D&D 3E/3.5 3.N – Codex Gigas: My End-All-Be-All 3.5 Revision

[nonsi256]

3.N – Codex Gigas: My End-All-Be-All 3.5 Revision

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Tired of the Vancian system and looking for a playable alternative?

Annoyed by melees and skillmonkeys that suck and looking for noncasters that rock?

Bored with your class features amounting to stat-augmentations with very few real options?

Frustrated by character imbalance, the endless pursuit of char-optimization tactics, or players breaking your game?

Fed up with PCs dropping like flies in the early levels?

Finding yourself drowsy frequently in sessions due to boring combat routines and repeating your shticks again and again?

Warn out by too much bookkeeping that slows your game down to a crawl?

Helpless against too many situations where you have to ask your DM to invent rules on-the-fly (or, more probably, do nothing other than twiddle your thumbs), just because the rules don't tell you what you can do in said situations?



Well, if D&D 3e (or any of its variations) is your game and the answer to any of the above is "yes", then you probably got to the right place !

Download the attached document and you can kiss the above issues goodbye.


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After final adjustments (quite a few actually), at last, I’m truly comfortable with the above statement to speak it out loud. So . . .

Here’s the final and complete version of my 3.5 house rules Codex.



I've separated this post from my previous thread mainly because (other than to avoid thread necromancy) in the last version I had to cut too many corners due to time constraints, and compromise on a lot of issues.
However, fate had it that I managed to find the spare time to complete this work with zero compromise.
So now this is finally, truly, no longer [WIP].




P.S.

For those who are familiar with the previous version of my house rules, the more significant updates of the attached document include:

- A new outlook on strain & tolerance based spellcasting – a fix that finally makes everything work at granting spellcasters the latitude they deserve in long-term effectiveness, without allowing them too much access to their most powerful spells.
- Introduction of my version of the Spellthief, drawing a bit from the famous Blue Mage.
- Reconstruction of the DFA class – from the ground up.
- Half-Reconstruction of the Witch class and omission of a PrC that was practically “eaten” by it.
- A massive power boost to the Ghostknife & Monk.
- More Bard, Druid and Priest variants (Feral Bard, Nature’s Avatar, Healer, Oracle, Sacred Fist).
- Reconstruction of the Combat Mind PrC, which was too much of a dominator and too convoluted level-wise, and at the same time too little Combat Mind.
- Dragons – redefined (and greatly simplified).
- A new Symbiont monster
- Magical grafts.
- Flying castles.
- New Language rules that finally make sense and are easily integrateable.
- Optional Insanity rules.
- Domains & Spells that involve Seduction, Lust, Fertility and more.
- HP: A new and improved midway solution between the RAW HP rules and my previous HP rules.
- Halflings: Some candy feats for the least appreciated race.
- WUXIA – some Monk associated feats to grant a bit of martial arts magic.
- Omission/replacement of cumbersome rules and other stuff that turned out to have no real added game value.
- Resolvement of ambiguous and conflicting rules, and clarifications of vague stuff.


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[nonsi256]

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Btw, peopele, I'd appreciate any and all comments and constructive criticism.
I'm trying to make my codex the best it can be, so I'd like to know if there's anything that requires clarification, if something doesn't add up, if anyone finds conflicting rules or if anyone's just curious about the motivations behind any of my ideas (mechanically or fluff-wise).
Sometimes the answers I give raise new insights and sometimes the questions/comments themselves raise new insights, so don't hold back anything that comes to mind.
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[marcielle]

Pretty good job. I always like the 'mana' system better than Vancian. Haven't read it all yet but I in particular like these:
-Half Ref to dodge AC. When you think about it it REALLY makes no sense for a level 20 Rogue to get a dodge bous(none) equivalent to that of a 1st level commoner.
-Strain/Tolerance. Though Wizards can STILL prepare for any given scenario, they can prepare for less a day, meaning a long gauntlet of spaced weaklings will pose a more significant challenge.
- New Coup de grace rules.
- Degrees of forification.
- Multiclassing is FREE.

Things I think should be expanded on/Ideas:
- Fighters and meelee are STILL mostly 1-2 trick ponies. Foil action adds power but not a whole lot of versatility. Perhaps try giving them things similar to skill tricks++. Say running on walls for monks and rogues, throwing sand into peoples eyes, being able to reimagine the landscape with sheer brute strength, etc.
- Perhaps a way of calculating a races LA. Like LA0 races have 5 'race' points, LA+1 have 10. +1 to an Ability score: 1 point, -2 to an ability score: -1 points and so forth quadratically. Racial abilities will need a cost. Powerful build might be worth 4 points. This will allow new races to be integrated seemlessly and allow new races to be added in a balanced manner.
- Maybe a slight increase to the strain costs for mid level spells/a scaling cost for caster level spell cast at. Wizards can still spam the likes of Black Tentacles all day at higher levels with a +28 to grapple.
- Maybe allow opposing elemental effects via a 'strobe' effect. Waves of heat followed by cold is actually MORE devastating than simply twice as much of either.

