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I wanted to compile a list of tweaks and changes I use for my Homebrew games so I can give my players easy access to it. I wanted to run it by you guys to check for balance and see if I missed anything obvious. Give it a gander and see what you think.
Dwarves- are now small, but can weild medium sized weapons, and count as medium sized creatures for cmd and cmb purposes. They are also now encumbered by armor and lose their hatred racial feature.
Elves- can choose to receive a bonus to Wis instead of Int
Gnomes- can choose to receive a bonus to Int instead of Cha
Halflings- speed is 30ft
Alchemist- nadda
Barbarian- 10 hp, 6 skills/ lvl. trap sense become danger sense, a competence bonus to all saves
Bard- 8 skills/ lvl. versatil performance becomes versatile study. The bard can add any wiz/sorc spell of a level she can cast to her list of spells known.
Cavalier- 6skills/ lvl
Cleric- 4 skills/ lvl and heavy armor prof + tower shields.
Druid- nadda
Fighter- 4 skills/ lvl. Bravery becomes a flat bonus to all will saves.
Gunslinger- nadda
Inquisitor- 8skills/ lvl
Magus- 4 skills/ lvl
Monk- 6 skills/ lvl. Can burn a ki point to get a +1/4 bonus to hit for 1 round.
Oracle- nadda
Paladin- 4skills/ lvl.
Ranger- nadda
Rogue- rogues gain the ninja's ki pool, tricks, and this: this . Trap sense becomes danger sense, see barbarian.
Sorcerer- 6 skills/ lvl
Summoner- 6 skills/ lvl
Witch- 4 skills/ lvl
Wizard- 4 skills/ lvl.
More to come...
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adda boy, i was waiting for this.
I'm adding the healing surges and bloodied conditions to my games. Bloodied increases concentration checks by 5
Concentration is added as a skill again. It gives a +2 competence bonus to most skill checks. If a character is bloodied, he must make a concentration check to perform most skills.
The heal skill allows a character to burn a healing surge, DC 15.
PCs no longer get the base +10 to AC, now they roll their AC check with a d20. A natural 1 is a crit threat. All enemies get a base +11 to attack with no roll.
DR: light armor provides DR 1/-, medium armor provides DR 2/-, heavy armor provides DR 3/-. Shields provide their bonus to AC and ref saves.
Imp weapon finesse- pre req: bab 5. Dex to dmg instead of str with finessable weapons.
Combat expt is no longer a required feat tax for just about everything.
Short haft- you can shorten the threat range of a reach weapon as a free action on your turn only.
Imp short haft- pre req: combat reflexes, short haft. You can attack adjacent targets as well as targets at reach without penalty.
Oversized TWF- pre req: TWF, double slice, str 15. You can weild a 1 handed weapon in your off hand without additional penalties.
Teamwork feats apply to you even if you are the only one who has it. (Much like the Inquisitor)
Also under mechanical changes: bluff and intimidate can be used to taunt a creature to attack you, or make yourself seem like a lesser threat.
I support the ninja rogue mix, and you know I love the Rogue styles, like the feats, not entirely sure what a healing surge does (I have only seen them referenced for 4th addition) does it remove the bloodied condition? Also I take nadda to mean no change and not removal?
Healing surges are from 4th Ed. It's like a personal reserve of CLW potions. I added it mainly to buff the heal skill. Tankier classes get more than squishy classes, but it helps with out of combat healing without draining too many out of pocket resources.
Also under mechanical changes: @ 4, 12, and 20, players get a +1 to 2 stats, and at lvl 8 and 16, they get a +1 to all stats.
This is also from 4th edition, and one of three things they did right IMO. More to come on the third thing later...
PCs no longer get the base +10 to AC, now they roll their AC check with a d20. A natural 1 is a crit threat. All enemies get a base +11 to attack with no roll.
This appears to make no mechanical difference at all, as far as I can tell, save to "reverse" everything. I would find that very hard to get used to as a player. I am also old, so that might have something to do with it.=P
Short haft- you can shorten the threat range of a reach weapon as a free action on your turn only.
As written, this is better than the Polearm Master's 2nd level ability.
I ported in the short haft feat from 3.5, as well, but used the Polearm Master's 2nd-level benefit as a frame of reference. I ended up going with this:
Short Haft [Combat]
A character with this feat can shorten the grip on his spear or polearm with reach and use it against adjacent targets.
Prerequisites Base attack bonus +3, Dexterity 11
Benefit As an immediate action, a character can shorten the grip on his spear or polearm with reach and use it against adjacent targets. This action results in a -4 penalty on attack rolls with that weapon until he spends another immediate action to return to the normal grip.
The AC thing just makes combat more fun. It's really only used if everyone agrees to it.
I'm not too keen on a -4 penalty with short haft that should be a common tactic with anyone actually trained to use a polearm.
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Minions! These enemies are of = or > cr to the party and have compare able feats and class abilities, but they only have 1 HP effectively and 1/4- 16 CR value. Great way to litter a battlefield with threatening yet balanced encounter. This is the third thing that 4th Ed got right IMO.
