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It's been 3 years since I finished running my last Pathfinder campaign. With how much I'm enjoying the current campaign I'm playing in, and seeing the GM (whose much more experience dthen I am) suffer the same problems I had, I've decided to try my hand at running the Strange Aeons adventure path coming out in August.
You can find details of my proposed houserules for this campaign here.
Here's the TLDR version for the house rules that I'm using:
- Players get 20 points on buying ability scores, within certain limitations.
- Players can choose to play any of the core races or Nagaji (Nagaji are allowed for a campaign specific reason).
- Players can choose from 15 classes. These classes are pulled from the CRB, APG, Occult Adventures and Pathfinder Unchained.
- Players cannot multiclass but may use the secondary class rules from Pathfinder Unchained.
- Players cannot choose a racial favoured class bonus, but must instead choose either a bonus hit point or bonus skill point.
- Players can choose any feats or spells from the CRB, APG, UM, OA and Horror Adventures (with a few exceptions, the last book being dependent on what's actually in it).
- Players can gain a drawback in order to gain a bonus trait.
- Retraining for feats and spells is allowed.
- Alternate rules for healing and dying are being used (Wands of CLW and Infernal Healing are banned with boosted overnight natural healing replacing them).
- Pathfinder Unchained rules for Diseases and Poisons are being used.
- Iterative Attacks are made at full BAB although characters only gain a maximum of 2 iterative attacks.
- Limited Magic is being used.
- Significantly simplified inherent bonuses are being used.
These houserules are being used in order to emphasise the themes of the campaign and lessen the gap between characters. In the last campaign I ran as well as stories I've heard of other campaigns, having a wide gap between characters in their attack bonus o0r AC can severely imbalance the game. Fights can be cakewalks for 1 character and a complete flurry of misses for another character (and not due to poor rolling). The number of buffs high level characters can put on also makes it extremely difficult to have monsters that challenge the players.
Pure casters gain the most significant nerfs, although they can handle such a nerf. If they turn out to underperform, magic items can severely boost their capabilities. Finally fights can quickly feel like a waste of time if they don't risk life or limb. By removing wands of healing (potions are roughly 3 times as expensive) it will hopefully allow me to throw easier fights at the players that impact the number of fights they can survive in a day.
So what do people think? What house rules have you used and what was the effect on the game? Would you be willing to play in a game using the house rules I've proposed?
Here's three more houserules I'm thinking of implementing.
Weapon Proficiencies
There are 12 weapon groups that are used with each weapon placed in one of those groups.
Full BAB Classes: You start off with proficiency in 3 weapon groups. At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter (5th level, 7th level, etc) you gain proficiency in an additional weapon group for a total of 12 weapon group proficiencies at 19th level.
3/4 BAB Classes: You start off with proficiency in 2 weapon groups. At 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter (8th level, 12th level, etc) you gain proficiency in an additional weapon group for a total of 7 weapon group proficiencies at 20th level.
1/2 BAB Classes: You start off with proficiency in 1 weapon group. At 6th level and every 6 levels thereafter (12th level and 18th level) you gain proficiency in an additional weapon group for a total of 4 weapon group proficiencies at 18th level.
Skill Proficiencies
Being proficient in a skill means you get to add your level to those skill rolls. If a character becomes proficient in a class skill they gain a +3 bonus to skill checks with that skill.
Arcanist/Wizard/Witch/Psychic: You start with proficiency in 5 skills. At 3rd level every 2 levels thereafter (5th level, 7th level, etc) you gain proficiency in 1 additional skill for a maximum of 14 skills at level 20.
Rogue/Ninja: You start with proficiency in 10 skills. At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter (10th level, 15th level, etc) you become proficient in 1 additional skill for a maximum of 14 skills at level 20.
Bard: You start with proficiency in 8 skills. At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter (10th level, 15th level, etc) you become proficient in 1 additional skill for a maximum of 13 skills at level 20.
Alchemist/Bloodrager/Hunter/Investigator/Magus/Mesmerist/Occultist/Ranger/S layer: You start with proficiency in 6 skills. At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter (10th level, 15th level, etc) you become proficient in 1 additional skill for a maximum of 10 skills at level 20.
Inquisitor/Vigilante: You start with proficiency in 7 skills. At 8th level and again 16th level you become proficient in an additional skill for a maximum of 9 skills at level 16.
Antipaladin/Barbarian/Brawler/Cavalier/Cleric/Druid/Fighter/Gunslinger/Kine ticist/Medium/Monk/Oracle/Paladin/Samurai/Shaman/Skald/Spiritualist/Sorcere r/Summoner/Swashbuckler/Warpriest: You start with proficiency in 5 skills. At 8th level and again 16th level you become proficient in an additional skill for a maximum of 7 skills at level 16.
Languages, Professions and Crafting
A character can spend 90 days of downtime and either learn a new language or to become proficient in either a profession or craft. It is expected that when studying a new language a character will spend their free time not during down time to practice and study the language.
Each character may start the game with 1 free bonus language or proficiency in a single profession or craft.
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The weapon proficiencies is designed to encourage players to not always use the optimal weapon but to instead have different characters excel at different weapons.
Skill proficiencies is designed to remove the book-keeping required in default Pathfinder and to also give a boost to the non-Int few skill point classes. Also with 33 skills in the game (excluding profession and craft), the traditional party of 4 should be able to start with training in 20 skills allowing them to call upon a majority of the skills. They can also finish the game with training in 42 skills, allowing for an overlap of 9 skills.
Profession/Languages/Craft rules allow languages to be learned at a bit more of a reasonable pace then 1 a level and also enable characters to not waste skill points on what are essentially flavour skills.
In place of Skill Proficiencies, here's an alternative.
The following classes gain the following skill points (with unlisted classes gaining a similar number):
Fighter, Cleric, Psychic, Sorcerer, Witch, Wizard: 2 + INT MOD
Alchemist, Barbarian, Medium, Occultist, Oracle: 4 + INT MOD
Bard, Inquisitor, Mesmerist, Ranger: 5 + INT MOD
Rogue: 7 + INT MOD
The following skills have been combined:
Acrobatics now includes Acrobatics, Escape Artist and Ride.
Persuade now includes Diplomacy and Handle Animal.
Knowledge (Arcana) now includes Knowledge (Arcana) and Spellcraft.
Knowledge (History) now includes Knowledge (History) and Knowledge (Nobility).
Knowledge (Local) now includes Knowledge (Local) and Knowledge (Nobility).
Sneak now includes Stealth and Disguise.
Any class that treats one or more of the old skills as a class skill, gains the new skill as a class skill.
Profession includes the skills of Knowledge (Engineering) and Appraising. A character may choose Profession (Engineer) or Profession (Appraiser). Profession would be gained as listed above (using downtime with each character getting 1 free profession, craft or language at level 1).
This reduces the difference between classes and reduces the number of skills without overhauling the entire system.