Can you please share your house rules with me? I am trying to make a list for my new campaign and I would greatly appreciate some examples. Also if your so inclined feel free to explain why you think that your house rule is needed so that we all can better understand your reasoning. Thanks a million.
Less of an issue in PF, but I limit the +2 bump to a good save to once per save. (Meaning a fighter/1 barbarian/1 would have a +2 fort, not +4). This keeps saves from ramping up as a result of multiclassing.
Characters do not need to list an alignment. Their player may act in whatever manner they feel best represents their character’s personality. Likewise, most monsters and NPCs will not list alignments. However, creatures of the following types will still have appropriate alignments: deathless, dragons, outsiders with aligned subtypes, and undead. Paladins will be treated as lawful and good aligned for the purpose of spells and effects that reference alignment, and clerics will be treated as the alignment of their deity under similar circumstances.
Paladins should still follow a set code of conduct as decided between the player of the paladin and the DM and clerics should still follow the tenets of their faith.
While this may seem to lessen the usefulness of many spells and abilities, with a few minor changes game balance is preserved. The paladin’s smite evil class feature is now a general smite which affects any character or creature with an intelligence score of 3 or higher which is acting in a manner, or is philosophically opposed, to the paladin’s core beliefs, doubling its effectiveness on clerics of evil faiths and creatures who are actually of the evil alignment (see above).
Players will gain bonuses similar to those granted by these items based on their character level (see below). NPCs with levels of a PC class will be treated as a character with a level of 3 lower than their actual level for purpose of determining the bonuses granted, while those with only levels of NPC classes receive no bonuses. These bonuses are designed to provide comparable bonuses to those granted by magic items while not overshadowing defenses available through casting spells at each appropriate level.
Since the bonuses provided equate to a substantial sum of gold at any given level, character and NPC wealth for characters and NPCs beginning play at a level higher than 1 is to be treated as if the character or NPC level is 3 levels lower than their actual level (minimum 1). Armor and shield abilities can still be added to these items and the cost is calculated as normal, though the base +1 simply has no effect.
There have been a few minor changes to magic item creation as well.
Many times characters will find items they simply do not want, but there is no sell the aforementioned items without breaking immersion. Characters possessing correlating item creation feats may disenchant magic items to store half of their gold piece value, as well as their experience value, within a crafting pool for later use with a like item (weapon for weapons, armor for armor, and so on).
Level Character Bonus Granted
1 No bonus
2 +1 enhancement bonus to worn armor or clothing
3 +1 deflection bonus to armor class
4 +2 enhancement bonus to 1 ability score, +1 enhancement bonus to worn shield
5 +1 resistance bonus to saving throws
6 +2 enhancement bonus to worn armor or clothing
7 +1 enhancement bonus to natural armor
8 +2 enhancement bonus to worn shield
9 +4 enhancement bonus to 1st enhanced ability score, +2 enhancement bonus to a 2nd ability score, +2 resistance bonus to saving throws
10 +3 enhancement bonus to worn armor or clothing
11 +2 deflection bonus to armor class
12 +3 enhancement bonus to worn shield
13 +3 resistance bonus to saving throws
14 +6 enhancement bonus to 1st enhanced ability score, +4 enhancement bonus to 2nd enhanced ability score, +2 enhancement to a 3rd ability score, +4 enhancement bonus to worn armor or clothing
15 +2 enhancement bonus to natural armor
16 +4 enhancement bonus to worn shield
17 +4 resistance bonus to saving throws
18 +5 enhancement bonus to worn armor or clothing
19 +4 enhancement bonus to 3rd enhanced ability score, +2 enhancement bonus to a 4th ability score, +3 deflection bonus to armor class
20 +5 enhancement bonus to worn shield
I should note that the houserules that I post are for 3.5 and will sometimes not apply to PF.
Not really a house rule, but I really like e6.
If you do not know, e6 stands for epic 6th level. I a game like this you do not gain levels after you reach 6th level, instead you gain a bonus feat for every 5000 XP beyond 6th level, you gain a bonus feat. They are other changes too, but that is the gist of it.
The reason I like e6 is that it keeps the players on human level. A village is still a threat to a group of 6th level PCs. It also helps replicate a feel for low magic.
I don't assume sense-motive or knowledge checks. players have to volunteer those. Otherwise, you are assumed to be trusting and dumb.
I don't assume sense-motive or knowledge checks. players have to volunteer those. Otherwise, you are assumed to be trusting and dumb.
+1
Also, something I haven't done yet is do away with the grid and replace it with a measuring tape, sounds interesting.
Similar thread created yesterday in the Homebrew section that might help.
Edit: In the linked thread, I list some condition-specific house-rules as global only to deny the statement the next day. Please ignore the sleepily-posted nonsensical pre-coffee statements that are beyond my ability to edit.
The house rules I listed in the above thread were mainly geared towards empowering spellcasters addressing issues I have with some of the classes. Global changes from the same thread are pasted below.
