Ideas for a simpler D&D *mostly about skills*

[fuindordm]

Here's an idea for Appraise and Use Rope:

Change Legerdemain to Thievery (Sleight of Hand, Appraise)

Profession: Merchant allows appraisal of any item, but since it's a profession skill it doesn't get the +3 bonus.
Craft allows appraisal of any item that the character could craft.

Use rope is really only there to oppose escape artist. But since you can take 20 on it, and there's that artificial +10 to the DC, it could probably be replaced with a dex check or rules for tying rope scrapped altogether. Any game action that depends on a knot being well tied or not probably isn't cinematic or heroic anyway. (Well, cinematic maybe but it ain't that kind of film! Certain professions (Sailor, Hangman) could give a synergy bonus to the Dex check.

I've edited the class skills somewhat...

 

[JDJarvis]

lots of folks have some prettyy good ideas posted already.

here is the skil llist i've used in my homerules/basicish game:

Acrobatics (DEX) - How well trained a character is at acts of nimbleness and agility.
One may be able to use this skill to determine how well they can tumble about,
jump across gaps and escape bonds.

Banter (CHA) - How capable one is when speaking and trying to persuade others.
One may use this skill to Bluff, Distract, Intimidate or Taunt a Foe. A character skilled at banter may prove to be a capable diplomat or skilled performer and may be able to pass secret signals to friends without anyone nearby being able to notice.

Climb (STR) - Often one finds the need to climb up a tree to take a look about, scale a cliff face to avoid danger travel or get up out of a pit you fell into and this s the skill that would alow one to do just that.

Craft (INT) - The ability to make and repair things. There are multiple possible crafts including Alchemy, Smithing, Fletching ...

Disarm Traps (INT)- The ability to render a trap harmless to oneself and allies. If a character class
Doesn’t have this skill on their skill chart it cannot be chosen as an extra skill at 1st level.

Empathy (WIS) - The ability to sense the true motivations and feelings of others. One can use this skill to attempt to communicate with animals, spy on folks trying to pass secret messages and just maybe sense peoples true motives.

Healing (WIS) - The ability to apply medical treatment to the injured, poisoned and the ill.
One uses this skill to quickly bandage a ally to keep them from bleeding to death, to administer antidotes and potions to unconscious friends and to increase ones healing over the course of a full day of treatment.

Legends & Lore (INT)- Knowledge of what has happened before and what other claim has happened before. This is both knowledge of historical events, rumors and the deep secrets of mythology.

Mystic (INT) - Knowledge and capability with the workings of the magical arts. One trained in this
skill can identify spells, puzzle out the secrets of magical items and those truly skilled in magic will be able to improve their spell casting capabilities through the use of this skill.

Open Locks (DEX)- One trained in this skill can pick open locks on doors and chests without having to resort to force and making a lot of noise.

Notice (WIS)- The ability to spot hidden foes, hear almost silent footsteps of assassins, search for secret doors and hidden traps and stay aware in the most confusing of times.

Pick Pockets (DEX)- This skill may be used to steal small items from another person and possibly filtch small items that are out in the open.

Ride (DEX) - The ability to ride a mount such a s a common horse or even an amazing flying steed such as a griffon.

Sneak (DEX) - Stealthful folks will find themsleves sneaking about so as to move silently or hide in
shadows often sneaking away from someone can be as rewarding as sneaking up on them.

Swim (STR) - The ability to tread water . Higher ranks in this skill allow one to make impressive dives,
swim swiftly and for great periods of time.

Trade (INT) - Knowledge of business and the value of goods. One uses this skill when haggling over the prcie of goods or to appraise the true value of treasures and to conduct a successful professional business venture.

Wilderness Lore (WIS)- The ability to survive in the wilderness, finding shelter and food in remote locations and knowledge of common wild animals .

 

[Afrodyte]

This is likely to be a long post, so I'm going to be as succint as possible with each aspect of the game and how I'd streamline things.