"Hits" system- similar to the minion, these enemies can take anywhere from 2-5 hits before they fall. Effective CR = 1/4 - 1/2.
Fumble chart- on an attack roll of a natural 1, roll 1d6 to determine effect. *note: this table does not apply if the PCs decide to roll their AC (see above)*
6= just a miss
5= drop weapon
4= dirty trick combat maneuver effect applied to you
3= attack instead hits an adjacent ally
2= you are flat footed until the beginning of your next turn
1= your opponent gets an AoO against you.
Variant casting- after expending daily spell slots, casters can chose to have their spell deals non- leathal dmg to the caster = to the spell lvl + meta magic adjustment.
Love this, Byrd.
I think there are plenty of Combat feats that *any* creature should be able to have access to as a regular move/ability/option in combat.
I like the use of bloodied - loved that from 4e. Less keen on healing surges or minions - though both are/were IMHO interesting and inspired mechanics.
Thanks OSW.
Is there Any other feedback that anyone wants to share?
The 1,2,3 works very well. It lets tanks, tank without being too game breaking. Sometime the difference between an epic victory and a TPK is DR 1/-. It's important to note that this armor DR does stack with some other forms like barbarian DR and adamantine DR. This goes a long way to shore up the d10 I give my barbarians. Dmg mitagation is sometimes alot more important than a high AC. Every little bit helps, for my pcs and my NPCs and mobs.
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How about 10 commandments
1: Thou shalt not inflict realism on your fellow gamer.
Love this, Byrd.
I think there are plenty of Combat feats that *any* creature should be able to have access to as a regular move/ability/option in combat.
I like the use of bloodied - loved that from 4e. Less keen on healing surges or minions - though both are/were IMHO interesting and inspired mechanics.
Btw, I almost forgot one of the most important additions to my Homebrew! Your Homebrew!
These classes are reserved for legendary NPCs and high power PCs.
MCA base classes I have had some very positive responses to these, and love play testing them for my players, NPCs, and BBEGs!
rouge style clarification questions and suggestions
1.whats the effective alchemist level for the for poison bomb ability for the poisoner.
2.i recommend pushing the handlers animal companion to levels 6 and giving them wild empathy at 3rd. as it is, its better than the rangers animal companion in effective druid level, and gained a level earlier.
1. = lvl
2. Good call, maybe wild empathy and a teamwork feat that can be used by the rogue and eventually his companion.
I defiantly agree with the halfling speed increase. Even though they are small they are considered to be light on their feet and fast in every bit of lore I have ever seen.
Yeah, halfling a and dwarves are a bit weird like that. Halflings are fast, and dwarves are small but every bit as strong as a medium sized character. So why not just say that?
Dwarves are as tough as a full sized human too. Marvel comics calls it dense flesh.
updated style doc, will take a polish to the language later.
Thanks toasty!
Any more critiques or ideas?
Good point, it will take some DM discretion I suppose. Thanks for the feedback, and I hope you enjoy!
Important note! Healing is maximized outside of combat... Forgot to throw that in there. Also, Oracle and Alchemist gets 6 skills/ lvl like the sorcerer.
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Just wanted to let you know, my groups rogue has picked his first style, arsenal. Let the playtest begin.
Great! Let me know how it turns out.
Dot. My opinions to come.
Ill see your dot, and raise you a bump...
I'm sorry! I'll post eventually, but my home's IP is awful.
No problem, looking forward to your input. It's just about time I repackaged all the loose ends in this thread anyway.
Weapon groups: feats like weapon focus, specialization, and critical feats apply to all the weapons in that group.
As a trait, a character can trade their class prof for 1 weapon group. (Yay heavens oracles with a scythe!)
Channel positive energy: you gain 1/2 your lvl to the amount healed when targeting allies.
Note: I think I'm almost done here... Can't think of anything super obvious anyway...
Weapon groups: feats like weapon focus, specialization, and critical feats apply to all the weapons in that group.
As a trait, a character can trade their class prof for 1 weapon group. (Yay heavens oracles with a scythe!)
Proficiencies too? That would help with exotic weapon proficiency, making it a worthwhile feat outside of a few particularly powerful exotic weapons.
Also rogues already have access to ninja tricks. Via the ninja trick rogue talent.
Weapon groups: feats like weapon focus, specialization, and critical feats apply to all the weapons in that group.
As a trait, a character can trade their class prof for 1 weapon group. (Yay heavens oracles with a scythe!)
Proficiencies too? That would help with exotic weapon proficiency, making it a worthwhile feat outside of a few particularly powerful exotic weapons.
Also rogues already have access to ninja tricks. Via the ninja trick rogue talent.
Yes, there are plenty of cheesy ways to get an exotic weapon without blowing the feat. I'm just cutting straight to the chase here.
Also, the ninja has been relegated to an archetype. The rogue gains the Ninja's ki pool (which is now keyed off int) and tricks. The ninja archetype keeps its weapon prof, poison use, no trace, light steps, and so forth. And the style paths are fully compatable with every archetype because they are additions, not substitutions.
