Holy Bovine
First Post
So in my new 3.5 D&D game I've added a few house rules based off of what i have been seeing in 4E. The biggest one was the addition of the Second Wind ability. Mine goes like this
Second Wind
When reduced to ½ or lower hit points a PC may spend a standard action to regain hit points equal to their CON score or ¼ their max hit point total whichever is greater. This ability can be used once per encounter. If used during a combat the Second Wind has no further cost. If used between combats a PC must spend an action point to gain it benefits. A PC can also spend an action point during combat to gain the benefits of Second Wind a second time (or more).
So in the first adventure the PCs (all 1st level) have to thwart the hijacking of an Eberron airship by hobgoblins and their Ogre allies (also an Artificer and Warforged fighter) - this was taken from the Eberron adventure Voyage of the Golden Dragon. The first fight sees the PCs, unarmed, under guard in the ballroom after the hobgob attack. In a daring display they grab up several weapons from around the room and beat the hobgoblins taking several wounds in the process (one PC was actually at negatives). In 3.5 the game would have effectively been over and the PCs would have had to rest to recover spells and hp. Enter Second Wind. They take 5 minutes and recover some hit points leaving the cleric with spells and action points to spare (in the Unearthed Arcana rules APs can allow you to recover a spell just cast). They then proceed to take on 3 more very tough challenges (6 hobgobs and the Artificer then the warforged and an Ogre and finally a lomne Ogre) scratching out victory by the barest of margins (a couple of PCs went into negatives requiring the cleric to heal them). In the end I don't think anyone had any action points or spells left. The highlight of the game didn't even involve the Second Wind ability but rather the ninja character (played by my wife) swinging on a rope outside of the airship to go from one window to the next one over to get the drop on the artificer (who was making the warrior's lives miserable with heat & chill metal spells). I rewarded her with an extra AP for that!
The Second Wind ability worked perfectly, imo. Keeping the PCs in the fight despite some crippling blows but it didn't remove the tension and danger inherent in combat. I loved it!
Second Wind
When reduced to ½ or lower hit points a PC may spend a standard action to regain hit points equal to their CON score or ¼ their max hit point total whichever is greater. This ability can be used once per encounter. If used during a combat the Second Wind has no further cost. If used between combats a PC must spend an action point to gain it benefits. A PC can also spend an action point during combat to gain the benefits of Second Wind a second time (or more).
So in the first adventure the PCs (all 1st level) have to thwart the hijacking of an Eberron airship by hobgoblins and their Ogre allies (also an Artificer and Warforged fighter) - this was taken from the Eberron adventure Voyage of the Golden Dragon. The first fight sees the PCs, unarmed, under guard in the ballroom after the hobgob attack. In a daring display they grab up several weapons from around the room and beat the hobgoblins taking several wounds in the process (one PC was actually at negatives). In 3.5 the game would have effectively been over and the PCs would have had to rest to recover spells and hp. Enter Second Wind. They take 5 minutes and recover some hit points leaving the cleric with spells and action points to spare (in the Unearthed Arcana rules APs can allow you to recover a spell just cast). They then proceed to take on 3 more very tough challenges (6 hobgobs and the Artificer then the warforged and an Ogre and finally a lomne Ogre) scratching out victory by the barest of margins (a couple of PCs went into negatives requiring the cleric to heal them). In the end I don't think anyone had any action points or spells left. The highlight of the game didn't even involve the Second Wind ability but rather the ninja character (played by my wife) swinging on a rope outside of the airship to go from one window to the next one over to get the drop on the artificer (who was making the warrior's lives miserable with heat & chill metal spells). I rewarded her with an extra AP for that!
The Second Wind ability worked perfectly, imo. Keeping the PCs in the fight despite some crippling blows but it didn't remove the tension and danger inherent in combat. I loved it!
