Inigo Montoya Clause: Your current character is not allowed in any way to be related to your previous character. Nor is your current character allowed to make a blatant attempt to avenge your previous character.
Back in my WoD LARP days, we had a system for "banking" XP. The 2-3 XP you earned that night, you could choose to bank 1 point rather than spend it on the character you played. When the current character died, you could cash in your bank to use it on your new character. Since I've taken to Pathfinder, XP is less of an issue. More often than not, we adopt a "you level every other session" rule until we reach 10, then it's every three sessions you level until 15, then it's a new level every four sessions.
We've used the "hard copy only" book rule before, but with the age of PDF's and SRD's, that's become a bit too limiting. Our groups stay small here, and no one tries to out-do the other, so being fairly lax on what we allow works.
I remember with the facing rules in V&V, we spent each round running behind our enemies and/or fighting with our backs to a wall (which was pretty tedious, in practice).
The house rule I use that's the least popular would probably be along the lines of "anything non-Core has to be approved by me", notwithstanding the fact that I'm very liberal about approving things.
As far as the backstab damage is concerned, I want the rogue to be able to deliver that much damage. I just don't want him to be able to do it wih every attack he makes in a combat. I want sneak attack to be backstab again, something that modifies the behavior of those who are trying to avoid it. But I want it to be avoidable without having to give all my monsters levels of barbarian. The solution is facing.
Do you ever 5' step out of flanking or do you just have your monsters sit there, flanked, and take whatever the PCs are dishing out?
Have the creature the rogue is flanking take a 5' step diagonally toward the rogue, so that it remains adjacent to the rogue and it's going to take two flankers at least half a round to re-flank the target*, may take less with 3 or 4 PCs working on just a few creatures, but you will be surprised how some players are ill-prepared for an enemy that makes frequent use of five-footing.
That is a modification of behavior that requires no house ruling and your PCs can't complain unless they want you to remove their ability to take a 5' step as well. ;)
The group accepts most of my house rules since many of them have grown naturally out of our play style, so in general they are there because the players enjoy it.
That said, I have some rules that have at one time or another caused some fist-shaking:
-Certain kinds of wounds cannot be completely cured by simple magic. Basically, while standard cuts & bruises can be healed with a Cure Light Wound, if the character fell from a cliff and landed on the rocks, surviving with barely a couple of HP, they need to use higher level versions of the spell to completely heal the damage. Also, complex injuries usually involve some kind of side penalty (like slower speed for injuries involving the legs).
-Ad-hoc attacks of opportunity. Since we never play with minis, sometimes the AoO rules cause confusion, so I've taken to always judge them case by case. In general the players abide by that, but sometimes it can end up in an argument. I try to be lenient if they are creative, but otherwise I go the "I'm the DM and it's final" way when people start opening books, though I do try my best to take note of the complaints for future cases.
-No free spells on level up. Rather, players need to research/find/learn them from someone, even if it means getting no new spells if they leveled up in the wilderness. Normally, this doesn't cause problems since I originally implemented it with the aproval of the group, but once in a while we get a guest player who goes bananas when I explain that part. On the other hand, I'm very flexible when it comes to making up new spells or changing how the current ones works when sufficient creativity and mojo is involved.
-Individual XP. I've always handed out experience on a per-player basis, and I'll keep doing it until the day I die. However, I have this one player that, for the past 16 years, has complained on pretty much a month basis about that. And every time my answer is the same "If you want, I can throw an experience meteorite at your character. He will die, but will become an awesomely experienced corpse".
-No Common language. This was a short-lived rule that, while it made a lot of sense in the context of the campaign, ended up causing more problems than adding to the game. So after being pelted to near-death with potato chips, I decided to remove it. I still sometimes pull the "Yes, it's written in Elven, but in another type of Elven" when I want to piss them off, though.
I have a lot of contentious ones, because I rewrote all the rules. To counteract the problems, I held myself to a strict "all houserules are subject to being called to a vote by any player," policy, with me abstaining from the vote except in case of a tie. While we were playtesting heavily, I started each session with a "Before we pick up where we left off, are there any issues for a discussion and vote?"
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The group accepts most of my house rules since many of them have grown naturally out of our play style
These are the best kind, IMHO.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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I only use a short list of house rules. None are really contentious. This doesn't include campaign-specific stuff like point buys, Harrow points, etc.
