And don't get me started on why I have to pay the same for my quarter sized meals and rations, as the fighter does for his super-sized ones.
Indeed. I have very few house rules for PFRPG - only 9 rules, in fact. And one of those 9 is that rations and meals for Small characters cost one quarter the amount those of Medium characters.
As for the original question, I've been using this avatar for 3 1/2 years now. Tas was my favorite Dragonlance character. (Well, OK, I can't decide between Tas and Raistlin.)
Raistlin Majere, and Tasslehoof Burrfoot were by far the most interesting characters in the series. "Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes" was among the first fantasy books I read in the very small library in my home town, (prior to that I was all science fiction), and it inspired me to tackle some of the bigger Dragonlance novels, I have probably about 50-100 Dragonlance novels, on my shelves.
Raistlin pulled off the very odd alignment Evil-Good, of course the very obvious evil things he did defined him, and the big good things he did were largely to serve his own desires "This happens because I want it to happen!", not really him doing them to be good. At the same time, every once in a while he showed compassion for the downtrodden, and weak, such as with Bupu. How many can so truly say they sacrificed themselves to save the world?
Tasslehoff, who could not love Tasslehoof, he has the innocence of a child, and the will to grow beyond what we would think is possible for a kender. He is one of the true heroes of the story, saving the world and having fun doing it. He even manages to sneak a little comic relief in on the side. He is probably why my heart is in fantasy, as opposed to science fiction.
Bupu, Dalamar, Kitiara, Tika, I though were good and interesting enough for the bit parts they played in the books. The rest of the characters were stereotypes we had already seen in too many books, or just plane boring and uninspiring, not to say they didn't have moments, but not enough to justify the amount of text dedicated to them.
In later series Palin, Usha and Linsha Majere were interesting characters, but as a whole I didn't like the later novels as much.
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Yeah, the setting really jumped the shark when Salvatore's book dropped the moon Solinari on Tasslehoff.
Yeah, the setting really jumped the shark when Salvatore's book dropped the moon Solinari on Tasslehoff.
You jest of this, but that particular book was the one that turned one of my friends off to Salvatore forever.
I on the other hand had to read through nearly all of his Drizzt books before I realized "You know, this really isn't all that good." Liked the Cleric Quintet better, though.
Salvatore wrote Dragonlance material?
And don't get me started on why I have to pay the same for my quarter sized meals and rations, as the fighter does for his super-sized ones.Indeed. I have very few house rules for PFRPG - only 9 rules, in fact. And one of those 9 is that rations and meals for Small characters cost one quarter the amount those of Medium characters.
As for the original question, I've been using this avatar for 3 1/2 years now. Tas was my favorite Dragonlance character. (Well, OK, I can't decide between Tas and Raistlin.)
What other house rules do you have? If you don't mind me asking, that is. I'm always curious about the way others run their worlds.
Salvatore wrote Dragonlance material?
No. Wolfie's making a snarky comparison to the Star Wars book Salvatore wrote
Ah. I had heard about the Star Wars book, but I didn't make the connection.
But yeah, I thought Dragonlance jumped the shark in "Summer Flame".
What other house rules do you have?
1) Advancing in Level
XP is really added as soon as it is earned, for simplicity. Officially, however, XP is received at an appropriate time, so advancing at level can only be done at such a time. The character must find a relatively safe place to sleep for the night, and must have an opportunity to practice his relevant skills the next morning. For example, a fighter needs to be able to swing his weapon in a drill, a wizard needs to be able to study her spellbook, etc. Only under such conditions can a character gain a level.
(One problem with this rule is that, upon earning enough XP to gain a level, a character might want to call it a day, and go rest right away, so as to gain a level as soon as possible. What motivation does the player have to continue adventuring on the same day, until an appropriate time to stop? Beats me. But that’s the rule.)