Races
1. +2 bonus to an attribute, determined by race. Most only have a single favored attribute, but some could have more than one that you can choose to raise. Humans can give the bonus to any attribute, but they have a maximum starting attribute score of 18 in all attributes.
2. Bonus feats (maybe 2), also determined by race. Probably at least 2 options for these. They'd mostly be generic, skill-based feats. Humans would have the most options, but they wouldn't have every feat available to them. I'd probably give them choices from the skill-based feats, the weapon proficiency feats, and the feats that boost saves or HP.

Classes
1. Start off with generic classes, with the base classes being for adventurers. Talent trees instead of class abilities to give more options. I have a write-up of what I had in mind for this on another thread, but I can't use the Search feature to bring it back up. Of course, I'd definitely modify these things heavily to make them less cumbersome for a more streamlined D&D.
2. Multiclassing penalties are based upon the number of additional classes taken and how divergent they are in concept, not on how far apart they are in level. It should be easier for a fighter/barbarian/ranger to keep advancing than it would for a fighter/rogue/sorcerer. Monks and paladins, instead of losing the ability to advance in the monk or paladin classes, gain a multiclassing penalty. No multiclassing penalties for generic classes. Multiple prestige classes incur a multiclassing penalty.
3. Most alignment restrictions dropped, except for the case of druids and paladins, possibly monks.
4. Make the base skill points be 4 + Intelligence modifier (x4 at 1st level). Very skilled classes would have more.
5. All classes are proficient with simple weapons. Armor and martial weapon proficiencies (if any) are based on class, with fighters getting the most. Maybe incorporate the weapon group proficiencies from UA. Or go back to AD&D's proficiency system, where classes get a certain number of weapons to be proficient in. Of course, they wouldn't have the same number of weapon proficiencies as their AD&D counterparts, but the idea is the same.

Skills
1. Completely do away with the class/cross-class skill distinction. Have only the number of skill points based on class (as well as the character's Intelligence modifier) be the limiting factor in how skillful a character becomes.
1a. Alternatively, give players more options with class skills, but redo the skill rank maximums. Ideas include: absolute maximums (only a certain number of ranks per skill period, no matter what level; i'd say 20 is good); maximum ranks based on level (as in PHB, but regardless of whether a skill is a class or cross-class skill); class and cross-class skill maximums, but have the max for class skills be level +5 and the max for cross-class skills be equal to your level.
2. Simplify the skill list to: Acrobatics* (Dex), Athletics* (Str), Awareness*, Concentration, Craft, Disable Device* (Int), Gather Information, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge, Navigate* (Int), Observe* (or Notice), Perform, Persuade* (Cha), Profession, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Speak Language*, Spellcraft, Stealth (or Sneak), and Survival.
2a. Acrobatics is Balance and Tumble combined.
2b. Athletics is Climb, Jump, and Swim combined.
2c. Awareness is a skill I made up that was once Sense Motive. Unlike Observe, it is more subtle and used for sensing things that go on beneath the surface. While Sense Motive is used purely for social interaction, Awareness has broader applications. The detect spells could give a bonus to Awareness checks in certain situations. Awareness, however, is no substitute for telepathy or clairaudience/clairvoyance or scry.
2d. Open Locks is folded into Disable Device.
2e. Though I do not lament the loss of the Intuit Direction skill in 3.5E, I think that there are uses for navigation besides the wilderness.
2f. I realize that blending Listen and Spot into Observe and Hide and Move Silently into Sneak could make bards, rangers, and rogues more powerful, given that they can not only maximize their specialty skills, but also branch out into others as well. Reducing the number of skill points these classes get by about 2 might work, especially since you no longer need to distribute points amongst 4 different skills to be good at observation or stealth.
2g. I have combined Bluff and Diplomacy into Persuade since the means and ends of both these skills are very similar.
2h. As someone who has learned (and forgotten) foreign languages before, I think there is merit to the idea of having ranks in language skills. The number of ranks does not determine how close to native fluency you speak, but how well you can express yourself in that language. Native fluency would be somewhere between 10 and 15 ranks, and given for free for your character's native tongue. Bonus languages would be around 5 ranks. It's one thing to communicate basic, factual information in a way that can be understood and quite another to express complex, subtle ideas. Language ranks should give literacy based upon the standard level of literacy for the world. If literacy is rare and precious, writing and reading should be based in Craft (writing) or something.