Imp unarmed strike taken as a feat works as the monks version.
Greater unarmed strike would give you the monks scaling dmg. (Pre req is BaB +6)
I fully support intelligent (+2 Int) Gnomes over charisma Gnomes. Gnomes are illusionists, not bards! (I know you leave it open to either, but still...)
I also go back to 3.5 for my Half Orcs. Instead of +2 anywhere, they get +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int, -2 Cha. This is a net 0 gain, but 3.5 was a net -2 loss and it didn't stop anyone from playing them. This puts them back at the top of the heap as a melee class, but significantly reduces their spell casting potential. I have a Half Orc inquisitor in my game with those mods and no complaints.
This:
Monk- 6 skills/ lvl. Can burn a ki point to get a +1/4 bonus to hit for 1 round.
What does that mean exactly? Is it one ki to get +1/4 per level? So at 8th you would get +2 for one round? That doesn't seem to go nearly far enough. I would at lest make it last 1 minute. And I assume it is a swift action to spend the ki?
Rather than go on about my own house rules I will just say that a lot of what you have is similar to what I have done myself.
1 minute, you say... The idea has merit... The concept came about because of complaints about monks not being able to hit anything. I suppose that burning 1 ki for 1 minute worth of bang seems workable without being game breaking.
1 minute, you say... The idea has merit... The concept came about because of complaints about monks not being able to hit anything. I suppose that burning 1 ki for 1 minute worth of bang seems workable without being game breaking.
Maybe try their level in rounds per point.
Sorry for the wait. Love the healing outside of combat. If the game wasn't balanced in terms of "renewable per day resources" I may have a game where everyone is full healed after every fight except in certain circumstances. Spells renew, etc. But then the casters nova every fight, so I don't like it in PF.
For increasing the cost of the very high attributes, I like the basic idea, but it should be a bit cheaper, I think. I like how 3.5 started at 8 and you couldn't go down. I don't know for sure how I would do it, but here's a thought.
I was doing a table, but it's taking too long. XD
Gain 2 points for going to -7.
Start at 8.
Costs 1 point for each up to 14. (6 total)
Costs 2 points to get to 15. (8 total)
Costs 3 points to get to 16. (11 total)
Costs 4 points to get to 17. (15 total)
Costs 6 points to get to 18. (21 total)
Make it costly to be a SAD, but being very MAD is still do-able. It's not completely horrible to max out a stat for a fighter or some such, but it hurts in other areas.
Thanks for the review. I believe in renewable resources, and wands that last an entire adventuring career.
All of my wands and staves use x/day charges based on spell lvl.
Lvl 1 spell = 5/day
Lvl 2 = 4/day
Lvl3 = 3/day
Lvl 4 = 2/day
And lvl 5 spells are usable 1/day
Anything higher is in a staff that is usable 1/ week or month depending on the spell.
Short haft- you can shorten the threat range of a reach weapon as a free action on your turn only.As written, this is better than the Polearm Master's 2nd level ability.
I ported in the short haft feat from 3.5, as well, but used the Polearm Master's 2nd-level benefit as a frame of reference. I ended up going with this:
Thanks for pointing that out. Short haft replaces the ability as written.
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Shadowdancer PrC tweaks, still under construction as per the thread.
Some Archetypes still under construction.
I promise I will consolidate and clean up the mess and present all changes in a more comprehensible way as soon as I get the chance... For now consider this my work area.
How about giving Fighters a free EWP? I like most of the stuff, but tbh the dwarf change seems more awkward to me than current dwarves. I'd also say that some classes are getting more skill points that they don't really need, but that may just be me. I'd probably just increase all 2+int classes to 4+int, and not scale any of the higher ones.
If they choose a weapon group that has it in it then they are good.
The dwarf change takes some getting used to, but it makes more sense then them being "small" medium creatures with an unlimited weight allowance.
You may be right about the skills, but I encourage a well rounded skill selection for each player. Ill give it another look and see about balancing it out. I don't want the rogue to be the only one with 8+ skills the same way I don't want the barbarian to be the only one with a d12 hp. It's a sloppy symmetry IMO. The most of the game mechanics are grouped by threes, with the two sore thumbs being barb (hp), and rogue (skills).
Thanks for your comments!
Why would you ever play a ranger using your rules set?
The entire niche of the Ranger class was that it is a halfway point between Fighter and Rogue; you play the ranger if you want to have a full BAB and have a decent skill selection. By also giving this to the barbarian, the ranger has no niche until they get their limited spellcasting and animal companion at 4th level.
I think you answered your own question... Limited spells and an animal companion are pretty different than rage, SA, and a ton of feats. If you don't want to play a ranger, then don't play a ranger... If you are looking for a melee class that has a wilderness feel to it, then now you have options.
But your point has been made, and I am rethinking some of the class skills. Barb at 4 and ranger at 8 was one of the ones I was thinking about.
Quite liking the rogue styles. May steal them for a game someday with some slight tweaks, and credit to you, of course.