I’m rebuilding my house rules document.
I want to see what other people are doing with 1E.
I already use Elephant in the Room Feat Tax rules.
Please share.
Here is my list of current House Rules
- Ability Scores:
Arrange these stats 18, 16 14, 13, 12, 10 before any modifiers.
- Races:
See Page on Races
- Classes:
All Paizo Classes are Available
- Archetypes:
All Paizo Archetypes are available
- Hit Points:
Characters start first level with max hit points and gain max hit point for every level up till 5th level after 5th level they begin rolling for hit points using this chart. Any follower or companion also use this chart for hit dice without the first five hit dice being maximum.
Hit Dice D6 D8 D10 D12
Hit Points 3+1d3 4+1d4 5+1d5 6+1d6 - Background Skills:
The background skill rules from Pathfinder Unchained will be in use.
- Character Traits:
Characters get to select three traits (one Campaign trait and two other) from any Paizo product.
- Drawbacks: Characters may select one drawback and gain an additional trait
- Character Bonus Feats:
Characters gain, Power Attack, Combat Expertise, Deadly Aim, Weapon Finesse and Agile Maneuvers as bonus feats.
- Bonus Skill Feats:
Character gain a bonus skill focus feat at 1st level and an additional bonus skill focus feat every 4 levels after 1st
- Level:
Characters will start at 3rd Level
- Fate and Luck Points:
Characters begin with 1 Fate Point and 1 Luck Point
- Bonus Signature Skill:
Characters gain a bonus Signature Skill Feat in a skill they have skill focus in at 5th level and again every 5 levels after that.
- Starting Gold:
Characters have 4000 Gp to spend on Mundane Items and Consumable Magic Items. After they are done purchasing all remaining gold is lost. The Character starts the game with 200-500 Gold (1d4+1) x100)
House Rules
- Removed Feats:
Point Blank Shot and any requirement for it have been removed
- Replaced Bonus Feats:
If your class grants you Weapon Finesse you gain Weapon Focus in its place. Any other class bonus feats that duplicate character bonus feats grant you an additional combat feat
- Deities Weapon:
If your class grants you Weapon Proficiency with your deity’s favored weapon and you are already proficient with it, then you instead gain Weapon Focus for that weapon.
- Improved Unarmed Strike:
If your class grants you Martial Weapon Proficiency than you gain Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat.
- Raging:
For all rage abilities the bonus hit points granted are temporary hit points that are lost first when a character takes damage, they disappear when the rage ends, and are not replenished if the character enters a rage again within 1 minute of her previous rage.
- Versatile Performance:
When your class grants you the Versatile Performance you may reallocate the skill points in the corresponding skill immediately.
- Castling Defensively:
If you fail the concentration check while casting defensively, you can choose to lose the spell or provoke an attack of opportunity. (Being hit while casting requires another concentration check as normal).
- Fumbled Concentration Checks:
Anytime a spell caster rolls a natural 1 and fails their concentration check they provoke an attack of opportunity.
- Recovery during Resting:
Eight hours of normal rest allows a character to recover 1+Con modifier (min 1) HP per character level.
- Drawing an Item:
Any character who can draw a weapon as a part of a move can draw anything reasonable (a wand, potion, etc.) as a part of move. This is also true for the quick draw feat.
- Healing:
When using a healing effect if the total results are below half the maximum then they may take a standard result equal to half of each dice.
- Critical Successes and Failures:
For skill and ability checks, a 20 is not an automatic success and a roll of a 1 is not an automatic failure. If you roll a natural 20 it counts as if you rolled a 25 on the d20, if you roll a natural 1, it counts as if you had rolled a -5.
- Membership Feature Requirements:
For features that require membership in an organization or a group, this requirement may be removed or altered on a case by case basis.
- Experience Points:
Characters will not receive Experience points but will be given levels when the GM and the story provides for it.
- Luck Points:
Luck Shines on you, a luck point allows you to reroll any one d20 roll you just made, and take the better of the two rolls. On a result of 1 through 10 on the second roll, add 10 to the result, an 11 or higher remains as-is (so the second roll is always a result of 11-20). You must spend the luck point to improve a roll before the GM announces the result of your roll. You may use your Luck points in this manner once per game session.
