If you could pick only three house rules for your game, what would they be?

[Thanee]

0. The DM has the right to change each and every rule in the game, as long as there is a consensus within the group and no heavy opposition to a specific change.

I guess that covers it.



House rules we use in 3.5 include:

- Re-roll for hit points (new result must be taken).
- Half-elves gain additional skill points per level as humans.
- Half-orcs gain +4 racial bonus on Intimidate.
- Sorcerers have 4+Int skill points per level and additional class skills (Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (the planes) and Use Magic Device), they also get Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at 1st level (optional: and a bonus metamagic feat every five levels).
- Scribing costs for wizards are only 1/10th of the listed values.
- 3.0 Spell Focus / no Greater Spell Focus.
- Increased duration for some spells (animal buffs, Invisibility, Fly, Polymorph, etc).
- Polymorph is a personal range spell.
- Revised Righteous Might (full size changes, DR as in the errata).
- Rogues (and others with the Trapfinding ability) can find traps while moving much like elves can find secret doors, if they come within 5 ft. of a trap, the DM makes a secret, automatic Search roll to spot the trap.
- Corrected range increments (penalties only apply when the range is beyond a certain range increment).
- Prone 5 ft. step (5 ft. step + move action) replaces crawling.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Liquidsabre]

[1] UA: Death & Dying (+DMG Variant: Massive Damage Based on Size)

[2] UA: Spontaneous Metamagic

[3] Fate Points: Characters start with 2 Fate Points at 1st level. Each time a character gains a level they receive 1 Fate Point. Each time a character performs an act of legendary heroism a character gains 1 Fate Point. To qualify as an act of legendary heroism the act must:

(1) Accomplish a significant task in the defense of good or the defeat of evil.
(2) Occur at a dramatically appropriate time – usually at the climax of an adventure.
(3) Require significant risk on the part of the legendary hero.

  Character Level       Bonus Fate Dice 
     1st-3rd                   1d6
     4th-9th                   2d6
    10th-15th                  3d6
    16th-20th                  4d6

Before determining the success or failure of a particular d20 roll, a player may announce the expenditure of a fate point to increase their character's chances of success. By spending 1 fate point a character rolls a number of fate dice and adds the total to the original d20 roll. Use the chart above to determine the number of dice your character rolls depending upon their level. A maximum of 1 fate point may be spent for each d20 roll made. A character may possess as many as 5 fate points, any more fate points earned beyond this maximum are lost.

 

[Malimar]

3 House Rules

#1: No alignments.

#2: Attribute point buy system from the DMG.

#3: XP is awarded not by creature defeated, but by a flat rate with adjustments for extraordinary play judged by the DM.

 

[Wombat]

#1 -- Everyone is here to have fun. If you want to grouse, please leave.

#2 -- If rules are found after the fact that would have changed the results of the previous round or action, forget about it. It already happened.

#3 -- The game in general and the story are more important than any specific rules.

 

[Sejs]

1) The DM can make any changes necessary that are in the interest of enriching the campaign setting, style, and flavor.

2) The DM can make any changes necessary that are in the interest of enriching the fun of those participating in the game.

3) The DM can make any changes necessary that are in the interest of maintaining game balance within the context of his game.

 

[Westwind]

#1: Use the set hp rule of max at 1st, 1/2 max at even levels and 1/2 max+1 at odd levels. Also 32 point-attribute buy. I spent years playing with various DM girlfriends/wives.

#2: Barring a feat (like the FR Initiate of... series or Sorcerer bloodline feats), I also make casters drop PH spells to pick up outside source spells, except Wizards of course.

#3: Use the 3d6 variant from UA. I really like it, but I recognize it's less dramatic than rolling a natural 20/1 so I'm on the fence on making it a permanent addition.

#3a: The Radiant Servant of Pelor doesn't exist.

 

[Particle_Man]

1. In my current game there are Fate points and Destiny points (good luck and bad luck, but tied to specifics). Spending Fate points gives the DM Destiny points. My house rule is that they can spend a Fate point to maximize their HD after an unlucky roll, but that gives me TWO Destiny points.

2. There are only two languages: Common (with various accents) and the secret language of Druids. To heck with realism! No tower of babel in my world!

3. All spellcasters cast spontaneously, and have access to all spells of any level that they can cast (it is a spell points system already, I just added the stuff outside of brackets).

Oh, and 4. The Experience Point table is cheerfully ignored, and replaced by the "making stuff up" rule. Because life is short.

 

[maggot]

0. No randomness in character generation: Point buy and average hit points. I don't even consider this a house-rule since it applies to char-gen only. So I number it 0.

1. All spellcasters cast spontaneously. This speeds up the game so much, I will never run another spell-preparation game again.

2. No teleportation, no raise dead. Removing the campaign-dictating spells is the first step to being able to run a campaign world that looks like a regular fantasy world.

3. When hit points get less than -10, a successful Fort save keeps the person alive. High levels are too deadly without this rule.

 

[Blue_Kryptonite]

If I had to pick just three instead the long list repeated in the rules section here (excluding the first line, that's just for the PbP)...

1) No miniatures, counters, Battlemaps, etc.

2) Spycraft Action Dice, with uses including those for Eberron, D20 Modern, and Unearthed Arcana Action Points.

3) Recharge Magic.

 

[Voadam]

PCs get average hit points round up instead of rolling.

Multiclassing characters use fractional BAB and saves.

There are no die rolls for social situations or figuring things out, they must be roleplayed and PCs must figure things out for themselves.