So, last night, we had a fun encounter with numerous goblin minions backed up by a Tiefling Commander and a Goblin Skullcleaver. It was a large fight, with the goblins desperately trying to defend the inn they had been holed up in.

A very cool fight, with three different floors of combat, and each character involved in his own little challenge. The Eladrin Warlord and the Drow Rogue were trying to take down the Skull Cleaver on the upper floor. The Elven Ranger and an NPC ally named Arielle (A Human Warmage) were focused on a fight with the Tiefling on the roof, with the ranger occasionally firing down through the skylight onto the first floor (the first floor having a railing that overlooked the dining area). And the minotaur fighter trying to stop the little goblins from swarming him.

The problem? Minions don't deal any extra damage on a critical. And I rolled quite a few.

I personally think minions should deal double damage on a critical hit. And my players agreed with me on the spot, even though it meant quite a bit more damage to themselves.

Here's my logic: on a critical hit, the monster or PC does full damage. This can be a huge effect, especially when you factor in bonus magic item damage from a critical hit. In the first round, our ranger inflicted something like 40 damage on critical!

A minion's damage is a flat number. This number represents the average damage that minion would do, if he had been rolling dice. that 4 points of damage the minion does is really the average of 1d6+1, rounded down.

Now, if that minion got a critical, wouldn't it stand to reason that the damage he would inflcit would be a maximum, instead of an average?

So, double minion critical hits. Makes sense to me, and it's a new house rule.

Wik

So, Canada day was a good one. Not only did I get to drink, but it seems I handled my blood sugars really well, and did the perfect amount of insulin - I woke up with a perfectly normal blood sugar. Meaning, not only did I not get a normal hangover, but I didn't get a high blood sugar hangover, either!

Spent most of the morning playing NHL 08. My streak ended, due to the damned Dallas Stars beating me in a shootout victory. It's all good, though. 22 points after sixteen games is pretty good, in my book. More than a point a game, after all.

Now, onto game content. It's just a small one, today. A few feats, nothing more.

Leap to Safety (Halfling)
Prerequisites: Halfling, heroic tier, second chance racial power.
Benefit: When you use your halfling second chance ability, if the second attack roll made against you misses, you may immediately shift one square.

Halfling Sneak (Halfling)
Prerequisites: Halfling
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on initiative checks, and a +1 bonus on stealth checks.

Wik

This being stands nearly the height of a human, though it is hunched over. It has long arms that seem to reach its knees, with each hand ending in vicious claws, nearly half a foot long. It has a hide that seems to be made of mottled leaves, moss, and decaying bark, though underneath this camoflage is a blackened husk. It has no face, merely two black opals that seem to serve as eyes.

The Haaori Demon, also known as the "Face Stealer", was unleashed in the days following the last days of the Kaellian Empire. It is a perverse fiend that stalks its prey amongst the wilds of the land. It enjoys the thrill of the hunt, and often taunts prey, wounding caught prey before releasing it once more, terrorizing the poor soul until the Haaori Demon grows tired.

Haaori demons enjoy trophies, and proudly display mementos from particularly interesting prey. This is the origin of their nickname, "Face Stealers", as many Haaori cure the facial skins of those they have caught.

Haaori Demon Level 6 Lurker
Medium Elemental Humanoid XP 250

Initiative +7 Senses Perception +11; Darkvision

HP 58; Bloodied 29
AC 20; Fortitude 18, Reflex 19, Will 18
Immune Fear
Speed 8

Demon Claws (Standard; At-will)
+11 vs. AC; 1d6+4 damage, and the Haaori demon makes a secondary attack. Secondary Attack: +9 vs. Fortitude; the target is slowed (save ends).

Deadly Charge (Standard; recharge 6)
+11 vs. AC; 3d8+4 damage, and the target is knocked prone.

Vanish into Air (Immediate Reaction; Encounter)
When the Haaori Demon is hit by an attack, it can go invisible until the end of it's next turn.

Combat Advantage
A Haaori Demon deals an extra 1d6 damage on melee attacks against an opponent it has combat advantage against.

Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages Common, Abyssal

Skills Bluff +9, Intimidate +9, Nature +10, Stealth +12
Str 16 (+6); Dex 19 (+7); Wis 16 (+6);
Con 16 (+6); Int 14 (+5); Cha 13 (+4);

Tactics: Haaori demons prefer to strike their opponent, and then fade into hiding if the attack doesn't land a kill. They often use their Deadly charge attack against unaware foes, gaining combat advantage damage. Once struck, they immediately go invisible, and strike again with their demon claws before fading into the surrounding forest, outrunning their slowed victim. After this attack, they will stalk the foe for a short period of time, before repeating this attack.

Wik

So, during my first "real" 4e game, the PCs had to get onto a Halfling Catamaran and sail to a nearby island. After all, they had to reach the dungeon somehow, right? On a whim, I described the halflings getting the ship ready, while the PCs loaded up into the narrow and tiny space afforded them. Before the ship set sail, though, a halfling wearing strange garb approached with a bottle and a holy symbol.

After chanting for a few moments, he threw the bottle at the ship, and smiled at the crew. The Eladrin Warlord, Tongs, was a bit confused by this ritual, until he remembered (thanks to a Religion check) that Halflings - consumate sailors that they are - ritually bless ships when they embark on dangerous journeys.

This was a spur of the moment event, and it served mostly to give my world a bit of flavour - and to give the halflings a bit more depth beyond the "they're gypsies that sail" I had already established. But, it clicked, especially in my own mind.

Thinking about this, I realized that what I had described was not really a cultural tradition, but could in fact be a ritual, as per fourth edition rules.

Why shouldn't rituals be tied to certain cultures? My halfling ritual could easily be a 1st level ritual that grants a bonus on any check involving moving the ship, or at least offer a speed boost. Using the PHB, there are quite a few rituals that could easily be described in bizarre, cultural ways.

"Consult Mystic Sages" could involve breating hin noxious gases, and speakign to phantasmal spirits that swim around you, while nearby acolytes bang upon hide skin drums (aid another checks!). "Consult Oracle" could work similarly to the Oracle of Delphi. And "Discern Lies" could involve a japanese-style tea ceremony, where the "Caster" serves the meal, following strict codes of etiquette, while the target does likewise to get a bonus on the rolls to hide the truth.

"Gentle Repose" works well for death-obsessed cultures, like the Egyptians, while Eye of Alarm SCREAMS druidic/witchery to me. Observe Creature is very voodoo at heart, while View Location seems very Arthurian to me.

I'm really liking rituals, now that I've realized you can easily tie them into your game by altering flavour text and limiting each ritual to different cultures.

Wik

So, here's a basic set of rules for background skills. Note that I took this idea from the Earthdawn RPG - which handles the rules perfectly.

It's a little messy right now, but I plan on cleaning it up later - maybe when I get back from work.

****

Background Skills

All player characters have more than those skills that they get through their character class. They have probably learned some trade or another that would be useful outside of adventuring; the paladin probably knows a bit about the military organization of churches, while you don't get to be a wizard without knowing something about bookbinding.

Players in this system get to choose "background skills", which represent where the character comes from.

PCs are trained in two background skills of their choice. Each background skill represents a skillset and area of training that is fairly broad. PCs do not get background skills in weaponsmithing, for example - they are skilled in metalworking.

Unlike regular skills, being trained in a background skill offers a +3 bonus instead of +5. After all, the PCs haven't trained in their background skills to the same extent as their regular skills - they are heroes, after all, not blacksmiths.

Background skills have no key ability, instead drawing on whichever ability score seems most appropriate for the task. Thus, a character with the metalworking background skill might use intelligence as a key ability when trying to create a thin blade, while he may use wisdom when trying to spot the weaknesses in a forged suit of armour.

Note that these background skills suggest where the character hails from, and so should be tied into the PCs background tightly. Players use their background skills in play as they see fit.