Fixed Hit Points: Max hit points at first level. Every level after first, gain hit points equal to half your hit die + 1, plus any applicable modifiers for Con, Toughness, etc. d12 = 7, d10 = 6, d8 = 5, d6 = 4.
Bastard Spears: Spears (not longspears) can be used 1-handed as a martial weapon.
Gibs: If you reduce an enemy from positive hp to –Con hp in a single hit, or if you fell an enemy with a critical hit, you may describe in as much gory detail as you like the gruesome manner of your foe’s demise.
Vital Strike: Vital Strike, Improved Vital Strike, and Greater Vital Strike work with Spring Attack, Shot on the Run, and charges.
Critical Successes and Failures: For attack rolls, normal critical hit rules apply. I do not use fumble rules for attack rolls of 1: you just miss. For skill and ability checks, a roll of 20 is not an automatic success and a roll of 1 is not an automatic failure. If you roll a natural 20, it counts as if you had rolled a 30 on the d20. If you roll a natural 1, it counts as if you had rolled a -10. For saving throws, a roll of 20 automatically succeeds and a roll of 1 automatically fails.
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Hmm, I'd probably flip a table over Klaus' rule on wizards not getting their 2 'free' spells at level-up. ;) I've always considered these to be spells that the wizard has been researching in their off-screen downtime. After all, magic items can be crafted during such downtime (even in the wilderness) it seems strange to think that spell research wouldn't/couldn't be done in the same fashion.
I'd also cry foul if forced to restart as a 1st level PC amongst significantly higher-level PCs — particularly if my PC's death was not due to poor choices as a player. Of course, I don't subscribe to the theory that everyone in the world is level 1 until they 'go adventuring', so that might just be attributable to a difference in the presumed level spreads of NPCs in the world.
With that said, in spite of the fact that I have a lot of house rules in my own campaigns, the only ones that really stand out as potentially contentious for new-comers are chiefly rooted in internal consistency with my homebrew setting:
- No evil PCs.
- No half-orcs.
- Negative Energy is the corruption of Positive Energy and therefore strictly the purview of evil deities. As such, channeling negative energy and using Necromancy constitute evil acts.
- Teleportation magic that would access the Astral plane is blocked by divine mandate.
- If a creature falls unconscious due to HP loss and its HP are raised back above 0, they remain unconscious until awakened by noise or someone waking them. Otherwise it is assumed that they will awaken on their own at some point after the present encounter has ended.
- If you employ a physical shield, any condition that causes you to lose your Dexterity bonus to AC also causes you to lose the benefits of that shield.
Mind you, any time a new house rule is under consideration, I always discuss it with the players to gather their feedback. [ooc]A good example of a houserule I would have liked to implement (but which was rejected by the players), would have been to get rid of the Spellcraft skill by having its functionality absorbed by the relevant Knowledge skills. Furthermore, all house rules are listed on the campaign wiki so that there are no surprises after sitting down at the table.
Your last strike to knock an enemy to zero hp can do anything else you want instead: like disarm, trip, and throw him at the same time.
Not sure if that would be contentious, but it seems like a cool idea to me. :)
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-No free spells on level up. Rather, players need to research/find/learn them from someone, even if it means getting no new spells if they leveled up in the wilderness. Normally, this doesn't cause problems since I originally implemented it with the aproval of the group, but once in a while we get a guest player who goes bananas when I explain that part. On the other hand, I'm very flexible when it comes to making up new spells or changing how the current ones works when sufficient creativity and mojo is involved.
Does this apply to spontaneous casters too, or just wizards?
As for myself, I've learned that it's easier to adjust in-game reality to the rules rather than adjust the rules to reality. Much less controversy, much less confusion. As a result, I get very few complaints about my house rules nowadays. :)
An occasional exception is my hex grid, which I use even for dungeon and indoor mapping. Some players have a gut reaction to hexes, but the way I figure, if I can draw a square room on a hex map my players can muddle through moving their minis from hex to hex.
The only stand-out exception is the social combat system I worked up last year, and then foisted on my group for a brief two sessions. My players really didn't like it, and said they'd rather just use a traditional "role play it out, roll only when necessary" method for social conflicts. So I dropped the house rule.
A good example of a houserule I would have liked to implement (but which was rejected by the players), would have been to get rid of the Spellcraft skill by having its functionality absorbed by the relevant Knowledge skills.
What? I'd love that house rule! SC is a total skill tax; who would want to pay it?
