I think the Appraise DCs are low, so I changed them as follows:
Double the DC to appraise non-magical items.
ID magic items: DC 20 + 2x caster levelPrior to this change, the elven wizard was auto-identifying every magic item with just Detect Magic.
What was the problem with that?
Identifying items simply bogs down the PC's and wastes time. Identifying items "on-the-fly" doesn't break the game. So they get to use the stuff a little bit earlier... it's no big deal. At high levels it’s almost an auto identify anyway. Most players find identifying stuff irritating, I've never seen anyone "role-play" identifying something, they just pay some gold and you tell them what it is.
I'm using the Unearthed Arcana "spell recharge" rules for the game I'm currently DMing for the same reason.
True, they achieve the same aim. But (never having tried them) I fear that the required bookkeeping when a specific spell becomes available again could be tedious and error-prone. In my version, it's just one roll per spell cast right after the combat is over.
I think the Appraise DCs are low, so I changed them as follows:
Double the DC to appraise non-magical items.
ID magic items: DC 20 + 2x caster levelPrior to this change, the elven wizard was auto-identifying every magic item with just Detect Magic.
What was the problem with that?
Identifying items simply bogs down the PC's and wastes time. Identifying items "on-the-fly" doesn't break the game. So they get to use the stuff a little bit earlier... it's no big deal. At high levels it’s almost an auto identify anyway. Most players find identifying stuff irritating, I've never seen anyone "role-play" identifying something, they just pay some gold and you tell them what it is.
I like there to be some mystery to the magic items they pick up. I'll admit this is definitely a preference thing. But I want to have the option open to slip in some cool item or unique item or cursed item that the players don't immediately recognize for what it truly is. I suppose I could do that even if they auto-identify everything, but then they'd instantly be able to pick out "special" items vs. items they're just not sure what they do.
With my raised difficulties, it doesn't become auto-identify on high-level items. And at that level, I don't really care anymore if they auto identify +1 swords.
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Am I the only one who banned the spiked chain?No, I did it, too. I once saw a quote in someone's sig that amounted to the spiked chain being there to help breed stronger DMs who weren't afraid to ban things from the core rules. For the record, I banned it before I saw the quote.
Same here, although I do allow chain weapons, that do less damage (1d6 and 1d4), as I mentioned upthread.
I think the Appraise DCs are low, so I changed them as follows:
Double the DC to appraise non-magical items.
ID magic items: DC 20 + 2x caster levelPrior to this change, the elven wizard was auto-identifying every magic item with just Detect Magic.
What was the problem with that?
Identifying items simply bogs down the PC's and wastes time. Identifying items "on-the-fly" doesn't break the game. So they get to use the stuff a little bit earlier... it's no big deal. At high levels it’s almost an auto identify anyway. Most players find identifying stuff irritating, I've never seen anyone "role-play" identifying something, they just pay some gold and you tell them what it is.
I like there to be some mystery to the magic items they pick up. I'll admit this is definitely a preference thing. But I want to have the option open to slip in some cool item or unique item or cursed item that the players don't immediately recognize for what it truly is. I suppose I could do that even if they auto-identify everything, but then they'd instantly be able to pick out "special" items vs. items they're just not sure what they do.
With my raised difficulties, it doesn't become auto-identify on high-level items. And at that level, I don't really care anymore if they auto identify +1 swords.
I'm with you on identifying items. Some of that goes back to my 1st ed roots and the possiblity of cursed items.
It progressed with their level, don't remember how exactly though right now. :)1) I hate that a +1 weapon will overcome DR 20/magic. One of my houserules is that each enhancement bonus will overcome 5/magic. So a +3 weapon will negate up to 15/magic. If you face a BBEG with 20/magic and have a +3 weapon, the BBEG effectively has 5/magic vs. your weapon. This system adds significant value to +2 and +3 weapons.I like this too, but I am curious how you resolve it with regards to monks and their ki strike ability. They just get "magic" added to their unarmed attacks without any plus.
Now that I'm not on my phone, I'll elaborate a little more. The Monk got the appropriate "+" equivalent at levels when everyone else would start being able to afford a +X weapon per character wealth guidelines. I don't exactly remember what levels they were at, probably because I've never DM'd a monk into anything past the first few levels.
Now that I'm not on my phone, I'll elaborate a little more. The Monk got the appropriate "+" equivalent at levels when everyone else would start being able to afford a +X weapon per character wealth guidelines. I don't exactly remember what levels they were at, probably because I've never DM'd a monk into anything past the first few levels.
You could always just use the spell greater magic fang/weapon as the template.
Disabled and Dying, house rule
Disabled
Hit Points ≤ 0 but ≥ Negative Constitution Bonus
When a character’s current hit point total drops to a number
between 0 and his Constitution bonus (if any) expressed as a
negative number, he becomes disabled. He is not unconscious,
but is close to it. He can take only a standard or a move action
each round, and if he performs any strenuous activity, he takes
1 point of damage after the completing the act. Strenuous
activities include running, attacking, or using any ability that
requires physical exertion or mental concentration. A disabled
character makes all attack and damage rolls, saving throws, and
checks at a –2 circumstance penalty.
If the character has a Constitution bonus, any hit point
total from 0 to a negative number equal to his Constitution
bonus results in disabled status. This means that a character
with a +3 Constitution bonus has a disabled range of 0 to –3.
If the character at 0 hit points takes a strenuous action, his hit
points drop to –1, and he remains disabled. If he drops to –4
hp, the character is dying. A character with no Constitution
bonus or one with a Constitution penalty becomes disabled at
0 hit points and is dying at –1 hit point.
Dying
Hit Points < Negative Constitution Bonus but ≥
Negative Constitution Score
When a character’s current hit point total drops to a
negative number between his Constitution bonus +1 and his
negative Constitution score (inclusive), the character is dying.
He immediately falls unconscious and can take no actions.
For example, a character with a Constitution score of 16 has
a Constitution bonus of +3. Should that character’s hit points
drop to anywhere between –4 to –16, he is dying.
At the end of each round, starting with the round in which
the character began dying, roll d% to see whether he stabilizes.
