4e Fan Creations and House RulesWorking on variant powers? Statting up a PC race or your version of a monster? Creating or converting an adventure? Put it here!
Here are two ideas that I've used, and it has made my games a lot more fun.
1. Targeted strikes: This is like combining attack rolls with skill checks. The player character can, before his or her attack, declare an attempt to perform a particular task (e.g.: cut off an arm, knock off a helmet, disarm an opponent, knock an implement out of an opponent's hand, etc...). If the attack roll+modifiers exceeds the necessary total by a certain DC, then the desired effect takes place. This rule results mostly in an enhancement to the flavor of the encounter, but it entertains my PCs tremendously.
2. Critical Misses: A roll of a 1 on d20 always misses, but when using a ranged attack, if the trejectory of the attack passes through a square occupied by another creature (whether in front of or behind), a second d20 roll is cast. If the second roll ends up as a 20, the other creature is hit accidentally by the attack (be it friend or foe). This has made for some comical interactions between players, and makes flanking more risky. For melee attacks, I've kicked around the idea of having the attacker fall prone on a roll of 20 as a result of whiffing a little too hard.
2. Critical Misses: A roll of a 1 on d20 always misses, but when using a ranged attack, if the trejectory of the attack passes through a square occupied by another creature (whether in front of or behind), a second d20 roll is cast. If the second roll ends up as a 20, the other creature is hit accidentally by the attack (be it friend or foe).
If I was going to do this I think that instead of requiring a second roll I'd simply say that it automatically hit the intervening target for the sake of simplicity.
This rule is a bit more "fiddly" than most of what I've been doing but it's the kind of thing I'd normally consider using.
If I was going to do this I think that instead of requiring a second roll I'd simply say that it automatically hit the intervening target for the sake of simplicity.
This rule is a bit more "fiddly" than most of what I've been doing but it's the kind of thing I'd normally consider using.
Thanks for your perspective.
I can see how this seems to just add to the rolling, but I guess it hasn't happened to me often enough to be a problem. Perhaps I can bring the requirement on the second roll down to something like 10+ or 15+. The point was that an accedental hit is not likely to happen all the time.
BTW: What does "fiddy" mean.
Last edited by H.M.Gimlord; 15th February 2009 at 10:42 PM..
I can see how this seems to just add to the rolling, but I guess it hasn't happened to me often enough to be a problem.
BTW: What does "fiddy" mean.
Your one extra die roll on the rare ocassion when a ranged attack passes through an occupied square and the attack roll is a 1 is probably not so onerous now that I think about it. I'm just into simplification these days.
What I mean by "fiddly" is that most of the rule changes I've made for 4e aren't all that situational. Like I've changed how Milestones are done and what you can do with an action point and added back in Crafts and things like that. But I haven't (for example) decided to make new rules for how to handle Grapple.
And like with your rule above about the Critical Miss. It only happens on a natural 1 and only happens when there is an occupied space in the attacker's way. I think it is sort of a neat idea but it's also one that only happens once in a while. That means that I've got to keep track of remembering that rule when that happens. And, for me, the added bit of coolness and "realism" that it brings once in a while is not worth me having to remember it (because my memory is not all that great, especially when I'm keeping track of all the other things that a GM has to keep track of during the game).
I hope that makes sense. It's not to say that other people's house rules are "bad" or anything of the sort. Just that I'm placing more value on rules that are easy to implement and remember than ones that situationally add little dashes of coolness to the game.
you get a Wound when you fail a death save (i would limit this to once per encounter based on the fact that nobody in my group can roll above a 5 on a death save).
you get a wound when you suffer a critical hit.
every wound you suffer gives you following penalties:
you suffer -1 penalty to all Str, Con and Dex based skills. this way you still have the feel of being beat up without pushing the character closer towards death in combat.
you could also reduce the amount of hit points granted by your healing surges by the amount of wounds you have. this might make math little longer as far as healing goes, but its not as deadly as reducing healing by half.
recovering from wounds:
at the end of an extended rest you can make an endurance check (you can make a heal check DC 15 to give yourself +2 bonus), or somebody other than you can make a Heal check on you. on a success you heal one of your wounds.
the DC is equal to 10+ half your level (DC based on the level of whoever gave you the wound would make more sense, but you dont want to keep track of where you got the wound)
you could also allow recovery of multiple wounds at once by increasing the DC by... lets say 2 for each wound.
It occured to me that bleeding injuries those with ongoing damage where you failed at least the first save would also be a very appropriate source of a wound?
It occured to me that bleeding injuries those with ongoing damage where you failed at least the first save would also be a very appropriate source of a wound?
