Huge collection of House Rules from our group.

[Rachel]

This is a (rather large) posting of all the house rules myself and my play group are currently either using or plan to use. Feel free to look it over and comment or even post your own.

Plz note: About half of these house rules are my own creation, while the other half are contributions from other players/DMs on the En World forum(thank you so much for your great ideas!) or elsewhere on the interwebz.

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PHB I
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Alignment (pg. 19)
-Now uses a "6 point" system. Reintroduces Chaotic Good, Lawful Evil, and Neutrals (both replace "Unaligned"). Does not reintroduce Chaotic & Lawful Neutrals. Moral and Ethics scale:

Chaotic Good--Lawful Good--Neutral Good--Neutral Evil--Lawful Evil--Chaotic Evil

Defined:
Chaotic Good - Dedicated to doing good to and for others, but methods will sometimes go outside strictures and laws.
Lawful Good - Believes deeply in law and structure. Shows contempt for dishonesty, greed, and law-breaking.
Neutral Good - Selfish, thinking mostly of themselves, but when a decision must be made, generally sides with good.
Neutral Evil - Selfish, thinking mostly of themselves, and when a decision must be made, generally sides with evil.
Lawful Evil - Works within systems of law to undermine and exploit them to gain power and exploit others.
Chaotic Evil - Little to no regard for law or life. Seek to inflict pain, misery, chaos and destruction openly.
*Flavor issue. Expands the PHB-given Alignments in a sensible way while leaving out superfluous neutral alignments.

Race: Half-Elf (pg. 42)
-Replace Ability Scores: now +2 Charisma, +2 Wisdom (not +2 Con)
*Makes cleric and ranger classes much more viable, which fits in well with the race (whereas Con really does not).

Class: Paladin (pg. 89)
-Remove training in Simple Ranged weapons.
*Flavor issue. Not a class likely to engage at range.

Class: Rogue (pg. 118)
-Level 1 At-Will Exploit, Piercing Strike. Effect: +1 Power Bonus to attack and damage rolls.
*Missing Effect. Lacked a secondary effect and was only a "Basic Melee Attack" as written.

Class: Warlord (pg. 143)
-Improve Hit Points at 1st Level: 14 (up from 12)
-Improve Hit Points per Level Gained: 6 (up from 5)
*Flavor, balance issue. Durability low for flavor text (under Power Source) and a class called a "Warlord".

Starting Gold (pg. 210)
-Starts with 75g (down from 100g).
*Personal preference. PC will still start with their most important items, but not everything they could possibly need. Lesser, mundane items will be made easily gatherable by the DM or assumed to have been already acquired by the PCs.

Weapon Properties: Versatile (pg. 217).
-Using one-hand weapon with both hands improves damage die by one level (pg. 220) (up from static +1).
*Value issue. +1 damage is far too low to justify loss of a second hand (which can help climb, hold a shield, carry, etc.).

Selling Equipment (pg. 220)
-Can sell mundane gear by -Condition- as follows:
Poor condition (cracked, rusted, etc.): 1/4th purchase price
Good condition (slightly tarnished, etc.): 1/2 purchase price
Excellent condition (includes all magic items): 3/4 purchase price
*Economy issue, missing Mechanic issue. 1/5th resale value is arbitrary nonsense, and far too low. 1/2 should be used, or a value based on the item's Condition.

Ammunition (pg. 232)
-Can have magical versions up to +3 (very rare).
*Flavor issue. Introduces a new type of magic item that is quite plausible. With everything else having magical equivalents, why would anyone stop at ammunition? There's sure to be some. Adds to game content. (Haven't written any up just yet, though).

Extended Rest (pg. 263)
-Regain 1/2 Hit Points (not all) and all Healing Surges you have spent.
*Personal preference. All HP healed is far too generous and unbelievable.

Attack Roll (pg. 274)
-PC's get a free +1 boost to attacks at levels 5,15 and 25.
*Fixes higher level entropy of attack rolls (which were too low).

NAD Defenses (pg. 275)
-PC's get a free +1 boost to non-AC defenses at levels 5,15 and 25.
*Fixes higher level entropy of non-AC defenses (which were too low).

Action Points (pg. 286)
-Expanded uses to include:
1) PCs and Solos can spend an Action Point at any time to end a status effect (Save Ends/Till End of Next Turn/etc).
2) PCs and Solos can spend an Action Point to use a Healing Surge.
3) (We currently start with 3 AP per session instead of the standard 1 as we have a very small group of 3).

RITUALS
Mastering a Ritual (pg. 298)
-You do not have to meet the first requirement (must have Ritual Caster Feat) in this regard:

Anyone can cast rituals (if of sufficient level and after 8 hrs. study as normal) but those without the Ritual Caster Feat do so at -5 Levels. So, for example, a 6th level Ranger can cast 1st level Nature rituals.
Additionally, to cast *any* ritual the character must have the corresponding for the ritual's Category. If a character does not have a skill listed for the ritual under it's Category, they cannot cast that ritual regardless of level or time of study.
*Adds value, encourages more use.