Feats
1. Since the skills will be changed, most of the skill-based feats will change as well. Several of these would be shifted to the Skill Focus feat since the bonuses given would be in skills that have been folded together.
2. Combat feats should be designed more like Combat Expertise and Power Attack. They are simple to implement, easy to remember, and remain viable at all levels. I'd rather have fewer feats I could use in this way than a lot that are only applicable in very specific situations. Better feat design could do much to streamline combat as well as to make fighters the supreme combat characters.

Description
1. Alignment should be dropped or replaced with the allegiances from D20 Modern. Too many times alignment is used as a straightjacket for a character's behavior and personality, rather than a descriptor of her general characteristics.
2. Deities should be dropped or replaced with a concept-based create-your-own deity toolkit. I had an idea for a revised cleric I had called aspects, which basically determined what a deity was god/goddess of, rather than trying to shoehorn specific deities into campaigns that may not fit them.

Equipment
Nothing to change here.

Combat
1. Combat should be heavily modified, sticking to the basic formula as much as possible. Having rules for so many maneuvers and situations that can crop up just bogs down the system and is often best left as a DM judgement call. I know that many of the things in the combat chapter of the PHB are optional, but I'd rather these options be detailed in another book. You could even add the entire content of the Miniatures Handbook in it and get a good amount of optional rules and expansions to play with.
1a. Instead of all these tactical options which may or may not be desirable for every group, I'd prefer it if we had rules of thumb based on advantages and disadvantages a character faces in any given situation. Advantages give circumstantial bonuses, and disadvantages give circumstantial penalties. The basic scale of advantages and disadvantages would be minor (+/-1), moderate (+/-2), signficant/severe (+/-5) or extraordinary/crippling (+/-10).
1b.The good thing about this is that it can be used outside of combat too. Trying to Sneak while in an open field in the middle of the day while surrounded by elite troops would put the character at a crippling disadvantage.
2. No need for battlemats!

Magic
1. Nix the arcane/divine magic divide. Magic is magic is magic. The difference between casters should be more along the lines of how they focus and channel magical energy. Mystics do so by attuning themselves to the world around them and letting things flow from that. Magicians do so by willing things to happen.
2. If you're going to have different spell lists, base them on the archetypal magical types rather than domains or schools of magic. Black magic, white magic, and green (or nature) magic are all things I've seen countless times in fantasy novels and films. Enchantments and illusions (which I call fey magic in my own write-up of a generic spellcaster) are also a common motif. Magic based in the 4 basic elements (fire, earth, air, and water) is also common. Not to mention the seers, prophets, and diviners that abound in mythology and folklore. I have never come across an Abjurer or Transmuter aside from D&D. It's a lot easier to pick spells that make sense for a character, even if a newbie, when you get a general idea of a theme or motif around which that character casts, as opposed to the anything-goes sort of thing that is common for D&D.
3. Metamagic should be worth sacrificing a feat.

I think that's about it.

 

[StAlda]

I created pseudo-skills house rules

I like a lot of the ideas so far
However I have a problem with some skills like spot - you can be trained to have better eyesight? Alertness is different and would synergy with spot, but not affect it "directly"

Anyway, check these out

PSEUDO-SKILLS
Some skills a character has are innate, such as sight or hearing. Any creature that has eyes or ears or can feel vibrations in the earth can use these to sense danger. All characters have pseudo-skills, but they do not put skill points into them and they only changed through Feats, Magic or key ability score changes. They are always trained, at zero (0) ranks.

