Ideas for Houserules and New Options

[lolcat]

Greetings Playground!

During my ongoing campaign, i had introduced a couple of houserules and new options that i thought might open interesting facets and improve lesser used options in gameplay. Some, like the harvesting rules, have been used often. Others, like the summoning of individual monsters, my players did not take up yet.
I would love to get your feedback on these, and some ideas and inspirations i had gathered from other posts here, for the future in my games. So if you think it's great, it's crap, could be done better/differently or if you have your own houserules to contribute, please write below :) Also, while i do not remember i.e. the OP from the potion-rework, i send my anonymous thanks for their great idea.

So without further ado, here is the collection of reworks up to now for you to feedback:)

1. Spoiler: Summoning Individual Monsters

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   VARIANT: SUMMONING INDIVIDUAL MONSTERS
   When a character casts a summon monster or summon natureÂ’s ally spell, she gets a typical, random creature of the kind she chooses. As a variant, the spell caster can try to gain a specific individual creature rather than just some random one.
   
   Specific Creatures: Whenever a spellcaster summons a single creature of a given kind, it’s always the same creature. His specific creatures may be above or below average as the DM assigns or the player takes the average statistics.
   
   Multiple Creatures: Whenever a spellcaster summons more creatures, the first one is always the same, and each successive creature is likewise always the same. Thus, if Mialee can summon up to three celestial eagles named Kulik, Skitky, and Kliss, then she always gets Kulik hen she summons one celestial eagle, Kulik and Skitky when she summons two, and all three when she summons three.
   Getting the same intelligent summoned creature over and over again gives a summoner certain advantages. She can, for instance, send a creature to scout out an area for the duration of the spell and then summon it up again to get a report.
   
   Improving creatures: Summoners can improve their creatures. Typically, they do so by calling them via a planar binding or similar spell and giving them magic items or other special objects.
   
   
   
   
2. Spoiler: Spell and Power Research

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   First, determine the price of the newly created spell. The price is: spell level x minimum caster level x 200 gp (cantrips count as 1/2th level)
   Classes with a slower progression, like a bard or a sorcerer, use the minimum caster level of a wizard.
   
   Thus, a 0th level spell is 100 gp, a 2nd level spell is 1200 gp, and a 9th level spell is 30,600 gp. To research and create the spell, make a Spellcraft check with the result multiplied by 10. This is your progress in gold pieces in the creation of the spell each day. If you continue and meet the goal, or the initial Spellcraft roll meets or exceeds the amount, you gain the spell as a known spell for your class and you consume the gold cost in the form of various material components for magical research.
   
   Not all spells can be transferred or created, as some are just not viable in other forms. This is up to the DM's discretion. In addition, you can only duplicate or create spells of a spell level you can already cast. Creating duplicates of spells from different magic systems (as in divine/arcane, psionic powers or similar), if at all possible, costs 50% more.
   
   Synergies:
   

   • Knowledge Arcana grants a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks when duplicating or creating arcane spells.
   • Knwoledge Nature or Religion grants a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks when duplicating or creating divine spells.
   • Knowledge Psionics grants a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks when duplicating or creating psionic powers.

   
   
   
   
3. Spoiler: Deconstructing & Salvaging Magic Items

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   • Deconstructing a Magical Item:
     To deconstruct a magical item, the character needs the magical item construction feats used in the creation of the item, but needs not to be able to cast the relevant spell or have the same type of magic. Deconstructing an Item takes exactly as long as it would take the character to create it (magic item construction buffs apply) and yields 75% of its construction cost in reusable chunks of magical materials that can substitute gold and XP in other item crafting processes.
   • Salvaging a Magical Item
     Salvaging an item is a quicker, non-magical process of breaking down an item to regain some of its value. To determine the success, the character makes either an Intelligence- or Dexterity-Check of a DC of the item crafters caster level. For a lower result, the salvaging process is unsuccessful and no resources are gained. For results of 0-5 above the DC, resources containing 1/4 of the used XP and gold of the items creation are regained. for results of 6+ above the DC, 1/2 of the resources are regained.

