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<blockquote data-quote="The Levitator" data-source="post: 3363601" data-attributes="member: 40099">Well, I think this might be a fun thread.&nbsp; As long as everyone remember that there isn't only 1 way to play D&amp;D.&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60e.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":cool:" title="Cool&nbsp; &nbsp; :cool:"&nbsp; data-smilie="6"data-shortname=":cool:" /> I just got a little roughed up on another thread for revealing our rather long list of variants.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue&nbsp; &nbsp; :p"&nbsp; data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> <ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Opposed Defense Roll (DMG)This is my groups single-favorite variant, and probably mine as well.&nbsp; This variant has a lot of benefits for our group.&nbsp; First it really randomizes combat more to eliminate the foregone conclusion of a high level characters always hitting and a low level character always missing.&nbsp; In addition, it reduces metagaming during combat.&nbsp; And most importantly to me, it gives much more information to help me in describing the action, because a bad swing can still hit, and great swing can still miss.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Armor As DR (homebrew version).&nbsp; Our version is a little warped from the UA version.&nbsp; AC bonuses from armor are just transferred to DR, and not variable like IH.&nbsp; In addition, magical bonuses are applied to DR as well.&nbsp; We also use DM Genie and someone developed a script that also tracks the physical damage to armor and shields.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Class Defense Bonus (homebrew version).&nbsp; This was designed to balance the AaDR.&nbsp; I got some help by a WotC forum member named Solaris.&nbsp; It's simple and seems to work really well with potentially high DR scores.&nbsp; The Class Defense Bonus is = BAB.&nbsp; That way fighter types progress get better at dodging blows more quickly than non-fighter types.&nbsp; The other big change is that the Class Defense Bonus stacks with armor, with slight scaling penalties for medium and heavy armor.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Clobbered Variant (DMG).&nbsp; This really helps makes combat a little dicier, especially in later rounds when combatants are worn down a bit.&nbsp; The clobbered variant makes it a little harder to just &quot;cut and run&quot;.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Facing Variant (UA).&nbsp; We play this pretty much just like the UA variant, except that we added a condition called &quot;Engage&quot;.&nbsp; Engage allows you to designate 1 opponent.&nbsp; If that opponent attempts to circle you or otherwise change position, you automatically change facing to match your opponent.&nbsp; This came out of a loophole my players seemed to have found.&nbsp; By the UA facing rules, it seems that you can just &quot;leapfrog&quot; each other to gain flanking attacks.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">12 second &quot;real time&quot; rounds.&nbsp; In our game, you have 12 seconds in real time on your turn to declare your action or you are considered to be delaying until after the next creature in initiative order acts.&nbsp; This makes combat a little more realistic because it helps to simulate the frenzy and potential panic inherent in combat.&nbsp; With a shorter time to decide what to do, tactical mistakes can often be made that lead to dangerous situations.&nbsp; It also gives me the opportunity as a DM to &quot;balance&quot; a very tough encounter by having the baddies occasionally &quot;freeze&quot; to give the party some sudden tactical advantages.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Battle Fatigue.&nbsp; This is a houserule I created to make my players happy.&nbsp; One thing they really dislike about the standard HP system is that a fighter fights just as well at 1 HP as he did at 100 HP.&nbsp; This houserule attempts to simulate the cumulative effects of wounds during combat. 
 
75% of total HP:&nbsp; Light Battle Fatigue (-1 STR and -1 DEX) 
50% of total HP:&nbsp; Battle Fatigue (-2 STR and -2 DEX) 
25% of total HP:&nbsp; Heavy Battle Fatigue (-4 STR and -4 DEX) 
 
Battle Fatigue can only be improved/removed by healing, unlike normal Fatigue which wears off after a short time</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Shields are all +1 higher than core.&nbsp; OK, this doesn't make combat deadlier, but I wanted to balance out my list a little or some might think I am a DM composed of pure evil!&nbsp; Here are a few other changes I made on the + side to give our game more of a &quot;it's the hero, not his gear&quot; feel.&nbsp; In our game, characters gain ability points every 3 levels instead of every 4, and they get a feat at every other level instead of every 3 levels.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Improved bows and crossbows (homebrew).&nbsp; After having 3 of my players tell me they feel that ranged combat is gimped in D&amp;D I changed the threat ranges and crits to 19-20x3 for both bows and crossbows.&nbsp; This gives bows an extra point of threat range and crossbows an extra point for crit. multiplier.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Non-Spontaneous Healing. (homebrew) This came about as a result of my players disliking the videogame power-up feel of the potion chugging fighter.&nbsp; Healing is NOT instantaneous.&nbsp; The rate of recovery depends on the level of the healer.&nbsp; This makes healing more miraculous and keeps combat dangerous as you can’t just pop healing potions and be “invincible” during combat.&nbsp; In addition, the cost to have potions and magical items created by clerics will have the same recovery rate as the cleric who created it.&nbsp; It costs much more to have a healing potion created by a 10th level cleric than it does a first.&nbsp; You gain the 1st HP(or 2 with a lvl. 5 potion or prayer) immediately. 
 
