Opinions needed: Several house rules in conjunction

[Emirikol]

I'm not looking to go essentially "no" magic, but the D&D high magic games really have run their course with me over the past 25 years...

Since our campaigns run to 14th or so and no higher,
1
4 (5th)
1 (6th)
4 (10th)
1 (11th)
3
That makes an 11th level wizard. That's 6th level spells. At 14th level, that's a given.

To play high level it seems typical that you cannot play completely low magic.

jh

 

[evilbob]

* Hit Points Half-HD +1 or DM watch roll; re-roll1’s once

Hurts barbarians, helps wizard/sorc.

* Alignment is not used (except for protection spells)

Potentially huge boost to paladins, other alignment-restrictive classes. How are you going to handle "good cleric/evil cleric?"

* Skills All Skills are Class Skills

Hurts rogues and rangers somewhat, massive boost to most other classes, especially casters.

* Feats Ability score minimums for feats are not required

TWF strength-based fighter ftw! Seriously, TWF and other fighting styles become very powerful this way.

· All ability scores gain one point at 3rd, 7th, 11th

Interesting idea to avoid powergaming while still giving everyone a little bit of a boost. This + your skill point rule means everyone will have lots of skill points.

Regardless, no class may cast in heavy armor without a failure check.

If I'm reading this right, it's a huge hit to clerics. I can see how you're trying to avoid the fighter/wizard thing, what with constant mage multiclassing, but clerics get hurt with this one.

* Fumbles on a Natural 1

Just be sure to have enemies fail, too. Although I think this rule favors melee over ranged, since finding bowstrings in a desert/forest/cave is rather tough...

 

[Emirikol]

Hit Points:Hurts barbarians, helps wizard/sorc.

Yes, part of the plan. Lower total HP count allows for more reasonable combats longer down the road (i.e. the game doesn't become "epic" at 10th level like most games I've played in).

Absent alignment: Potentially huge boost to paladins, other alignment-restrictive classes. How are you going to handle "good cleric/evil cleric?"

Regarding Paladins, I don't know that we'll ever have one in Hyboria...but we had a samurai that really struggled with all the "chaotic" actions of a typical hyborian party. Personally, I think the paladin is so weak already that it won't even matter.

As for clerics, the players get to choose whenever and whatever is relevant to their "religion" Good/evil is irrelevant.

Hurts rogues and rangers somewhat, massive boost to most other classes, especially casters.

I've never understood how it "hurt" rogues, because the other classes don't get enough points to spend anyways

TWF strength-based fighter ftw! Seriously, TWF and other fighting styles become very powerful this way.

Excellent. My goal is to get other classes to start doing this kind of stuff. They'll never hold a candle to a fighter anyways

Really, this balances itself. If a fighter has a low dex and is trying to two-weapon wield, he's going to be WEAKER than the guy who actually has an upper dex right?

Interesting idea to avoid powergaming while still giving everyone a little bit of a boost. This + your skill point rule means everyone will have lots of skill points.

THis is one of the few things that I stole from the CONAN RPG (which I don't care for..to put it mildly).

I think it's great for balance and with fewer magical items in the game, and it seems to make levelling more satisfying too.

If I'm reading this right, it's a huge hit to clerics. I can see how you're trying to avoid the fighter/wizard thing, what with constant mage multiclassing, but clerics get hurt with this one.

Yes. Another goal met. Magic is magic and clerics are the most powerful group in the game so this balances out. This also hits paladins (but nobody's going to play one of them .

Yes, it also prevents heavy fighter/divine's.

Just be sure to have enemies fail, too. Although I think this rule favors melee over ranged, since finding bowstrings in a desert/forest/cave is rather tough...

Yes, the enemies fail too. Monster claws don't go flying off though As for melee over ranged, yes, bowstrings break..but the critical is almost ALWAYS worth it.

We've had so many broken weapons it's not even funny. Many of them were combat-ending, life-saving events. "You jam your +2 "nonmagical" sword into the belly of the Turanian captain and snap it off at the hilt just before he can cleave you in twain!"

Ah, those are the good times

jh

 

[evilbob]

Yes, part of the plan...

Fair enough. It sounds like a lot of these tweaks go toward ideas you felt needed adjusting anyway, so I won't belabor those points.

As for clerics, the players get to choose whenever and whatever is relevant to their "religion" Good/evil is irrelevant.

Well, it's only relevant if your clerics plan on turning undead or spontaneously casting spells. Technically, they'd have to choose either turning + cure or rebuking + inflict, but you can handle this any way you'd choose. I'd suggest either making them select at character generation and stick with it like normal, or just allowing them to pick whichever, whenever, which also seems to fit your campaign just fine.

I've never understood how it "hurt" rogues, because the other classes don't get enough points to spend anyways

Because rogues are a skill-based class. If all skills are class skills, then why play a rogue? Seriously: if you boost all other classes this way, then either boost rogues or just kick the class. Either give them even more skill points, or something else that helps.

Really, this balances itself. If a fighter has a low dex and is trying to two-weapon wield, he's going to be WEAKER than the guy who actually has an upper dex right?

