Thanks for the response, MwaO!
So what this does is cut down the damage the average multi-attacker generates. Plus boost damage from big attack dice. I might be forgetting an option or two, but that's what I'd do.
Yes. I'm less concerned, though, with cutting down multiattack damage on the whole than making multitaps such autopicks.
Btw, I misattribued Alcestis as the author of the house rule. The author is Alraune. Should anyone be interested, here is a list of their house rules, with explanation.
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System-Wide Rule Changes
Action Points
Player characters may not expend more than one Action Point per round.
This change prevents excessive single-turn actions by characters who have the ability to use more than one Action Point per encounter, primarily at Epic level.
Damage Resistance and Vulnerability
Resistance to a damage type applies to any instance of damage containing that type, even if the damage also contains other types the creature does not resist. (e.g. if a creature with resist 10 fire takes 25 fire and radiant damage, the creature instead takes 15 fire and radiant damage.)
If multiple resistances to damage would apply to the same damage instance, only the single highest resistance is used. Likewise, where multiple vulnerabilities to damage would apply, only the single highest vulnerability is used. (e.g. if a creature with vulnerable 5 fire and vulnerable 10 radiant takes 15 fire and radiant damage, the creature instead takes 25 fire and radiant damage.)
If multiple vulnerabilities and resistances would apply to the same instance of damage, the largest vulnerability and resistance both apply. (e.g. if a creature with vulnerable 5 fire and resist 10 radiant takes 15 fire and radiant damage, the creature instead takes 10 fire and radiant damage.)
This change prevents multi-typed damage from making resistance nearly a non-element of the game, as well as preventing multiple vulnerabilities from stacking undesirably for characters who deal many types of damage at once.
Domination
A dominated creature receives a saving throw if given any obviously suicidal order, such as attacking itself, jumping off a cliff, triggering known traps, or provoking multiple opportunity attacks from enemies it is aware of. If it fails this saving throw, it takes the action as ordered, while if it passes, it remains dominated but instead takes no action.
This change balances the use of domination effects as mass attack-granting abilities, particularly against elite and solo monsters.
Dying and Death
A character's failed death save count resets to zero only after an extended rest. A character who dies from failed death saves and returns to life is reset to two failed death saves.
This change prevents the game from being excessively easy.
Enhancement Bonuses
The enhancement bonus of the weapon or implement used for an attack is added to its damage roll once for each die of damage in the base roll. This rule applies only to the damage dice listed in the power itself, not dice added by outside sources such as class features, items, feats, or paragon path features.
This change is intended to help narrow the disparity between attack powers which deal small rolls of damage multiple times and those which deal a large amount of damage at once.
Extra Damage
Extra damage originating from the same named game element cannot be stacked. Additionally, while extra damage that is a die roll can in many cases be added to static instances of damage, dice of extra damage never constitute a damage roll for the purposes of adding bonuses to damage rolls.
This change clarifies the behavior of rules with repeatable triggers that give extra damage, and extra dice of damage applied to powers that deal static damage.
Free and No Action Attacks
A creature may make multiple free or no action attacks in a single turn, subject to the following two restrictions.
• Any game element that grants free or no action attacks to any creature functions only once per turn, unless it is a Standard Action At-Will power belonging to a class of the Leader role.
• Multiple game elements that would grant free or no action attacks to the same creature cannot be triggered by the same event or action. (To illustrate: A Barbarian who is granted a free action charge attack by a Shaman and scores a critical hit on that charge attack may make use of his Rampage class feature, as the charge attack and Rampage were triggered by distinct actions and events. He could not, however, make use of both his Rampage class feature and the critical hit property of a Rending Gouge, as they would both be triggered by the same critical hit. The same would apply if the Barbarian were to score two critical hits with attacks from Storm of Blades, because while the triggering critical hits were distinct, they were both part of the same action.)
Finally, regardless of the action type of the attack, no creature can make attacks while stunned, petrified, dying, dead, or removed from play, unless a rule element directly contradicts this rule or is non-functional if it does not circumvent it.
This change balances a desire to prevent characters from loading a large number of bonus attacks into a single turn with the desire to avoid various rule elements being mutually exclusive, particularly where they are possessed by different characters.
Stat Modifier-Based Alterations to Attack and Defense
Temporary bonuses and penalties to attack rolls, defense scores, and saving throws that are based on a stat modifier have maximum limits based on their usage type, as follows.
• If the power or other rule element applying the bonus or penalty is usable at-will, the bonus or penalty is equal to the lower of the specified stat modifier or 3.
• If the power or other rule element applying the bonus or penalty is usable a limited number of times per encounter, the bonus or penalty is equal to the lower of the specified stat modifier or 4. This includes effects linked to leader class healing powers, Action Point use, and the augmented forms of Psionic at-wills.
• If the power or other rule element applying the bonus or penalty is usable a limited number of times per day, the bonus or penalty is equal to the lower of the specified stat modifier or 5.
Finally, a new feat option is made available to any character who meets its prerequisites.
Probability Warper
Simple skill or magic could never explain surviving those odds, fate itself must be on your side.
Prerequisite: 21st level
Benefit: The value limits on stat modifier-based bonuses and penalties you apply are increased by 2.
These changes help prevent characters, particularly at higher levels, from granting bonuses so large that they make only 1s or 20s able to alter the outcome. This keeps the game from becoming excessively easily.
Teleportation
In addition to Teleportation being an effect of powers, some creatures have a teleport speed. This speed allows them to replace squares of their willing movement with teleportation, similarly to flight, burrow, and other exotic movement types. This teleportation must comply with the rules for legal teleport destinations. When a creature with a teleport speed chooses to replace movement granted by a power with teleportation, it does not count as teleportation from that power and does not bestow the Teleportation keyword on the power.
This change resolves the contradiction between the rules for the Teleportation keyword and the proliferation of creatures with teleport speeds in the system.
New Power Keyword: Dogmatic
A power bearing the Dogmatic keyword has special effects (or only functions) against creatures condemned by the user's god. Whether a specific creature qualifies is ultimately up to DM discretion, but by default is determined by creature type or origin keyword. Only the most impressive or infamous individuals will ever gain the personal absolution or condemnation of a god. For a list of suggested keywords by deity, see the Channel Divinity document.
New Power Keyword: Evolution
A power bearing the Evolution keyword is considered a direct upgrade of at least one lower-level power, listed in the Evolution line at the end of the power. For the purpose of power selection, the power with the Evolution keyword is considered the same power as the powers from which it is evolved, preventing characters who learn the evolved power from also learning its lower-level versions.
A character who knows an evolved power may choose to instead use one of its lower-level equivalents. Doing so expends the evolved power as normal.
This rule prevents characters from taking numerous powers which give near-duplicate benefits, as well as addressing the occasional circumstance where a character would prefer to use a lower-level effect. This encourages the creation of more versatile characters and frees up design space."