MONSTERS
Monster Manual I & II
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Minion XP:
-Minion XP values reduced by 1/2.
*Too high since any attack, even non-direct bonus effects from level 1 powers, can kill something with 1 HP.

Two-Hit Minions:
Take 2 normal hits, unless a critical hit or similarly powerful "big" attack.

[DEATHBLOW]
When an attacker rolls a natural 20, they have made a Critical hit as per those rules. However, after doing so the attacker may make a follow-up d20 roll. If the results on this second d20 roll are also a natural 20 then the attacker has not only made a Critical hit, but has executed a Deathblow! The defending creature loses all remaining hit points down to 0 and is now Dying. If that creature has any available Healing Surges, they may use one as an immediate reaction to the Deathblow.

A Minion cannot cause a Deathblow.

[HUMANOID MONSTER HP SHAVING]
-Normal humanoid monsters: Subtract hp equal to level x2
(I.e. a lvl 9 normal humanoid loses 18hp off it's total)

-Elite humanoids: Subtract hp equal to level x3
(I.e. a lvl 9 elite humanoid loses 27hp off it's total)

-Solos: Subtract hp equal to level x4
(I.e. a lvl 9 solo humanoid loses 36hp off it's total)

Example: An Orc Chieftain would lose 24 HP (level 8 x3) from the 216 listed, ending with 192 HP.

Adjust Bloodied values accordingly.
*Speeds up combats a touch and humanoid hp totals are slightly more reasonable at-a-glance.

(Final note, we haven't looked at any PHB III or specific campaign FR/Eb house rules just yet).

 

[Kingreaper]

-Level 1 At-Will Exploit, Piercing Strike. Effect: +1 Power Bonus to attack and damage rolls.
*Missing Effect. Lacked a secondary effect and was only a "Basic Melee Attack" as written.

It attacks Reflex, not AC.

That is the effect, and it's actually a reasonable one (depending on enemy, of course, but it's almost always at least +1 to hit, and often +3/4)

Weapon Properties: Versatile (pg. 217).
-Using one-hand weapon with both hands improves damage die by one level (pg. 220) (up from static +1).
*Value issue. +1 damage is far too low to justify loss of a second hand (which can help climb, hold a shield, carry, etc.).

I was thinking +1 per [w] would make sense, but increased die does too.

Extended Rest (pg. 263)
-Regain 1/2 Hit Points (not all) and all Healing Surges you have spent.
*Personal preference. All HP healed is far too generous and unbelievable.

This is essentially the same as "regain all but two healing surges".
I don't see the point.

EDIT: actually, all it means is you make sure to spend up healing surges before you sleep. I suppose that does make it kinda have a point, if you were out of surges at the end of the day, being a bit worn the next day makes sense.

RITUALS
Mastering a Ritual (pg. 298)
-You do not have to meet the first requirement (must have Ritual Caster Feat) in this regard:

Anyone can cast rituals (if of sufficient level and after 8 hrs. study as normal) but those without the Ritual Caster Feat do so at -5 Levels. So, for example, a 6th level Ranger can cast 1st level Nature rituals.
Additionally, to cast *any* ritual the character must have the corresponding for the ritual's Category. If a character does not have a skill listed for the ritual under it's Category, they cannot cast that ritual regardless of level or time of study.
*Adds value, encourages more use.

I like this idea.

 

[Rachel]

It attacks Reflex, not AC.
That is the effect, and it's actually a reasonable one (depending on enemy, of course, but it's almost always at least +1 to hit, and often +3/4)

Honestly knew I was missing something but couldn't put my finger on what exactly. Thanx for clearing that up.

 

[eriktheguy]

I like your collection Rachel. Since you are house ruling specific powers I would suggest one for fighters rangers.
Sure Strike:
Add ability modifier to damage.

These attacks are rarely taken anyways, players tend to go for much better attacks like 'twin strike'.

Your magic ammo that can be found does favor ranged characters, but since 4e tends to favor melee in general, and the magic ammunition is rare, I see no issue.

You aren't specific about the XP value of 2-hit minions (I'm assuming you value them as normal minions, 1/4)

I like your rituals alternative.

The way you use entropy in a sentence makes my geek senses tingle.

 

[Saeviomagy]

As others have pointed out, piercing strike is a great at-will because it targets reflex. There are creatures in the game that have a 10 point difference between ac and reflex!

That said, there's a feat that duplicates the power entirely.

I like your collection Rachel. Since you are house ruling specific powers I would suggest one for fighters rangers.
Sure Strike:
Add ability modifier to damage.

That seems fine for the ranger variation (and, I believe, is the official errata for it).

For the fighter, I favour making it a basic attack, which means the fighter can choose to make his "stop moving" opportunity attack a bit more accurate at the cost of some damage.

