House Rulebook Design & Sample HR Book Template

[Nyaricus]

I was wondering when you'd chime in RC I'll have to check out these links . . . Hope you keep us updated

 

[Nellisir]

My old handbook was up to 65 pages, with sections on the races, classes, feats, spells, deities, and a gazetteer. I took the cover image off an old Dragon magazine (#240-something, "after the battle" with a tired knight & a dead dragon in a forest), and sprinkled b&w images throughout (scanned from different places, mostly), plus a border. It was a pretty small campaign area, so only one map was needed.

I printed one "finish" version, took it to Kinko's & got 10 copies, and had them coil-bound with a clear cover & dark blue back cover.

This is the "Welcome" text, which was followed by the table of contents, a page covering ancient history, a page on local history, and thence into character creation. It's a relatively ordinary high fantasy setting, without too much angst or trauma -- civilization IS retreating before wilderness, but it's a long, slow process, and not one I necessarily view as evil.

Welcome to the Shadowend, my friend. It is a land of mystery and magic, where the dungeons of a hundred lost lands lie open to the brave, the daring, and the cunning. It is a land where the immortal ilvenkin walk in the lands of man, valiant dweorhin battle goblins in an unceasing war in the depths, and cunning gnomes uncover secrets thought lost in ages gone by.

In the lands of the Shadowend, all is new. The Second Speaking of Te, “So it begins”, undid all the gods had done before. Dragons, once confined by divine edict, regained the powers of their progenitors, to breath fire and change form. Umoth, the Sunfather, was freed from his imprisonment, and once more the gods war in heaven to prevent the immolation of the Wyrld. The Lord of Smiths regained his place in the Underhalls, weaponsmith to the gods and champion of liberty.

Seek you power? Then look to graves of kingdoms, for of the Fourteen Treasures of the House Lands, only three are claimed today. Seek you opportunity? Then look to the west, for the Chalice of Tears has been seen in crystal Ashyntarri, and where that fell artifact goes, opportunities are laid for those willing to take them. Seek you fortune? Then look to the Shadowend Forest, for the queen of Larenyss has declared a crusade, and the man who does the most for her shall gain her hand and a kingdom.

Hie, is it magic you seek? Then look around, my friend, and find it in the vaulted halls of the deep forest, in the twisting passageways of the earth, in the billowing cathedrals of the clouds, and in the flowing channels of the sea. In the Wyrld, in the Shadowend, in you, magic is already, and to find it is as easy as opening your eyes and stretching out your hand.

I started on a second handbook for a second campaign, but never finished it. I'm currently in the process of combining the two campaigns into one setting and posting it on a wiki; so far it's all mechanics and little flavor. Flavor soon, I hope.

I'll send my old handbook (Word format) out to anyone who's curious, and am interested in seeing others -- just drop me an email at nellisir at comcast dot net

Cheers,
Nell.

 

[Nellisir]

Flynn,

That's a nice set-up.

jh

Ditto. And you use alot of the same rules I do; players roll all the dice, flexible wizard spells, battle sorcerers, weapon groups...same method of denoting OGC as I did on my old site, too. Inspired by the same source?

I'd like to use some of your layout ideas on my new wiki website, if you don't mind -- not direct copying, just similar arrangement.

Actually, I take that back. I'd love to quote your Introduction, with credit, of course. Would that be acceptable?

Cheers
Nell.

 

[azhrei_fje]

So do you guys then just blanket deny all other books except for WotC stuff?

I do, yes, but I go further: I only allow *core* books. From the player's point of view, that means PHB 3.5E. Of course, the DM has the use of MM1 and DMG as well. This also makes it easy with online tools such as DMGenie, since DMGenie is only allowed to include RSRD materials as part of the distribution.

I'm just too cheap to go out and buy every book WotC prints. And I want to be able to tone down the two rules lawyers I have in my group.

Just FYI: a great way to see what's overpowered is to take a look at what they're allowing/disallowing for the RPGA campaigns (specifically Living Greyhawk).

Hey, great idea! I'm going to look into that.

 

[Flynn]

Ditto. And you use alot of the same rules I do; players roll all the dice, flexible wizard spells, battle sorcerers, weapon groups...same method of denoting OGC as I did on my old site, too. Inspired by the same source?

As for variant rules, yeah, this campaign is simply a means of testing a lot of those things and see how they work out in play.

As for OGC designation, if you mean that we both took the basic concept for denoting OGC from either Sean K. Reynolds' or Andy Collins' websites (whichever one of them inspired the other), then yeah, we used the same source.

I'd like to use some of your layout ideas on my new wiki website, if you don't mind -- not direct copying, just similar arrangement.

No problem here. It's a simple enough design, so if you want to use it lock, stock and barrel, I won't mind at all. In fact, I'd be flattered. Thanks!

Actually, I take that back. I'd love to quote your Introduction, with credit, of course. Would that be acceptable?

Sure. Keep in mind that the section on High Fantasy is actually taken from Fantasy HERO, Second Edition, with a few minor clarifications and a little rewrite. Someone else did the research; I just did some presentation work.

Enjoy,
Flynn

BTW, would you mind sending me a copy of your house rules document? My email is listed a few posts earlier. Thanks!

 

[Doc_Klueless]

I was going to attach my house rulebook, however the file is too large. If anyone wants it, just email me.

jh

I'd love to check out what you've done. doc_kluelessATyahoo.com

 

[Nyaricus]

I understand people are busy and have a life other than D&D (well, at least i hope you do heh heh heh), but to reiterate: I would love to get copies of everyones Campaign Books.

email is Nyaricus -at- hotmail -dot- com

Thanks all!

Emirikol
the Jester (i understand the thing would be friggin huge, but please )
Nellisir

magic_gathering2001@yahoo.com
jason.flynn.kemp ~AT~ gmail.com
azhrei_fje (email?)

 

[magic_gathering2001]

I understand people are busy and have a life other than D&D (well, at least i hope you do heh heh heh), but to reiterate: I would love to get copies of everyones Campaign Books.

email is Nyaricus -at- hotmail -dot- com

Thanks all!



Originally Posted by My Wishlist
Emirikol
the Jester (i understand the thing would be friggin huge, but please )
Nellisir

Seconded

 

[Nellisir]

Mine is 5.6 MB zipped. I tried to upload it but had an error; it might be a day or two before I have time to tackle it again.

 

[Ishmayl]

I used the information on this web page to write up a 9-page brief. Then comes about 30 pages of campaign world information, followed by 11 pages of diety,cosmology, and mythology information. Lastly, I have a 2-page timeline, but no big written-out history section (as of yet). In the back, I have several maps of the world, area close-ups, 2 major cities, and several adventure sites. A buddy of mine is an artist with a rather fascinating style of drawing people, so I have some of his art sketched out too, that I would like to put in the book somehow.