The character has a percentage chance equal to his Constitution
score to stabilize. So a character with a Constitution 16 has a 16
percent chance to stabilize. If he doesn’t, he loses 1 hit point. If
the character’s hit points drop to a negative number lower than
his Constitution score, he is dead.
An ally can stabilize a dying character with a Heal check.
The Diffi culty Class for the check is equal to 10 + the character’s
number of negative hit points. Thus, stabilizing a character with
–11 hit points requires a DC 21 Heal check.
If any sort of healing cures the dying character of even
1 point of damage, he stops losing hit points and becomes
stable.
Healing that raises the dying character’s hit points back to
equal his negative Constitution bonus makes him conscious and
disabled. Healing that raises the character’s hit points to 1 or
more makes him fully functional again, just as if he had never
been disabled or dying
Dead
Hit Points < Negative Constitution Score
If a character’s hit points drop to a negative number lower
than his Constitution score, he is dead. A character can also die
from taking ability damage or suffering ability drain that reduces
his Constitution to 0.
Stable Characters
and Recovery
An hour after a tended, dying character becomes stable,
roll d%. The character has a percentage chance equal to his
Constitution score of becoming conscious, at which point he
becomes disabled. If the character remains unconscious, he has
the same chance to revive and rise to disabled status every hour.
Even if unconscious, the character recovers hit points naturally
(see below). He returns to normal when his hit points rise to
1 or higher.
A character who stabilizes on his own (by making the d%
roll while dying) and has no one to tend him still loses hit points,
just more slowly. The character has a percentage chance equal
to his Constitution score each hour of becoming conscious.
Each time he misses the hourly roll to become conscious, he
loses 1 hit point. The character also does not recover hit points
through natural healing.
Even once the character becomes conscious and disabled,
if unaided he still will not recover hit points naturally. Instead,
each day an unaided character has a percentage chance equal
to his Constitution score to start recovering hit points naturally
(starting with the day he regains consciousness); otherwise, he
loses 1 hp.
Once an unaided character starts recovering hit points
naturally, he is no longer in danger of losing hit points (even if
his current hit point total is negative). Thus, a character horribly
injured and left for dead may still recover and crawl back
to safety. In the World of Darkness, though, characters are often
better off dying than being taken alive.
True, they achieve the same aim. But (never having tried them) I fear that the required bookkeeping when a specific spell becomes available again could be tedious and error-prone. In my version, it's just one roll per spell cast right after the combat is over.
I'm not going to argue it's better, it's just what I use. :-)
I'm with you on identifying items. Some of that goes back to my 1st ed roots and the possiblity of cursed items.
Maybe the Curse doesn't activate [become detectable] until the item is worn/used etc., or the check is very high.
Once a party gets hit with a cursed item, they'll always identify everything "just in case" so the next one you throw at them will probably have no impact. The end result is players having to wait for identification [which most players don't like].
If you use the above "hidden" curse rule [only detectable with a very high check], you get to have cursed items play a more frequent part of your game [if that's what you want].
If an item is cursed, it usually acts like a standard item. That says to me that most of the time a skill check is going to identify it as the standard item. Just like some near-human races get a +10 to disguise themselves as humans, I would say that unless the succeed at a +10 over the DC, then they only think it is the standard item. They could get a further 'bonus' of adding the caster level needed to create the item to that +10. That could put it up to a +30 needed to identify a high level cursed item properly.
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Some of the rules my group uses, with hopefully enjoyable names:
Atlantic City Wants Dealers: Critical Hit and Critical Miss Decks are in full use.
Take Two Aspirin and Call Me From the Grave: There are no Healing Belts. EVER.
I Watched Fist of the North Star Until I Got It: No Vow of Poverty. I let one of my Second Darkness players do it, now I have a rule against it! ^_^
Should CharGen Be This Fatal?: Roll 2d6+6 seven times, drop the lowest score, minimum modifier before racial bonuses is +8. Assign scores as you see fit.
Dude, You Rolled Poorly: Reroll natural 1s when rolling Hit Points. Especially if you're a Barbarian or Knight.
It's Pronounced "Ass-imar.": Aasimar and Tieflings are playable now.
Oh, Crap, Who Had the Healing Magick?!: Characters die at -Constitution or -10, whichever's more helpful. Should a dying character actually reach this threshold, they have one! More! Round! to be stabilized before the party starts arguing over who gets the ex-bard's Vorpalized Mithril +5 Flash-Frying Swiss Army Chainkatana of Ungodly Speed.
Missed It By That Much: We use action points, just like d20 Modern's. You can add Xd6 to any d20 roll once per round, or automatically stabilize yourself if you're dying. If you critically miss a target, you regain one action point (to balance out your crappy luck.)
Shelyn Preserve Us: Natural healing rate is Level + Constitution Modifier for eight hours' rest.
I Get Any of These Ones On the List, Right?: Whenever entitled to a normal feat, characters get a "crappy feat" as well. This is usually something like Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Whatever), or any of the "+2 to two skills" feats. Other feats are considered crappy on a class-by-class basis. (Actual Example: Extra Smite is crappy for one of Iomedae's noble Paladins, it is decidedly NOT crappy for a Crusader screaming drunken devotions to Cayden Cailean!) This rule's been falling out of favor with us recently.
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My House Rules:
New Feats (either I made or used from other sources:
Skilled: Player gains two additional skill points per level. Feat maybe taken multiple times.
Hit Points Changes
I give one extra HD to each player upon PC creation and is ONLY given to ORIGINAL PC's in the campaign as a boon. SO if you die and change PC's you didn't get the additional HP's. So a Fighter with 16 CON at level 1 would have 26 HP (which is awesome) and a wizard with 14 CON would have 12 hp. Extra HD meant extra con bonus as well. THis was mainlu done to avoid the level 1 bad luck deaths and to encourge players to keep the SAME PC the entiure time so I could link things to players background in the campaigns.
Critical and Fumbles:
I use the crit and fumble decks
Spells:
Identify - spell is VERY differant for me now. I hated the slowing down of campaign to identify magic items. The spell last 10 minutes and doesn't a 100 gp pearl anymore. It can't tell if the item is cursed. Allow the skill add's to the "lore Value" of the player. SO this spell doesn't auto identify.