Tequila: Have you seen the political combat system from Dynasties and Demagogues? I bought this book to help out with the coming arcs in my PbP and local games (both are set in the same city), and I was favorably impressed with the 'social combat' system they had for political debates. :)
What? I'd love that house rule! SC is a total skill tax; who would want to pay it?
^^^ That's what I said too! But nooo, evidently my players LIKE having to spend extra skill points.
The only real house-rule we're using that anyone at the table is disagreeing with, states that natural 20's on attack rolls are automatic crits(no confirmation roll) and natural 1's are automatic fumbles(AoO, drop weapon, etc).
The auto-crit thing is a pain in the butt for me, because I tend to play characters with high AC's, like Knights, Cavaliers, etc. In mid to high-level games, I can reliably get my AC high enough that lower level mook enemies need a natural 20 to hit me. So, this means that even though they only have a 5% chance to even land a hit on me, that every single successful attack will be a crit.
The last campaign we played, I was the party cleric, rocking a high AC(my idea was to be hard to hit so I could support my allies better), and we found ourselves entrenched in an area where every enemy was wielding an axe of some kind (all x3 crit multipliers). This DM happens roll 20's very often, and I was getting absolutely decimated. It's not much fun when every single attack against you that lands is automatically a crit, and all being x3 didn't help much.
I've brought this up to the DM, and he will not budge at all.
To put that in perspective, I have to say that in my 3.5 game, I don't allow anything that I don't have a physical copy of, so that means there are lots of feats, classes and prestige classes that my players don't have access to.
This one I don't get. Do you disallow PDF's?
Information is information, regardless of medium, whether it be a PDF, a book, a handwritten note, etc. My fellow gamers make frequent use of laptops and photocopies, to keep from having to bring tons and tons of books to gaming each session. As long as you have a cite-able reference for something, shouldn't the medium make no difference?
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I have only one houserule: if something is cool and awesome it flies, regardless wether the rules allow it or not. If something is stupid and makes no sense it doesn't fly.
Has been contentious a few times over the years:
AD&D Thief/Cavalier backstabbing a deaf Ettin with a lance charge from horseback...
When the non-weapon proficiencies were introduced one player wanted to counter "a wave of demons" with his swim check...
Josh, whats the reason for the crit roll?
It makes a little sense that every time you take damage, you are being stabbed in the armpit or hit in the face. With a certain amount of armor, not much else is open.
The DM's only justification is; "that's how we did it old-school." I honestly didn't play much 2e like he did, so I can't really refute it.
But, just because something was done a certain way "back then," doesn't make it right for the present time, given that we're using a completely different set of rules, different setting, and with the exception of the DM, a completely different set of players.
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Huh, I can't think of anything that caused problems for my group. I've been extremely lucky I guess.
This.
Here's mine, for review:
- Roll HP normally. If you roll below half, you can choose to take half.
- Critical Hit and Critical Fumble decks are in play. Fumbles require a confirmation roll - failure indicates a Fumble, success indicates simply a miss.
- Skill Tricks (Complete Scoundrel) are free and unlimited as long as all prereqs are met.
- Characters who desire so may begin with a single item - magical, rare, anything - of their choice (subject to DM approval) that they cannot afford, under the stipulation that the item carries some kind of curse. The character is unaware of this curse, and the nature of the curse is at the DM's discretion. Will need at least a short explanation of how the item was acquired as part of the character's backstory.
- The Bag of Fate will be in play: each character creates a magical item, as detailed or vague as they desire, and sends it to the DM. The DM creates one or two of their own, then all the items are put into a container - a bag (hence the name), chest, vault, sunken ship, dragon's hoard, etc. - somewhere in the story. When the container is discovered, each player will get to draw one item at random; the only rule is that they can only have one and it can't be the one they made. That item belongs to that character and that character alone for the rest of the game, and will not function properly for anyone else without that character's express permission. These have gotten really interesting in the past.
- (PBP Only:) Rolls are done on the honor system, thus a die rolling website link or equivalent is not required. I don't suspect anyone in my current groups prone to cheat.
- (PBP Only:) To smooth the flow of play, passive or unexpected roll requests will be rolled offscreen by the DM; this includes pre-combat Initiative checks. To aid in sustaining in-character knowledge, a failed roll may not be noted as ever having occurred. Active rolls initiated by the player(s) are still welcome.
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When I DM, I have a couple simple ones I use just for ease of use. They vary depending on the nature of the game.
