Berate me for my house rules

[Ciaran]

Re: Whew!

well, I originally used +3 to a single skill, but then eveyone said comabt casting was really point less. I mean +4 just for casting defensively? Why not get +3 all the time?

If you're going to upgrade Skill Focus to +3, you might as well upgrade Combat Casting to +5 or even +6. I doubt it'd be overpowered even at that level.

- Eric

 

[CRGreathouse]

1. 1/2 Orcs get weapon proficiency in Orc weapons if they have martial weapons prof. Other races get their proficiency in their respective double weapons.

I'm not sure I like this. It looks like it has the potential to shoehorn all nonhumans in their weapon selections -- how often do you see them use different weapons (esp. different exotic weapons)?

11. Rangers may substitute, as virtual feats, Point Blank Shot and Prec Shot, for AMBI and TWF at L1. Light armor still required

Do you seriously think PBS and Precise shot are equal in power to TWF and Ambi?

 

[Plane Sailing]

I'd play a sorcerer every time with these rules!

 

[incognito]

Drawmack: yeah, but an elf with 16 CON does not seem like much of a penalty, if i can guarantee a 20 DEX, dig?

Okay let me get this straight, I'm playing an elf with a CHA of 20

No, you could start with an 18 tho, that'd get you 20%. In answer to you question. The benefit works out so that you will hit the next level first, and then end up earning a reduced amout of experience (becasue you are a higher level), +20%, becasue you have a high CHA. Consider the character who does not have the high CHA, and ends up leveling first, he get the redcued amount without the bonus - which is a case we have now.

It is only fair to do it across the board or not at all.

Strongly disagree. Fighters types are expected to get into melee, wizards and such are not. getting "1' on a die roll put s a wizard in the 25% hp bracket, but the fighter in the 10% hence the bump for fighter types. I AM tempted to remove d8's tho.

DCs for Know (Monst) start at 10, and have been as high as 35. You get "type" "CR" and "creature name" with a successful check. per 4-5 above check you get to ask meta-gamey questions:"What is a quasit's DR?" and so on. This questions are answered for a Typical member of that creature. So, an advanced mummy that did no undergo a size change could still suprize a character.

Bagpuss: Or if you see all the character's dying, but you are alive you can kill yourself...Actaull ythis rule was to prevent a party from continually gettng sent back to level N, which happened in my old game. We reached L10 (as a party) a few times, but would always get killed back to L9 before we reached L11. Frustrating.

Ciaran:

If you're going to upgrade Skill Focus to +3, you might as well upgrade Combat Casting to +5 or even +6. I doubt it'd be overpowered even at that level.

is 2 skill point as ranks so overpowered? Can I have examples (besides bards - which I have yet to see anyone in my group play) where this is a problem? Rememebr, you cannot simply take PrCs you have to roleplay your way in.

CRGreathouse: Right now no one is taking exotic weapon spec, except for Spiked Chain. Too feat costly, Esp since being non human costs a feat as it is. This helps. Are the double weapons IYHO that good?

Do you seriously think PBS and Precise shot are equal in power to TWF and Ambi?

No, and I can see both sides being argued. I did it to give rangers versatility.

 

[incognito]

Plane AND seasong:

No Sorcs yet...these rules were created to help make them more playable

 

[Ciaran]

is 2 skill point as ranks so overpowered? Can I have examples (besides bards - which I have yet to see anyone in my group play) where this is a problem? Rememebr, you cannot simply take PrCs you have to roleplay your way in.

I never said that this was overpowered. Maybe I'm slow today, but other than qualifying for feats and PrCs, just what is the significance of having the bonus count as ranks? Unless I'm missing something, this is scarcely less underpowered than the usual +2 unnamed bonus.

- Eric

 

[Bagpuss]

Bagpuss: Or if you see all the character's dying, but you are alive you can kill yourself...

Why would you want to do a silly thing like that when all the XP for the battle would be split between one, and you'll end up a level in front of everyone else.

 

[seasong]

WRT Skill Focus skill ranks: I don't see anything other than bard that is affected in the core rules. Which begs the question - if that's the only effect of the rule, why isn't it mentioned? You know, something like "with this rule in place, bards can get their songs two levels earlier; bards, take note". Kind of silly to write a rule that only applies to one situation ever and then not mention the situation!

 

[seasong]

Re: Whew!

seasong: WRT to your character - where's that background? On the otherhand, this PC would have my blessing.

Chanters are spell-casters, using the Sorcerer rules and some family-descent flavor. There is no game mechanical alteration, nothing especially fantastical about them, other than that their Verbal components are always chanting (and that I will not take the Silent Casting feat ever). I would use Bard, but I see Chanters casting "real magic", not trickster stuff, more like the epic wizards of celtic myth and less like roguish jack-of-all-trade casters.

Oriphanes was born the son of a mediocre Chanter, and spent most of his youth in a set of shallow caves near the quiet town Endmeet. Although living in a cave doesn't sound pleasant, they were easily as well furnished and comfortable as a tower might have been, and more defensible. His father constantly ensured that Oriphanes was either practicing chants, studying the scrolls, or socializing with the townsfolk - he wanted Oriphanes to be the Chanter he never was, and he constantly trained the youth toward that end.

For his part, Oriphanes was more fascinated by the performance side of things, and were it not for his father's eagle eyes, would have barely learned magic at all. Still, his youth was often spent chanting epic poems rather than spells, and happily considering the merits of when and where to introduce a particular villain. When his father died of age, however, something changed. Although no sacred oath was sworn, Oriphanes began dedicating himself more thoroughly to magic, and took up the mantle of adventurer... for almost every great mage in history, Chanter or otherwise, had started as such. And Oriphanes planned to do his father proud.

 

[Drawmack]

No, you could start with an 18 tho, that'd get you 20%. In answer to you question. The benefit works out so that you will hit the next level first, and then end up earning a reduced amout of experience (becasue you are a higher level), +20%, becasue you have a high CHA. Consider the character who does not have the high CHA, and ends up leveling first, he get the redcued amount without the bonus - which is a case we have now.

Still, what happens with this is you give the guy a bonus for a while then take it away then give it back. It just seems really goofy mechanically and not fair, it's like saying okay doing a = benefit b but only in condition c. It's bulking and troublesome. You are talking about different people leveling first. I have some questions.
1) After combat do you devide experience evenly among the party like the DMG suggests?
2) Do you give experience for role-playing?

You see my parties almost always end up at different levels. That is because some characters are played better then others and I don't find it a problem. If you want to keep everyone at the same level then just do away with experience and every so often say, okay everyone just leveled. But this giving a + based on con and a - based on leveling first seems really wierd to me. I do not like that.

Strongly disagree. Fighters types are expected to get into melee, wizards and such are not. getting "1' on a die roll put s a wizard in the 25% hp bracket, but the fighter in the 10% hence the bump for fighter types. I AM tempted to remove d8's tho.

What about the rogue who has to be in melee to get the sneak attack?

DCs for Know (Monst) start at 10, and have been as high as 35. You get "type" "CR" and "creature name" with a successful check. per 4-5 above check you get to ask meta-gamey questions:"What is a quasit's DR?" and so on. This questions are answered for a Typical member of that creature. So, an advanced mummy that did no undergo a size change could still suprize a character.

At level 10 you're at a +10 which makes the average roll 20. I am assuming that the DC is in someway tied to CR. This means that normally every character is going to know stuff about the creature. Also with the metagame information it just seems like a goofy use of the skill to me. I mean it would be one thing for them to know not to look a medusa in the eyes, or trolls appear to heal before your eyes, but a character would not know that trolls have fast healing x.