Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Swarmkeeper" data-source="post: 7641914" data-attributes="member: 6921763">A few more knobs, levers, and switches we use at our tables:Critical hits:&nbsp; the first set of dice are MAXed, then you roll the second set for additional damage.&nbsp; Makes it feel more critical.&nbsp; Nothing worse than rolling two 1's on a crit with your long sword.&nbsp; Of course, this cuts both ways as the enemies do the same.&nbsp; For example, the 1st level rogue strikes with her dagger against an enemy engaged in melee with the fighter (sneak attack!): damage =&nbsp; 4+6+d4+d6+DEX modInitiative:&nbsp; Players roll initiative at the beginning of the session, then at the end of each combat to allow us to jump right into the action.&nbsp; As DM, I try to have initiative rolled for the baddies and marked in my notes before the session.&nbsp; Avoids the combat &quot;swoosh&quot;.XP:&nbsp; I award XP for non-combat objectives.Hit points:&nbsp; upon leveling up, I've used two alternative HP increase methods.&nbsp; 1.&nbsp; Player rolls for HP with the minimum result being the &quot;average&quot; (so a rogue would &quot;roll&quot; a minimum of 5 but could get higher with a good roll).&nbsp; One might call this &quot;Reliable Hit Points&quot;.&nbsp; 2.&nbsp; Give the player the choice of taking the &quot;average&quot; (so a rogue with d8 hit dice could take a 5) OR rolling two Hit Dice and taking the higher of those two.&nbsp; Kind of a gamble but seems like a player has a good chance to beat the average.&nbsp; But a player could roll two 1s... sad trombone.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Swarmkeeper, post: 7641914, member: 6921763"] A few more knobs, levers, and switches we use at our tables: Critical hits: the first set of dice are MAXed, then you roll the second set for additional damage. Makes it feel more critical. Nothing worse than rolling two 1's on a crit with your long sword. Of course, this cuts both ways as the enemies do the same. For example, the 1st level rogue strikes with her dagger against an enemy engaged in melee with the fighter (sneak attack!): damage = 4+6+d4+d6+DEX mod Initiative: Players roll initiative at the beginning of the session, then at the end of each combat to allow us to jump right into the action. As DM, I try to have initiative rolled for the baddies and marked in my notes before the session. Avoids the combat "swoosh". XP: I award XP for non-combat objectives. Hit points: upon leveling up, I've used two alternative HP increase methods. 1. Player rolls for HP with the minimum result being the "average" (so a rogue would "roll" a minimum of 5 but could get higher with a good roll). One might call this "Reliable Hit Points". 2. Give the player the choice of taking the "average" (so a rogue with d8 hit dice could take a 5) OR rolling two Hit Dice and taking the higher of those two. Kind of a gamble but seems like a player has a good chance to beat the average. But a player could roll two 1s... sad trombone. [/QUOTE]

Verification