LISTEN (PER; PSEUDO-SKILL)
Check: Your Listen check is either made against a DC that reflects how quiet the noise is that you might hear, or it is opposed by your target’s Move Silently check.

Listen DC Sound
-10 A battle
0 People talking1
5 A person in medium armor walking at a slow pace (10 ft./round) trying not to make any noise.
10 An unarmored person walking at a slow pace (15 ft./round) trying not to make any noise
15 A 1st-level rogue using Move Silently to sneak past the listener
15 People whispering1
20 A cat stalking
30 An owl gliding in for a kill
1 If you beat the DC by 10 or more, you can make out what’s being said, assuming that you understand the language.

Listen DC Modifier Condition
+5 Through a door
+15 Through a stone wall
+1 Per 10 feet of distance
+5 Listener distracted

In the case of people trying to be quiet, the DCs given on the table could be replaced by Move Silently checks, in which case the indicated DC would be their average check result.
Action: Varies. Every time you have a chance to hear something in a reactive manner (such as when someone makes a noise or you move into a new area), you can make a Listen check without using an action. Trying to hear something you failed to hear previously is a move action.
Try Again: Yes. You can try to hear something that you failed to hear previously with no penalty.
Special: When several characters are listening to the same thing, a single 1d20 roll can be used for all the individuals’ Listen checks.
A fascinated creature takes a -4 penalty on Listen checks made as reactions.
If you have the Alertness feat, you get a +2 bonus on Listen checks.
A ranger gains a bonus on Listen checks when using this skill against a favored enemy.
An elf, gnome, or halfling has a +2 racial bonus on Listen checks.
A half-elf has a +1 racial bonus on Listen checks..
A sleeping character may make Listen checks at a -10 penalty. A successful check awakens the sleeper.

SMELL (PER; PSEUDO-SKILL)
Use this skill to discern different scents.
Check: Make a Smell check against a DC that indicates how powerful an odor is. Smell should be used to search for objects characterized by their odor in place of Search checks, at your option.
The DM may make the Smell check so that you will not know whether not smelling anything indicates the absence of a smell or just you rolled low.

DC Smell
0 Spoiled food or a corpse at least 24 hours old.
5 The smell of a humanoid that has not bathed in a week or a humanoid wearing heavy perfume.
10 Notice a normal scent in normal conditions: fresh baked bread in dining hall, walking past a privy
15 Identify a type of humanoid, animal or beast by scent.
20 A faint odor surrounded by a pungent odor. (A rose in a garbage can.)
25 Identify a specific humanoid, animal or beast by scent.
30 Detect poison in a plate of prepared food. (You must specifically sniff for it, 40 DC to casually notice)

DC Modifiers
-5 You are downwind from the source of the odor.
+1 Per foot separating you from the source of the odor. (If you lack the scent special ability.)
+1 Per 10 feet separating you from the source of the odor. (If you have the scent special ability.)
+2 Odor is on the other side of a standard door.
+2 Attempting to distinguish between very similar substances.
+5 Odor is on the other side of a wooden wall.
+5 You are upwind from the source of the odor.
+10 During a gust of wind spell or during Strong winds.

Retry: You can make a Smell check every time you have a chance to notice an odor around you, in a reactive manner. As a full round action, you may try to sniff something you previously failed to smell.
Special: A ranger gains a bonus on Sniff checks when using this skill against a favored enemy.
You may use Sniff in place of Spot when attempting to penetrate a disguise, or you may gain a +2 synergy bonus to your Spot check when penetrating a disguise if you have 5 or more ranks in sniff. This presumes that you have sniffed the target of the imposter's disguise before encountering the impersonator.
Having 5 or more ranks in Sniff gives you a +2 synergy bonus with Alchemy checks and to Wilderness Lore checks involving tracking.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Sniff, you gain a +2 synergy bonus with Spot checks made against Hide checks involving a target with a peculiar odor.