(3.5) Psionics are treated as Arcane Spellcasting, for the purposes of Spell Resistance, level-checks, etc. This just makes things simpler to run, and not everybody in the world needs two separate kinds of Resistance. Only one person in all our groups even has a remote interest in Psionics, so this never really becomes and issue.
Short swords do Slashing AND Piercing damage types(Sorry, it's just a pet peeve of mine). Most other weapons can mimic a damage type with a -4 penalty on the attack roll, except in only very rare or obvious cases. This makes it so that players don't need to carry around a golf bag full of different weapons to beat DR, except in the cases of special materials( i.e DR /silver, /adamantine, /epic).
(3.5) Psionics are treated as Arcane Spellcasting, for the purposes of Spell Resistance, level-checks, etc. This just makes things simpler to run, and not everybody in the world needs two separate kinds of Resistance.
Same, just been so long since I used them that I forgot this.
Most other weapons can mimic a damage type with a -4 penalty on the attack roll, except in only very rare or obvious cases. This makes it so that players don't need to carry around a golf bag full of different weapons to beat DR, except in the cases of special materials( i.e DR /silver, /adamantine, /epic).
That's an interesting idea, I may borrow that.
It probably helps that most all of my houserules benefit the players in some way...Huh, I can't think of anything that caused problems for my group. I've been extremely lucky I guess.This.
I imagine that it does =)
Oh just remembered one more.
Paladin's Smite Evil becomes Smite Evil or Chaos. Antipaladin's Smite Good becomes Smite Good or Law. A CG Archetype would get Smite Evil or Law, and an LE one would get Smite Good or Chaos.
I use the nat-20 = auto-crit rule with the following caveats:
If you need a nat-20 to hit, you have to throw another nat-20 to confirm;
If you have abilities / effects based from the confirmation roll this must be rolled normally (I.e., vorpal swords, quite a few feats/ other abilities).
Channel energy deals the beta rules effect. After roughly 2 1/2 years using vanilla CRB channel energy, we found that we prefer the beta version.
We tested the "no level caps" concept for the combined CoT / Kingmaker campaign and unanimously agreed that the level caps are there for good reason. It was fun, but it makes certain spells too powerful.
(3.5) Psionics are treated as Arcane Spellcasting, for the purposes of Spell Resistance, level-checks, etc. This just makes things simpler to run, and not everybody in the world needs two separate kinds of Resistance.Same, just been so long since I used them that I forgot this.
Most other weapons can mimic a damage type with a -4 penalty on the attack roll, except in only very rare or obvious cases. This makes it so that players don't need to carry around a golf bag full of different weapons to beat DR, except in the cases of special materials( i.e DR /silver, /adamantine, /epic).That's an interesting idea, I may borrow that.
It's honestly worked out really well. Martial types aren't stowing their signature weapon just to pull out a masterwork dagger for slashing damage, for example.
My groups like to get detailed with the kinds of attacks they make, so after years of theoretical attack styles and debates, we adopted this rule. Swords dealing blunt damage, using the flat side of the blade or just bashing with the hilt, being another example. Helps encourage creative role-play in combat, encouraging players to better describe how they make their attacks and such.
I'm puzzled by this thread
-a HOUSE RULE applies to any and all settings. IE if I'm playing FR or Ravenloft, I refuse gnome PCs. That is a house rule
-There are no Azlanti in Greyhawk. That is a Campaign rule.
Don't most people understand the difference?
-I remember meeting a player who said no elves...they are all dead, house rule. I responded, no that is a setting rule. You can say in your world there are no elves. You can not say I have a rule you can't play elves. Because if there are no elves obviously you can't be one. Just like you can't play a native of Mars in a Pathfinder game.
The auto-crit thing is a pain in the butt for me, because I tend to play characters with high AC's, like Knights, Cavaliers, etc. In mid to high-level games, I can reliably get my AC high enough that lower level mook enemies need a natural 20 to hit me. So, this means that even though they only have a 5% chance to even land a hit on me, that every single successful attack will be a crit.
The last campaign we played, I was the party cleric, rocking a high AC(my idea was to be hard to hit so I could support my allies better), and we found ourselves entrenched in an area where every enemy was wielding an axe of some kind (all x3 crit multipliers). This DM happens roll 20's very often, and I was getting absolutely decimated. It's not much fun when every single attack against you that lands is automatically a crit, and all being x3 didn't help much.
