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Message: <blockquote data-quote="smathis" data-source="post: 4297136" data-attributes="member: 56465">How about something like this?Anyone caught in the AoE who has a condition or has performed an action that leaves them open to Combat Advantage takes a -2 to their Defense. This includes creatures that are affected by things like Dazed, as well as creatures that are running and just wind up in the AoE.Anyone in the AoE who is currently marked (by anyone) also is at a -2.Everyone else uses their full Defense.Prior to the attack roll, everyone who is not at -2 and who has a move action left to spend in this turn (basically everyone who hasn't gone yet), can spend a move action to get a free +2 to their Defense. This simulates ducking/falling prone and then getting up again.Then the Wizard rolls a single die and compares it to all the Defenses in the AoE. Not sure if that's any simpler than just rolling for everyone. But it gives a decent amount of variance.========At present, the house rules I'm planning on using are...<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Johnathan Tweet's Fair Escape rule: Basically, the PCs can hightail it with no penalty.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Johnathan Tweet's Kill Shot rule: Players narrate important/dramatic kill shots.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Mike Mearls' GURPS disads proposal: Each PC gets 10 pts of disads from the GURPS book at character creation.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Background Keywords: Each PC gets 2 background keywords that each give a +2 to any non-attack or damage roll they make. Basically skill checks and such.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> No full reset: PCs recover their Con Bonus + 1 (but no less than one) Healing Surges and their Bloodied total in Hit Points after an extended rest. A full reset only happens after resting back in town.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Milestones are abstract: They don't happen after every other encounter. Although they may. They happen after the PCs reach some point in the dungeon/adventure, a.k.a. a Milestone.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Levels of Success: These apply to all rolls. Basically, rolling the exact target number or one over or below is neither a complete failure nor a complete success. And players can negotiate higher levels of success by taking a condition or a penalty. For example, a PC who gets a minor success on hitting an opponent can grant Combat Advantage until his next turn to boost that minor success to a regular one.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Goals and Death Flags: At chargen, a PC selects 3 goals. These can change over time and they can even conflict with one another. When a PC dies, the player can check-off one of these goals to instead be captured, left for dead, knocked out, etc. at the DM's discretion. The DM then notes what goal the PC checked off and works that into the campaign. The general tenet will be that by the time the PC reaches the Paragon Tier he will have accomplished at least one of these goals. Example: Bob gives his Dragonborn the following goals at chargen: To be the greatest swordsman in Thislandia, To rebuild the Dragonborn Empire, To sire strong and valiant sons. Bob rolls his third failed death save in Irontooth's lair in KotS. Rather than write up a whole new PC, Bob checks off one of his goals. This means that this is something his Dragonborn will definitely NOT be doing. If he decides to check-off the swordmaster goal, the DM may say that Irontooth lopped off his sword hand and that he will never be as good as he could be because he'll always have to fight with his off-hand. Although he could still be really freaking awesome and it should frequently be noted that he's having to fight with his off-hand. But he'll never be the greatest. Or maybe he checks off the strong and valiant sons. That doesn't mean that the PC won't have any sons. But maybe he'll only have one. And that son will be sickly and craven. Basically, it's a way for the Player to direct the curveballs that the DM will throw at his PC -- while giving him the opportunity to "put in extra tokens in 30 seconds" to keep the character going. But I'd say that even if a PC loses a hand of something, the actual mechanical effect should be a non-issue. Bob's PC fights just as well with his left-hand as his right. It's just that he'll never be the greatest swordsman in Thislandia fighting left-handed. A PC cannot check off his last goal. If he dies while he has only one goal left, then he dies. It's incumbent on the DM to work in all this goal-oriented stuff into the campaign.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">No more magic economy: Residuum is around but it's like Ghost Rock in Deadlands. And magic items grow with their wielder. So a Paladin may earn or inherit a +1 sword at some low level. But by 25th level that sword will have worked it's way up to a Holy Avenger. To make up for the deficit in magic items, I plan to institute the +1 to attacks, damage and defenses every 5 levels.</li> </ul>That's it for now. Very few crunch changes, I'd say. Mostly flavor stuff.</blockquote>

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