*********************************

I pulled JUmp completely out of skills and put it under Movement

JUMPING
A Jump check is included in your movement, so it is part of a move action. If you run out of movement mid-jump, your next action (either on this turn or, if necessary, on your next turn) must be a move action to complete the jump.

The DC and the distance you can cover vary according to the type of jump you are attempting (see below).
Your Jump check is modified by your speed. If your speed is 30 feet then no modifier based on speed applies to the check. If your speed is less than 30 feet, you take a -6 penalty for every 10 feet of speed less than 30 feet. If your speed is greater than 30 feet, you gain a +4 bonus for every 10 feet beyond 30 feet.
All Jump DCs given here assume that you get a running start, which requires that you move at least 20 feet in a straight line before attempting the jump. If you do not get a running start, the DC for the jump is doubled.
Distance moved by jumping is counted against your normal maximum movement in a round.
When you attempt a Jump check, you land prone unless you beat the DC by 5 or more.

Long Jump: A long jump is a horizontal jump, made across a gap like a chasm or stream. At the midpoint of the jump, you attain a vertical height equal to one-quarter of the horizontal distance. The DC for the jump is equal to the distance jumped (in feet).
If your check succeeds, you land at the far end. If you fail the check by less than 5, you don’t clear the distance, but you can make a DC 15 Reflex save to grab the far edge of the gap. You end your movement grasping the far edge. If that leaves you dangling over a chasm or gap, getting up requires a move action and a DC 15 Climb check.

Long Jump Distance Jump DC1
5 feet 5
10 feet 10
15 feet 15
20 feet 20
25 feet 25
30 feet 30
1 Requires a 20-foot running start. Without a running start, double the DC.

High Jump: A high jump is a vertical leap made to reach a ledge high above or to grasp something overhead. The DC is equal to 4 times the distance to be cleared.
If you jumped up to grab something, a successful check indicates that you reached the desired height. If you wish to pull yourself up, you can do so with a move action and a DC 15 Climb check. If you fail the Jump check, you do not reach the height, and you land on your feet in the same spot from which you jumped. As with a long jump, the DC is doubled if you do not get a running start of at least 20 feet.

High Jump Distance1 Jump DC2
1 foot 4
2 feet 8
3 feet 12
4 feet 16
5 feet 20
6 feet 24
7 feet 28
8 feet 32
1 Not including vertical reach; see below.
2 Requires a 20-foot running start. Without a running start, double the DC.

Obviously, the difficulty of reaching a given height varies according to the size of the character or creature. The maximum vertical reach (height the creature can reach without jumping) for an average creature of a given size is shown on the table below. (As a Medium creature, a typical human can reach 8 feet without jumping.)
Quadrupedal creatures don’t have the same vertical reach as a bipedal creature; treat them as being one size category smaller.

Creature Size Vertical Reach
Colossal 128 ft.
Gargantuan 64 ft.
Huge 32 ft.
Large 16 ft.
Medium 8 ft.
Small 4 ft.
Tiny 2 ft.
Diminutive 1 ft.
Fine 1/2 ft.

Hop Up: You can jump up onto an object as tall as your waist, such as a table or small boulder, with a DC 10 Jump check. Doing so counts as 10 feet of movement, so if your speed is 30 feet, you could move 20 feet, then hop up onto a counter. You do not need to get a running start to hop up, so the DC is not doubled if you do not get a running start.

Effects that increase movement also increase jumping distance, since a junp check is modified by speed.
If you have the Run feat, you get a +4 bonus on Jump checks for any jumps made after a running start.
A halfling has a +2 racial bonus on Jump checks because halflings are agile and athletic.
If you have the Acrobatic feat, you get a +2 bonus on Jump checks.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you get a +2 bonus on Jump checks.
.

 

[fuindordm]

lots of folks have some prettyy good ideas posted already.

Empathy (WIS) - The ability to sense the true motivations and feelings of others. One can use this skill to attempt to communicate with animals, spy on folks trying to pass secret messages and just maybe sense peoples true motives.