Maybe you should point out to your DM that it is supposed to be impossible to crit something that you have to roll a natural 20 to hit? (Unless I'm mistaken at least...) Though, I have a feeling you've already brought up that detail, lol.
I would also recommend that you get your GM's dice replaced with precision ones, my GM had killer dice that seemed to always roll 1's or 20's (making fights very swingy) until I got him to replace them ;)
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I'm puzzled by this thread
*snip*
I call that nitpicking.
Negative Energy is the corruption of Positive Energy and therefore strictly the purview of evil deities. As such, channeling negative energy and using Necromancy constitute evil acts.
Actually, that's probably the most contentious house rule I've used (molesting dead bodies is at best deranged and at worst evil). I haven't had any personal complaints, but I've seen plenty of people get het up on message boards on the subject.
Actually, that's probably the most contentious house rule I've used (molesting dead bodies is at best deranged and at worst evil). I haven't had any personal complaints, but I've seen plenty of people get het up on message boards on the subject.Negative Energy is the corruption of Positive Energy and therefore strictly the purview of evil deities. As such, channeling negative energy and using Necromancy constitute evil acts.
*raises hand* I'll spare you all the debate but that's not a house rule I'd care to play under personally =)
I call you obtuse. The rules of a campaign are set, usually in writing, by the DM. I am or am not allowing X class or X race.
-A house rule, is where a rule is enforced the same, over multiple settings/campaigns.
-To say no orcs in a greyhawk game is entirely different from a game set in the World Of Warcraft RPG. You have now entered the point where you are changing the very SETTING of the world.
-Imagine if I said, Middle Earth, No Humans exist, and no Elves exist. That isn't middle earth. It's like saying Bosnia, no ethnic violence. After you make enough 'house' rules the setting is so far removed from the original, that it functions as it's own setting.
-I can say no good drow PCs in a FR game, but I can't say Drow don't exist, unless I also say "I'm ruuning Nick FR not published FR."
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Edit: You have a strange way of classifying rules. Are you OCD? I've always understood a houserule to be any rule that differs from the official rules. Since nothing says you must use a houserule every game, your 'setting rule' is just a houserule that isn't used every game.
I'm puzzled by this thread
-a HOUSE RULE applies to any and all settings. IE if I'm playing FR or Ravenloft, I refuse gnome PCs. That is a house rule
-There are no Azlanti in Greyhawk. That is a Campaign rule.
Don't most people understand the difference?
Functionally, there isn't a difference. 'You can't play an elf' is the same regardless of the reason behind it.
I'm puzzled by this thread
-a HOUSE RULE applies to any and all settings. IE if I'm playing FR or Ravenloft, I refuse gnome PCs. That is a house rule
-There are no Azlanti in Greyhawk. That is a Campaign rule.
Don't most people understand the difference?
-I remember meeting a player who said no elves...they are all dead, house rule. I responded, no that is a setting rule. You can say in your world there are no elves. You can not say I have a rule you can't play elves. Because if there are no elves obviously you can't be one. Just like you can't play a native of Mars in a Pathfinder game.
The line begins to blur when a particular campaign rule is used for every single game that's played at a certain GM's house, regardless of setting. :-)
But that is just silly
1)DM makes a game setting. In setting he says "there are no elves, there is no elf language. There has never been an elf. There are no elves in the same way on Earth we have no two headed unicorns. You can't play an elf or fight two headed unicorns" this is fair.
2)DM says I'm running a FR game. There are no elves. I think elves are lame/stupid/fey/ whatever. The correct respones to the DM is, you are not running a FR game. You are running a homebrew based off of FR. If that is that case, you must tell me EVERYTHING that happened to EACH AND EVERY mention of elves in that history of FR. Is Lloth dead? How about the ancient elf empires. Who lives on that island now? Oh wait you don't know? So this isn't a homebrew, but actually a pathetic attmept at putting your personal dislikes on the players as a whole?
--in other words...make your own,new,detailed world. don't just steal Eberon and say "I hate warforged!"
You want to know a house rule? Here is a house rule...
-Combat expertise is such a bad feat it can be taken as a FREE bonus feat at 2nd level by a martial character. Or he can take toughness at 2nd level. Now THAT is a house rule. Totally makes fighters either tougher, or more versatile I like that rule.
-You can't play gnomes in my pathfinder Golarin is "I'm a DM who likes to jerk players around. Who cares? I'm GOD!"
--I think the difference is clear by now.