Please Critique my 10 House Rules

[Sadrik]

House Rules
HR#1: At-Will Powers as Encounter Powers
At-Will Powers
All level 1 attack at-will powers become encounter powers with their 21st level damage. Utility at-will powers remain unchanged. Characters select three encounter powers at 1st level instead of one.

Half-Elf
Dilettante racial feature allows you to select an encounter power from another class and use it as an encounter power.

Human
Bonus at-will power racial feature allows you to select a bonus encounter power from your classes encounter powers.

Ranger
The twin strike at-will power is deleted.

Changed Feats
Heavy Blade Opportunity
You can use an encounter power with this feat.

Arcane Initiate
You know all of the Wizard cantrips instead of a Wizard’s level 1 at-will attack power and you can use any one cantrip as an encounter power.

Pact Initiate
You gain the ability to once per encounter curse an opponent this curse gives no bonus damage but you gain the pact boon when they die instead of the level 1 at-will attack power.

New Feat
Arcane Strike
Prerequisite: Arcane
Benefit: you gain an at-will magical attack that allows you to shoot a range 20, 1d8 damage attack using your best stat against the targets reflexes defense. This is considered a basic attack, has the implement keyword and is considered casting a spell.

HR#2: Channel Divinity Diversity
Cleric
Channel Divinity class features can be replaced with any of the Channel Divinity feats or Paladin Channel Divinity class features.

Paladin
Channel Divinity class features can be replaced with any of the Channel Divinity feats or Cleric Channel Divinity class features.

HR#3: Daily Encounter Powers
All daily powers (daily magic item, and daily utility powers too) become encounter powers and are referred to as daily encounter powers. Their first use for the day is free, after that they may be used by spending an action point. Each may only ever be used once during an encounter similar to encounter powers.

Action Points
Action points cannot be used to gain an extra standard action.

Milestones
Milestones are removed. You get 1 action point per encounter.

HR#4: More INT Based Skills
Dungeoneering, Heal and Nature skill are INT based skills.
History skill has Humanoid monster type instead of Nature.

HR#5: Removed Feat Requirements
All feat ability prerequisites and tier requirements are removed.

HR#6: Weapon Changes
Staff and Quarterstaff are mechanically the same and are versatile one-handed weapons.
Rod and Club are mechanically the same and are off-hand weapons.
Off-hand weapons can be used with DEX or STR.
All two-handed weapons gain the Versatile weapon property.
A two-handed weapon wielded in one hand is considered a weapon of the wrong size.
Small weapon property is removed.
Weapons are sized to the wielder, wrong sized weapons give you no proficiency bonus and you cannot use a weapon of two or more sizes from you.

HR#7: Equipment and Magic Item Slots
Implement (2)
Weapons, shields, holy symbols, wands, rods, staffs, orbs
Head (1)
Helms, hats, crowns, circlets, headbands
Body (1)
Armors, robes, suits, clothes
Back (1)
Cloaks, mantles, wings, capes
Hands (1)
Gloves, gauntlets
Feet (1)
Boots, sandals, slippers, shoes
Miscellaneous (4)
Jewelry (necklace, amulet, periapt, gem, stone, pearl, etc), bracers, armbands, goggles, eyes, masks, rings, belts, girdles
Wondrous (any)

HR#8: Fix Stat Polarity
Defenses
Choose your three best stats for your three defenses, Fortitude, Reflexes/AC and Will. Once assigned these may not be changed.

HR#9: Fix Grind
Damage Rolls
You and monsters add half of their level to all damage rolls.

Monsters
Monsters have their bloodied value in HP.

HR#10: Improved Basic Attacks
Basic Attacks are based on your best stat.

 

[chronoplasm]

Half-Elf
Dilettante racial feature allows you to select an encounter power from another class and use it as an encounter power.

I'd change it so that you can take an encounter power from another class and use it as a daily power.

Human
Bonus at-will power racial feature allows you to select a bonus encounter power from your classes encounter powers.

In addition to, or instead of?

 

[fissionessence]

I tried voting for none of them, but it wouldn't let me.

~

 

[FireLance]

Unfortunately, there's not a lot that I like about these house rules. Since you don't game with me, it doesn't really matter what I think, but for what it's worth:

HR#1:
I happen to like at-will powers, and would actually prefer an option to have more at will-powers, so obviously, I'm not going to like this. If you do implement it, you should consider changing the currently proposed benefit for the Pact Initiate feat. Having access to the pact boon wouldn't help a multiclassed warlock if he isn't able to curse an opponent.

HR#2:
I think swapping one power for the character's diety's Channel Divinity feat is fine. Taking abilities from another class's list would be too much.

HR#3:
I happen to like action points because of the tactical options that they enable, so I'm not keen on removing them.