Note that in some cases, a background skill could overlap with a regular skill. For example, if a character had brewing as a background skill, and he tried to use a ritual that allowed potions to be made, he could conceivably use his background skill. In this case, the character must make a skill check with his background skill (against a DC of 15 for heroic tier, 20 for paragon, and 25 for epic). If he succeeds on that skill check, he gains a +2 bonus on the skill check using the normal skill (Nature, in this case). Background skills can never overrule existing skills, but if used wisely, they can provide useful bonuses.

Whether or not background skills can be used in skill challenges is up to the individual GM.

Example Background Skills
Metalworking
Storytelling
Carpentry
Entertainer (Music, Juggling, etc)
Farming
Sailing (also would include rope-tying, and weather sense)
Soldiering (the ins and outs of being a soldier)
Church Life (Church Hierarchy, could often be used to supplement religion checks)
Begging (Life of a street person, could be used to supplement urban-based checks)

Feat Ideas
Trained in Background: All trained background skills offer a +5 bonus, instead of a +3.
Checkered Past: The character can choose two additional background skills. If taken after first level, these either represent aspects of the character that haven't been seen until now... or fields that the character has recently acquired through play.

Wik

HALFLING THUG
Halflings commonly make scouts and expert slingers. However, there are the occasional halflings who prefer to stand close to their foes and fight toe to toe. Naturally, these halflings do not last long.

HALFLING THUG--- Level 1 Soldier
Small Natural Humanoid XP 100
---
Initiative +3; Senses Perception +5
HP 29; Bloodied 14
AC 17; Fortitude 16; Reflex 14; Will 12
Saving Throws: +5 vs. Fear Effects
Speed 6
---
[Melee basic] Short Sword (standard; at will)
+8 vs. AC; 1d10+3 damage, and the target is marked until the end of the Halfling thug’s next round

Nimble Reaction
Halflings gain a +2 racial bonus to AC vs. Opportunity attacks

Stand Without Fear (Immediate Reaction, when the halfling is hit by a fear effect, whether it fails or succeeds on its save; encounter)
The halfling gains a +2 bonus on all attack and damage rolls until the end of its next turn.

Second Chance (Immediate interrupt, when the Halfling would be hit by an attack; encounter)
The Halfling forces the attacker to reroll the attack and take the new result.
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Alignment unaligned
Languages - Common, One other
Skills: Intimidation +5, Athletics +8
Str 16 (+3); Dex 13 (+1); Wis 9 (-1)
Con 13 (+1); Int 8 (-1); Cha 10 (+0)
Equipment: Short Sword, Leather Armour, Shield

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Chy'sring

"This Beast is easily the weight of a pony, though it takes a more snake-like form. However, similarities to a snake are few and far between. Instead of scales, it is coated in popping red pustules that leak a noxious fume. Long black spines line its back. Most horrifying of all, though, is it's "head" - nothing more than a massive, toothy maw, surrounded on all sides by disturbingly human-like eyes that never blink."

Chy'sring are said to be abomminations from the Far Realm, though they could just as easily be the result of a mad sorcerer's experimentations. In any event, they are terrifying urban predators that feed on lost children, unconscious drunks, and opiated addicts.

Chy'sring--- Level 4 Soldier
Medium Aberrant Beast XP 175
---
Initiative +4; Senses Perception +9, Darkvision
Emit Nightmares: Aura 3; living creatures in the area suffer a -2 penalty on their will defence.
HP 58; Bloodied 29 (but see Toxic Pustules
AC 20; Fortitude 18; Reflex 16; Will 16
Immune: Fear, disease
Speed 6
---
[Melee basic] Insanity Bite (standard; at will)
+11 vs. AC; 1d10+4 damage, and the target is dazed until the end of the Chy'sring's next turn.

Surrounded by Eyes
Chy'sring cannot be flanked.

Toxic Pustules (Immediate Reaction; when the Chy'sring is first bloodied; encounter)
Burst 2; +7 vs. Reflex; 1d6+4 damage, and the target is dazed (save ends).
_____________________________
Alignment Chaotic Evil
Languages - Understands Common
Skills: Endurance +11, Athletics +10
Str 16 (+5); Dex 15 (+4); Wis 15 (+4)
Con 18 (+6); Int 6 (+0); Cha 8 (+1)

Wik