Skills:
I gave each class a "Lore Value" when it comes to identifing magic items. THis was to allow the speeding up of campaign logistics.
Formula is being reworked for pathfinder rules but basically I assign a base GP value to each rank of skills in Know: Arcane and Spellcraft. Then player can get bonus points for magic item creation feats, and the bard get to add in his bardic knowleage. Each player is told what gp value they can "auto-identify" when they discover magic items. The "Perfect" setup can identify a 120,000 GP item at level 20.
THe higher level magic spells such as legend lore are still needed for those uber items. The auto-identy process NEVER finds cursed items.
Alignment:
WHen running adventure Paths I Banned N, CN, and all evil. I have 10 players and sometimes this was just too needed.
EXP:
When running the adventure paths (Age of Worms and SHackled City) I offered a 10% XP kick for any session where NO ONE DIED. This was done to enourge team play and get a few people to play a cleric or similar class. THose adventure paths are HARD to run with so many players and at times I had hard times properly scaling things. Also like in all games players would miss a session or two and this rule help people catch up in level. The LEVEL suggestion in the AP aren't suggestions....its the rule ;-)
Other Rules:
- Players can use ANYTHING in the PHB. Anything found in the DMG was at the DM's option and not a "RULE" per se. THe other splat book stuff was ALWAYS at DM' approval due to some of it being outdated, reprintted else where, or just plain broken.
- PLayers must use printed sheets. I had at one point we had 6 labtops in the game. THe heat build up and bad AC was a killer, plus it was to much amps on the curcuit. Sometimes players would leave the sound on and play games and disrupt play. Drove me nuts.
- All players had to use the same format of printed sheet.
Comfort rules:
- PLayers who brought food or drinks to the game where all could share got bonus XP. Less time needed in mid game for pizza internet delivery orders.
- Players who help me build my 10x5 foot gaming table got bonus xp
- Players who help me rewire the game room to add AC, and insulation, and etc. is about to get bonus exp. (we play in my 2 car garage AKA the "MAN ROOM", AKA the only place where the Wife lets me keep 10+ geeks and my gaming stuff)
Semi-Fake Edit:
and last but not least it was -100 xp times your current level to point out the DM's spelling errors and absolute lack of proper english.
I use the Vitality/Wounds Points system from UA, with a modified critical system.
Critical hits skip over Vitality Points (which are equal to normal HP) and go straight to Wound Points (equal to Constisution Score) damage. Damage is not doubled on a critical hit. Weapons with a higher multiplier than x2 are given a wider threat range instead (x3 becomes 19-20, x4 becomes 18-20).
If a player's Wound Points drop to zero, he is immediately disabled. From there, -1 to -9 wound points is unconscious and dying, while -10 is dead, as normal.
Healing goes to Wound Points first, then Vitality Points.
I've found that this lets players last a little longer at low levels, since they effectively get 8 or more HP at 1st level (I use 2d6+6 for abilites), but still allows for sudden deaths at higher levels.
I also use a modified Taint system that is specific to my campaign, and various homebrew feats, templates, and classes to match.
All corebook material is fine, all splatbook material must be approved on a case-by-case basis, as must any prestige class.
For the sake of Pathfinder, now that I have the book, I'll probably have to re-work some of my homebrew stuff, but I'm gonna keep my VP.
Casting defensively DC=10+Threatening creatures BAB+(spell levelx2)
Takes into account the relative power of the threatening creature and the difficulty of the spell. The current rule of DC=15+2xspell level was too easy in our opinion.
We also tweaked the two weapon fighting feat tree.
TWF--Stays the same
ITWF--+1 on all attack
GTWF--additional +1 on all attacks
added a feat Superior TWF--additional +1 on all attacks, available at 16th lvl
Perfect TWF--additional +1 on all attacks, available at 20th lvl.
Hasn't overpowered the Ranger too badly. If Rogues take the feats, they have to take additional feats to apply their sneak, haven't had a chance to playtest this yet.
Houserules? I've had access to the final Pathfinder rules for 2 days, and I'm already up to several dozen pages of recommendations... My players are likely to kill me.
"Kill the GM. Kill the GM." sung to the tune of "Kill the Wabbit!"
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Some of the rules my group uses, with hopefully enjoyable names:
Atlantic City Wants Dealers: Critical Hit and Critical Miss Decks are in full use.
Me too.
Take Two Aspirin and Call Me From the Grave: There are no Healing Belts. EVER.
My Second Darkness group has no healer at all, so I'mma have to say, nope!
I Watched Fist of the North Star Until I Got It: No Vow of Poverty. I let one of my Second Darkness players do it, now I have a rule against it! ^_^
Haven't had to deal with it, its long been figured that the stat boosts are usually unable to make up for the items they could have. Of course, that's theory craft. Even still, until I have that problem, nope!
Should CharGen Be This Fatal?: Roll 2d6+6 seven times, drop the lowest score, minimum modifier before racial bonuses is +8. Assign scores as you see fit.
4d6 Drop lowest dice, roll seven times, drop lowest score. So once again NOPE! I like my players to feel like they're powerful, not luck sacks.
Dude, You Rolled Poorly: Reroll natural 1s when rolling Hit Points. Especially if you're a Barbarian or Knight.
Plans a good one boss! Me too!
It's Pronounced "Ass-imar.": Aasimar and Tieflings are playable now.
I let it slide to begin with, not on an adventure path, but in a campaign where they started at 5. Still with the new paizo rules, ME TOO!
Oh, Crap, Who Had the Healing Magick?!: Characters die at -Constitution or -10, whichever's more helpful. Should a dying character actually reach this threshold, they have one! More! Round! to be stabilized before the party starts arguing over who gets the ex-bard's Vorpalized Mithril +5 Flash-Frying Swiss Army Chainkatana of Ungodly Speed.
Fair enough. ME TOO!
