What house rules do you use?

[Chaldfont]

1. Players can drop an infrequently used skill and put the ranks into a different skill between sessions (DM determines what "infrequently used" means).

2. Players can drop an infrequently used feat and replace it with a different feat between sessions (again, with DM approval).

3. Players can move skill points around and replace feats between sessions in order to qualify for a newly published PrC. This happened more frequently when the splatbooks were coming out.

4. With DM approval, Players can shift newly rewarded XP to another character in the group. We did this to help even characters out who have died, created magic items, or devoted XP to leveled magic items.

5. Poker Chip Award System--the DM can hand out poker chips as rewards for good role playing. These chips can be turned in for rerolls, XP, and general save-your-ass events. I stole this idea from a previous thread on these boards.

 

[der_kluge]

I played in a game at a con where the GM used a poker chip idea. He gave everyone two chips to start with, and at the end of the game, we could vote for another player to see who won a prize (some heroclix, I think). During the game, for making good decisions, or good role-playing, the GM awared us a poker chip.

I kind of liked it.

 

[CRGreathouse]

This is a neat thread. Thanks, CR!

Hey, I'm glad you like it. I thought it would be nice to see what people consider their major rules changes, and a more-or-less permanant thread looked like the best way.

 

[EarthsShadow]

I think this thread is pretty cool...to bad there isn't a website out there that would host just all these house rules, or if the website would take our house rules in a submission manner so if we wanted to see a person's particular house rule we could go directly to them. I think that would be pretty cool, but I don't have the capability of coming up with a website. Is this a good idea?

 

[kreynolds]

I think this thread is pretty cool...to bad there isn't a website out there that would host just all these house rules, or if the website would take our house rules in a submission manner so if we wanted to see a person's particular house rule we could go directly to them. I think that would be pretty cool, but I don't have the capability of coming up with a website. Is this a good idea?

I think that's a great idea. A fellow DM and I are working on a website right now (actually, it's done, but there isn't any content right now...I know gilmax, I'll get it done ). I don't think there would be a problem with whipping up a section for it. Let me converse with him and see what he thinks.

 

[Hygric]

ok, here are some of my house rules:

1. Use the Monte Cook sorcerer and bard instead of the PHB classes.

2. Harm spell: Will save for half your hitpoints blown away.

3. The -10 hp death threashold is modified by your constitution modifier, so a con 16 person can bleed down to -13 before dying.

4. Half of the magic item xp cost (except for potions and scrolls) must be converted into power components at 25 gp worth per xp. These components cannot be purchased, but the gp value of them is there to give me a guide about what sort of challenge it should be to get the components. No other use of power components is allowed.

eg, a sword +2 normally costs 4000 gp and 320 xp to make. Under my system, it would take 4000 gp, 160 xp and 4000 worth of power components. Looking at table 7-2 in the DMG, that is the treasure value for a CR 9 encounter (plus an extra 500 gp). So in this case I might rule that the wizard needs to use a hammer owned by a frost giant smith to work the blade.

5. the skill focus feat gives a +3 instead of a +2 (hmm... ever get that deja-vu feeling? )

6. 32 point buy for stats, and what you roll is what you get for HP, although the option of taking the average is always available.

7. No character can take more than one 10 level prestige class ever. (boy was this one unpopular when I first brought it up!)

and finally, comming soon: a re-work of the comming back from the dead rules to make it a bit more of an event instead of a minor hicup in a characters routine.

 

[jonrog1]

Hmmm ...

1.) Use the Action Dice concept from Spycraft, but that may be modified to the Action Point system from D20 Modern.

2.) Modified trip. As is, Gurak the 1st level orc could shove aorund Gandalf like the new fish on the cellblock.

Trip is essentially the Grapple mechanism (introducing BAB into the equation) with Dex mod instead of strength, and some tweaked feats to balance.

3.) Death at - Con.

4.) Every 3rd level, Wizards learn a 3rd spell upon advancing (makes up for low-spellbook campaign).

5.) Paladins can multiclass with clerics, and the Monk can multiclass, but then turns into the Martial Artist and subbing in OA martial arts feats for the ki stuff.

