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

[RangerWickett]

Hit Points
Rolling hit points is stupid is stupid and adds unnecessary randomness with little result other than making people sad that they roll a 1. If you'd have d4 hit points, you get 3. D6 gets 4, d8 gets 5, d10 gets 6, d12 gets 7.

Hit points recover at a rate of 1 per level per hour. When you reach 0 hit points, additional damage goes to Constitution. When you're at 0 Constitution, you are helpless and dying. PCs and NPCs that the DM cares about do not die from damage alone. Either something dramatic has to off them, or someone has to deliver a coup de grace.


Languages
Characters do not get bonus languages at 1st level. Instead, languages must be purchased, but they're cheap.

Languages come in three ranks:

• 1 rank is sufficient for survival, and is enough to discuss everyday affairs.
• 2 ranks is fluent. Each character automatically has 3 ranks in his native language for free.
• 3 ranks is a comprehensive knowledge of the language and its various dialects.


Class Skills
At 1st level, choose any two skills. These become class skills for you forever, regardless of what classes you take.


Other: Various setting specific things, like some different races.

 

[Kaji]

1. There is no Common language.
2. Multiclassing reststrictions do not exisit
3. The DM is always right, and if he/she is wrong, trust them to make it right later.

 

[Amal Shukup]

1. Minus Con instead of minus 10 = death. + Con% for the stabilization check)

2. Overrun is not an action, just a check that's made as part of another action as circumstances warrant (and yes, that means you can Overrun as part of a Charge and Charge through a friendly square).

3. Spellbooks are like Cookbooks - nothing magical (or inherently costly in terms of materials) about 'em. Wizards don't get a free ride though - Researching additional spells has associated costs and checks (Spellcraft).

Others, were I allowed more than three (although I like keeping the number of House Rules down):

- Active Defense Rolls as per UA (just tried it for the 1st time recently. Thought it would remind me too much of Harn, but no, I liked it)
- Keen and Imp. Crit stack (one's a weapon quality, one's a character quality). There are no other abusive PRCs or Feats lurking about IMC.
- I'm seriously thinking about adding Action Points and Damage Conversion (Armor converts damage to non-lethal) as per UA, but they're still new for us.
- A few other minor tweaks and doodads. Prestige Class here, Feat there...

A'Mal

 

[Eldragon]

The DM is always right. This is beyond a house rule; but a fact akin to 1+1 = 2.

0: 30 point buy, HP are avg. rounded up. (As Maggot stated before, the rule applies at character generation, so it's hardly a house rule that impacts the game)
1: All 1 Min/Level spells are changed to 10 Min/Level (In 3.5)
2: Paladins may give up their mount and instead get +2 Cha at level 5, and an additional +2 at level 15.
3: When crafting a magic item, a PC may "dispel" another magic item and use the XP from the dispelled magic item in addition to his own. Surplus XP from the dispelled item is lost. The dispelled item becomes a mundane item in every way.

 

[Humanophile]

0. Point buy, average hit points. I see this as being less of a house rule and more a standard way to play.

1. Clerics and druids are spontaneous casters a'la UA. Having to juggle even the whole of the PHB spell list, ignoring outside sources, makes my head hurt. Especially for the class that the new guy often gets forced to take. This keeps divine casters on a much more even keel.

2. Tie auto failure to the take 10 rules; if you're under pressure (my call), ones fail and you have to roll for it. Keeps certain combat and other pressure skills from becoming too easy to deal with. If you're in a situation where you can take 10, "successful" ones succeed even if you rolled in hopes of getting something special for a >10 roll.

3. I'd be happy with fractional BAB and save progressions, but since people have called it "too much math", I just tell people to add together levels in classes that have a given progression and check them on one chart. Gives almost the same results while being easier on the math-inept. It also avoids letting those first level +2's stack (an annoying part of PRC's); while I'd be happy to let your Clr2/Sor 1 have a +2 BAB for working with fractions, you're still only getting a +3 base will save in my games.

 

[elbandit]

Intreasting

3. Kaaliss Sorcerer varient

I am not familar with this. What book is it in?

 

[Remathilis]

Current Game...

0 - 36 pt buy, 3/4 your HD in hp level (max first). Max gold @ first.

1 - Arctic Variants for UA/Frostburn

2 - Clerics spell lists are finite, they must swap spells off there list to gain new ones (domains exception).

3 - Profession is a class skill for fighters, Use Magic Device is a class skill for sorcerers.

 

[Narfellus]

1) Action point awarded to PC's when the DM activates a critical hit against them. The crit cannot be activated if the attack roll wouldn't be high enough to hit the PC anyway. Action point awarded when the DM activates a "1" skill or saving throw failure. If the roll would have beat the DC regardless of being a 1, then the DM can't activate the critical failure (from GRIM TALES)

2) Maximum hp at first level, plus Con mod. Each level you roll your HD, but can't roll less than half the die. For example, on a d8, 1-4 = 4, 5=5, 6=6, etc.

3) Death from Massive Damage = CON score + FORT save. There are other ways to calculate it to make it more or less lethal (from GRIM TALES)

4) No multiclass penalities. Never saw a need.

5) Flexible spell slot system. Metamagic is not as restrictive.

6) Death and dying. Disabled = from 0 to your CON modifier. Death at negative CON score.

7) AC. Armor grants the book bonus, but also grants equal amount of DR. For example, leather offers +2, but it also converts 2 points of lethal damage into subdual damage. This results in characters falling unconscious sooner than dying. Crits can bypass the DR. (from GRIM TALES)

8) Prestige classes have to be OK'd with the DM.

9) Players can switch out feats and class abilities with DM approval.

10) Talent Trees (they're just cool) (from GRIM TALES)

11) Toughness feat grants 3hp + level. No need for "better feats" just take it when you want it and stack the benefits. 10th level character gets 13hp but they burned a feat to do it. 1st levels get 4 hp.

12) No resurrection, it is the domain of the gods (Midnight campaign setting handles this nicely) Reincarnation is ok, sort of wanky.

13) geez, that looks like a lot of house rules...

 

[Ibram]

1) Weapon Finesse is a rule not a feat
2) Level based AC progression (called a Defense Value), Armor provides Damage Reduction
3)No cross class skills, each class gets 4 additional skill points per level

Others:

4) Dodge provides a flat +1 to Defense
5) Rase Dead type spells are replaced with a home created variant
6) No Sorcerers
7) No spell casting class knows all the spells of their level, but can learn spells like a wizard

 

[Zog]

Once you have 5 ranks in a skill, it is always a class skill

Languages can have up to 5 ranks, 3 is basic fluency (sp?), each rank gives you a +5 on a roll to understand someone (trained only, DC:10 for basic stuff, 15 for fast talking/complex topics) Bards and others who have language as a class skill get 2 ranks for the price of 1.

Every spell that has a listed duration of 1 min/level is increased to 10 min/level.

Thats the basics.

Oh, and dwarven women have beards.