2) Determining Awareness
a) Indoors, when determining whether party A is aware of party B while party B is using the Stealth skill to hide or move silently, the GM checks party A’s best Perception score versus party B’s worst Stealth score, with the usual penalties such as the +1 per 10 feet. This check is typically made in secret, but because party A is assumed to be staying alert continuously for a long period of time, and because party B is assumed to be discreet for a long time, the GM will usually take 10 all around on these checks.
b) Outdoors, the GM will still use the best Perception score, typically secretly and usually taking 10. The DC for the Perception check will usually be determined in accordance with the 3.0 rules. See the 3.0 DMG pages 59-60, or the 3.0 SRD. If party A fails the Perception check, it will observe party B at half the distance it otherwise would.
3) Saving Throws
A character who makes a saving throw will generally be aware of what the consequences would have been had the saving throw been failed.
4) Equipment
In regards to page 158-159 of the core rulebook, trail rations and meals for Small characters will cost one quarter the amount those of Medium characters do.
5) Spell Resistance
In the rules as written (core rulebook pp. 183 and 565,) lowering spell resistance is a standard action. In this house rule, lowering spell resistance is not an action. Furthermore, a creature with SR may choose to lower it at any time – even when it’s not the creature’s turn, or when the creature is flat-footed, surprised, or even unconscious.
My reason for this rule is that otherwise, SR can be a huge hindrance. If a creature with SR is unconscious and dying, a cleric would have trouble casting a healing spell on it. And it would be impossible for a creature with SR to benefit from a potion, since drinking a potion is a standard action, and you can’t take two standard actions in one round.
6) XP Adjustment
Outdoor nighttime encounters (when monsters attack the party while some PCs are asleep) tend to be more deadly, because some of the PCs start out vulnerable and unarmored, and it takes time to get ready. For this reason, XP awards are doubled in this situation.
7) Magic Item Identification
a) Most magic items, except for scrolls and potions, are easy to recognize as such. They tingle to the touch, in a way that cannot be counterfeited nor concealed by any mundane means. There are certain magical means. Magic items lose their “tingle” in an antimagic field, and a Magic Aura spell can create a false tingle or suppress a true one. A few especially powerful artifacts, ironically, lack the tingle.
b) It is usually easy to identify the enhancement bonuses of weapons, armor, and shields. Give a few practice swings with a magic sword, for example, and you’ll know that you’re getting a +2 bonus to attack, so you’ll feel that it’s probably a sword +2. Wear magic armor, and allow another character to give you a harmless tap, and you’ll know its enhancement bonus. This method will not tell you if the magic item has some special ability such as Bane. (One party tested a magic sword, determined it was a mere greatsword +1, and never used it. The party never found out it was a Vorpal sword.) And of course, a curse might be hard to detect. For example, what seems to be a +1 enhancement might be a delusional effect.
8) Ability Damage
In the rules as written (page 555,) every 2 points of damage to an ability imposes a -1 penalty to the related skills and statistics. In my house rule, this is only true for odd-numbered ability scores. An even-numbered ability score imposes the penalty at each odd number of ability damage.
For example, suppose your Constitution score is 12, and you take one point of Con damage. In the RAW, you shouldn’t get a penalty to hit points and Fortitude saves. In my house rule, you do, because your Con is effectively reduced from 12 to 11, so your Con modifier is reduced from +1 to 0.
9) PC Death
When a PC dies, she gets the same XP for her final encounter as though she were still alive. When the player creates a replacement PC, he gets the same number of XP the previous PC had had. (The way I see it, creating a PC in Pathfinder is a lot of time-consuming work, so that should be penalty enough.) However, if the dead PC’s equipment got lost with the character, the replacement PC’s equipment is bought with the wealth specified in Table 12-4 on page 399, even though the starting wealth theoretically ought to be higher, since the PC would have gotten more wealth and equipment while accumulating the XP after last leveling up. If the party is able to salvage some or all of the dead PC’s equipment, the GM will decide the question of the replacement PC’s starting wealth on a case-by-case basis.
Kender sound delicious. How would you recommend cooking them?
Aaron Bitman, I like those house rules, I am going to add some to my own games.
The ones I did not immediately cut and paste, I and seriously considering.
I also lower the weights for saddles, and other mount gear for riding dogs, as they are medium creatures not large. And a hand full of other equipment that they just seemed to miss, that should be reduced for small characters.