Missed It By That Much: We use action points, just like d20 Modern's. You can add Xd6 to any d20 roll once per round, or automatically stabilize yourself if you're dying. If you critically miss a target, you regain one action point (to balance out your crappy luck.)
I couldn't do that, one of my players would have more action points than he would know what to do with. NOPE!
Shelyn Preserve Us: Natural healing rate is Level + Constitution Modifier for eight hours' rest.
That's reasonable enough. ME TOO!
I Get Any of These Ones On the List, Right?: Whenever entitled to a normal feat, characters get a "crappy feat" as well. This is usually something like Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Whatever), or any of the "+2 to two skills" feats. Other feats are considered crappy on a class-by-class basis. (Actual Example: Extra Smite is crappy for one of Iomedae's noble Paladins, it is decidedly NOT crappy for a Crusader screaming drunken devotions to Cayden Cailean!) This rule's been falling out of favor with us...
I don't know, that's a bit too much feat grabbing for my liking. Also Crappy feats are pretty subjective...NOPE!
If I could, I'd use the harrow deck as well. I think it would add a cool flavor to the game, and allow players to have a bit of luck about them.
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Mostly @Dissinger:
We only banned Healing Belts because one of the players usually gets shanghaied into playing a healer. (Usually me- Favored Soul of Desna in Rise of the Runelords, Crusader of Cayden Cailean in Curse of the Crimson Throne, and now a Bard in Council of Thieves. At least almost every party member we have in CoT can heal somewhat.)
I know the whole "crappy feat" thing's rather subjective- that's why our group's falling away from it now. =p (Those interested, our list started as Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will, Skill Focus, Improved Initiative, Toughness, Acrobatic, Alertness, Animal Affinity, Athletic, Deceitful, Deft Hands, Endurance, Magical Aptitude, Persuasive, Self Sufficient, and Stealthy.)
We also used to do the 4d6.Highest3, but 2d6+6 stuck with us for some odd reason. =/
Side note, Dissinger: I haven't seen the new aasimar yet, only the new goblin, tengu, and tieflings. Here's hoping aasimar get a stat reduction in the Bestiary!
That's Gonna Leave a Mark: Shortswords are now Slashing or Piercing, whichever you think's gonna be more useful.
Some ones I've been working on:
Damage Threshold: Monsters get a pool of Hit Points that refreshes each round rather then DR to make them tough but to allow the wizard with a dagger to still contribute to a fight.
Wound Points: Equal to the Con Score + level. You'd loose them after you lost hit points. The only thing that would bypass HP would be what had originally caused death effects (or close enough). For instance, Disintegrate would do 5d6 WP on a failed save, 5d6 HP on a successful save. Negative levels on a Vampires slam would do the number of Neg Lvls in damage to Wound Points. You become staggered when you take WP damage, but this only last 1 round if you have HP left.
Numbers of attacks: as you progress in BAB you get access to feats that allow you to attack as a Move, Swift, and Interrupt instead of the multiple attacks that you normally get. You get to make these attacks at your full BAB as the trade off. Things like Two weapon fighting would add an extra attack on the standard action at the normal penalties to all attacks.
Weapons: Each weapon has a base damage and the damage type modifies the critical threat range and multiplier. Martial Weapons would allow an enhancement from a list of abilities and exotic weapons would add another from a larger list. The idea is that you can have your simple viking style broadsword and then you have a medieval/Ren. longsword.
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Some ones I've been working on:
Damage Threshold: Monsters get a pool of Hit Points that refreshes each round rather then DR to make them tough but to allow the wizard with a dagger to still contribute to a fight.
Eh, that kills the Gricks in Second Darkness. They only have 9 HP and their CR 3 is done because they have DR 10 vs. Magic.
Wound Points: Equal to the Con Score + level. You'd loose them after you lost hit points. The only thing that would bypass HP would be what had originally caused death effects (or close enough). For instance, Disintegrate would do 5d6 WP on a failed save, 5d6 HP on a successful save. Negative levels on a Vampires slam would do the number of Neg Lvls in damage to Wound Points. You become staggered when you take WP damage, but this only last 1 round if you have HP left.
That's an interesting concept. I think I recognize it from the SaGa series.
Numbers of attacks: as you progress in BAB you get access to feats that allow you to attack as a Move, Swift, and Interrupt instead of the multiple attacks that you normally get. You get to make these attacks at your full BAB as the trade off. Things like Two weapon fighting would add an extra attack on the standard action at the normal penalties to all attacks.
My only problem with this is that swift actions are precious to certain classes, and the lack of actions could really murder them.
Weapons: Each weapon has a base damage and the damage type modifies the critical threat range and multiplier. Martial Weapons would allow an enhancement from a list of abilities and exotic weapons would add another from a larger list. The idea is that you can have your simple viking style broadsword and then you have a medieval/Ren. longsword.
I'm just not getting it, its a bit too out of the box for my head to properly grasp.
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Mostly @Dissinger:
We only banned Healing Belts because one of the players usually gets shanghaied into playing a healer. (Usually me- Favored Soul of Desna in Rise of the Runelords, Crusader of Cayden Cailean in Curse of the Crimson Throne, and now a Bard in Council of Thieves. At least almost every party member we have in CoT can heal somewhat.)
Yeah, the other group had a bunch of healing belts before I joined as a Cleric for Curse of the Crimson Throne. Needless to say, they were happy to have someone like me. They did however, get upset they spent the gold on the belts.
I know the whole "crappy feat" thing's rather subjective- that's why our group's falling away from it now. =p (Those interested, our list started as Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will, Skill Focus, Improved Initiative, Toughness, Acrobatic, Alertness, Animal Affinity, Athletic, Deceitful, Deft Hands, Endurance, Magical Aptitude, Persuasive, Self Sufficient, and Stealthy.)
Glad to see you guys caught on...
We also used to do the 4d6.Highest3, but 2d6+6 stuck with us for some odd reason. =/
Well you only have a 1 in 36 chance of rolling snake eyes, and the average is seven. SO having an average of 13 in a stat just seems nice.
Side note, Dissinger: I haven't seen the new aasimar yet, only the new goblin, tengu, and tieflings. Here's hoping aasimar get a stat reduction in the Bestiary!