 

[Ace]

I am going to fudge a bit and go with a bakers dozen of mine

#1- Varient classes (channeler, dark channeler, elemental channeler, woodsman, martial artist, adventurer)

#2- Feat swapping for background basically regional class varients

#3- Bonus spells known for sorcerers

#4- Point buy for character building

#5- Regional Feats and Skills

#6- Automatic "good+" hit point rolls

#7- Defense rolls to determine AC (roll+armor+class+mods) of 2d10 or take 10 players choice

#8- Greatly improved shields

#9- Optionally used wound point system

#10- Level based bonus to AC

#11- A rule I saw online, Arcane failure chance reduced by a Bards perform skill

#12- Prestige classes are either custom for the game or better arenot used at all

#13- Brownie points for roleplaying. Use em to boost rolls and perform whimsical stuff.

Well I have added a few new house rules recently

#14 Most classes get +2 skill points at each level

#15 There is a new NPC class, Freeeman which is like a Commoner but with 4 skill points per level and Simple weapons and light armor feats

#16 For flavor races are limited to Human, Half Elf or Dwarf.

#17 Reduced cost for Wizard spell scribing but not buying. Spells can be bought on the market at PHB scribing costs or found in seized books.

#18 Still working in this but, No Psionic Combat

 

[Endur]

Suggested House Rules

1) a 5' step away from an enemy generates an AOO (i.e. you can use a 5' step to move closer to an enemy, but if you move away and try anything other than movement, you generate an AOO). This is to prevent monsters and archers and spellcasters who back up from the swordsman and then blast away. Which doesn't make sense. In 1e and 2e, once you were in melee, the archer or the wizard drew a weapon and fought it out or fled a lot further than 5' and then started blasting again.

2) No more than one prestige class per character (none of these characters that have five or more prestige classes).

3) Haste (and mass haste and all items that generate a haste effect) is banned. Most broken spell in the game. Just look at the fact that almost every smack-down utilizes haste.

Tom

 

[Imret]

More than five, but aren't they all?

1- Numerous core class revisions: The monk has been completely redone, the ranger is no longer a spell-caster, the paladin has been tweaked for greater flexibility, we use Monte's sorc and bard, and have added about 6 others not contained in the PHB, including the witch (found somewhere on these boards), shaman (Netbook of Classes), priest (a non-combat divine caster), and nemesis (LE paladin counter-class).

2- Rather than an extra action, being hasted provides the following flat bonuses: +6 initiative (which takes effect at the end of the casting round), +6 AC, increases movement speed by 50%, +2 to attack and damage, +4 to Dex-based skill checks.

3- Undead roll 3d4 per HD, rather than 1d12 (HD for spell effects remains unchanged).

4- Harm is used as written, but dragons and oozes are immune to its effects. This one is still in progress, and may become a "kill/half hp lost" spell.

5- Each god offers its clerics an additional divine ability powered by turning attempts.

6- HP rolls for level advancement are, at minimum, 1/2 the possible roll.

7- The "standard" elf favored class is ranger; my high elves are closer to the Wood Elves in Warhammer.

8- "Buff" spells last 10min/lvl. I can't think of a 12th-level wizard alive who wouldn't trade a 2nd-level slot for more bonus spells, higher save DC's, and better Spellcraft rolls all day.

9- Slightly improved druid weapon list.

10- Dwarves suffer a Dex penalty, not Charisma, and suffer no base movement penalty for medium or heavy armor (though in heavy, they may still only run at x3).

11- Martial weapon proficiencies are given in groups.

12- Elven martial knowledge provides a +1 bonus to hit if proficiency in the weapon is granted as a class ability.

13- Most elvish subraces are altered fairly significantly (only one gets the hidden doors detection, most receive skill bonuses and automatic class skills...and you should see my aquatic elves. Ooooh....barracuda! ).

14- Crossbows deal 1d4+x damage, where x is enough to provide its old maximum damage.

And 15, the most controversial rule of all- Roll for your stats*!

And some of the rules under examination include Death's Door, favored classes, defensive fighting, and the option of replacing the familiar for wizards with some other ability.

* - Yes, I realize this isn't technically a house rule, but it would seem to be different from most games run by board members. ^_^