- Fate Points:
You are touched by Fate, a Fate point allows you to reroll any one d20 roll you just made, and take the better of the two rolls. On a result of 1 through 10 on the second roll, add 10 to the result, an 11 or higher remains as-is (so the second roll is always a result of 11-20). You must spend the fate point to improve a roll before the GM announces the result of your roll. You may use your Fate point in this manner once per game session. You may permanently burn one of your Fate points to escape death.
- Last Chance:
When a Named character is reduced to a hit point total equal to or lower than their negative constitution score or their constitution score is reduced to zero, note the initiative count on which the potentially fatal effect took place.
If the creature's hit point total is greater than their negative constitution score and their constitution score is greater than zero by the same intuitive count on the following round, the creature in question does not die, and may be further healed or restored as normal.
If the creature's hit points are equal to or less than their negative constitution score or their constitution score is zero on that initiative count in the following round, the creature dies. Their spirit leaves their body for the afterlife, and can only be restored by spells such as Raise Dead, Reincarnate, or other similar spells and effects
- Spell/Ability Failure:
Any Ability or Spell cast will automatically fail if the player does not know how the ability/spell works when performing/casting. This includes all Summoning and Wildshape spells that require you have the stat block ready on a phone/computer/index card at time of casting.
- Critical Hits (Critical Hits Deck):
† On confirmed critical hits the player will draw from the critical hit deck.
† When resolving a critical hit the weapon will do its standard critical damage plus any effect on the card. (So an X2 Weapon will do double damage plus card effect)
† Any multiplication of damage on the card will be ignored.
† If a triple damage card is drawn the player can redraw the card.
† If the character scoring the critical hit also possesses Weapon Focus in the weapon used, the player may draw an additional card and chooses which result to apply. A Character with Greater Weapon Focus may draw two additional cards.
† The DC of the critical is equal to 10+ the attackers base attack bonus
† Named Characters draw from the Critical Hits Deck, all other NPC/Monster follow standard critical rules.
- Critical Fumbles (Critical Fumble Deck):
† Whenever the attacker rolls a natural 1 on the dice the attack misses and there is the threat of a fumble. The attacker must immediately make a confirmation roll, using their full B/A with all modifiers. If the attack roll would miss the target the character fumbles and must draw a card from the deck.
† All PCs, NPCs and Monsters draw from the Critical Fumble Deck.
† The DC of the fumble is equal to 10+ the defenders base attack bonus
† If the character scoring the critical miss also possesses Weapon Focus in the weapon used, the player may draw an additional card and chooses which result to apply. A Character with Greater Weapon Focus may draw two additional cards.
Character Creation Guide Lines
I am actually in the middle of revising my house rules, but here is where I am with my draft.
Campaign Rules
The campaign will be based on Pathfinder v1 rules.
The setting will be the Forgotten Realms (FR), with my Kingdom of the Bloodstone Lands homebrew material, pre-Spellplague (the Spellplague has not taken place in our timeline). Deities will be the Forgotten Realms deities, pre-Spellplague.
All third party spells, character classes, items, and any other material will be approved / disapproved by me on a case-by-case basis, in advance. This rule includes Forgotten Realms-specific spells and items. Anything from Pathfinder “Unchained” or labeled “Variant” must also be discussed with me.
Game Night is one night every week, usually Monday, 7:30-10:30 PM (eastern), but we do shift the night around, depending on when most players are available (but my wife frowns on putting a game night on a Fri, Sat, or Sun night). We usually schedule the next game or two at the very end of the current game.
Lots of treasure divvying up and other down time activities will take place over email when possible to avoid burning up our limited time together. Players are expected to keep up with game emails as best as they can between sessions.
We do our best not to cancel a scheduled game, but when we do they are canceled via email. Always check email leading up to a game session.
Character Creation and Level Up Rules
If you are new to D&D / Pathfinder / Forgotten Realms, don’t worry. If you don’t understand what most of the items below mean, don’t worry. This is a very helpful group (with no shortage of opinions) and any one of the core group can help walk you through character creation. It will also be a good idea for the entire party to discuss what character each person is thinking of playing, otherwise we might end up with an all-wizard party (which, while interesting, probably won’t be successful).