Oh yes, yes indeed. With the love they gave tiefling, I needs to see it. It was pointed out that like the displacer beast, the aasimar was a Wizard's exclusive product, so they may have to rename the race, but even still a fundamental counterpart to tiefling is just needed.
That's Gonna Leave a Mark: Shortswords are now Slashing or Piercing, whichever you think's gonna be more useful.
It makes sense. I never got the whole "its a short sword, that means it attacks like a dagger..."
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Oh yes, yes indeed. With the love they gave tiefling, I needs to see it. It was pointed out that like the displacer beast, the aasimar was a Wizard's exclusive product, so they may have to rename the race, but even still a fundamental counterpart to tiefling is just needed.
Nah, Paizo can still call them aasimar- the PRPG Corebook outright mentions aasimar (page 406, ALTERNATIVE RACES sidebar) and they show up in the d20SRD (under "Planetouched" in the Monsters listing.)
Comparing the Tengu from Oriental Adventures to their PRPG counterparts, though, I gotta say, PRPG Tengu get the better deal =p
Eh, that kills the Gricks in Second Darkness. They only have 9 HP and their CR 3 is done because they have DR 10 vs. Magic.That's an interesting concept. I think I recognize it from the SaGa series.
My only problem with this is that swift actions are precious to certain classes, and the lack of actions could really murder them.
I'm just not getting it, its a bit too out of the box for my head to properly grasp.
Well, I'm not familiar with Gricks but, by the sounds they do sound like a monster designed around a high DR, which does pose a bit of a problem for the idea. With out knowing the full stats I can't say for certain. The formula that was developed for this was the following: DR/5 X (CR + Size) + Natural Armor. Size would add 1 for Large, 2 for Huge, 3 for Gargantuan, and 4 for Colossal. A Grick would have the following as a minimum 10/5 X (3+0) + 0= 5. If this is the case I'd say go with a DT to match DR. Cons: Would go down faster to massed assault. Pros: Even a wizard would be able to effect it with a normal weapon and wouldn't just blow it out of the water with a spell or casting Magic Weapon on the Fighter's Two Handed Sword. As a note, 9hp for a CR 3 seems really low to me.
The only systems I know that use the WP/HP are Star Wars d20 (only seen up to 3.5) and a system called something like Forgotten Kingdoms (a pulp d20 game that came out in 3.0 that we always called the Ugly Orange Book). I'm not familiar with SaGa. I just figured it would satisfy the people who wanted tougher heros and hated save or die effects (never bothered me personally), and take care of my big pet peeve, level drain.
What classes would you say need the Swift action? It would help to flesh out the rule. As for right now, I can say you wouldn't need to take the Feat (I was going to scale back on the number of feats in general to compensate for adding these) and if you did take it, you don't have to use a swift action to attack. This was originally developed in 3.X to boost fighting classes, so they could move and still attack multiple times. Right now I want to see how Cleave and Vital Strike address that problem.
I'll try to give you an example for the weapons. Note that this still incorperates the idea that Monsters that were Immune to Criticals in 3.X would still be resistant. This would drop a critical multiplier down by 1 (to a minimum of 1.5) and drop Sneak Attack and such down a die size (d4s instead of d6s).
A Simple Weapon One Handed Weapon does 1d6 (1d4 for light, 1d8 for two handed reach, 1d10 for two handed)
Edged (covers slashing/piercing) adds 19-20/x2 for threat. Wedged (Axes, Picks, etc) adds 20/x3. Blunt adds 20/x2 and Ignores Critical Resistance.
Martial Weapon would allow an increase in one category such as an increase in damage, threat range, or multiplier.
A simple sword would be 1d6 19-20/x2. a martial longsword would be 1d8 19-20/x2. It's basically designed to let players fight with what ever they want, but still have rules that keep weapons balanced with each other.
One more house rule: I absolutely, positively refuse to use the rules for dropping objects on someone's head. I don't want to play a game where the players try to figure out how to drop a whale on their enemies.
Starting HP = Con Score. Then add first level class hp as random role. Do this for both PC, NPC, and Monsters. (what i like battle to last longer, and give people a chance to run when hp get low).
Skills = No modifier used.
Starting skill points is Int score + 2 skill per level (all classes)
You can not put more skill points into a skill than you have levels. (example at 1st level with 14 int.. you have 16 skill points. You would then put 1 rank in 16 skills, as you can not put more ranks in a skill than you have levels).
Skill points max out at 5.
Roll 1d6. If roll is equal to or less, skill works. (roll of 6 is auto fail).
Players can use all skill untrained (a roll of 1 is auto-success...if they do not even have one rank in skill... it is called Dumb-Luck!!)
(as i said before, prefer fun, fast, and easy)
By level 5, you can have 2 skill maxed out if you want. By level 10, 4 skill maxed out. By level 15 = 6 skills. By level 20 = 8 skills.
Weapon Damage = Small weapons 1d6 18-20/x2 crit, Medium weapon 1d8 19-20/x3 crit, and Large weapon 1d10 20/x4 crit. ((small critter drop damage down one die))
Why, because i got tired of everyone using the same weapon... first is was long swords in 1 ed, then baster swords in 2nd, then scimitar/repair in 3rd, etc. I want players to pick the weapon that they want to pick because it looks fun, cool, or strange. Now i see more war-hammers being used by vikings, Scylla's by druids, or clubs by fighters, etc, etc, etc.
House rules... we all have a few. Not many actually play the game exactly as written in the book, without taking some liberties, some flexibility that you would prefer because it's easier, it's faster, or you just think your way is better... So, I thought it might be interesting to see what house rules you might happen to use at your table? Everyone share!