I think that sounds entirely appropriate. After the first couple of sessions Wounds have hardly come up at all. I think this is largely due to the fact that most of the baddies they have gone up against haven't been Elites or Solos (although recently they did have to fight a dragon, twice, and another elite. But very few nat 20's rolled by me). But I think it makes sense for some creatures to inflict a Wound on a failed save from an encounter power.
I like the idea of failed Death saves indicating a wound this is sort of an extension on that.
There are a reasonable number of attacks that do ongoing damage (though many use fire -- which for classic regeneration is a stopper)
I am trying to design a sub-race with "true regeneration" ... one way was to give nice bonus's so that those bleeding injuries didn't last or even start and I was thinking auto stabilizing heal check even if unconcious....
and it conceptually works, but without some real long lasting wounds the ability is perhaps less interesting.
The RAW current regeneration ... is more, invigoration (providing energy) and inspiration (morale)... which are quite nice things for poets, preists and politicians to do (bards, clerics and warlords).
but not quite regeneration to me! ... I wish you could hear the song in my head.
This looks really cool. If you're OK with it, I'd like to use these in my own campaign. Hopefully I'll have as much fun playing these rules as I did reading your original post!
Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd add some of my home games house rules here for discussion. Note I am a player, not the DM.
Natural 20 - Always a hit/success no matter the defense/DC
Natural 1 - Always a fail/disaster for combat either you re-roll and strike at a randomly nearest ally or drop your weapon if nobody could logically be hit
6d6 (drop lowest 3) for Stats at Creation - I dislike point buy, it also helps differentiate characters more
All of the above have been house rules for the group through Rules Cyclopedia, 2E, 3E and now 4e.
Add Con Mod to HP on Levelling - this again helps to differentiate characters
No Equipment Parcels - treasure given as and when, usually makes sense with the previous owner
No Player Equipment Wish Lists - as above
All of the above are our house rules for 4e
No starting equipment
Monster Ritual/Alchemy Components Parts - found on monsters that would otherwise not have treasure, specifics not noted just that the value is X towards alchemy
"Legacy" Magic Item - each character has 1 item that will level with them
All of the above are our house rules for current campaign
We're also still debating a few things:-
Minions - the DM doesn't like the 1 HP, especially at higher levels
Spontaneous Magic Items - Made magical through action, rather than ritual (yoinked from this thread)
For wounds, I'm considering: if a PC fails a death save, etc. (basically works like Rel's version), then one of the following occurs: a) -2 to all defenses, b) -2 to hit, or c) -2 to speed. Roll 1d3 to determine the effect. Maybe I'll make some marker (circular thing of red paper) that a PC can drop on their miniature so they don't forget they're wounded.
Thanks for all the more recent additions to this thread. Always enjoyable to read other perspectives on various house rules.
Just when I was thinking that my Wounds crop up too rarely to bother with, we had an epic combat the other night that resulted in the PC's being wounded six times. It made me glad that mine doesn't result in a sort of "death spiral".
Which prompts me to ask, Pale Jackal, would your wounds be cumulative if the target were wounded more than once n a combat?
Which prompts me to ask, Pale Jackal, would your wounds be cumulative if the target were wounded more than once n a combat?
Knew I should clarify, but yes. However, I was thinking that death saves reset at an extended rest, and not just any rest. However, since I use a two fight day, hopefully things won't get too ridiculous, and I don't think it'll cause a death spiral, but feel free to chime in if people think otherwise.
Last edited by Pale Jackal; 20th May 2009 at 04:33 PM..
Knew I should clarify, but yes. Though since three failed saves = you're dead, at most a PC should get two during a fight.
Oh I see. When you said, "if a PC fails a death save, etc" I thought that meant there were other circumstances under which they would take a Wound. Yeah I'd say that you don't have much of a death spiral going on then.
Also I've discovered that it is relatively rare for the players in my group to have to even make a death save, much less fail one. That's not to say that they never go unconscious. But the Cleric is mightily efficient and her combination of Melora's Tide, Healing Word and Consecrated Ground have been very effective at preventing the other PC's from making a death save.
Hmm...I need to start targeting the Cleric more heavily with monster attacks...
Also I've discovered that it is relatively rare for the players in my group to have to even make a death save, much less fail one. That's not to say that they never go unconscious. But the Cleric is mightily efficient and her combination of Melora's Tide, Healing Word and Consecrated Ground have been very effective at preventing the other PC's from making a death save.
Yep. I have a Warlord and an Artificer in my group. Additionally, the Fighter has Armor of Sacrifice and gets to basically use a Lay on Hands ability 1/day.