Actually, wrong. A fighter with a dex of 12 who can do all the TWF feats is going to be much stronger than a fighter with a high dex and TWF. This is because he can sink his points into Str instead of Dex and use Str-based weapons, so he'll be hitting just as often (or more) and doing a whole lot more damage. Plus, he'll have better armor, too.


As for the weapon fumble stuff, the other piece of advice I have is: be sure to price "bowstrings" for equipment, decide what kind of check (craft?) and the DC it would take to repair a bow - OR if "restringing" is just a full-round action that provokes an AoO - BEFORE you start the campaign. Setting all this down early allows players to prepare (by buying hundreds of extra strings or investing in craft skills, etc.) and makes it more fair.

 

[Emirikol]

Fair enough.
Well, it's only relevant if your clerics plan on turning undead or spontaneously casting spells. Technically, they'd have to choose either turning + cure or rebuking + inflict, but you can handle this any way you'd choose. I'd suggest either making them select at character generation and stick with it like normal, or just allowing them to pick whichever, whenever, which also seems to fit your campaign just fine.

Thanks for this review by the way I really want to have all this stuff nailed down before my next campaign because it will be a different setting. We're going from desert (where armor is prohibitive) to the Nordhiemr (Norse) lands. I think there will be a whole different set of issues. Again, thanks.


Good point on the Clerics. Any combination is fine in this campaign, but it is essential to have it set on generation.

Because rogues are a skill-based class. If all skills are class skills, then why play a rogue? Seriously: if you boost all other classes this way, then either boost rogues or just kick the class. Either give them even more skill points, or something else that helps.

Any suggestions?

Actually, wrong. A fighter with a dex of 12 who can do all the TWF feats is going to be much stronger than a fighter with a high dex and TWF. This is because he can sink his points into Str instead of Dex and use Str-based weapons, so he'll be hitting just as often (or more) and doing a whole lot more damage. Plus, he'll have better armor, too.

I'll take a look at the balance with the current game and see how it's working out.

As for the weapon fumble stuff, the other piece of advice I have is: be sure to price "bowstrings" for equipment, decide what kind of check (craft?) and the DC it would take to repair a bow - OR if "restringing" is just a full-round action that provokes an AoO - BEFORE you start the campaign. Setting all this down early allows players to prepare (by buying hundreds of extra strings or investing in craft skills, etc.) and makes it more fair.

Yes, this is a good point.

Thanks again!

Jay

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[Quartz]

A suggestion with regard to HP: if you're taking a combat class (e.g. Fighter, Cleric with War domain, Monk, Eldritch Knight) you can take the average of the HD, rounded up; otherwise you take the average rounded down.

Otherwise your HP scheme is far too good for those classes that use d4 and d6. Consider that a wizard automatically get 75% of his HP, but a fighter - who needs the HP more - 60%, and a barbarian only gets 58%.

 

[Emirikol]

Thanks for the tip.

jay

 

[Gregor]

* Alignment is not used (except for protection spells)

Hey Emirikol,

I would like to drop alignment from my homebrew setting as well. However, Im having a hard time wrapping my head around what to do with the protection spells. If alignment is not used, then how do protection spells work? Protection from evil cannot protect me against evil people because there is no such thing as an evil person.

I thought about just making players select one of the 9 alignments that best reflects how they are going to play their character. The selected alignment is something they feel matches the soul of their character instead of a guideline to live by. Ultimately its then only used to determine whether or not particular spells, such as the protection spells, apply to them?

What were your thoughts on this?

 

[Celebrim]

Hey Emirikol,

I would like to drop alignment from my homebrew setting as well. However, Im having a hard time wrapping my head around what to do with the protection spells. If alignment is not used, then how do protection spells work? Protection from evil cannot protect me against evil people because there is no such thing as an evil person....What were your thoughts on this?

I don't know what Emirikol is doing, but some of the better suggestions I've heard in the past was to drop alignment for humanoids (or at least for the vast majority of humanoids), and retain it only for things like outsiders and undead. The idea being that while alignment exists in some fashion, no humanoid rises in either good or evil to the point of actually being alignable on a moral axis in the way an incarnated idea is alignable. In this way, most alignment dependent rules still work, but some of the messier issues of having an alignment as a tangible thing go away.

 

[Emirikol]

Hey Emirikol, I would like to drop alignment from my homebrew setting as well. However, Im having a hard time wrapping my head around what to do with the protection spells. If alignment is not used, then how do protection spells work? Protection from evil cannot protect me against evil people because there is no such thing as an evil person.

Protection from "enemies." Done.
It's not a big enough bonus to worry about. There are how many different spells for this?

I thought about just making players select one of the 9 alignments that best reflects how they are going to play their character. The selected alignment is something they feel matches the soul of their character instead of a guideline to live by. Ultimately its then only used to determine whether or not particular spells, such as the protection spells, apply to them? What were your thoughts on this?

We've played this way for several years now.

It always seemed "wierd." PRotection from GOOD? Protection from Chaos? Just a little too silly for me and having 4 different spells that could just as well be combined into one makes more sense. They're useless spells so I have no problem calling it "enemies."

jh


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