 

[nonsi256]

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Hi marcielle, and thanks for the positive feedback.

- Fighters and meelee are STILL mostly 1-2 trick ponies. Foil action adds power but not a whole lot of versatility. Perhaps try giving them things similar to skill tricks++. Say running on walls for monks and rogues, throwing sand into peoples eyes, being able to reimagine the landscape with sheer brute strength, etc.

Rogues do get skill tricks++ (Skill Savvy & Natural Skill-Trickster) and monks can already run on walls (using the proper skill tricks). Throwing sand into peoples’ eyes can be explained as many things (feinting, SA, Dirty Fighting, the Rogue’s Improvisation etc).
Also, I put a lot of thought on how to maximize the range of options for noncasters (Ghostknife, Monk, Rogue & Warrior).
Try to see the benefit of each of their abilities – especially the ones that expand options.
Try to figure the synergy between their abilities
Try to understand how they can harness some of the rules in entry #5 to expand their range of options (e.g. everything regarding Actions, Grapple, Overrun, Pulling Punches, Shield Another and Crit-Substitutions).
Try to figure which of my new feats would benefit which character classes and character concept.
Try to imagine the new possibilities opened up by the new skill options.
See what you can do with the new weapons' rules.
And it’s not just about character power, but also about the vastly expanded encounter dynamics. At mid-high levels, you can have dozens of encounters without having any two combat rounds resembling one another – all revolving around the options available to noncasters.

- Perhaps a way of calculating a races LA. Like LA0 races have 5 'race' points, LA+1 have 10. +1 to an Ability score: 1 point, -2 to an ability score: -1 points and so forth quadratically. Racial abilities will need a cost. Powerful build might be worth 4 points. This will allow new races to be integrated seemlessly and allow new races to be added in a balanced manner.

Unlike class features, I don’t look at racial traits as something that should be quantified individually.
The races I’ve given are just the basic list, which of course can be vastly expanded, but races should come as complete packages, with the total LA assessed by feel & touch.
This approach is based on the fact that racial traits usually don’t synergize well (or at all) and that the total is far less than the sum of its parts.
Take the Dwarf for instance. The speed reduction hurts a lot more than the benefits of numeric bonuses to skills & saves.

- Maybe a slight increase to the strain costs for mid level spells

I’m open to suggestions, but according to my calculations, it doesn’t seem like spellcasters now gain too much immediately available raw power.
But maybe you’re seeing something that I’m missing.

/a scaling cost for caster level spell cast at.

Tried that too many times. Never managed to make it work or ever seen one that did.
It always turns out to cost too much compared to SL and too much of a hassle to manage in-game (I’ll have to multiply all the numeric values by at least x10 and I’m not sure I’m ready to do that).
The idea with the Strain & Tolerance rules the way they are currently configured, is that with experience, a spellocaster learns to cast spells more efficiency, squeezing more out of a given amount of magical power while paying a smaller price for wielding that power (basically, like every other field of practice in real life).

Wizards can still spam the likes of Black Tentacles all day at higher levels with a +28 to grapple.

I don’t know. At level 20, +28 doesn’t seem all that impressive.

- Maybe allow opposing elemental effects via a 'strobe' effect. Waves of heat followed by cold is actually MORE devastating than simply twice as much of either.

The common sense here is obvious, but how do you intend to implement this concept to:
1. Have standardized mechanics.
2. Not be a mechanical headache of bookkeeping.
3. Have some strategic aspect (when to use, which combinations etc) and not just a no-brainer power boosting factor.

 

[marcielle]

Wow, I don't know wether to be more surprised you read all of my stuff, or that I read all of your reply. Black Tentacles is still killer if you are simply facing things with PC classes since you are grappling as well as a 20th level fighter. On a huge area. Almost as often as you like a day. Eventually, those guys will roll low due to the sure number of times they will have to roll. And that's just ONE spell. But, yeah, it IS significantly less impressive when used on a Tarrasque. Will read more closely before next round of comments.. Hope this doesn't die off.

 

[nonsi256]

Wow, I don't know wether to be more surprised you read all of my stuff, or that I read all of your reply. Black Tentacles is still killer if you are simply facing things with PC classes since you are grappling as well as a 20th level fighter. On a huge area. Almost as often as you like a day.