At my table, I house-rule an extra spell per spell level for every core caster. If it says you get 1 1st-level spell, you really get two. If the book says you know this many spells of 2nd-level per day, you get that many, plus 1. Orisons, cantrips, 1st-level, etc.... all get a bonus, both in spells known (for bards n' sorcerers) and in spells per day. This rule was originally started to encourage my players to play sorcerers now n' then. I'd introduced an NPC sorcerer who was actually a pretty kewl character, but although the party liked hanging with this guy, no one wanted to play one of their own due to limited spell choices. So I introduced this house rule, and that one extra spell known made all the difference. One more spell per spell level known to get something different, a utility spell or detection spell or travel spell. And it's still completely balanced b/c the bad guys get the same bonus... everyone gets the extra spells, not just PCs. Helps to round out some of the NPCs in pre-written adventures, too...
So, what are your house rules?
A lot of the rules I use were adapted from Unearthed Arcana.
I use a Critical Hit/Fumble Results chart.
Half of physical armor is DR. The other half is AC.
Natural armor divide by 5 to determine the DR and subtract that number from the original to determine the new armor bonus.
Example:
Full Plate grants +5 AC 4 DR.
An Ogre Wearing +3 Full Plate gets +12 AC and 5 DR
I also use a Defense Bonus system for characters who choose to go unarmored.
Character has a defense bonus based on his character level. The defense bonus applies to Armor Class. However, if the character wears armor they do not get this bonus. The defense bonus stacks with all other bonuses to AC, including the character’s shield bonus, natural armor bonus, and so forth. Unlike an armor bonus, a defense bonus does improve a character’s AC against touch attacks. A character’s defense bonus is derived from his character level and class, as shown on the Table: Defense Bonus. For a multiclass character, use the highest defense bonus of those offered by the character’s classes. For example, a 2nd-level barbarian has a defense bonus of +4. If the character gains a level of cleric (becoming a 2nd-level barbarian/1st-level cleric), her defense bonus increases to +7, because the cleric’s +7 at 3rd character level is better than the barbarian’s +5 at 3rd character level.
Table: Defense Bonus
Level A1 B2 C3 D4
1st +2 +3 +4 +6
2nd +2 +3 +4 +6
3rd +3 +5 +5 +7
4th +3 +4 +5 +7
5th +3 +4 +5 +7
6th +4 +5 +6 +8
7th +4 +5 +6 +8
8th +4 +5 +6 +8
9th +5 +6 +7 +9
10th +5 +6 +7 +9
11th +5 +6 +7 +9
12th +6 +7 +8 +10
13th +6 +7 +8 +10
14th +6 +7 +8 +10
15th +7 +8 +9 +11
16th +7 +8 +9 +11
17th +7 +8 +9 +11
18th +8 +9 +10 +12
19th +8 +9 +10 +12
20th +8 +9 +10 +12
1 Use column A for monk, sorcerer, or wizard.
2 Use column B for bard, ranger, or rogue.
3 Use column C for barbarian or druid.
4 Use column D for cleric, fighter, or paladin.
Minimum damage from any physical attack is 1 non-lethal so if DR reduces damage to 0, they still take 1 non-lethal.
All Arcane Magic requires Blood as a component and casting an Arcane spell causes 1 point of non-lethal damage per spell level.
All magical items have runes carved or painted onto them. In order to create a magic item, a character must have ranks in craft(runes).
The DC required to successfully inscribe the runes into an item is 15 + the effective enhancement bonus of the item. If Crasis is creating a Longsword +5 Vorpal, the craft(runes) DC is 25 (15 + 5 for the enhancement bonus + 5 for vorpal).
All Wizards are specialists. They may only cast spells from their specialty school, universal, plus two other schools. All other schools are barred.
They do get bonuses based on the school they choose to specialize in.
2nd Level: The wizard can cast any first level spell from his chosen school. This spell is prepared once per day for every two caster levels he possesses.
4th Level: The wizard can cast any second level spell from his chosen school once per day.
6th Level: The wizard can cast any third level spell from his chosen school once per day.
10th Level: The wizard can cast any fifth level spell from his chosen school once per day.
12th Level: The wizard can cast any sixth level spell from his chosen school once per day.
14th Level: The wizard can cast any seventh level spell from his chosen school once per day.
16th Level: The wizard can cast any eighth level spell from his chosen school once per day.
18th Level: The wizard can cast any ninth level spell from his chosen school once per day.
ABJURATION SCHOOL
Specialist Bonus: You gain resistance 5 to an energy type of your choice, chosen when you prepare spells. This resistance can be changed each day. At 11th level, this resistance increases to 10.
Caster
Level Ability
1st Protective Ward (Su): As a standard action, you can create a 10-foot-radius field of protective magic centered on you. All allies in this area receive a +1 deflection bonus to their AC for one round. This bonus increases by +1 for every 5 caster levels you possess.
8th Energy Absorption (Su): You gain an amount of energy absorption equal to 3 times your level per day. Whenever you take energy damage, apply resistance and immunity first and apply the rest to this absorption, reducing your daily total by that amount. Any damage in excess of your absorption is applied to you normally.
20th Elemental Immunity (Su): Choose one element upon gaining 20th level. You are immune to damage from that element.
CONJURATION SCHOOL
Specialist Bonus: You gain a +2 armor bonus to your Armor Class. This bonus increases by +1 for every 5 caster levels you possess, to a maximum of +6 at 20th level.
Caster
Level Ability
1st Acid Dart (Su): As a standard action, you can unleash an acid dart targeting any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The acid dart deals 1d6 points of acid damage +1 for every two caster levels you possess.
8th Dimensional Steps (Su): You can teleport up to 30 feet per caster level per day as a standard action. You can bring other willing creatures with you, but you must expend an equal amount of distance for each creature brought with you. This ability does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
20th Summoning Master (Su): Once per day, you can cast any summon monster spell that you have prepared, extending its duration to 1 day. Creatures summoned in this way have maximum hit points and gain a +2 insight bonus on ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks.
DIVINATION SCHOOL
Specialist Bonus: You can always act in the surprise round, but you are still considered f lat-footed until you take an action.
Caster
Level Ability
1st Diviner’s Fortune (Su): You can touch a creature as a standard action, giving it an enhancement bonus to a single attack roll, skill check, ability check, or saving throw equal to your caster level. This bonus lasts 3 rounds or until used. Once a creature has benefitted from diviner’s fortune, it can gain no further benefit from this ability for 1 day.
