Opinions wanted on house rules

[tigycho]

Ha!
That's one of my tests for a good GM. IMO, a good Gm says 'yes' to things as long as they're not going to overpower. Cantrips do practically nothing, and there's NO reason (that I can see) why they don't get bonus spells per day too. It's senseless that a high level caster can cast more first level spells than cantrips. Oh, he's smart enough to get several bonus spells, sometimes up to ninth level, but not smart enough to cast light once more per day?

Then I must rule! I give everyone a straight stat bonus to the number of 0-level spells they can prepare per day. So, Int 18 gets you an extra 4 per day.

 

[IndyPendant]

For the record, it's my sorceror variant that's getting debated here, and I've been GMing a player that's been running with it for over two months now. I haven't even noticed a difference in power level. And there are two wizards in that (rather extremely caster-heavy) party to compare directly to! Yet the player loves the changes, and the feedback from my other players has yet to be at all negative. It does need more playtesting before it become totally canon for my campaigns--but so far it's all been to the good.

And I houserule that casters get the same number of bonus 0th spells as they do 1st. Just makes sense to me. I do a *lot* of houserules though. Another sorceror-related one is that they can use the Quicken Spell feat, and metamagic rods, without suffering the spontaneous casting penalty.

 

[Quickleaf]

1. Yes, use a Stealth skill (Move Silently+Hide)
2. Yes, use Acrobatics skill (Balance+Tumble...+Jump?)
3. Use backgrounds from The Black Company (Green Ronin) to create flavor for the character, or search for information on 0-level flavor classes. Both accomplish what you're aiming for nicely.
4. I agree, Craft (alchemy) doesn't require magic use.
5. Your Sorcerer variant seems fine.
6. Your monk variant may be campaign appropriate. Rules-wise, I see no reason for it.

Cheers!

 

[CRGreathouse]

A familiar is generally worth at least a medium level feat. Meaning, if your games are set up so that you don't use the familiar for anything else, it grants Great Fortitude or Lightning Reflexes. Sure, it grants alertness too, but most (note that most) mages don't really use that. Arcane Tricksters certainly do, and there are other builds which do too.

Also a mid level mage that uses knowledge skills will get a +2 aid another bonus to any knowledge he's really invested in. And even low level mages have a chance to get that +2, it only takes a 10 on aid another. That's using the familiar to the least of it's abilities.

Perhaps I shortchange familiars somewhat becaue I don't allow the latter benefit -- no Aid Other with knowledge skills, you either know it or you don't.

I think that in general, the horrible risk of your familiar dying is high enough that they're worth less than a feat. This is especially true since the pseudo-feat that they grant isn't a wizard-style feat (like Spell Penetration) but a less useful one.

Arcane Tricksters may indeed get more use from a familiar than many wizards, but remember that the familiar doesn't continue to gain powers (other than hit points) when the wizard takes prestige class levels.

 

[der_kluge]

I think the use of Balance is probably tied to the magic level of the system somewhat. If you find yourself floating on the metallic cube plane in Planescape (forgot the name), then balance might come in. Or, on a flying ship, dodging dragon breath, or on a wobbly pedestal hanging over a precipice, or someting equally odd, then balance wil be used a lot. I haven't seen it used very often. Nor have I seen tumble used all that often, unless a rogue specifically advances in it to create an acrobatic type concept. So, I agree that combining them is probably a good idea.

HARP combines the move silently, hide in shadows skill. So, that one is a good idea, too, I think.

 

[Telas]

To sum up the changes I plan on making (player discussion will be involved):

Move Silently and Hide will remain seperated, but the players (and the monsters) will use one die roll, applying their bonuses independently if the rolls are to be made simultaneously. I may do the same for simultaneous Spot and Listen checks.

Balance and Tumble will remain seperated. But I'll start using Balance instead of the Dex checks I've been having players make for fighting on rough ground, etc.

No automatically free skill points or ranks. Instead, players will be "encouraged" to provide a background, and I may assign ranks based on the background.

The spellcasting prerequisite for Craft (Alchemy) is gone.

The Sorcerer variant stays, as a Beta test.

Monks are restricted to Human-only, but don't lose the 1st level bonus feat. This is more for Greyhawk flavor than anything else.

I will eventually be attempting to develop a "light fighter" class, that could be built into a martial artist, swashbuckler, Zen archer, etc. Basically, I'm looking at something like Hong's variant, or a Ranger with less "defined" feats. But that's way the hell in the future.

Thanks for all the feedback; it's much appreciated.

Telas

 

[Staffan]

I will eventually be attempting to develop a "light fighter" class, that could be built into a martial artist, swashbuckler, Zen archer, etc. Basically, I'm looking at something like Hong's variant, or a Ranger with less "defined" feats. But that's way the hell in the future.

I have found that the Unfettered from Arcana Unearthed fills that niche reasonably well. You'd have to change the bonus feat list and mess a little with the skills in order to fit it into D&D, but it's not a lot of work.

The cheapest option if you're only after the Unfettered class would likely be to get Way of the Sword from Drivethru. It has the martially inclined classes from Arcana Unearthed as well as a bunch of martially inclined feats.

 

[ARandomGod]

Perhaps I shortchange familiars somewhat becaue I don't allow the latter benefit -- no Aid Other with knowledge skills, you either know it or you don't.

That's one of the best things they can do! ^_^
And, while perhaps you know it or you don't, there really is something to say about someone being there to jog your memory. There are a number of times you 'almost' know something but can't quite remember. Like that time when... when was that Toby (wiz says to familiar)... oh yes, thanks, when we were at the (etcetera)

I think that in general, the horrible risk of your familiar dying is high enough that they're worth less than a feat. This is especially true since the pseudo-feat that they grant isn't a wizard-style feat (like Spell Penetration) but a less useful one.

A flying familiar rarely dies, unless the Gm is using OOC (for his npc's) knowledge of what the creature is. And in a campaign where your familiar is likely to be hit like that, have a small one that lives in your backpack or clothes. Then it's protected as anything else you're carrying.

Arcane Tricksters may indeed get more use from a familiar than many wizards, but remember that the familiar doesn't continue to gain powers (other than hit points) when the wizard takes prestige class levels.

They continue to gain skill points. And that's one of the main bonuses. Of course, it's a LOT more useful if you have a familiar whith hands. But even without it can aid you on search checks, and with the skills of a Trickster it's an awesome scout.