Characters may take maximum hit points for each of the first two levels.
I would like a character bio before starting. This should include at least one (small or large) paragraph regarding physical description (height, weight, hair, eye(s), etc.) and a personality description (aggressive, passive, greedy, or sensitive about height). There must include one thing that drives him (Cult of the Dragon killed all of my brothers), one thing he would not ever do (back down from insults), and one major fear (falling or water or whatever). Preferably, there are reasons for these (Why falling? Why water?). You can keep this bio pretty generic (not necessary to place your hometown somewhere in the setting, for example). If you would like your character to be from the immediate area, please let me know as I have a list of additional deities specific to this campaign.
Everyone has a patron god or set of gods and a reason for this choice. If you believe yourself to be godless, be aware that there are penalties in the afterlife that affect resurrection. Some gods are race specific. You must be either full/half that race or have been fully raised in that community to revere racial gods. Standard Forgotten Realms deities are here: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Portal:Deities Note: Use the 1374 DR list, not the post-Spellplague list.
Character alignment cannot include the descriptor “Evil”. I also frown heavily upon Chaotic Neutral and pure Neutral. The web page background is hideous, but I recommend you read: http://www.angelfire.com/rpg2/vortexshadow/alignment.html and include some of these alignment-specific traits in your character’s bio...it will help you role play to your alignment.
Ability Score Generation: 25 point buy system (Core Rulebook p15-16). Racial adjustments are applied after you have completed your point purchase and assignment. At the end, no score can be lower than an 8, unless you have a specific role-playing reason why not (and it had better be a good one).
Starting Gold: Standard amount per Core Rulebook p140. Characters should take the average total.
We will use “Medium” experience points for character advancement (p30).
All Pathfinder classes, feats, skills, etc. are available, with all benefits and restrictions. If you want third-party (i.e., non-Pathfinder) / custom classes or custom prestige classes, please discuss with me but know in advance that I’m inclined not to approve. Anything from “Unchained” or labeled “Variant” must also be discussed with me.
Characters may optionally take fixed hit points at each level, starting at 3rd. To take fixed hit points, you take half of the character’s hit dice and add one. For example, an 8HD class would get 8/2 = 4 +1 = 5 hp. Not as good as rolling an 8, but better than rolling a 1. You will need to decide what you want to do before you roll hit points for that level (in other words, you can’t have a crappy roll and then decide to do fixed points for that level).
We are no longer going to use training time when increasing levels or adding an additional class. This rule is a significant departure from how we’ve played for years. Characters who have sufficient XP to advance will do so automatically between game sessions, or potentially during a game session on a case-by-case basis.
Table / House Rules
In the interest of moving play along, I will sometimes issue an on the spot ruling rather than pause the action to look something up. I reserve the right to change my decision for future situations once I’ve had the opportunity to review the official rules. In other words, a spot decision does not automatically make a rule.
When players are absent, their characters will be run by other players in attendance, or optionally by the DM. They will receive a normal share of regular experience and treasure, however they will be ineligible for any bonus experience.
If a new character is created or joins the party, that character will start at a character level equal to the current lowest non-NPC level in the party, with the minimum experience required to achieve that level. In other words, if everyone in the party is fifth level except for the second level NPC, a new character joining the party will have the minimum XP needed for fifth level.
All die rolls will take place within the FantasyGrounds program. All players must have the client version of the program. I have an “ultimate” DM license so players should not have to purchase a client license.
Skype will be the software for voice.
Players should not reference material that would give them an unfair advantage, for example all Bestiaries and relevant modules are particularly prohibited.
When characters are addressing each other, they should do so in character (yes, I know we all have trouble with this one but it is nice to have goals).
We will use the standard initiative rules (roll once per combat).
I will give bonus experience points and/or other bonuses (e.g., extra skill points) at my discretion for each of the following:
Being present for a game
Good role-playing
Updating your character before the game
Having an idea that significantly and positively affects the party
Keeping a character journal
Updating the campaign Wiki
Note: These are non-trivial awards and can add up quickly, so I recommend you try to follow at least a few of them!