8th Scrying Adept (Su): You are always aware when you are being observed via magic, as if you had a permanent detect scrying. In addition, whenever you scry on a subject, treat the subject as one step more familiar to you. Very familiar subjects get a –10 penalty on their save to avoid your scrying attempts.
20th Near Omniscience (Su): You are never surprised and cannot be caught f lat-footed. You can cast scrying at will and subjects get a –10 penalty on their save, regardless of how familiar they are to you. You can even use this ability to scry on areas protected from scrying, although the subjects get a +5 bonus on their save to resist.
ENCHANTMENT SCHOOL
Specialist Bonus: You gain a +2 enhancement bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate skill checks. This bonus increases
by +1 for every 5 caster levels you possess, to a maximum of +6 at 20th level.
Caster
Level Ability
1st Dazing Touch (Su): You can cause a living creature to become dazed as a melee touch attack. This ability has no effect on creatures of a higher level than you or with more HD. Once a creature has been affected by dazing touch, it is immune to its effects for 1 day.
8th Aura of Despair (Su): You can emit a 30-ft. aura of despair for a number of rounds per day equal to your caster level. Enemies within this aura take a –2 penalty on ability checks, attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and skill checks. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
20th Legendary Charm (Su): You can cast dominate monster 1/day with a duration of permanent. You can only have one such creature in your service at a time. If you cast this spell again, the first creature is immediately released.
EVOCATION SCHOOL
Specialist Bonus: Whenever you cast an evocation spell that deals damage, it deals +1 damage. This bonus only applies once to a spell, not once per missile or ray. This damage is of the same type as the spell. This bonus increases by +1 for every 5 caster levels you possess, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.
Caster
Level Ability
1st Energy Ray (Su): As a standard action, you can unleash an energy ray targeting any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The energy ray deals 1d6 points of damage + 1 for every two caster levels you possess. The type of damage is acid, cold, electricity, or fire, chosen by the caster when the ray is unleashed. Your specialist bonus does not apply to this ability.
8th Elemental Wall (Su): You can create a wall of energy that lasts for a number of rounds per day equal to your caster level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. This wall deals acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage, determined when you create it. The elemental wall otherwise functions like wall of fire.
20th Elemental Power (Su): Creatures affected by your spells only receive 1/2 their energy resistance. Creatures with energy immunity are instead treated as if they have resistance 20 against that energy.
ILLUSION SCHOOL
Specialist Bonus: Any illusion spell you cast with a duration of “concentration” lasts an additional 2 rounds after you stop maintaining concentration. This bonus increases by 1 round for every 5 levels you possess, to a maximum of 6 rounds at 20th level.
Caster
Level Ability
1st Blinding Ray (Su): As a standard action, you can fire a blinding ray targeting any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The ray causes creatures to be blinded for 1 round. Creatures with more Hit Dice than your caster level are dazzled for 1 round instead. Blind creatures are immune to this effect.
8th Invisibility Field (Su): You can make yourself invisible as a swift action for a number of rounds per day equal to your caster level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. This otherwise functions as greater invisibility.
20th Master of Illusions (Su): You can assume the form of any creature of your size as a standard action. You can make yourself appear to be carrying any sort of gear or clothing as well. You can also use this ability to exactly mimic any specific individual you have observed for more than 1 minute in the past day. This illusion includes all five senses and does not radiate magic if checked. True seeing and similar effects reveal that an illusion is present, but do not reveal your identity.
NECROMANCY SCHOOL
Specialist Bonus: You can control 8 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level. If you prepare spells of your opposition schools, excess undead immediately become freewilled and do not return to your control when you regain this bonus. You choose which undead are released.
Caster
Level Ability
1st Grave Touch (Su): As a standard action, you can make a melee touch attack that deals 1d6 points of cold damage + 1 for every two caster levels you possess. Creatures damaged by this attack automatically fail all stabilization checks made within 1 minute of your touch.
8th Animate (Su): You can animate a number of skeletons and zombies per day with a total number of HD equal to your caster level. This ability otherwise functions as animate dead without the material component.
20th Deathless (Su): You cease to age and your type changes to undead, granting you all undead immunities and weaknesses. You are immune to positive energy damage.
TRANSMUTATION SCHOOL
Specialist Bonus: You gain a +1 enhancement bonus to one physical ability score (Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution). This bonus increases by +1 for every 5 caster levels you possess, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level. You can change this bonus to a new ability score when you prepare spells.
Caster
Level Ability
1st Telekinetic Fist (Su): As a standard action, you can strike with a telekinetic fist targeting any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The telekinetic fist deals 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage +1 for every two caster levels you possess.
8th Change Shape (Su): You can change your shape for a number of rounds per day equal to your caster level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. This ability otherwise functions like beast shape II or elemental body I.
20th Fluid Form (Su): As a swift action, you gain one of the following abilities: blindsense with a range of 30 feet, burrow with a speed of 30 feet, climb with a speed of 60 feet, darkvision with a range of 120 feet, fly with a speed of 120 feet, gaseous form, or swim with a speed of 60 feet. You can only have one of these abilities at any one time, but you can change the ability as often as you like.
Also I use Out of Turn Dodge, and I'm considering using Reserve Hit Points, and Action Points because it's supposed to be a lower magic world.
New and altered weapon and armor descriptions:
Medium armor reduces movement by 5 instead of 10. Example: Chainmail Speed becomes 25/20 instead of 20/15.
Fighters and Batlers do not suffer any movement penalty from medium armor if they are proficient and their movement is only reduced by 5 from heavy armor if they are proficient.
Breastplate: This is a breastplate that covers the front and back of your torso. Underneath is a suit of studded leather to provide padding and to cover the extremities. It is statistically the same as the Breastplate from the Pathfinder book.
Hoplite Armor: Hoplite armor covers your front and your back with a breastplate. It comes with a helmet, arm guards, and greaves. A skirt of studded leather beneath the torso protects the upper legs while allowing for mobility. It is statically the same as the Breastplate.
Chainmail: Maximum dex bonus is +3.
Banded mail: Maximum dex bonus is +2. Description: It’s a suit of chain mail with overlapping bands of metal woven through it.