Mystic (INT) - Knowledge and capability with the workings of the magical arts. One trained in this
skill can identify spells, puzzle out the secrets of magical items and those truly skilled in magic will be able to improve their spell casting capabilities through the use of this skill.

Notice (WIS)- The ability to spot hidden foes, hear almost silent footsteps of assassins, search for secret doors and hidden traps and stay aware in the most confusing of times.

Trade (INT) - Knowledge of business and the value of goods. One uses this skill when haggling over the prcie of goods or to appraise the true value of treasures and to conduct a successful professional business venture.

Some good ideas here. I'm quoting the skill that I have comments on:

Empathy: I like the idea of folding sense motive and handle animal into an empathy skill, quite a lot. It makes a very good Wis-based skill, which were a bit lacking I think in the last version. As Afrodyte suggested, such a skill could also be expanded to include a touch of otherworldly perception at high DCs.

Mystic: I'd like to hear more details on the mechanics of this skill. You imply that it can be used to aid spellcasting, so how would that work?

Notice: I'm quoting it here because I want to address StAlda's post about pseudo-skills. It's an interesting idea, but I think it actually does make sense to allow PCs to put ranks in the perceptions skills. The reason is that it's not our eyes and ears that filter the outside world; it's our brains. Our eyes and ears catch everything, but our brains decide what's important enough to refer to our conscious attention. With training, a person can become more perceptive simply by learning to designate certain kinds of detail as 'important' rather than as 'background'.

Of course, I see your point as well. Our eyes and ears do have limits; no amount of training will allow you to distinguish letters at 400' away if your eyesight isn't good enough, or to hear a faint noise if your hearing isn't good enough. But distance perception isn't the most common use for these skills! The most common use is to notice something subtle (like a sneaking person) but nearby.

Trade: Sounds like profession: merchant, but might indeed merit being given a place of its own for its overall utility. Especially for characters that consider themselves money-grubbing, and with a mechanic that actually gives them real discounts on items.

Good ideas, all! Let's keep it to skills, though, and spawn another thread for the other sub-systems.

--Ben

 

[Morbog of Ghetto D]

My 2 Copper

OK ..since Im at (shhhh) work, I cant expound like I'd like to. A lot of these posts are really really good. Im just offering to comiserate.

The Skills in 3E are poopy. I like that they are "oppositional"
i.e. hide skill opposed by NPC Spot skill, Move Silently oposed by Listen.

I like the concept of improving skills each level....but the whole "trained" "untrained" is a big conflict in my game...If you dont take swim, "glub Glub"...

I liked the "proficiencies" from 2ed, especially weapon specialization.
I
I ve always played a very "loose" game, but half of my players love rules and are rule lawyers...These editions appeal to them.

The Initiative system needs work and is way too complicated..One player is continually delaying, readying and being a P.I.A.

I Like AOO, and always felt that the characters should attack more.
I like Feats but they need real "flaws: I really really, like the Flaws Features from GURPS, and thes create skill and roleplaying situations.

Prestige classes are really cool, but I modify them from supliements, and the players whine when I limit/off set their feats.

i.e. I gave a Wold Blooded Barbarian a much better Rage, but he didnt want to make saves to control it..(similar to "Berserker Rage from 2ed."

The magic system is pretty dang (edited for content) complex. We play 1 time a month, and my clerics and mages "relearn" their spell strength each session.

Entangle,Sunder, etc...are TOO complex..and should be resolved with a simpler opositional roll.

Speed Factor from 2nd Ed was so cool and "realistic"..along with "weapons vs. aromour types"

THERE SHOULD BE A PARRYING SYSTEM

I like "cover" rules from 3E not 3.5

What I Like
AOO
Feats
Classes are much more "powerful"
Prestige Classes
BAB instead of THACO
3 Saves
Abilty score increase
d20 combat rules I like an "additive" system based on the d20
Armor Class

What I dont like
Magic Combat Rules
majority of special combat moves
SKILLS
Turning seems "complicated"
FEAT Cost vs. Value


Sorry this is so unorganized, but really not bad for an orc...