These attacks are rarely taken anyways, players tend to go for much better attacks like 'twin strike'.

Which is just as well, because as originally written, they're worse than a basic attack in 90% of situations.

 

[eriktheguy]

For the fighter, I favour making it a basic attack, which means the fighter can choose to make his "stop moving" opportunity attack a bit more accurate at the cost of some damage.

Interesting

 

[Rachel]

I like your collection Rachel. Since you are house ruling specific powers I would suggest one for fighters rangers.
Sure Strike:
Add ability modifier to damage.

I'll check that one. Thnx erik.

These attacks are rarely taken anyways, players tend to go for much better attacks like 'twin strike'.

I saw a whole thread on Twin Strike and the correct way to interpret it's use...

Your magic ammo that can be found does favor ranged characters, but since 4e tends to favor melee in general, and the magic ammunition is rare, I see no issue.

It just seems like something that would be cool and fun.

You aren't specific about the XP value of 2-hit minions (I'm assuming you value them as normal minions, 1/4)

TequilaSunrise I think is responsible for this one, and I want to say he said 2/3 normal XP.

I like your rituals alternative.

Ah, they aren't mine. Still, I know a good thing when I see it.

The way you use entropy in a sentence makes my geek senses tingle.

Um..WoW

 

[Keenberg]

RITUALS
Mastering a Ritual (pg. 298)
-You do not have to meet the first requirement (must have Ritual Caster Feat) in this regard:

Anyone can cast rituals (if of sufficient level and after 8 hrs. study as normal) but those without the Ritual Caster Feat do so at -5 Levels. So, for example, a 6th level Ranger can cast 1st level Nature rituals.
Additionally, to cast *any* ritual the character must have the corresponding for the ritual's Category. If a character does not have a skill listed for the ritual under it's Category, they cannot cast that ritual regardless of level or time of study.
*Adds value, encourages more use.

I like this idea.

Agreed. Adopted!

(Although I believe you meant to type "the character must have the corresponding skill for the ritual's category." )

EDIT:
(Apologies for the edit, I'm on the drink tonight. But don't let that discredit the following idea! )

Ammunition (pg. 232)
-Can have magical versions up to +3 (very rare).
*Flavor issue. Introduces a new type of magic item that is quite plausible. With everything else having magical equivalents, why would anyone stop at ammunition? There's sure to be some. Adds to game content. (Haven't written any up just yet, though).

Can't this be handled by imbuing the weapon, rather than the ammunition?
Why bother wasting time with writing up new rules when things like "Distance Weapon," "Duelist's Bow" and "Rebounding Weapon" already exist? They were created solely to give ranged fighters a bonus, after all.

Alternatively, you really need only to imbue the weapon with a magic property which includes a critical effect (i.e. bloodclaw weapon, aftershock weapon, supremely vicious weapon, etc... Something that includes a bonus damage and effect on crit!) On a crit, the DM could narrate something along the lines of the following: "You focus, channeling all your will power and skill into your next shot. Your mental energy flows smoothly from mind to weapon to arrow/bullet/bolt to shot. The awe-inspiring shot you land smites the enemy with great force!"

 

[DanmarLOK]

Weapon Properties: Versatile (pg. 217).
-Using one-hand weapon with both hands improves damage die by one level (pg. 220) (up from static +1).
*Value issue. +1 damage is far too low to justify loss of a second hand (which can help climb, hold a shield, carry, etc.).

If you look at the median values, it's the same thing, the +1 size does gives you a higher max while the +1 static gives you a higher minimum with single dice damage weapons but it averages out to the same thing. d4 to d6 = +1 average damage more , d10 to d12 +1 average etc.

With multiple dice weapons you do get a boost over the +1 static though. Moving from 2d6 (average 7) to 2d8 (average 9) = +2 average damage. 2d4 (5 average) to 2d6 (7 average) etc.

To make it a real difference you'd want to move up 2 dice sizes for single dice attacks and one die size for double dice attacks. It'll get tricky for 1d10 as you'll have to move to double dice which changes them from a flat line to a bell curve.

1d6 (average 3) to 1d10 (average 5) = +2 damage.
1d10 (average 5) to 2d6 (average 7) = +2 damage

1d12 is going to be worse (is there a one handed weapon that deals 1d12 damage?) There's not a clean way to boost the dice and get a +2 average more damage.

1d12 (average 6) to 2d6 (average 7) = +1 damage.
1d12 (average 6) to 2d8 (average 9) = +3 damage.

 

[Kingreaper]

Your averages are severely wrong on the single dice.

d8 average=4.5
d10 av=5.5
d12 av=6.5


As such, to boost those averages by +1, well d8->d12; d10->d12; d12->3d4

d10->2d6=+1.5, not +2

And why you'd want to boost the dice to be worth +2 anyway, that seems a bit much of a boost.