- I do not allow mental attribute bonuses through magic. Eagle's Splendor, Fox's Cunning, Owl's Wisdom, and any other spell that increases mental stats instead gives an equivilent bonus to INT/WIS/CHA associated skills and will saves. Spells and effects concerning the physical attributes (STR, DEX, CON) remain unchanged.
- Magic can be dispelled (most of the time), but never negated. Antimagic Field does not exist in my games. Permanency can only be dispelled by Mage's Disjunction or Wish/Miracle with a 50% chance of success (modified as appropriate).
- Wizards do not need spellbooks. Every spell is memorized, but the wizard must still pay any costs associated with adding new spells. Spellbooks can still be used and are easier to copy spells into, but a caster that stores their spells in such a way cannot memorize while dependent on a spellbook. This was done mostly because the idea of a powerful master of the arcane being vulnerable without a spellbook is absurd. Additionally, this means no more juggling multiple spellbooks; they're only one hundred pages each and spells are a page per spell level.
- I use the spell recharge variant from Unearthed Arcana. If dealing with newer players, I just double the spell slots available after modifiers are applied. This is because I hate vancian magic in all it's forms. This is far too limited when the fighter can swing away and not worry about fatigue.
- A witch's familiar can hide in their master's body as an immediate action (immediate for familiar, the witch is still allowed to act on the next turn), but emerging from the witch requires a full round (the witch can take no other actions during the separation). For flavor and a way to help protect the witch's familiar.
- Certain spells such as wish, miracle, resurrection, etc. have unusual limits and requirements (varying from campaign to campaign) to emphasize the significance of such spells.
- Eschew materials covers up to 25 gold instead of just 1 gold piece. Material components, for the most part, are something that I really dislike about this magic system.
- Summoner's eidolon(s) exists beyond its master's death, anchored to its masters corpse on the Ethereal plane, remaining bound for years until it either fades away or is taken away.
- Mindless undead are commanded mentally instead of verbally (ignore the irony).
- Altered Summon Monster lists as appropriate; mostly involves adding more.
- Cantrips/Orisons have no components.
In addition, I tend to remove alignment from most of my games unless the players are either super-lawfully good or utterly evil as a whole. That only happens occasionally.
I don't assume sense-motive or knowledge checks. players have to volunteer those. Otherwise, you are assumed to be trusting and dumb.+1
+2
My players are informed immediately that I do not read minds. Blindly wandering into traps and ambushes one or two times usually addresses the issue.
I use hexes as opposed to a grid.
And I use weapon group proficiencies from 3.5 Unearthed Arcana as well.
House rules common among all of my group:
- Weapon Finesse is a free feat: at character creation, you can choose whether your character was taught to fight using Dex or Str, but when it's chosen, it cannot change (meaning if I fight with Dex and then get ability damage, I can't suddenly swap to Str). Why did the rogue ever learn to fight with Str if he grew up relying on his skill?
- Eschew Materials is also a free feat. Alternate: while in town you can pay 5gp to refill your component pouch and that lasts usually until the next town, unless you're away from civilization for just a ridiculously long time. Who likes dealing with components?
- We hand wave carrying capacity, -except- in cases of high amounts of weight. (ex. we once were gifted a large chunk of darkwood - it mattered then) Carrying capacity is boring, right?
- Action points, Eberron style. Get 5 + (1/2 character level), replenished upon leveling up. Using one gives you +1d6 on any d20 roll, can be used after the d20 is thrown but before result is given. Can also be used for cinematic skill check, in which you declare some awesome maneuver (my regular DM requires it to be descriptive and exciting to get the full benefit) and receive the +1d6 on all the rolls associated with it (such as any needed acrobatics or the like, with also the attack roll). Eventually get more d6's at higher levels. Who doesn't like not being entirely screwed by a single bad d20 roll?
House rules that I do:
- You are not flat-footed until you act during normal initiative (and neither are the monsters). Surprise rounds, you're still flat-footed, but if you're aware of the combat in regular initiative, you're good. Why can't I use my Dex versus the enemies that I'm completely aware of their intentions to kill me - if the rounds are indeed simultaneous (meaning that I am acting as they are acting), then as they rush at me, I'm already preparing to swing my sword at them.
I use hexes as opposed to a grid.
And I use weapon group proficiencies from 3.5 Unearthed Arcana as well.
I like the weapon groups as well, but I might alter them to fit the fighter's weapon training groups if I included them.
My house rule is to use as few house rules as possible. This makes it easy to keep track of what varies.
So far as I know, I only use three house rules:
1. The iron heart surge maneuver from Tome of Battle does not end effects, it just ends an effect's effect on you.
2. PCs don't die at -10 hp, they die at a number of negative hit points equal to their level.
3. Death from massive damage due to a failed save doesn't happen.
Note that these are old, old rules (can you tell I'm still playing 3.5?) and none of them are relevant for Pathfinder - Tome of Battle isn't a Pathfinder book, Pathfinder uses "negative Con" instead of -10, and death from massive damage is an optional rule.
Saves me pain of having to remember house rules.
Note that these are old, old rules (can you tell I'm still playing 3.5?)*fistbump*
And it'll stay that way until there's rules covering levels 21+ other than that one pager in the Core Rulebook :)