That's one of many reasons why monks use their level instead of BAB for combat maneuvers, rogues have Improvisation and warriors are Ever Viginalt while focussed.

Will read more closely before next round of comments.. Hope this doesn't die off.

So do I.
I hope for as many insights, feedbacks and fresh insights as possible.

In the meantime, if there's anything that's vague to you or inconsistent, please state it so I can clarify and correct for the next and (what I intend to be) the very last version.

 

[nonsi256]

A short errata.
I've found a few places where errors or missing information occured.
These are not tweaks, adjustments or new insights, just putting things as intended when the codex was attached:


DFA:
Dragonkin: Remove the brackets that say “(see page 4)”

Druid:
At 9th level, change Wild Shape (Large; Insect) to Wild Shape (Large; Vermin)

Rogue:
- Rogues also gain a bonus Rogue feat at 1st level
- Point Blank Shot, having been removed from the feats list altogether, is also not relevant as a Rogue bonus feats anymore.

Combat Mind:
Combat Telepathy: insight bonus to AC and attack rolls equals the Combat Mind's class level (round up)

Priest: Healer variant
At 8th level, healing via Lay On Hands becomes a move action for others that cooperate and an immediate action when applied to himself.

Witch:
A familiar gains 1 ZERO-level spell at 9th Witch level, provided it has obtained INT 10+ by then.

 

[nonsi256]

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More Errata + following a request . . .



Jester:
Given any 1st level Rogue can serve as a king’s clown, I intended the Jester PrC to be called “Jester King”.
Also, for obvious reasons (to me at least, I’ll explain if someone’s curious), this PrC should require Bard AND Rogue level 6, plus the Rogue Talent “Skillful Attack”.


DFA:
There was a pointless automatic 1st level heritage conversion to fire. I intended to remove it before attaching, but it slipped my notice.
The consequence for this change is that all breath damage types are available as soon as 2nd DFA level – and I’m quite ok with this. The fact that there are more monsters that are resistant to certain damage types than to others is arbitrary and at the DM’s whim. In a given campaign there may be a lot of monsters who are nigh immune to electrical effects and only a handful of monsters with negligible fire resistance, so I don’t consider lightning to be inherently superior to fire.


Within the Skill Tricks spoiler there are some that were taken from Realms of Chaos' thread, and he stressed his wishes to be credited for his work, so here it is.

 

[cormanthor]

I've been pouring over the content in your Codex Gigas, and it is very good. I intend to adopt most of these house rules for use in my own [slowly evolving] campaign world.

I do have a few issues / questions:
1. Missile Devices and Skills -- I can't imagine swimming with a crossbow is easy, but it can't be any harder than swimming with a greatsword. How about a blanket -2 ACP for medium weapons, -4 ACP for large / huge weapons?
2. Can you go into further detail and clarify Modified Feats -> PHB I -> Cleave? Is it saying that you can double the #att in a round? And if you're only making a single standard action attack, it sounds like you can only cleave on a crit.
3. Shield Feats -> Buckler Proficiency is marked as a (New Feat), but seems to need fleshing out.
4. Bard (LOVING the changes here, btw) -- Do you count Sustaining Melody and Discord as Bardic Music Effects, or are they used in conjunction with BME's? Also, Sustaining Melody should be (Su) and Revealing Chime should be (Sp)
5. Feral Bard variant -- I'll be renaming it "Tribal Bard", changing Inspire the Pack to Inspire the Tribe
6. DFA -- I'll be toning this down a little for my campaign world. I'm dropping the breath weapon to d6's and modifying Draconic Resolve to read "You gain immunity to paralysis, sleep effects, and the frightful presence of dragons whose age category is less than your class level, and a +2 CHA increase."

I haven't gotten very far into the classes, as I'm reviewing everything bullet-by-bullet for future use.
I'm also skipping the Strain / Tolerance spellcasting system in favor of a spellpoints variant that I am developing. Basically, spells cost their spell level plus the cost of the previous level ( 1st - 1, 2nd - 3, 3rd - 6, 4th - 10, 5th - 15, 6th - 21, 7th - 28, 8th - 36, and 9th - 45). For full-progression classes, your spellpoints are accumulated much the same way (caster level + your previous spellpoint total), with bonus spellpoints derived from CON modifier x caster level. For slower progression classes, cut that in half. You become fatigued when your total spellpoints drop to (or below) 1/2 of your max, and at 1/3 or lower you become exhausted. These conditions cannot be cured magically, but when overcome naturally, your spell points follow (increasing to 1/2 total after an hour's rest, and resetting fully after 8 hours rest). I am removing 0th level spells entirely, preferring to incorporate them directly into the classes as spell-like abilities or supernatural powers if they are relevant / necessary. One note here is that all spells are cast at base levels (5d6 fireballs), and increasing the effective caster level requires spending 2 additional points per caster level (up to your max CL), making a 10d6 fireball cost about as much as a 5th level cone of cold which starts at 9d6.
[I only included the bit about the spellpoint system as a counter-point to your Strain / Tolerance intro]

