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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pbartender" data-source="post: 1532425" data-attributes="member: 7533">Paging Dr. Freud...  Dr. Freud to the Emergency Room...  Dr. Freud...Anyway, I'd reread through all of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories recently, so below are the house rules I'm prooposing for our group's next campaign.  Most of them are taken straight from Green Ronin's Skull & Bones pirate suppliment, or from Unearthed Arcana.  Some bits, mostly the spellcasting variations, are all my own.Elysium is a country that has entered a magical and technological renaissance.  Being an island unto itself it is, however, a fairly isolationist country and has not had contact with the outside world.  The 'barbarians' of the outside world are considerably less advanced, ranging from bronze-age up to early medieval.You are a group of professional adventurers hired by a wealthy patron to explore the outer world, find the ancient knowledge and artifacts of lost civilizations, and bring them back to him.Here are the house rules that I'd like to use for the campaign.  Look them over and tell me what you think...<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Skull & Bones Swashbuckling Combat rules...  Including Parrying [Use up an attack from your next turn to make an opposed attack roll against an enemy's attack], Lives [A cinematic way to avoid Ressurection and Reincarnation spells, only the DM knows how many Lives ewach player has], Fast Hit Point Recovery [HPs heal by the minutes, not the by the day.  When HPs are gone, characters take Con damage], Rolling the Bones [A dramatic action point system of sorts] and all associated feats and prestige classes.  Within Elysium, the Skull & Bones equipment list, including firearms and such, would be standard. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">No Alignments...  Alignment no longer exists.  Alignment spells and magical effects are still available and still work, but only on creatures with the appropriate alignment subtype. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Legedary Heroes (Gestalt Rules)... Characters get to choose two classes every level, gaining all special abilities and the best stats from each.  This is to make up for the decreased availability of magic in the setting (as detailed below), while keeping encounter power levels the same. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Complex Skill Checks...  Requires multiple successful skill checks for some actions, but also allow for occasional failures. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Contacts...  I'd like to use contacts, but have not yet decided whether to use the rules from Skull & Bones or Unearthed Arcana. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Craft Points...  Characters would gain "craft points" that they can use to create magical items. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Prayer Books... Divine casters would not automatically learn all spells of a given spell level.  Instead, they would have a prayer book which would in all ways act like a Wizard's spellbook. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spontaneous Domain Spells...  Domain spells are automatically learned and copied into the cleric's prayer book whenever the cleric gains a level. Clerics can spontaneously swap out a prepared spell for any domain spell spell they know of equal or lower level.  This replaces the ability to spontaneously cast Cure or Harm spells and the bonus spell slots for preparing domain spells.  Druids may still spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally spells, and automatically learn those spells at each level. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Decisive Turning...  The ability to Turn or Rebuke Undead is no longer determined by alignment.  Any cleric can do either, and may decide which method they wish to use at the time of turning. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spontaneous Specialists...  At each level, a Wizard specializing in a spellcasting school can select one spell from his school of specialization.  The spell must be of a spell level the wizard can cast.  This spell is gained in addition to the two spells a wizard nromally gains each level.  The bonus specialist spells chosen at each level may be cast spontaneously by swapping it out with a prepared spell of equal or higher level, much like a cleric can sponteously cast domain spells.  This ability replaces the bonus spell slots normally gained from specialization.  Wizards still gain a +2 bonus to Spellcraft check to learn spells from their school of specialty. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Incantations...  Incantations are similar to scrolls, but take a considerable amount of time to cast, only require certain skill checks to cast, and do not disappear after use.  Anyone with the appropriate skills may attempt to use an incantation.  Any spell written within a spell book or prayer book is considered an incantation.  Spells can no longer be learned from scrolls, but can be copied from incantations instead. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magical Availability... This is more of a setting guideline, than an actual rule.  Most powerful spells are considered proprietary by the wizards that know them, and so they be particularly difficult to find.  Outside of Elysium, any magic item will be difficult to purchase, though potions would be the most commonly available.  Within Elysium most potions, many minor scrolls and wands, and any item that gives a flat bonus to attack, damage, AC, saves or skill checks would be readily available, within reason.  Any other magic items would be difficult to find for sale.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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