House Rules for a swashbuckling game?

Hi everybody!

I'm thinking of running a swashbuckling/pirates game in the nearish future and I'm looking for some ideas on house-rules to implement. When I'm done the game's probably going to look quite different from standard D&D - gunpowder, no full-progression spellcasting classes - so I'm looking for some fairly radical changes. I've been looking at Swashbuckling Adventures, which is great, but does some very weird things and a lot of things I don't like.

Some ideas I had:

Wounds/Vitality system instead of hit points.
Class-based defence progressions, and either nonexistent armour or armour granting DR.
Priest, Sorcerer, Druid and Voodooun as PrCs. (I may use Swashbuckling Adventures Alchemist and a modified version of the Witch as core classes.)

I'm probably going to use the Core Fighter, Rogue and Barbarian, plus the following SA core classes: Pirate, Swashbuckler, Noble, Courtier, Musketeer, Wanderer and perhaps Alchemist and Witch.

I'm keeping this intentionally vague for now so I can hear a broad range of ideas, but I do have a fairly strong idea of the flavour I want.

Thanks in advance!

Randomling, I am basically doing this with my group now. We have gone from 1st-4th levels, are taing a break, but are about to start back up in a few weeks. The setting is very similar to what you describe. There is a Storyhour

If I could go back and start over I would have done it with d20 Modern, but as you suggest w/ WP/VP. I think d20 M is more adaptable, more in keeping with what I wanted. I would have guided skill choice to keep things more swashbuckling and eventually altered the Advanced Classes. Although, I think that a lot the ones available would cover my players. Hind Sight. I have wound up using Starting Occupations, although modified, and Action Points. AP are great for cinematic action.

My players are using non-spellcasting versions of a Ranger and Bard, and a duelist fighter variant from Dragon. We are using Freeport Gunpowder rules. CoC Spellcasting (this is new development, the Bard looted a cultist's lair and found some spell books). To keep it "swashbuckly" as one of my players would put it, I used a more "heroic" character generation: 5d6 drop the lowest 2. I am thinking about introducing Hit Locations modified from Swashbuckling Adventures when we start up again, but still unsure about that. I am using the Alchemist class.

You might want to pick up SKull n Bones for your spellcasters and some other rules. I have it as a refrence, while I haven't used it directly it may come into play later on.

Parrying: use up an AoO to make an attack roll. If yours beats theirs, you've parried the attack. Melee only, obviously.

Could require you to declare a parry before the attack roll, after the attack roll but before success is announced, or at any point before damage is rolled. Up to the DM, really.

That's an interesting parry rule; I've seen many parry rules, but never that one. Eh. There's a decent feat chain here (d20forge.com), if I do recall.

Things I think would work:

Class-based Dodge & Parry bonuses by level; if you had them not stack with Armour bonuses that would discourage Armour wearing, and is fairly plausible too. Conan system seems good.

Guns that ignore armour - medieval armour is useless vs bullets at short range, even flintlocks.

Fate Points - Conan RPG's Fate Points seem to work really well for a swashbuckling feel and cut down on unwanted PC deaths.

More Skill Points - regular D&D PCs have very few, except Rogues.

Fast healing of minor wounds - eg with VP/WP system, healing 1 VP/hour, but WPs only 1/day. Would cut down on need for healing magics.

Things I'm unsure about:

Wound Point (CON)/Vitality Point (Stamina/hp) systems - definitely more realistic than Hit Points, but I'm not sure how swashbuckling they are. I guess if regular hits go to VP and crits to WP that might be ok, but most weapons crit around 1/10-1/20 hits, so crits still shouldn't be _too_ lethal. If you allowed Fate Points (or Action Points) to be spent to turn a crit (vs WPs) into a normal hit (vs VPs), that would help prevent too many instant kills.

I suggest that characters normally fall unconscious if VPs reach 0, so low-level NPCs can be knocked down easily; maybe a Fort save or Fate point to stay up & fighting. Or you can ignore this if you want longer duels-to-the-death and less mowing through hordes of orc pirates.