Cleric Level&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Recovery Rate&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Item Cost Mult. 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1-4&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 1 HP/8 rds.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Standard 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 5-8&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 1 HP/4 rds.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; X2 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 9-12&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 1 HP/2 rds.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; X3&nbsp; &nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 13-16&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1 HP/rd.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; X4&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 17-20&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 2 HP/rd&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; X5 
</li>
</ul>One thing I wanted to mention is that I don't add variants and houserules to make combat &quot;more deadly&quot; or &quot;more realistic&quot; per se.&nbsp; My favorite part of DM'ing is being as good a storyteller as I can be.&nbsp; I don't have the skills to take a simple static AC-single roll to hit combat system and describe every attack as a unique and exciting moment in combat.&nbsp; The variants help me better visualize what actually happens and give more immersive and varied descriptions.&nbsp; Also, I talk with my players at every session to get ideas on how to make the world we game in more fun for them.&nbsp; So we build the world together, as a group.&nbsp; It just so happens, it appears, that my group likes a really gritty and dangerous world!&nbsp; <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing&nbsp; &nbsp; :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Levitator, post: 3363601, member: 40099"] Well, I think this might be a fun thread. As long as everyone remember that there isn't only 1 way to play D&D. :cool: I just got a little roughed up on another thread for revealing our rather long list of variants. :p [list] [*]Opposed Defense Roll (DMG)This is my groups single-favorite variant, and probably mine as well. This variant has a lot of benefits for our group. First it really randomizes combat more to eliminate the foregone conclusion of a high level characters always hitting and a low level character always missing. In addition, it reduces metagaming during combat. And most importantly to me, it gives much more information to help me in describing the action, because a bad swing can still hit, and great swing can still miss. [*]Armor As DR (homebrew version). Our version is a little warped from the UA version. AC bonuses from armor are just transferred to DR, and not variable like IH. In addition, magical bonuses are applied to DR as well. We also use DM Genie and someone developed a script that also tracks the physical damage to armor and shields. [*]Class Defense Bonus (homebrew version). This was designed to balance the AaDR. I got some help by a WotC forum member named Solaris. It's simple and seems to work really well with potentially high DR scores. The Class Defense Bonus is = BAB. That way fighter types progress get better at dodging blows more quickly than non-fighter types. The other big change is that the Class Defense Bonus stacks with armor, with slight scaling penalties for medium and heavy armor. [*]Clobbered Variant (DMG). This really helps makes combat a little dicier, especially in later rounds when combatants are worn down a bit. The clobbered variant makes it a little harder to just "cut and run". [*]Facing Variant (UA). We play this pretty much just like the UA variant, except that we added a condition called "Engage". Engage allows you to designate 1 opponent. If that opponent attempts to circle you or otherwise change position, you automatically change facing to match your opponent. This came out of a loophole my players seemed to have found. By the UA facing rules, it seems that you can just "leapfrog" each other to gain flanking attacks. [*]12 second "real time" rounds. In our game, you have 12 seconds in real time on your turn to declare your action or you are considered to be delaying until after the next creature in initiative order acts. This makes combat a little more realistic because it helps to simulate the frenzy and potential panic inherent in combat. With a shorter time to decide what to do, tactical mistakes can often be made that lead to dangerous situations. It also gives me the opportunity as a DM to "balance" a very tough encounter by having the baddies occasionally "freeze" to give the party some sudden tactical advantages. [*]Battle Fatigue. This is a houserule I created to make my players happy. One thing they really dislike about the standard HP system is that a fighter fights just as well at 1 HP as he did at 100 HP. This houserule attempts to simulate the cumulative effects of wounds during combat. 75% of total HP: Light Battle Fatigue (-1 STR and -1 DEX) 50% of total HP: Battle Fatigue (-2 STR and -2 DEX) 25% of total HP: Heavy Battle Fatigue (-4 STR and -4 DEX) Battle Fatigue can only be improved/removed by healing, unlike normal Fatigue which wears off after a short time [*]Shields are all +1 higher than core. OK, this doesn't make combat deadlier, but I wanted to balance out my list a little or some might think I am a DM composed of pure evil! Here are a few other changes I made on the + side to give our game more of a "it's the hero, not his gear" feel. In our game, characters gain ability points every 3 levels instead of every 4, and they get a feat at every other level instead of every 3 levels. [*]Improved bows and crossbows (homebrew). After having 3 of my players tell me they feel that ranged combat is gimped in D&D I changed the threat ranges and crits to 19-20x3 for both bows and crossbows. This gives bows an extra point of threat range and crossbows an extra point for crit. multiplier. [*]Non-Spontaneous Healing. (homebrew) This came about as a result of my players disliking the videogame power-up feel of the potion chugging fighter. Healing is NOT instantaneous. The rate of recovery depends on the level of the healer. This makes healing more miraculous and keeps combat dangerous as you can’t just pop healing potions and be “invincible” during combat. In addition, the cost to have potions and magical items created by clerics will have the same recovery rate as the cleric who created it. It costs much more to have a healing potion created by a 10th level cleric than it does a first. You gain the 1st HP(or 2 with a lvl. 5 potion or prayer) immediately. Cleric Level Recovery Rate Item Cost Mult. 1-4 1 HP/8 rds. Standard 5-8 1 HP/4 rds. X2 9-12 1 HP/2 rds. X3 13-16 1 HP/rd. X4 17-20 2 HP/rd X5 [/list] One thing I wanted to mention is that I don't add variants and houserules to make combat "more deadly" or "more realistic" per se. My favorite part of DM'ing is being as good a storyteller as I can be. I don't have the skills to take a simple static AC-single roll to hit combat system and describe every attack as a unique and exciting moment in combat. The variants help me better visualize what actually happens and give more immersive and varied descriptions. Also, I talk with my players at every session to get ideas on how to make the world we game in more fun for them. So we build the world together, as a group. It just so happens, it appears, that my group likes a really gritty and dangerous world! :lol: [/QUOTE]

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