D&D General Harshest House Rule (in use)?

[Moonmover]

I'm in a campaign where if you fire into melee and roll a natural 1, you make re-roll your attack, now targeting another creature in the melee (possibly an ally).

My table has been doing this for years....and yet I did not think of it when I built my dedicated sniper character armed with a modern-day rifle. It's been rough, man.

 

[SpellObjectEnthusiast]

I have long liked the idea of a “new characters always start at 1st level” house rule, but due to its obvious extreme harshness have never been bold enough to actually implement it.

It's an excellent rule to pair with "death at Zero HP" and "Save vs Poison or Die"

 

[Evaniel]

I have long liked the idea of a “new characters always start at 1st level” house rule, but due to its obvious extreme harshness have never been bold enough to actually implement it.

I've liked that one in the TSR-era editions where leveling largely requires double the last level's XP. For example, a 4th level Fighter (who needed 8,000 xp to get to 4th) going to 5th level would have to gain 8,000 xp more for 16,000. To get to 6th, he'd need to reach 32,000.

This has the knock on effect of 1st level characters catching up pretty quickly. In the time it took our example fighter to get from 4th to 5th, his 1st level buddy would hit 4th. The only speed bump there would be rules limiting how many levels/session you could gain, but older editions generally assumed far more sessions between levels to begin with.

 

[R_J_K75]

In the 1E/2E days a natural 20 was an automatic hit and double damage how we played. I don't think the rules ever stated this until 3E. Because of the auto hit and double damage this could make called shots particularly deadly. I was a player in s 2E game where some player vs player combat broke out. One player got surprise on the other, declared a called shot, rolled a natural 20 and lopped off the other player's head. This happened all in the span of 15 seconds and the dead PCs player had no clue what had just happened and said WTF? I would never have let the PvP crime happen if I was DMing but it was hilarious. Called shots were optional but made for some odd and harsh outcomes at times. Because we allowed them, if the PCs can use them then so can NPCs and monsters.

 

[Guest 7037866]

In the 1E/2E days a natural 20 was an automatic hit and double damage how we played. I don't think the rules ever stated this until 3E.

It was never "official" in a book in 1E that I can recall, but appeared in a Dragon Magazine and was widely adopted.
2E made it official but optional I think.
3E baked it in completely to my recollection.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

3E baked it in completely to my recollection

3rd edition made it far more complicated, like it did everything else…

But I remember in 1st edition days puzzling through the rules looking in vein for the “critical hit double damage” rule.

 

[R_J_K75]

It was never "official" in a book in 1E that I can recall, but appeared in a Dragon Magazine and was widely adopted.
2E made it official but optional I think.
3E baked it in completely to my recollection.

Yep, you are correct, I just checked. 2E made critical hits an optional rule in the DMG. Regarding called shots were a standard rule, but clearly states that attempts to blind, cripple or maim will not succeed. So, there is no way that players character should have been decapitated, unless the damage was enough to kill him outright. Further there is no way the other player should have gotten surprise as there is a +1 to initiative on a called shot. It's funny how we would take the parts of the rules we liked and conveniently forget or disregard the one we didn't.

 

[see]

"I am not dead!" Black Leaf protests loudly. "But someone will be if I don't find some treasure soon!"

Spoiler: "Marcie, get out of here. YOU'RE DEAD! You don't exist anymore."

 

[bloodtide]

But how do they play their character if you don’t tell them anything about the world?

It is a challenge.

How do I play a player with 18 strengths? If I’m not told that age string teen strength means. Or 18 intelligence and I’m really not that smart.

This is even more of a challenge. As DM I will recommend a player does not attempt to play a character smarter then they are unless they have deep role playing experience.

Isn’t the whole point of playing a game like DND to role-play a character that can do things that I cannot do?!

No?

 

[Vaalingrade]

No?

Then what's that 'roleplaying' part on about then?