Your house rules?


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Key elements of my House rules are listed below :

Skills
- at each level, characters earn skill points instead of skill ranks based on their Class and relevant abilities score
- 1 rank of a non-Class skill which can not be used untrained costs 3 skill points
- 1 rank of a non-Class skill which can be used untrained costs 2 skill points
- 1 rank of a Class skill costs 1 skill point
- rank cost is calculated based on Class Skills list of the Class for which a level was gained
- ability bonus skill points can come from any ability (instead of just Int) as long as they are spent on skills using the same ability (max bonus per level = highest ability bonus used); for instance with 8 Int / 14 Dex / 12 Str / 10 Cha a PC can spend 2 bonus points on Dex skills or 1 bonus point on Dex skill and 1 bonus point on Str skill
- when distracted / in combat / under stress you can take 5 or roll with -5
- Diplomacy skill DC is increased by the target level
- encumbrance penalties and armor check penalties stack and fully apply to Dex / Str skills in case full body movement is required (usually acrobatics, climb, ride, stealth, swim, fly)
- disable device & sleight of hand : encumbrance penalties do not apply if activity is done without full body movement while armor check penalties can be negated by removing hand/arm protection such as gauntlets, …
- armor non-proficiency doubles the armor check penalties for Skills / Abilities checks before any armor check penalties reduction is applied

Initiative
- use Reflex save to determine Initiative result

AC
- encumbrance penalties and armor check penalties stack and fully apply to negate potential Dodge bonus
- Dexterity bonus to AC is considered as a Dodge bonus
- there are no max Dex modifiers applicable to Armor or Encumbrance

Here are the detailed House rules on Google Docs : House Rules.


Java Man wrote:
Letric wrote:
Veilgn wrote:

Mine :

1. Wizard know all the spell.
2. Encumbrance didnt count.

Your GM must REALLY like Wizards. Level 9 spells are worth 50k, and I have only counted 50 or some.

That alone is probably worth 200k gold. LOL
And no encumbrance? Hello super dumped Str Wizard not caring ever about getting a bag of holding for several levels.
Where do you get 50k for a ninth level spell? Its 810gp to scribe it, plus 405 to rent an original. Or are you buying scrolls to copy? Those would come to jusr under 4k a piece.

I only considered the price of scribing the spell


All PC's are assumed to have a backpack containing limited amounts of necessary adventuring gear, at level 1.
(Rope, trail rations, etc.)

Everyone gets a free reroll of any roll resulting in a natural 1, once per session, including any character controlled by the GM.

Eschew Materials is free for all 6 & 9 level casters.


Hell. My houserule didnt like material ror casting.

They are more annoying.


We never play up to lvl 10 before..


I've only a few.

Rolled 1 on a skill check means a failed check. We like the idea of a chance to fail

No leadership.

And finally either the group rolls each a set of rolls or I roll a couple times and everyone takes the best of the rolls. So everyone starts equal and may be good or all suck. We seem to like this a lot.

For some games I'll allow a single hit die reroll.


Out of my list of house rules, I probably like these the most:

  • No Class Skills
  • Combat Maneuvers only provoke an AoO if they fail (without the corresponding Improved Feat)
  • No Alignment restriction on Monks and Barbarians
  • All non-Int based classes gain at least 4+Int Skill Ranks per level
  • Characters can spend 1 hour each day to re-focus all feats that only affects one kind of weapon (switch from 'Weapon Focus: Flail' to 'Weapon Focus: Longsword').


  • We have quite a few but to me the best one is using Con score instead of con modifier as a bonus to Hp at first level. It totally changes the survivability of 1st-3rd level characters and makes for a less fraught more enjoyable first few adventures.


    We ignore encumbrance. We use the logic of "Final Fantasy style bags of holding" for the party, but still within reason. If you can fit it through the opening in the bag, you can carry it. No houses in there unless you shrink them.

    I also don't log standard ammo (arrows, bullets.) Beyond level 10, Masterwork gets added to that list, and with enough ranks in Craft, I let the players choose one type of metal to add to the list.

    We don't usually confirm crits. When you crit, that's just it. Any class features that function on confirmations usually just add a Burst effect (+1d10 damage of some sort) a limited number of times per day.

    The whole "no rations" thing also makes my list. Kind of goes hand to hand with the "infinte bags" discussed earlier.

    My group also does stat rolls, not point buy. I've taken to allowing the PC to roll 3 pools of 6 stats, and set 10 as the minimum before racial penalties. If a desirable array hasn't hit, we set all stats at 15, and redistribute at a 1/1 ratio.

