D&D 3E/3.5 What are your current 3.5 House Rules?

[mercucio]

At no time, under no circumstance, may anyone play...

An Iajitsu Master
A Mystic Theurge
A Cerebromancer

Bah! The Mystic Theurge is fairly balanced--we took a wiz15 and wiz3/clr3/MTh9 and the wiz15 blasted the hell out of the mystic theruge. Three caster levels makes a hell of a difference, especially when you look at spell slots (8th for the wiz15, 6th for the mystic theurge). I imagine the same would hold true for the cerebremancer.

 

[Ibram]

Lets see:

Armor as damage reduction, players get a level bonus to their Defense Value (which replaces AC)

Weapons Finesse is a rule not a feat, anyone can chose to Finesse if they have a finesse weapon.

Dodge grants a flat +1 Dodge bonus to DV, not a targeted bonus.

Feint can be done as a move action, not a whole round action

Created my own Core Races:
Human: untouched
Dwarf: split into two races. Hill Dwarves are very close to the PHB dwarves, with a few minor changes. Mountain Dwarves have a +1 lvl adjust, gaining several different abilities.
Elf: Split into three Races; High, Dark, and Frost. High and Dark both have +1 lvl adjust, and are very similar (both get +2 dex. High gets +2 Int, Dark gets +2 Cha). Frost Elves are an all female race of imortal elves, level adjust +2
Halflings: some slight changes (get +2 Bluff and Dip)
Gnomes: havent gotten around to them yet
Half-Orcs: havent gotten around to them yet
Orcs: are a player race IMC, with +2 Str but -2 Int and +2 Survival (there are a few other abilities as well).

Modified the core classes somewhat:
Fighter, Rogue, Druid, Bard remain unchanged (for now)
Wizard: all non-elf wizards must chose a specalization, does not automatcily get a familiar at 1st, they get a bonus feat instead (familiars are gained through a feat, which is available at 1st)
Ranger: loses access to spells, but gains bonus feats\
Pal: lose fear immunity (but gets +4 vs. fear), no Detect Evil
Sorcerer: banned class
Cleric: banned class, replaced by a custom class called the Mystic
Barbarian: renamed Berserker

Created/Added some new core classes
Mystic: clerics replacement; has to learn spells like a wizard, has access to one domain at 1st, gets bonus feats like a Wiz (and access to familiars). restricted to light armor
Barbarian: from Conan d20

Added a host of new feats encluding...
Improved finesse: replace Dex with strenght when doing damage through a finesse attack.
Dark Magic: metamagic, adds +0 spell levles, spell gets +2 DC but becomes [Evil]
Briliant Swordsman: add Int mod to DV (one of three feats that lets you add your mental stats to your DV, they dont stack).

 

[Theocrat]

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[DragonsHeart80]

In 3ed, 1 level of Ranger was enough for any fighter (I.E. Ambidexterity & Two Weapon Fighting for free when Light or Unarmored) although a bit powerful. In 3.5 the class moves to a more balanced field, but most fighters shouldnt hit up more then 2 levels.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Hmm House rules:

Standard, any game house rules:
A fumble on an attack roll draws attacks of opportunity from all within reach.
Any class, race, ability, cool thing needs to be cleared by the GM, but will probably be allowed.
Savage Progressions for ECL characters

Healing happens in 1 hour increments, recovering 1/8th your normal days rest worth of hps.

Nonstandard, depends on the game and the players house rules:
Kenneth Hoods Martial Arts
Kenneth Hoods Psionics
Elements of Magic spell system
just working on house rules for this as well....
Alternate turning, each undead type has a DC for turning, no HD limit or other silly things
Alternate HP/armor system similar to Star Wars VP/WP with armor converting damage

Honestly, 3.5 is very well crafted and balanced, I have no issues with the rest of the system.

Rules I am contemplating after reading this thread ..okay, some of this thread:
Removal of cross class skills

 

[reanjr]

I am really curious to know what other DMs are house rulling for their 3.5 games. Right now I'm attempting to compile a list of the best house rules for the new version.

Post them here if you don't mind, or links to someone's home page if they have a list up.

If you post the link (or your link) please comment on why your rules have changed.

Thanks,

Aluvial

This could take a while...

Prestige paladin
Prestige wizard
Non-casting ranger
Non-casting bard
Custom Communal magic
Custom rules for clerics swapping spells out
Custom non-militant cleric
Can't use improved evasion unless you have something to hide behind or someplace to move to
Custom cyclic initiative system
No monks
Sorcerer can metamagic without a full-round action
Totally redone druid spell list

etc.

 

[Yair]

most are campaign sepcific; the more general ones are:
- Tumbling to avoid movement AoO has a DC of 10+BAB+the usual (# of oppoenents, slippery slope, etc.)
- Casting of the defensive has a DC of 10+(highest relevant) BAB+spell level; failure means you lose the spell.
- Detect magic fails to notice illusion spells unless you succeed on an opposed caster level check.
- Protection From Evil fails to ward off [charm] or [compulsion] unless you succeed on an opposed caster level check (I am not satisfied with this ruling).
- XPH powers that grant +1 DC per pp should be changed to +1 DC per 2 pp.
- No multiclassing restrictions (a la paladin) or penalties (a la favored class)

There are also a few rules that have to do with the specific campaign, which are very big departures from standard D&D (no down-time, magic items are replaced with "divine abiltiies" to the same effect, arcane magic not allowed for PCs, no Evil characters allowed, automatic reincarnation in 1d8 days), as well as rules-exceptions fitted specifically for PCs (one wilder character gets Dioplomacy as class skill, another's powers are based off Wisdom instead of Charisma, a character gets Expanded Knowledge before he should, and so on).

