D&D 4E My very own 4E houserules

[Daniel D. Fox]

So, we've been slogging through 4E for about six levels now. With a bit of time under our belts (3 players, 1 DM) I've made a few quick and easy houserules to help facilitate faster combat with more options. These changes are all predicated on that I build all my encounters for a group fo 5 people, whereas I'm working with 3 players at the table:

1) If you miss with an Encounter or Daily power, it is not expended.

2) Add 1/2 level to all damage.

3) A natural 20 allows you to "recharge" one power of your choice

4) When a player describes a killing blow, he gets a "flourish" bonus of +1 damage per round. This is cumulative, meaning for every foe a player kills he gets an additional +1 to damage (topping out at +6)



Any other recommendations for speeding up combat you would recommend?

 

[timbannock]

Might I just recommend something that could be even simpler and do roughly the same thing: more action points? Maybe allow them to use as many action points in an encounter as they have, and hand out 2 at the start of each session, and add another 1 per milestone (or maybe add another 1 per encounter).

Making extra actions for the PCs more easily obtained would circumvent a lot of the problems of a higher level challenge. You might still need to do the recharge mechanic you mentioned on encounter/daily powers, just to ensure those don't run out too quickly.

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

Oh, I almost forgot - yeah, I allow 2 Action Points instead of 1 if the player brings "Tasty Treats" (sharable snakes) for the group the day of the game. Suffice to say, everyone brings tasty treats!