JoeGKushner
Adventurer
Below is what I'm going to be doing for my next campaign. I figured if I typed up some of the rare and unusual stuff that players can do, it'd save me some effort latter on. Anyone know of anything else I should add?
ROLE-PLAYING GAME MANIFESTO
These rules are written on paper, not etched in stone tablets. Rules are suggested guidelines, not required edicts. If the rules don’t say you can’t do something, you can. There are no official answers, only official opinions. When dice conflict with the story, the story always wins. MIN/MAXING and Munchkinism aren’t problems with the game: They’re problems with the player.
The Game Master has full discretionary power over the game. The Game Master always works with, not against, the players. A game that is not fun is no longer a game – it’s a chore.
ABILITY SCORES GENERATION
Nonstandard Point Buy will be used with the Type of Campaign being a High-Powered Campaign with 32 Points Allowed. Base ability scores start at 8.
Ability Cost Ability Cost
9 1 14 6
10 2 15 6
11 3 16 10
12 4 17 13
13 5 18 16
ADVANCING LEVELS
A character can’t learn a new skill or feat that he hasn’t been exposed to. For example, a character in the desert can’t learn swimming. A character has to have an instructor to teach him new skills and feats. Likewise, a character can’t learn the Cleave feat unless he’s got a trainer who knows how to do it and the time and place to practice by sparring with that training. Note: That if the PC has Power Attack, he can take the other feats that list Power Attack as a prerequisite. This is following a “Tree” and the character is considered to know the Feats but doesn’t have access to them yet.
A trainer can be another PC or an NPC. Non-player character trainers who are friends of the PCs might train them for nothing, otherwise, professional trainers, who are usually found only in large cities, charge money.
Training Cost: 50 gp per week for a professional trainer (and related expenses.)
Training Time: One week per rank gained for a skill, or two weeks for a feat. A character may work on two skills or feats at once, paying separately for each.
Variant: Gaining Fixed Hit Points
Player’s gain maximum hit points at 1st and 2nd level. Instead of rolling for hit points when he gains a level after 2nd, a player gains 75% of hit points.
Class Hit Die Hit Points
Sorcerer, wizard D4 3
Bard, rogue D6 4
Cleric, druid, monk D8 6
Fighter, paladin, ranger D10 8
Barbarian D12 9
HERO POINTS
Hero Points represent a character’s inner potential for greatness. Greatness doesn’t necessarily mean good or evil, rather a gauge for what kind of impact the Hero will have on the world. Therefore, only PCs and important NPCs will have Hero Points. Each level a character gains a number of Hero Points equal to his level. A 1st level character will have one Hero Point, a 5th level character will have 5, and a 20th level character will have 20. Hero Points are based on character level, not class level.
Hero Points function as if the player had just rolled a “natural 20.” If used in combat, a critical hit is achieved, not a critical threat. Actions that the GM has decided are impossible will still fail, but will not cost the hero his Hero Point (although they may result in serious injury or death).
Hero Points may also be used to stabilize a hero at 0 or fewer hit points, even if the character should have died from the blow. This use of a Hero Point immediately stabilizes the character and brings him to 1 hit point.
Spent Hero Points return only when your character reaches a new level. Unused Hero Points from the previous levels do not accrue and are worth 200 experience points each.
HEROIC ACTIONS
It is possible for your unconscious character to perform a Heroic Action when at zero or fewer hit points –but the effort may be fatal. A heroic action should be a last resort action for your character, used only when all else seems hopeless.
To attempt a hoeric action, your unconscious character must make a Fortitude save, applying as a penalty the number of hit points that your character is below zero. The DC for the roll is 15.
If failed, your character does not act. If successful, in some deep recess of your character’s unconscious mind, he realizes the immediate danger and temporarily regains consciousness. Your character is permitted one partial action. At the end of that action, your character loses 1d3 hit points and, if not dead, falls again unconscious.
ROLE-PLAYING GAME MANIFESTO
These rules are written on paper, not etched in stone tablets. Rules are suggested guidelines, not required edicts. If the rules don’t say you can’t do something, you can. There are no official answers, only official opinions. When dice conflict with the story, the story always wins. MIN/MAXING and Munchkinism aren’t problems with the game: They’re problems with the player.
The Game Master has full discretionary power over the game. The Game Master always works with, not against, the players. A game that is not fun is no longer a game – it’s a chore.
ABILITY SCORES GENERATION
Nonstandard Point Buy will be used with the Type of Campaign being a High-Powered Campaign with 32 Points Allowed. Base ability scores start at 8.
Ability Cost Ability Cost
9 1 14 6
10 2 15 6
11 3 16 10
12 4 17 13
13 5 18 16
ADVANCING LEVELS
A character can’t learn a new skill or feat that he hasn’t been exposed to. For example, a character in the desert can’t learn swimming. A character has to have an instructor to teach him new skills and feats. Likewise, a character can’t learn the Cleave feat unless he’s got a trainer who knows how to do it and the time and place to practice by sparring with that training. Note: That if the PC has Power Attack, he can take the other feats that list Power Attack as a prerequisite. This is following a “Tree” and the character is considered to know the Feats but doesn’t have access to them yet.
A trainer can be another PC or an NPC. Non-player character trainers who are friends of the PCs might train them for nothing, otherwise, professional trainers, who are usually found only in large cities, charge money.
Training Cost: 50 gp per week for a professional trainer (and related expenses.)
Training Time: One week per rank gained for a skill, or two weeks for a feat. A character may work on two skills or feats at once, paying separately for each.
Variant: Gaining Fixed Hit Points
Player’s gain maximum hit points at 1st and 2nd level. Instead of rolling for hit points when he gains a level after 2nd, a player gains 75% of hit points.
Class Hit Die Hit Points
Sorcerer, wizard D4 3
Bard, rogue D6 4
Cleric, druid, monk D8 6
Fighter, paladin, ranger D10 8
Barbarian D12 9
HERO POINTS
Hero Points represent a character’s inner potential for greatness. Greatness doesn’t necessarily mean good or evil, rather a gauge for what kind of impact the Hero will have on the world. Therefore, only PCs and important NPCs will have Hero Points. Each level a character gains a number of Hero Points equal to his level. A 1st level character will have one Hero Point, a 5th level character will have 5, and a 20th level character will have 20. Hero Points are based on character level, not class level.
Hero Points function as if the player had just rolled a “natural 20.” If used in combat, a critical hit is achieved, not a critical threat. Actions that the GM has decided are impossible will still fail, but will not cost the hero his Hero Point (although they may result in serious injury or death).
Hero Points may also be used to stabilize a hero at 0 or fewer hit points, even if the character should have died from the blow. This use of a Hero Point immediately stabilizes the character and brings him to 1 hit point.
Spent Hero Points return only when your character reaches a new level. Unused Hero Points from the previous levels do not accrue and are worth 200 experience points each.
HEROIC ACTIONS
It is possible for your unconscious character to perform a Heroic Action when at zero or fewer hit points –but the effort may be fatal. A heroic action should be a last resort action for your character, used only when all else seems hopeless.
To attempt a hoeric action, your unconscious character must make a Fortitude save, applying as a penalty the number of hit points that your character is below zero. The DC for the roll is 15.
If failed, your character does not act. If successful, in some deep recess of your character’s unconscious mind, he realizes the immediate danger and temporarily regains consciousness. Your character is permitted one partial action. At the end of that action, your character loses 1d3 hit points and, if not dead, falls again unconscious.