Unconsciousness happens pretty regularly, but it doesn't last long at all.
I just wanted to take a second to talk about the Action point/Character Traits/etc etc business.
What Rel is trying to do sounds a lot like Spirit of the Century/Dresden Files RPG's "Aspects".
Spoiler:
In this system, when you create your character, you get to write down 5-10 adjectives/phrases that describe Who Your Character Is. "Stubborn as a Mule" "First on the Scene" "Smartest Man in Two States", etc.
At the beginning of each session, everyone gets 5 Fate Points. Fate points are the fuel of the system, and they do one or two things unrelated to aspects*, but I'm focusing on that right now. You can use these points to "Tag" an aspect to give yourself a bonus when doing something related to an Aspect. When you tag, you either get to reroll the dice you rolled for your action, OR gain a +2 to the roll. This is a big thing, because all rolls are skill+(4d3-8). For instance, you could tag "Stubborn" if someone is trying to intimidate you, and get a bonus. Your group could be running towards a fire, and you could tag "First on the Scene" and just arrive there before anyone else, and get to act first. Or your character may need to deactivate an alien bomb, and your "Smartest Man" could be argued to be smart enough to figure out the alien configuration of the bomb for defusing it.
The DM can also compel these aspects. This means that he invokes your Aspect to complicate things. If there's a negotiations where the outcome is in the PC's favor, the DM might compel your "stubborn" aspect to make you resist when it's in your best interest not to. He could compel your "First on the Scene" so you walk into an ambush alone, with your group delayed. Your "Smartest Man in Two States" could be compelled for you to leap before looking, because you're too confident in your smartness. When a DM compels your Aspect, you get a free Fate Point. However, if you want to say "No, I'd like to not do that", you have to instead pay a fate point.
Aspects (and Compels) can even account for rivals, your arch nemesis, etc. If the Dm is going to use these, then he gives you a free fate point at the beginning of the adventure; your rival/nemesis is working behind the scenes.
Players also gain a free fate point if they just roleplay in accordance to their Aspects, without needing to be compelled. Like Rel's example of a guy stopping to drink once they find the casks of alcohol. Of course, the DM could still compel the lover of alcohol to stop right there and drink it, when the PCs are in a hurry to go somewhere.
There's a whole lot more to it than that**, but it's not relevant to what Rel is doing. Aspects (and the Fate Points that are used to activate them) are one of the biggest parts of the system, rather than an add-on like they are being treated here. Not to mention PCs get lots more fate points than they do Action Points in D&D. But, I could definitely see using Aspects as they are, especially since Rel is incorporating them into Stunts.
*Fate Points also work to allow PCs to have a certain narrative control of the story. You can spend a fate point to make a declaration. For instance, if your PC does not smoke, but having a lighter would be very useful at that moment, you spend one and declare, "My character whips out a lighter from his pocket." Or, if your character is not in the current scene, you could spend a fate point and arrive at a dramatic moment.
**For instance, a place can have an Aspect like "Full of Shadows" which a PC can tag when he's trying to be stealthy, granting him a bonus to his stealth roll. Players and enemies can induce aspects; throwing sand in someone's eye can give them the "Blinded" aspect, so the next PC can tag that Blinded aspect to give him a bonus on his next attack, or if the "Blinded" enemy is going to attack, the PC could tag the "blinded" aspect to give himself a boost to his defense ("He is more likely to miss me because he's got grit in his eye!") Players can also try to figure out the aspects of villains, and tag/compel them.
With regards to Power Stunts - the PC still needs to roll to do whatever effect they're looking to do, right? Either a skill check or an attack roll to succeed, where the Power Stunt simply gives them the juice to try?
Also, any general rules for balancing Power Stunts? Especially when Zanne has modified her powers (turning a single-target power into an AoE or Multi-target power, allowing teleporting allies with her in a crucial moment).
With regards to Power Stunts - the PC still needs to roll to do whatever effect they're looking to do, right? Either a skill check or an attack roll to succeed, where the Power Stunt simply gives them the juice to try?
Also, any general rules for balancing Power Stunts? Especially when Zanne has modified her powers (turning a single-target power into an AoE or Multi-target power, allowing teleporting allies with her in a crucial moment).
Typically yes.
If it is just a minor modification to an existing power then I just give it to them. Zanne teleporting somebody else or modifying the area of effect of an existing power are examples of this (after all, she still has to roll to-hit rolls vs. any extra foes).
My guideline is that an effect generated from scratch should be no more powerful than an Encounter Power. A modified Encounter Power should be no more powerful than a Daily. A modified Daily...well I just try to keep it within reason.
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