What's the Coolest houserule you have seen? (In the spirit of the Strangest)

[Paka]

That's a wicked idea..How are your players handling it?

-dropshadow

Everyone seems to be doing fine with it, no complaints so far but then I have a really easy-going group in that game.

 

[Ravellion]

Everyone seems to be doing fine with it, no complaints so far but then I have a really easy-going group in that game.

I ahve been in a game where this went really badly.

In the beginning it was: "I go down from two Orc sword blows? But you said I was in good shape! I would have taken a healing potion if I had known better!"

later, as the Dm got better and more precise in description: "*Dm gives long description*" Player: "So you are basically saying I am between 35 and 38 hit points? Why don't you just let us track it, if you are going into that much detail anyway?"

It was time intensive for the DM, and in th end was more trouble than it is worth. YMMV.

Rav

 

[Paka]

I ahve been in a game where this went really badly.

In the beginning it was: "I go down from two Orc sword blows? But you said I was in good shape! I would have taken a healing potion if I had known better!"

later, as the Dm got better and more precise in description: "*Dm gives long description*" Player: "So you are basically saying I am between 35 and 38 hit points? Why don't you just let us track it, if you are going into that much detail anyway?"

It was time intensive for the DM, and in th end was more trouble than it is worth. YMMV.

Rav

I am not sure this method is good for every game, particularly game with large groups or games where all of the players aren't on the same page.

I am running a dark fantasy game without alignments in a world ruled by the living incarnation of Evil, a total Sauron-clone whose empire is run by Orcs, fear and blood.

for this game, with this small group, it works really well. It is an option worth considering but I can clearly see how it would go badly for some.

 

[Magus Coeruleus]

Yeah, I used to track PCs' hp and make them sweat and I, too, discovered that while it was kind of cool it wasn't worth the extra bookkeeping and the questions that pretty much force me to tell them which quartile of their hit point range they were in. For that matter, even though there's that status spell for tracking party hp, I now just let PCs tell each other their hp because it's hard enough for them to keep each other alive as is, that I don't want characters dying for lack of that knowledge. Actually, sometimes people play dumb and sometimes not, depending on how realistic it seems (can they see the person at least?).

Here’s what I consider my coolest house rule. I posted it here long ago. I took issue with the rules for wizards learning spells from spellbooks, and came up with my own house rules. There are some important effects of this alternative on game balance aspects. These are intentional given the way I run my campaign (relatively low-magic, low-cash). These rules:

• emphasize the role of research and experimentation using a foreign spellbook as a guide, over that of scribing from it. The bulk of time, money, and risk of failure lie in learning, i.e. fathoming spells, rather than copying them down.
• lower the cost of low-level spell learning dramatically, but increase the cost of high-level spell learning likewise. The crossover point where this system goes from cheaper to more expensive is between 4th and 5th level spells.
• increase the amount of time needed for spell learning
• separate research and scribing, with the time and cost associated with the latter only coming into play if the former is successful
• do not allow Take-10 on spell learning, and increase the DC steeply with spell level, making the Spellcraft skill more important.
• incorporate circumstance modifiers for learning Spellcraft checks
• potentially make it take longer to prepare spells from a foreign spellbook
• provide what I consider a more elegant way of handling copying/replacing spellbooks
• allow for collaboration that works like a two-way Aid Another action

Here you go:


DECIPHERING SPELLS FROM FOREIGN SPELLBOOKS

Prerequisites: Spellbook
Time: 1 minute per spell level (5 rounds for a level-0 spell)
Spellcraft check: DC 20 + spell level; may Take-10; automatic success with read magic or if owner of spellbook is on hand to help
Success: No need to decipher this particular script again; identifies and gives general idea of spell's effects; if a previously learned spell, can be used to attempt preparation; if a new spell, can be used to learn
Retry: Allowed once per day


PREPARING SPELLS FROM FOREIGN SPELLBOOKS

Prerequisites: Deciphered spell that previously has been learned, minimum caster level to cast spell
Time: 10 minutes per spell level (5 minutes for a level-0 spell; total preparation time still takes at least the normal 15 minutes per 25% spells prepared)
Spellcraft check: DC 15 + spell level; may Take-10
Success: Can cast normally, but must repeat check every time spell is prepared from borrowed spellbook
Retry: Allowed once per day


LEARNING SPELLS FROM FOREIGN SPELLBOOKS

Prerequisites: Deciphered spell, minimum caster level to cast spell
Time: 2 days per spell level (1 day for a level-0 spell)
Cost: By spell level

• 0: 12gp
• 1: 25gp
• 2: 150gp
• 3: 375gp
• 4: 700gp
• 5: 1125gp
• 6: 1650gp
• 7: 2275gp
• 8: 3000gp
• 9: 3825gp

Spellcraft check: DC 15 + (2 * spell level), no Take-10 allowed; stackable circumstance modifiers:

• +2 for access to a library with suitable spell-relevant material
• +2 if a colleague working together on the same spell beats a DC 10 (regardless of success)
  OR a wizard who knows the spell tutors you during 1/2 the time you spend researching
  (Note that the colleague and tutor bonuses do NOT stack with each other)
• +2 for spending twice the time (i.e. 4 days per spell level)
• -1 per day of interruption

Success: Spell learned, prepared, and ready to scribe
Retry: Allowed when another rank in Spellcraft is gained


SCRIBING SPELLS

Prerequisites: Prepared spell, materials (spellbook, inks, etc).
Time: 1 day + 1 day per spell level (1 day for level-0 spells); 1/2 time if transcribing from own spellbook
Cost: 10 gp per spell level (5 gp for a level-0 spell)


Notes: 1) A spell may only be prepared from a foreign spellbook if it previously has been learned. 2) A lost spellbook may be reconstructed by scribing prepared spells. These spells may have been prepared before the loss, or may be prepared using a foreign spellbook. 3) With each new level gained, a wizard is assumed to have learned 2 new spells of any level he can cast. These require no time, cost, or check for learning, but DO require the time and cost for scribing. Spell choice is subject to DM approval and will generally be restricted to spells that are very common and/or that the wizard has previously researched or had exposure to (e.g. in a library or by conferring with another wizard who knows the spell).