Oh and rolling hit points is 1d4+the difference between 4 and the die the class normally gets
1d6 = 1d4+2
1d8 = 1d4+4
1d10 = 1d4+6
1d12 = 1d4+8
Nobody ends up with s&*%ty hit points that way. These are healthy people. They should have above average HPs.
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Here are a few more changes I've made and instituted in my games - players seem to like them.
Moderate
Fighters and Rogues get a 2nd "good" save path of their choosing besides their default (posted this in another thread). The selection is made at 1st level and can't be changed. Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes and Great Fortitude (plus their improved versions) are now combat feats which the fighter (or any class which gets them) can select as part of their bonus feats.
In addition to Fort, Barbarians get a "good" save path for Reflexes and Cavaliers get a "good" save path for Will - both classes don't get to choose like the Rogue or Fighter, but they still get an additional "good" save.
For purposes of restating NPC Fighters or Rogues I just look at the write up and intended purpose of the stat block - if the Fighter NPC is a heavy armor type - then the bonus "good" save is for Will, otherwise it would be Reflexes.
If the Rogue is a heavy combat type the "good" save will be in Fort, otherwise the "good" save is in Will.
Shored up a few issues on creature design. Some concepts which the 3.0/3.5 devs overlooked (imo) when they developed creatures for 3.0 from 2nd.
I think that touch AC, DR and SR are undeveloped and under utilized concepts on the creature end. Here are few changes -
Very Minor
Magical and mythical creatures - part of their AC (25%) is converted to a deflection bonus. The sum total for the AC remains the same - so a creature with 12 natural armor (AC 22, touch 10) now has natural AC of 9, and a Deflection Bonus of +3 = AC 22, touch 13. Makes a small but considerable difference vs. casters and the fact that they designed touch attacks for PCs via spells, but forgot to stat creatures with defense consideration in mind.
I would apply it to a Dragon, but not an Elephant. It makes iconic creatures tougher and less one-dimensional on the defensive side.
Moderate
Solo Creatures and Classic D&D:
Solo creature encounters are something which can be done, and without needing a CR +3 creature to do it.
Some major changes I've made (and this requires some work on the DMs part) is now almost all "monsters" have a form of DR, or bonus stage of their existing DR.
DR is based off of type (Construct, Dragon, Outsider, etc) and scales at different rates based upon HD. So a lower CR creature will have a lower DR (overall) - maybe just a few points: ex 3/-, while a tougher creature may have something that reads like DR 15/Slashing = DR 10/-. If you have a slashing weapon then the DR goes from 15 to DR 10/-.
That or a series of variations (magic, weapon type, etc). Can be just a bump to solid DR or more complex. The end result is to have a fixed DR which is something that can be overcome by the party, yet helps address the issue of action economy and 4-vs-1 damage output. So no matter what the end result (with proper items, material, etc) should be a DR 3/-, DR 5/-, DR 7/- and so on.
That system and combined with giving some monsters MAX hp have made fights last longer, feel tougher and more memorable than the 1-2 round standard which is 3rd ed. The creature doesn't need to do more damage, and its stats don't need to change that much - AC doesn't get out of whack...it just makes fights last longer and seem more like a fight.
I also have a few .5 CR templates which can also make the creature a bit tougher vs. Magic (SR and save improvements) and pad them with a feat or two or some resistances.
Keep in mind that the standard Advanced Creature Template is a +2 to AC, and a +4 on ALL stats.
Here is a sample template:
(+0.5 CR)
Max HP
Gains: Toughness Feat (if already has Toughness add extra +1 to natural AC)
+2 Natural AC
+4 on Con (or Cha if undead)
+2 on one save
1/4th Natural armor is considered to be deflection bonus. Base armor values remains the same, any reductions occur with natural armor.
This is NOT counting any built-in DR the creature may posses
Troll CR 5.5
XP 2000 (midway between 5 & 6)
CE Large humanoid (giant)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
Defense
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 16; (+2 Dex, +5 natural, +2 deflection -1 size)
hp 102 (6d8 +54); regeneration 5 (acid or fire)
Fort +13, Ref +4, Will +5*
DR 2/-
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee bite +8 (1d8+5), 2 claws +8 (1d6+5)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks rend (2 claws, 1d6+7)
Statistics
Str 21, Dex 14, Con 27, Int 6, Wis 9, Cha 6
Base Atk +4; CMB +10; CMD 22
Feats Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception), Toughness (b)
Skills Intimidate +9, Perception +8
*+2 Save applied to Will
Some variations of the .5 template are "magical" or "mythical" minor templates - built in resistances, save improvements and SR (or SR boosts). These last two variants shut down caster or spell solution parties pretty quickly.
*Confirming fumbles: every 1 on attacks must be "confirmed", rolling again. If you fail to hit, the fumble is confirmed, thus, something bad happens to you (gennerally you fall, or drop your weapon, or hit a friend). Confirming a 1 with another 1 means something very bad (choosen at time, according to the situation).
*20-on-20: maximum critical damage (32 for a scythe).
*Immediate Counter Spell: As per WarColonel sugestion rules. Nice and elegant way to balance casters high levels. Let them check themselves.
*Action Points: Playing on Iron Kingdoms, low permanent magic itens setting.
*Hit dice: roll or choose average, up to players.
*Some homebrew feats...
*Confirming fumbles: every 1 on attacks must be "confirmed", rolling again. If you fail to hit, the fumble is confirmed, thus, something bad happens to you (gennerally you fall, or drop your weapon, or hit a friend). Confirming a 1 with another 1 means something very bad (choosen at time, according to the situation).
*20-on-20: maximum critical damage (32 for a scythe).
*Immediate Counter Spell: As per WarColonel sugestion rules. Nice and elegant way to balance casters high levels. Let them check themselves.
*Action Points: Playing on Iron Kingdoms, low permanent magic itens setting.
*Hit dice: roll or choose average, up to players.
*Some homebrew feats...
The URL in that link won't take me anyhwere. I tried clicking and copy paste but I just get the page cannot be displayed. :(