Conan armour rules - very complex IMO, and makes heavy armour extremely effective, which discourages lightly armoured characters.

I think if you have armour give DR everyone will tend to want their PC armoured if at all possible. I tend to think you could just say that armour isn't generally available, and is useless vs guns anyway. It also makes you drown when you fall in the sea. Fighter PCs can be compensated by getting a good Defence Bonus progression and more skill points, say 4/level, and maybe better class skills selection.

randomling said:

Wounds/Vitality system instead of hit points.

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Keep in mind, that if you do this, you have to rework the weapons table (critical ranges), assuming that crits do wound damage instead of vitality (as in Star Wars), because the critical multiplier shouldn't apply then, but you can't just drop it as well. Rapiers will be extremely powerful then, because of their better crit range.

Just a thought.

Class-based defence progressions, and either nonexistent armour or armour granting DR.

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Makes sense to add defence and make armor less prominent.

Bye
Thanee

I'd highly recommend Skull & Bones from Green Ronin.

They use hit points, but they recover by the minute, instead of by the day (it's a low magic setting). Once hit points are gone, characters take Constitution damage. Criticals work the same (they do not bypass hit points).

A parry allows you to make an opposed attack roll (your opponent still must hit your AC, even if you miss the parry), and uses up an attack from the next round. This requires you to take some sort of attack action on your next round.

DanMcS said:

Parrying: use up an AoO to make an attack roll. If yours beats theirs, you've parried the attack. Melee only, obviously.

Could require you to declare a parry before the attack roll, after the attack roll but before success is announced, or at any point before damage is rolled. Up to the DM, really.

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I knew I was forgetting something, we use this rule for Parring as well. Makes Combat Reflexes a must have for fighters.

Also, since the players are more familar with it we use HP, but they heal 1 HD per level per 8 hours of rest.

Oooh, lots of ideas here!

It looks like I'll have to pick up Skull & Bones when I have some money, if only for a looksee.

Stormborn - I have (and love) d20 Modern and the base classes and starting occuptations from that would, with some modifications, work really well. I like a lot of things about Modern - class-based defence progressions, a reputation bonus, magic only in Advanced Classes. I may make some magic available through feats, too.

DanMcS: Ooh, I like the Parry rule! *swipe*

S'mon: lots to respond to!

Armour will grant DR, I think, but be useless against firearms (which will be fairly prevalent). Quite aside from this, it will not be widely available - and it does indeed make you drown! Not much help in a piratical game!

Fate Points - OH yes. Probably stealing the Conan system for that wholesale.

Defence progressions - I probably won't use Dodge and Parry progressions. Instead you'll probably get a class-based defence progression (either unnamed or Dodge bonus, not sure yet) and I'll use DanMcS's Parry rule.

If I use d20 Modern rules skill points will be hiked a bit anyway. I may give every character 2 bonus skill points a level (8 at first) to be spent on Craft/Perform/Profession/Knowledge. Or something.

In a low-magic setting like Hundred Isles you're going to need to heal faster. I'm not sure how a WP/VP system works: do you have Vitality Points equal to what would be your hit points in standard D&D - say, 1d10+Con mod for a fighter - and Wound Points equal to your Con score? I like the idea of passing out if your VP reach 0 and needing a Fort save/FP to stay up.

Some WP/VP questions:
What's the usual rule - that once you're out of VP, damage goes straight to Wounds?
Critical and sneak attack damage go straight to Wounds, right?
How about damage from magic attacks?
(I'm not entirely sure how this system works in practise...)

Thanee - thanks for the note re: crits. I'll keep that in mind!

If we use WP/VP, I'll probably let people recover Vitality at something like Con mod/hr (minimum 1), and Wounds at Con mod/day (also minimum 1).

Any more thoughts?

I've got an idea for what is perhaps a more equitable fix to the crit. range/VP/WP question - let the weapon do normal damage to the WP, as standard, but let any remainder from multipliers (perhaps multipliers over two only) do damage to VP as well. This makes crits scary, but keeps threat ranges reasonable as well as preserving an advantage possessed by weapons like axes.