D&D 3E/3.5 Expert rulebook - an OD&D/3E inspired houserule document to challenge experienced players

Flamestrike said:

Had a bit of time off lately so I knocked up an Expert rulebook.

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Knocked up. verb. sometimes vulgar : to make pregnant.

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TarionzCousin said:

Erm, what?

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Flamestrike said:

No worries mate!

The death rules are harsh (dead at 0 HP and damage remains over 1/4 max HP, exhaustion on 2 failed death saves, tougher death saves, more epensive ressurection component costs, Con penalty for death, and possibility of perma-death) and definately stray away from modern RPG philosophy of not using death as a consequence of failure.

I wanted an Old school feel though, so it felt appropriate.

I copped a bit of flak elsewhere for '3d6 in order' but I find it really captures the old school feel, plus it leads to intresting character choices at character creation. The generally lower ability scores make classes like Monks and Paladins feel more 'special' (again capturing Old school) while protecting bounded accuracy and making ASI's/ Half feats more attractive.

The resting rules mean a short rest just kind of... 'happens' every 4 hours of dungeoneering which is much better pacing than repeated 1 hour breaks. It means that for your average dungeon level, all classes have around 2 lots of short rest resources (or 3 lots if the dungeon level takes more than 4 hours to clear).

The fact that casters only get 1 spell of each level back (and only 1 spell of 6th+ level) on a long rest also makes them hold back on the 'big boom' spells a bit and rely more on cantrips; meaning you can have less than 6-8 encounters in an adventuring day, and the classes still balance.

I really wanted to put the brakes on nova options. I think it worked out OK.

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Zardnaar said:

I would go 4d6 myself but stick to your guns. 3d6 in order, not a bad way to select a class (ie whatever you rolled a 14+ in).

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Flamestrike said:

The rule is 3d6 in order, then you may replace any one ability score of your choice with a 13. You may also replace any score of less than 6 with a 6.

Its intentionally designed to protect bounded accuracy, but also contains built in mechanisms to protect against crappy rolls.

If you want to play a Wizard you can swap whatever you rolled for your Int with a 13, then select a race with an Int bonus (Human grants +1 to every ability score so it remains a good choice for all players), and then you also select a feat (potentially increasing that score higher thanks to half feats).

Example: A player wants to play a wizard, but rolls a 7 for Intelligence. He swaps this score with a score of 13, selects human as his race (Int 14), and then selects the Spellcasting Prodigy feat at 1st level for a Starting Int of 15. Perfectly viable 1st level Wizard.

Same applies for every class. With the right feat/ race selection you wind up with a 15-16 in your 'prime requisite'.

3d6 IO looks harsh, but I placed protections in it to stop it from totally crippling a PC (minimum stat of 6, and replace one stat of choice with a 13). Even a Con score of 6 can be mitigated at 1st level by selecting the Durable feat for +2 HP per level.

Like I point out in the rulebook, it used to be 3d6IO with no saftey measures at all, no racial bonuses to stats, and no ASI as you leveled up! You were once stuck with stats you rolled for life.

It does make MAD classes (Paladin and Monk) harder to qualify for, but that sits OK with me - those classes become a bit more unique and rare, which meshes with the Old School vibe I was aiming for.

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Zardnaar said:

Don't have to justify it to me as I would be bringing in alignment restrictions and ban entire classes and archetypes.

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Flamestrike said:

Thats an entirely different point to ability score generation.

If you think 3d6IO is too harsh, I challenge you to roll a set of ability scores using that method right now (with the addition of 'swap one score for 13 and no score less than 6') and see how you go. I assure you'll come up with a viable PC.

Try it is all Im saying. Its really not as harsh as it seems.

Also: what archetypes would you 'ban' and why?

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Flamestrike said:

Were you able to download it OK?

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