 

[nonsi256]

1. Missile Devices and Skills -- I can't imagine swimming with a crossbow is easy, but it can't be any harder than swimming with a greatsword. How about a blanket -2 ACP for medium weapons, -4 ACP for large / huge weapons?

Can’t argue with this rationale.

2. Can you go into further detail and clarify Modified Feats -> PHB I -> Cleave? Is it saying that you can double the #att in a round? And if you're only making a single standard action attack, it sounds like you can only cleave on a crit.

This was among the first feats I rewrote and a lot has changed since then.
The correct wordig should be as follows:
Cleave [BAB +4]
With the insights gained by training to acquire this feat, you lean how to, in certain cases, seize the moment after an attack and gain a no-cost attack vs. an opponent who’s distance from you AND your primary target doesn’t exceed your reach.
The situations that allow you to cleave an additional target are:
- Scoring a crit vs. your primary target.
- Felling your primary target.
- Attacking your primary target as a standard action, particularly with the intention to cleave your secondary opponent.
You cannot follow-up a cleave with another cleave, except when felling your secondary target, but you can otherwise cleave whenever the situation permits, including multiple times in the same round.

3. Shield Feats -> Buckler Proficiency is marked as a (New Feat), but seems to need fleshing out.

“Fleshing out” in what way?

4. Do you count Sustaining Melody and Discord as Bardic Music Effects

Yes.
For Discord, I see nothing to hint otherwise.
I’ll make it clear for Sustaining Melody in the next version of the document.

Sustaining Melody should be (Su) and Revealing Chime should be (Sp)

Sure thing.

5. Feral Bard variant -- I'll be renaming it "Tribal Bard", changing Inspire the Pack to Inspire the Tribe

What’s in a name?

6. DFA -- I'll be toning this down a little for my campaign world. I'm dropping the breath weapon to d6's and modifying Draconic Resolve to read "You gain immunity to paralysis, sleep effects, and the frightful presence of dragons whose age category is less than your class level, and a +2 CHA increase."

1 HP on the average per 2 levels is hardly significant.
As far as frightful presence – if you encounter a dragon who’s age category is more than your level, fear would probably not be the factor that would bring to your demise, so this will probably have negligible to no game impact, but I see no real harm in this change.

I'm also skipping the Strain / Tolerance spellcasting system in favor of a spellpoints variant that I am developing.

Suit yourself. I tried the Fibonacci approach and found it impossible to gain any reasonable accessibility to the highest spell levels without gaining too much availability of lower level spells than I wished for.

You become fatigued when your total spellpoints drop to (or below) ½ of your max, and at 1/3 or lower you become exhausted.

This will get you into places you’ll find hard to maneuver.
What if the caster becomes fatigued for other reasons, can he still cast spells? If so, how do you intend to track the different causes and decide when he can cast and when he can’t?
Add exhaustion and it becomes even more complicated. That’s why I used a different condition “Overtaxed”.

I am removing 0th level spells entirely, preferring to incorporate them directly into the classes as spell-like abilities or supernatural powers if they are relevant / necessary.

You should ask yourself if this change will have any impact on your game.
ATM, I don’t see that it will – which would make this ado redundant (unless you’re seeing something I don’t).

One note here is that all spells are cast at base levels (5d6 fireballs), and increasing the effective caster level requires spending 2 additional points per caster level (up to your max CL), making a 10d6 fireball cost about as much as a 5th level cone of cold which starts at 9d6.

I wrestled with the mechanics to make this concept work (with the Fibonacci accumulation), but it just became more and more cumbersome.
Look, I understand exactly where you’re coming from, but insisting on this approach will come at an expense of enjoying the game, and a conceptual ideal just aint worth it.
Furthermore, in retrospect, Strain & Tolerance turned out to represent exactly what I wanted it to represent.
The more experienced you are at spellcasting, the less you suffer consequences for casting a level [X] spell.
While I can see why you'd find it to make sense for higher level effects to require more "energy", I just regard it as learning to better exploit (to a higher efficiency) the energies involved in a level [X] spell.