    Spoiler:
    We play higher power games than some people get in to.


    My house rules are years of accumulation of little changes.

    House Rules
    1. We use the hero points optional rule from Advanced Players Guide.
    2. Appraise checks are unnecessary. The value of found items is always known.
    3. A character who begins a turn hidden stays undetected until he takes a non-stealthy action, such as a melee attack, or fails an opposed Stealth check for a stealthy action, such as stealthy movement. (This might be an official rule now, but it wasn't when I started.)
    4. We use "Making Craft Work" rules for Craft skill.
    5. A character can make a Diplomacy check as a standard action to ask, "Wait! Why are you strangers attacking us?"
    6. NPC knowledge or lack thereof applies a sizable circumstance modifier to Bluff checks.
    7. When I player rolls 15 over the DC for a Knowledge check to identify a creature, I hand the player the bestiary and let him read the entire entry.
    8. Healing kits, spell component pouches, etc. can be restocked with successful Survival checks.
    9. Aid Another on skill checks can use a valid related skill, such as Craft(alcehemy) to aid a Disable Device check on a poisoned needle trap.
    10. Rolling a 1 for hit points allows a reroll.
    11. Magical reagents for making magic items can be scavenged from dead magical creatures.
    12. Handing an item to another character is a move action for the active character and a non-action for the other character.
    13. Sacred Geometry feat is stealth-banned (i.e., no-one has wanted the feat, but if they did, it would be banned).
    14. I am willing to invent new feats upon request, such as Dervish Dance for Wakizashi or Robotic Leadership.
    15. Racial prerequisites are flexible.

    House Guidelines
    a. If you treat friendly NPCs well, then they will try to be helpful.
    b. Given that you generous PCs keep giving treasure back to their original owners, I always need to add more ownerless treasure to maintain proper wealth by level. Let me know what you would like to find.
    c. Gathering information yields useful information.
    d. An encounter that is too tough for the party will have warning signs in the game. If the warnings fail, I add warnings out of game. If they fail, too, expect a Total-Party Kill. Running away from an overwhelming force is a legitimate encounter.
    e. The dice can kill even if I did not plan a TPK.


    The one we sit here discussing is multiple prerequisite paths to a feat. X race gets a particular feat with a lower base attack required, for example.


    Power attack is free if you have the prerequisites
    Feats automatically scale as you meet prerequisites. Ie 2 weapon fighting automatically becomes improved/greater as you make the prerequisite
    Maneuvers only provoke if you fail
    Katanas are finessable
    Hero points
    With the right skills monster parts can be used in crafting.
    There's always a way out. Maybe not always a way to win, but be smart and you'll survive.
    Your choices matter.
    Unless you're away from any way to restock, or its special ammo, I don't keep track.


    A few I forgot in my earlier post, if you are proficient in shield use it covers defense and offensive purposes.

    Katannas, wakizashi, no dachi and falcatta are just different styles of other swords, same stats.

    I have a set of changes to item crafting that is mostly finished, I plan to post it for discussion soon.

    There is no chance to poison yourself when applying it or using poisoned weapons. The poison use ability adds one to the dc of poisons delivered, and allows for more creative delivery methods.


    1. All unchained classes applicable.
    2. Minimum 4 skill/level.
    3. Craft and Profession skills are knowledge and social checks (where applicable--think of being respected within your field)
    4. Encumbrance is generalized.
    5. No evil PCs unless it's an evil campaign.
    6. Miniscule items are assumed, such as 50' rope.
    7. No Leadership, and a small number of problematic spells, items, and feats of similar flavor removed (such as Paragon Surge, Blood Money).
    8. Feats that seem to duplicate existing mechanics removed (I'm considering taking some feats and just expanding certain areas of the combat rules; for example, Strike Back could be a maneuver anyone could do versus a natural weapon at a -4).
    9. Ingame rewards for being awesome, showing up, and otherwise contributing.
    10. No creep concepts, such as halflings that look like children, and are somehow sexy and perform exotic dancing. Nope. Basic expectation of don't be a That Guy.
    11. No PvP unless it's that kind of game.

    ...I'd like to roll in the automatic bonus progression, but I'm not yet prepared to address all of those price adjustments, since I have a long list of allowed MIs.


    I also use stunt bonus's from exalted for any game/system I run. You describe doing something truly awesome and you get a bonus. Better the description, better the bonus

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