House Rules

[Dragonblade]

I don't believe in XP awards for good RP or cool game moments, but I do think some recognition is in order. I will probably grant bonus action points to those players.

Likewise, I will allow the spending of multiple action points in an encounter as long as they are used for different things. So you can spend 1 action point for an extra action once per encounter, but if you also have an ability that lets you reroll with an action point, I'll allow you to spend another action point to use that in the same encounter.

I will also probably bring in the D&D Minis rule for ending all ongoing effects on a natural 20 saving throw roll.

I will also probably grant everyone the expected bonus from magical items directly to their characters at the appropriate levels. They can then always use the higher of that bonus or the bonus from any item they are using.

I may modify the Raise Dead ritual. I have to see it first....

But before I do any of this stuff, I'll play the game as written for several months first.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I think what we've seen in 4E on the "rules of death" has been good for our particular approach. Using the "three-strikes-you're out" and neg hitpoints/2 to establish death makes it harder to die so quickly that nobody can do anything about it, but still not impossible. When death is final, that's a good thing.

I wouldn't bother to mention the whole death thing in the first place were it not for the prevalence of independant resurrection in the epic destinies. We'd just go with the old standby that spells like ressurrection and raise dead aren't in it. But Epic destinies are not only cool in concept, they allow for customization within a theme that is attractive as an option. Unfortunately, so much of the worth of the destinies is tied into the character's ability to overcome death that they are pretty much a non-viable option if you remove that part without replacing it with something of equal weight.

Well, prevalance seems to mean there is one death-defying ability for each destiny. Find some nice alternative power, and you should be fine. The "footprint" of your house rule might not be big - and it only comes into play at high levels...

 

[Immolate]

Well, prevalance seems to mean there is one death-defying ability for each destiny. Find some nice alternative power, and you should be fine. The "footprint" of your house rule might not be big - and it only comes into play at high levels...

True. You know one of the things we had to do in order to make death=permanent viable was to tone down save-or-die spells. We made them do appropriate damage for their level and caster level, but no kill effect. My understanding is that WotC pretty much eliminated that mechanic from 4E, so I have to wonder what drove them to make epic characters so easily recyclable. Are epic characters going to die every quest? Do the mechanics start to come apart at that level, making death too easy and frequent?

I guess that, with me, it isn't just the casual treatment of death at epic levels. The game seems to take on a much more pronounced super hero/planescape/non-medieval-fantasy flavor for my taste. I do want it to feel different, but not like another game entirely. But that's just me, YMMV.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

True. You know one of the things we had to do in order to make death=permanent viable was to tone down save-or-die spells. We made them do appropriate damage for their level and caster level, but no kill effect. My understanding is that WotC pretty much eliminated that mechanic from 4E, so I have to wonder what drove them to make epic characters so easily recyclable. Are epic characters going to die every quest? Do the mechanics start to come apart at that level, making death too easy and frequent?

I guess that, with me, it isn't just the casual treatment of death at epic levels. The game seems to take on a much more pronounced super hero/planescape/non-medieval-fantasy flavor for my taste. I do want it to feel different, but not like another game entirely. But that's just me, YMMV.

I think it was mostly a conscious decision to make the epic experience notably different from the heroic or paragon experience. It is a feature of the tiers.
Considering that the "math" works the same at all tiers, such abilities might really be needed to spice things up. They will also help to create a new kind of "sweet spot", related to flavor more then playability...

I don't know myself yet how much I'll enjoy the Epic Tier, but I definitely want to try it out at least once. Let's see how much "over-the-top" I can process.

 

[Piratecat]

I guess that, with me, it isn't just the casual treatment of death at epic levels. The game seems to take on a much more pronounced super hero/planescape/non-medieval-fantasy flavor for my taste. I do want it to feel different, but not like another game entirely. But that's just me, YMMV.

I think it's cool that you have such a clear vision of what you want your game to feel like, and you've worked with your group to adjust the rules and make that happen. My personal vision differs, but my hat's off to you.

 

[jeffhartsell]

We use house rules, but until we play the game we won't be trying to change anything. Our current house rules are to fix problems with BAB, saves, save or die, and crafting which all seem to be addressed with 4e. I'm guessing we'll find some nuances we'll want to change eventually.

 

[Nytmare]

From: http://www.enworld.org/archive/index.php/t-223008.html

In probable order of appearance:

Expand action points to include an updated version of the Scarred Lands "Prayers and Evocations" list.
Encumbrance. Unless they slimmed down encumbrance a LOT, I'll probably port over my 3rd ed encumbrance rules. Basically your strength is equal to the number of things you can carry without being encumbered and there's an expanded "slot" list to keep track of what you can put where.
My group is always a sucker for crit and fumble tables. My initial guess is that it will be a cross referenced chart where the Y axis is the d20 modifier and the X axis will be the damage dealt.
Tracking ammunition and spell components. This one hinges on whether we houserule fumbles and encumbrance. I like resource management, but hate extensive book keeping. If we have fumble charts, I can have "quiver/bullet bag/spell component pouch empty" fumbles, and keep book keeping down to a 1 or 2 item list.
Flight. Depending on what the rules are, I might jump to a system that only really tracks minimum distances and maximum "facing" changes in a round.

 

[Immolate]

Encumbrance. Unless they slimmed down encumbrance a LOT, I'll probably port over my 3rd ed encumbrance rules. Basically your strength is equal to the number of things you can carry without being encumbered and there's an expanded "slot" list to keep track of what you can put where.

It's funny how often in 3.5 that everyone ignores the elephant in the room (the impossible amount of gear your guy is carrying), not because they don't wish to play in a system that limits them--when things get silly, players in my group tend to self-limit--but because the system as it exists is not useful or even approaching realistic. I understand why WotC has been reluctant to tack it. Most systems I've seen people develop make equipping your character more complex than a battle between an army of druids. Most people enjoy resource management.... a little bit... but don't want it to become the dominant aspect of the game. If we wanted that, we'd play Total Annihilation.

 

[Pickles JG]

I predict that I will have the following house rules
- One attack roll: AoE's will use one attack roll

I assumed this would be the standard rule but it is not & I think it needs to stay as one roll per target - other wise all the minions or none will get wiped out by firecube for example.

I use one damage roll for AOE in 3e & will continue to do so though I think that's the rule anyway.

 

[Fifth Element]

4E has been (probably) the most extensively pre-viewed new edition of Dungeons and Dragons in its 30-year history.

Nooooooo!!!! Wizards has given us nothing! Nothing!!!!