HR#4:
Wizards already outshine clerics and paladins in Religion. Do they need to outshine druids in Nature and rangers in Dungeoneering as well? I could see a Scholar of Nature feat that could allow the PC to make Nature and Dungeoneering checks with Intelligence instead of Wisdom, though.

HR#5:
I'd be concerned about balance issues. Some paragon and epic feats have very nice benefits.

HR#6:
I like superior weapons, and I appreciate the need to balance them with a feat. Why use a +3/1d8/versatile longsword if the +3/1d10/versatile bastard sword is also a military weapon? The staff/quarterstaff and rod/club equivalence rules look okay, though.

HR#7:
Beyond allowing for different combinations of magic items, I don't see why this is an improvement over the current system.

HR#8 and #10:
I guess I'm still traditional enough that it bothers me a little, but if you're willing to go to such an extent, why stop there? Why should Initiative depend on Dexterity and Hit Points/Healing Surges on Constitution? Why not define six "parcels" of abilities:
1. Fortitude
2. Reflex/AC
3. Will
4. Hit Points
5. Basic attack
6. Initative
and require that each be assigned to a different ability score?

HR#9:
I don't see the need for it as I usually do not encounter the grind in my games. It would actually cause most combats to play out in less time than I would like.

 

[Khuxan]

I don't like most of your house rules, in that I wouldn't apply many of them in my own game (2 and 5 being exceptions). But in terms of the play style you are trying to create, I think several fit well and some don't:

HR#1: At-Will Powers as Encounter Powers
HR#2: Channel Divinity Diversity
HR#3: Daily Encounter Powers

These fit in well with your goal of more encounter powers, no at-wills or dailies.

HR#4: More INT Based Skills

I voted for this, but in retrospect shouldn't have. Your other house rules reduce the value of all ability scores (because there's more flexibility in how they apply) so Wisdom is no longer more useful than Intelligence.

HR#5: Removed Feat Requirements

A good idea. Why not take the idea of more options at the risk of imbalance further and let characters choose any power of the appropriate tier instead of just powers of their level?

HR#6: Weapon Changes
HR#7: Equipment and Magic Item Slots

These changes won't make your game more fun (I think). I don't think they create a new playstyle, just more confusion.

HR#8: Fix Stat Polarity
HR#9: Fix Grind
HR#10: Improved Basic Attacks

These are nice extrapolations on the 4E playstyle.

EDIT:

Why not define six "parcels" of abilities:
1. Fortitude
2. Reflex/AC
3. Will
4. Hit Points
5. Basic attack
6. Initative
and require that each be assigned to a different ability score?

A nice idea! Is there anything we can add to initiative to sweeten the deal? As it is, it's not exactly a huge benefit. Initative and skills? Is that too big a benefit? Does it take away from the identity of the ability scores too much?

 

[Blizzardb]

Frankly, I don't like any of them Sorry.

 

[the Jester]

Most of these aren't single house rules, they are whole sets of them.

You're making some sweeping changes, here- what do pcs do at will, if they have no at will powers? Just basic attacks? What about wizards, warlocks et al? Are they back to throwing a dagger once their encounters are used up?

 

[Keia]

Looking over the rules, there are pieces of each rule set that I liked, but I could really vote for any that I liked best. In fact, I would have to say that none of the packages would make their way to my campaigns. However, I think that you are going for a certain flavor in the system.

Much has already been said that I agree with. I definitely see that these rules are trying to change to a certain campaign or playstyle. Perhaps if the goals/setting were detailed, I might have some better suggestions.

Keia

 

[Obryn]

I picked the one about Channel Divinity before I read it all the way through.

Sadly, I'm going with "I wouldn't use any of these house rules."

I think some of them are pretty ill-conceived (like removing tier requirements for feats), and some of them might be fine, but I just wouldn't enjoy.

-O

 

[Garthanos]

Most of these aren't single house rules, they are whole sets of them.

You're making some sweeping changes, here- what do pcs do at will, if they have no at will powers? Just basic attacks? What about wizards, warlocks et al? Are they back to throwing a dagger once their encounters are used up?

Heh, yeah they say "I attack it" and bore the hell out of themselves and the DM, or they get imaginative with improvised moves invoking page 42 and figure out which kind the DM likes and end up with a bunch of martial only at-wills by the back door and wizards quit feeling like wizards. just staff/crossbowman who happen to know a spell or two... (though a rule allowing for a basic ranged arcane attack and a basic arcane attack can help that.)

Actually, the increased number of encounter level powers will make encounters go faster pc's start with more of them, accelerated encounters meaning they need to do the pseudo improvised at-wills or basic attacks of whatever flavor less often than they were doing the normal at-wills.