   
   
   
   
4. Spoiler: Changed Crafting Time for Magic Item Creation

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   Original Ruling: 1000 GP/day of crafting
   New Ruling: (100 GP * (Caster Level + Casting Stat Mod))
   
   
   
5. Spoiler: Harvesting Monster Corpses

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   Prerequisite(s): Heal 1 rank or Profession (taxidermy) 1 rank
   
   Benefit(s): You can attempt a Craft, Heal or Profession check to gain usable resources or a trophy from a creature that has been dead for less than an hour per HD (gentle repose stops the deterioration of the corpse and can be used to extend this timeframe). Only one such result can be gained per creature.
   If the character wants to create a trophy or harvest sellable mundane parts from a creature, the base value of the parts harvested is equal to the creature’s CR squared — 5 gp (increases to CR derived from class levels do not contribute to this value).
   Creature parts that are harvested in this manner will most likely have a modifier to their market value depending on the source, buyer and region.
   
   If a character wants to harvest parts of a creatures remains for components in a mundane, magical or alchemical crafting process, their value can be used as raw materials. Items crafted using creature parts must be made of a suitable material—typically bone or hide, with metal only in extraordinary cases.
   
   If a character wants to harvest parts of a creatures’ corpse for components in a magical item crafting process, it takes 10 minutes and a DC 10 + CR Profession (taxidermy) or Heal check to carefully
   remove the relevant part, then 1 hour and a DC 20 check to preserve it so it won’t rot or otherwise deteriorate if it is to be used more than 1 day after harvesting.
   
   The contributing value of the gained items for mundane or alchemical crafting is: CR*10 GP.
   The contributing value of the gained items for magical crafting is: CR*20 GP, CR+5 XP.
   
   If the slain creatures had an alignment-subtype (evil, good, lawful, chaotic), the created mundane or magical items have a percentile chance of their cumulative CR to have an aura of that alignment. The character can choose to gain one item from a harvested creature or split the total value of it up into multiple items when harvesting. Small and medium creatures yield one potential item, large
   creatures up to four. Every size increase yields another 4 potential items.
   
   Circumstance DC Modifiers:
   

   • First time harvesting that type of creature: +5
   • Creature is a Aberration or Outsider: +5
   • Creature is Favored Enemy: -2
   • Experienced in skinning creature (skinned creature 5+ times): -5
   • Knowledge about the type of creature (i.e. kn. Nature check of CR+10): -2
   • Disregarding pelt/outer layer and focusing on internal organs: -5 (not possible when trying to gain a trophy)

   
   
   
   
6. Spoiler: Magical Potion Usage Rework

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   Original Ruling: Drinking a potion is a standard action, drawing it is a move action (unless items like the potion belt are used).
   New Ruling: Drinking a potion is a swift action. When deliberately using a standard action to do so, the effects of the potion are maximised.
   

[RexDart]

I think Profession (Butcher) should also be applicable to harvesting monster corpses.

One of my characters is the daughter of a butcher and cleric/librarian of a Knowledge deity with Knowledge Devotion, so she likes to butcher interesting corpses and write them up for her academy's research journal....

[InvisibleBison]

Most of these seem fine, but I think the rules for harvesting monster corpses have room for improvement.

1. It seems a bit odd that you can only take one trophy from each kill. If I kill a bear, why can't I pull out its fangs and make each into a necklace?
2. The rule about preserving parts for later use should probably allow harvested parts from several similar creatures to be prepared simultaneously.
3. The value harvested parts contribute to magic item creation relative to the cost of an item drops precipitously as levels increase. Comparing the contribution of a component harvested from CR N creature to the minimal price of a CR N item (found on MIC p. 226) shows that the component starts as 78% of an item's crafting cost at CR/level 1, drops to 8% at CR/level 10, and plummets to 1% at CR/level 20. I think it might be worth considering saying that a harvested component is worth some fixed value of the minimum price of an item of the same level on the aforementioned chart; this would let harvesting components be equally useful at all levels without having to use a messy exponential formula.