 

[JDJarvis]

Mystic: I'd like to hear more details on the mechanics of this skill. You imply that it can be used to aid spellcasting, so how would that work?

I use Mystic pretty much as a combination of Spellcraft and Concentration and 3e scry.

Trade: Sounds like profession: merchant, but might indeed merit being given a place of its own for its overall utility. Especially for characters that consider themselves money-grubbing, and with a mechanic that actually gives them real discounts on items.

Yep it does sound like proffesion merchant but I didn't convert the proffesion skills over for my homerules light and saw a need for such a skill. It combinse Appraise, Diplomacy checks for buying and selling and serves as Proffesion Merchant.

 

[derek_cleric]

Bridging Moldvay (1981) to v3.5e.....

Hey all!

I've played all editions of DnD since the Tom Moldvay edition of 1981. I've found the openness of the classic rules to be very enjoyable to DM but my players have varying backgrounds, 1 classic, 2-2e, and 2-3e players. The classic player has played in other editions of DnD and is indifferent to edition. She just wants to play. The 2e and 3e players didn't mind playing classic but after about 6 months or so, they became unhappy with the classic PC rules. To make this short.....I made a PHB of the SRD that has the classic feel. It's for levels 1 to 14. Skills and Feats are included but they are in the optional rules section as classic didn't have them. (We're using them IMC.)

I wanted it to fit into 64 pages but had to settle for 67. OGL included. I have it on my website in Open Office and PDF formats. This may be what everyone wants in a simpler DnD. Enjoy.

Look here, http://home.psknet.com/allenr/Dark_Coast.html

--Ray.

 

[Grayhawk]

derek_cleric, thanks for posting that link to your house rules document.

I've skimmed through it, and while it isn't exactly what I'm looking for, I may be able to use some of it for my own purposes.

Your rules seem very faithful to 3e in many regards, so I wondered why you changed the way Initiative and Turning works?

Also, if you don't mind me nitpicking, I noticed a few inconsistencies:

You say that 1 round = 6 seconds, but that 6 rounds = 1 minute.

You have removed Evasion from the Rogue's list of abilities, but he can still choose Improved Evasion as a Special Ability. Was that intentional?

You say that Skills and Feats are optional, but don't address how a Rogue sneaks, etc, if you don't use the Skills.

Nitpicking aside, I'll read your rules more closely later, and try to mine it for any ideas that are compatible with my own vision of how a simplified D&D should be.

Again, thanks for posting.

 

[derek_cleric]

derek_cleric, thanks for posting that link to your house rules document.

I've skimmed through it, and while it isn't exactly what I'm looking for, I may be able to use some of it for my own purposes.

Your rules seem very faithful to 3e in many regards, so I wondered why you changed the way Initiative and Turning works?

Also, if you don't mind me nitpicking, I noticed a few inconsistencies:

You say that 1 round = 6 seconds, but that 6 rounds = 1 minute.

You have removed Evasion from the Rogue's list of abilities, but he can still choose Improved Evasion as a Special Ability. Was that intentional?

You say that Skills and Feats are optional, but don't address how a Rogue sneaks, etc, if you don't use the Skills.

Nitpicking aside, I'll read your rules more closely later, and try to mine it for any ideas that are compatible with my own vision of how a simplified D&D should be.

Again, thanks for posting.

Grayhawk,

Thanks for looking at my house rules. I think you found more problems with it in one reading than what my players have in playtesting. I guess v1.21 will be on my webpage soon.

Skills and Feats aren't really optional IMO, but I know some classic players over on the Dragonsfoot board that freak out over them. I did have 2e-ish rules for thieving abilities but I removed them after the rogue player decided they like the 3e method better. I will fix the time problem and look into the evasion issue. Both are probably over-sights.

Thanks again.
--Ray.