Instead of tracking upkeep costs, I will sometimes not include non-magical items and/or small quantities of coins in the party treasury, with the assumption they are going towards upkeep (e.g., food, beverages, clothing, lodging).
No renaissance or greater technology weapons, ever. (I hate guns in D&D).
For saving throws, a "1" is a "1" and a "20" is a "20" (plus or minus your individual and situational modifiers). There are NO fumble rolls.
You can improve an item by paying the difference between the current value and the value of the item including the upgrades, provided you do not exceed the gp limits for your location.
I've banned all Steveomancy at my tables.
My house rules are pretty minimal but some things change campaign to campaign, and some I'm getting ready to try:
-20 point buy (considering adding in "no stat below 8 after race modifiers" as I've had a player put a stat down 7 or 8, and then applied another -2 due to race, in two different campaigns now.)
-Background skills per Unchained, minus the Sleight of Hand and Lore skills. If a class has a significant ability tied to a background skill (eg: Bard and Performance) then that skill doesn't count as a background skill for that character. (Sleight of hand is excluded because it can be abused, Lore because I tend to run campaigns that happen in a small area so it could easily be too powerful of a skill.)
-Two traits, depending on the campaign if one has to be a campaign trait or not. If one does have to be a campaign trait I'm totally open to working a normal trait into counting as a campaign trait.
-Max hit points at level 1, average rounded up after that (D6: 4, D8: 5, D10: 6, D12: 7). (Makes it really nice when you invariably have someone go "did I remember to roll my hit points this level?". Using average makes it so they can calculate if they increased HP or not.)
-Being at 0 hit points means you're unconscious and dying. (Because having a rule for a very specific amount of hit points doesn't seem worth it. Plus, you wouldn't believe how many times enemies have been knocked to exactly 0 hit points!)
-Core races, possibly other races depending on the campaign and then they have to typically be ones that make sense for the campaign / area.
-Cure potions recover maximum hit points, wands and spells are rolled. (In-world reason: "The creator of the potion was able to distill it so that it's as powerful as possible," gaming reason: Potions were almost never used in favour of CLW wands. Changing potions to max has made it so that they're used a lot more often.)
-Magic item customization is limited to the "Big 6" having another item stacked onto them for a 50% increase in the price. (I've done custom items before, they quickly became OP, a headache to try to balance, and stacking 2 or 3 things onto one item became too much. I want people to have to weigh pros and cons of different items rather than just throw money at things to get exactly what they want. At the same time, I don't want someone to feel like their fighter can't have an interesting belt because they need the bonus to their physical scores.)
-Magic items and spells may be restricted if they appear in the Adventure Path.
-NEW: Racial bonuses are +2 to one of the listed stats with the other +2 going to any of the three of the other kind of stat (physical or mental), -2 is applied to the listed stat of the race, unless you're playing a race that only get a single +2 (eg: Human). Which means that an elf could get +2 Int, -2 Con, +2 Con for a net gain of +2 Int. Or +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Con if the player wants to play an Elven Bard. (Hopefully this encourages players to change up which races "have to" be certain classes.)
-NEW: Except for Grapple, Combat Maneuvers do not provoke attacks of opportunity, all of the feats that provide increases to CMs have been removed. (Enemies in my games are typically humanoid so CMD and CMB scale at about the same rate, specializing in CMs makes it so they nearly never miss even at higher levels, and removing the AoO will hopefully encourages players to occasionally use them when it's appropriate.)
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For my home setting-
No racial ability modifiers. Instead everyone gets +2 to one physical and +2 to one mental stat after point buy.
Option to chose 1 from a list of homebrew background traits (not required).
Option to choose from the crb races, or my homebrew ones.
Unarmed strike is a simple weapon.
Combat maneuvers do not provoke.
Magic item forges exist in world, which can be used via the dynamic magic item creation rules. (normal creation feats can still be taken to craft with the normal rules instead)
The same custom crit and fumble rules that I've been using since 3e.
Pretty much anything goes. A few options banned due to not fitting into my setting- advanced technology, guns, and psionics.