I kept the house rules to a minimum this time. Only half a page or so (not counting specific exceptions for each character.)

 

[Celtavian]

re

We use alot of house rules:

Armor as Damage Reduction.

Staggered when reduced to - Hit points: 0 to -5 hit points leaves you staggered, but still concious. You don't die until you reach -10 plus your Con bonus.

Modified Forbiddance spell similar to the 3.0 version save you are marked with the equivalent of Faerie Fire if you fail a second Will save. You can choose to not have a damage component. It works against opposing deities and philosophies rather than alignment. Alignment based Forbiddance is flavorless and doesn't account for evil gods wanting to keep other evil gods out of their temples.

Incorporation of rules for Parry and Dodge. We like to be able to simulate long fights between two nearly equally skilled combatants. Basically an opposed roll similar to disarm.

Changed Darkness back to 3.0. version.

Eliminated Adamantine DR, now it's just flat DR.

Changed the Ressurection line of spells so that that gold piece component requires you to sacrifice an equivalent amount in gp of items valuable to your god. For example, if you worshipped Tyr, you could give an equivalent amount of gold to the local constabulary or law offical to garner Tyr's favor for bringing back the dead.

Changed spellpower so that the effective caster level increases allow characters to exceed spell caps. For example, an Archmage with three levels of Spellpower casts a 13d6 Fireball or gets +13 on his dispel magic check.

Changed falling damage so that it is now additive and cumulative making falls much more lethal.

Paladins gain the benefit of Improved Evasion while mounted (as does any other class with a special mount).

Bonus feats every 5 levels for Paladins, Rangers (replaces combat paths), and Barbarians.

Monks and Paladins can multiclass freely.

No favored classes for any race.

All skills are general.

Cleave and Great Cleave require that you strike the very next opponent clockwise or counterclockwise from the first opponent you fell.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. We have alot of House Rules to add that little something extra we like to our game.

 

[ARandomGod]

I have a pet peeve with dexterity being too useful too often. As such I can never bring myself to empower dex any more even in such a minor way.

The DC10 may well be too low, 15 may be better but I'll wait to see how it plays out.

I'm going to suggest, just for you (and perhaps others who think Dex is too powerful), switching which ability mods affect which saving throws.

Constitution: leave that as a fort save modifier.
+++ Makes plenty of sense, and that is pretty much the function of con. +HP and +toughness in every form
Wisdom: Have this modifier applied to reflex saves.
+++ It can be justified by saying that the reflex is about how quickly your character is noticing things, since wisdom is about perceptions now, it can be a factor in reaction time. Especially in save situations, when dex *should* be flat-footed and therefore unresponsive.
Charisma: Have this stat's modifier apply to willpower saves
+++ Seriously. They've changed the flavor of charisma to the point that they should just change the name. It's now a reflection of the characters ... well, character. Strength of spirit. And it makes more sense to have strength of spirit affect willpower saves than perceptions. Sure, you can *percieve* that this is a spell trying to control your mind, but you need srength of spirit, willpower, to overcome it.

I haven't had this as a house rule anywhere yet, but I've been playing with it at least a little. And the quoted quote gave me the spark to finish the idea. I've been thinking about moving will saves to charisma for a while. I think that charisma should be a more important stat, and having a save attached to it would definitely help. But then, wisdom rather needs a save attached to it also. I mean, it's still good without it, wisdom based skills are very important... but still, I didn't want to take away the save modifier.

BUT... dexiterity! If there was ever a skill that didn't need a save on it, that's the one. I can take away the save bonus without really feeling like I'd be making the stat unimportant. I still think that as many people will take it as before with this system. But now there is *different* reason to take wisdom, and more reason to take charisma. Thereby making each stat a little less dumpworthy.

Of course, Rogues really like reflex saves... but that's their strong save anyhow, and they want spot and listen almost more than anyone else. So, while encouraging rogues to have greater wisdom might not be preoper typecasting, well, I've always wanted good wisdom, and wouldn't want it any more this way.

Yes, I think that evens out the stats nicely. (Yes, I am semi stream of concious writing, thinking this through here and potentially subjecting hapless readers to my thought processes). It should give every stat something that would be wanted by any character regardless of class or even skills wanted.

Str = Carrying, + To hit (melee), + damage.
Dex = AC, to hit (ranged).
Con = Fort save and hit points.
Int = Skill points.
Wisdom = Reflex save.
Cha = Will saves.

Hrm.. What do you guys think?

 

[Old Gumphrey]

I'm not quite sure what it would do to the balance, but I like the idea. Charisma definitely needs some more strings attached to it.