, you add either your STR or CON bonus to fortitude saves, your INT or DEX bonus to reflex saves, and your WIS or CHA bonus to will saves.
16. Open Lock and Disable Device are the same skill: Thievery.
17.Hide and Move Silently are the same skill: Stealth.
18. Spot and Listen are the same skill: Perception.
19. All rules that apply to the player apply to the DM as well. If I say a spell or PRC is banned, then you won't meet any NPCs who have it either.
20. The normal Paladin is replaced by the Pathfinder Paladin.
21. Pathfinder races are in use

[Draz74]

G. Cross-Class Skills cost only one skill point, but still have a limit on the number of skill ranks a character can have in them.
J. For Skills, use the Pathfinder skill rules.

How are these compatible? I thought Pathfinder does away with skill caps for cross-class skills.

3) Pun Pun exists and is the god of exploits. Anything he thinks is exploitive will cause him to send a Nut Pun down to undo it, and maybe give you a cookie if your exploit was creative.

Win.

It's the cookie that really makes this a classy houserule.

So what do ya'll think? What are some of your House Rules that you've come up with?

For a campaign that's still more or less recognizable as 3.5e? Too many, and too disorganized or situational to list here. I don't have them all compiled in one place, and I make a lot of rulings as a DM on a case-by-case basis. (For example, the XP penalties rule that seems to be such a hot topic on this thread, I sometimes ignore and sometimes - with adequate warning to the player - enforce.)

But really, "my" houserules (which end up looking like another system) are something like:

• E8
• Generic Classes
• Replace Alignment system with Taint system
• variant ability scores: Brawn, Agility, Fitness, Discipline, Intuition, Wit
• Vitality/Injury system instead of Hit Points system
• modify lots of abilities to reduce bookkeeping
• per-encounter, points-based spellcasting system (and 4e-like Rituals for out-of-combat magic)
• Item Attunement system
• get rid of "full attack" option; replace with other cool nonmagical moves.
• base many limited-use abilities on a "Momentum" system (similar to 3e Psionic Focus) instead of per-day uses
• Wealth system similar to d20 Modern