[lolcat]

I think Profession (Butcher) should also be applicable to harvesting monster corpses.

One of my characters is the daughter of a butcher and cleric/librarian of a Knowledge deity with Knowledge Devotion, so she likes to butcher interesting corpses and write them up for her academy's research journal....

You are right, i will add that. Any other professions you could think of that could fit?

[lolcat]

Most of these seem fine, but I think the rules for harvesting monster corpses have room for improvement.[*]It seems a bit odd that you can only take one trophy from each kill. If I kill a bear, why can't I pull out its fangs and make each into a necklace?[/LIST]

The thing is that each trophy can be sold for a value. I guess it would not change too much if one could split that up, but the question is if that would make the rule too convoluted for relatively little gain? I'm not sure about that.

Most of these seem fine, but I think the rules for harvesting monster corpses have room for improvement.[*]The rule about preserving parts for later use should probably allow harvested parts from several similar creatures to be prepared simultaneously.[/LIST]

Absolutely, that sounds reasonable.

Most of these seem fine, but I think the rules for harvesting monster corpses have room for improvement.

1. The value harvested parts contribute to magic item creation relative to the cost of an item drops precipitously as levels increase. Comparing the contribution of a component harvested from CR N creature to the minimal price of a CR N item (found on MIC p. 226) shows that the component starts as 78% of an item's crafting cost at CR/level 1, drops to 8% at CR/level 10, and plummets to 1% at CR/level 20. I think it might be worth considering saying that a harvested component is worth some fixed value of the minimum price of an item of the same level on the aforementioned chart; this would let harvesting components be equally useful at all levels without having to use a messy exponential formula.

That is a very good point, yes. Like for example CR of harvested creature equals % of crafting price that can be substituted & the CR has to be at least i.e. 2* the highest spell level used in the item? Or how would you make such a scaling rule?

[Beni-Kujaku]

Great rules. I'd say the salvaging items rule must include something for the artificer, who already had Retain Essence, maybe saying that when using Retain Essence, an artificer can also keep the 75% of the gold value, or at least try to Salvage up to half of the gold value.

Summoning specific creatures seem to be only an advantage to me. I'd balance it by making it more like a familiar. You can bind yourself to a specific summoned creature by making a 1-hour ritual (the summoned creature doesn't disappear during the ritual, but must remain motionless) and paying 100gp. If a specific creature is killed, you can't summon creatures of the same kind with that spell for one day (or more, depending on how much you want to balance it).

[Crake]

Summoning specific creatures seem to be only an advantage to me. I'd balance it by making it more like a familiar. You can bind yourself to a specific summoned creature by making a 1-hour ritual (the summoned creature doesn't disappear during the ritual, but must remain motionless) and paying 100gp. If a specific creature is killed, you can't summon creatures of the same kind with that spell for one day (or more, depending on how much you want to balance it).

Summoning specific creatures is an actual variant from the DMG. One of the downsides of it though, which doesnt seem mentioned, is that if your summon dies, you just straight up lose the ability to summon that kind of creature for 24 hours. If you want to summon another of that creature, you need to spend a higher level spell slot, and attempt to summon multiple, in which case you get one less than normal, since the first one is dead

[lolcat]

Great rules. I'd say the salvaging items rule must include something for the artificer, who already had Retain Essence, maybe saying that when using Retain Essence, an artificer can also keep the 75% of the gold value, or at least try to Salvage up to half of the gold value.

Summoning specific creatures seem to be only an advantage to me. I'd balance it by making it more like a familiar. You can bind yourself to a specific summoned creature by making a 1-hour ritual (the summoned creature doesn't disappear during the ritual, but must remain motionless) and paying 100gp. If a specific creature is killed, you can't summon creatures of the same kind with that spell for one day (or more, depending on how much you want to balance it).

I have to admit i don't know too much about how artificers work concerning Retain Essence, but i'll give it a look, thank you!

Would the CR=% fix i mentioned later seem reasonable to you?