Favorite Houserules/Homebrew

[Nightgaun7]

I'm been reading through a bunch of homebrew and houserules lately and I'm just curious about what yours might be. Everything from replacing squares with hexes to new skill challenge rules, enemies that break the normal rules in clever ways, whatever you do differently.

[p.d0t]

On the DM side, I like using the "MM3 on a business card" math, but using d8+level for the attack bonus. I also use the d8 as the recharge die, so when I homebrew monsters, their special abilities proc on particular d8 rolls. It saves me having to track encounter powers that way.

Also, 2-hit monsters are handy. I rule that they die outright if they're hit with any extra damage dice or striker features. For encounter/XP budgeting I count them as 1/3rd of a standard monster.

Actually another one I liked was to treat Intiative as a Skill; no class gets it on their class skill list though, because then it becomes basically a mandatory tax. So instead of the "Improved Initiative" feat you would take the "Skill Training: Initiative" feat. Racial initiative feats (Wild Senses for Shifter, Thirst for Battle for Half-Orc, etc.) would grant you training (if untrained) or Skill Focus (if already trained) plus their extra benefit. To balance this off a little, and to keep Initiative in line with other DEX-based skills, your Armor Check Penalty would apply.

[Kurald Galain]

I'm been reading through a bunch of homebrew and houserules lately and I'm just curious about what yours might be. Everything from replacing squares with hexes to new skill challenge rules, enemies that break the normal rules in clever ways, whatever you do differently.

Sure. I replace the SC rules by "how every other RPG runs a normal skill encounter" because that works much better. Also, I've got a short ban list of powers to get rid of some of the most egregiously overused loopholes, and to counter every single character using the Auspicious Birth-tyep backgrounds. I also use a mildly-tweaked MM3-on-a-Business-Card to quickly homebrew encounters, and I tend to put in more monsters than the XP budget suggests, simply because my players like the challenge. Finally, I've found that the Perform skill is missing, so I've folded it into the relatively-underused Streetwise.

[Tegu8788]

I've a completely original (I think) one that I enjoy. If a player does something very original, funny, clever,... basically if the player role plays and makes me happy, I give them a d4. I have a ton, so it's no problem for me to throw a couple out each game. I then let them use that d4 on any roll they dislike. It can turn a miss into a hit, increase some damage, fix a screwed up skill. Once rolled, I get the d4 back.

It has lead to both hilarious moments when the psion bluffed the bahamut paladin into believing his telepathic messages where from the dragonborn's god. And it also pulls the team together, as there is no roll that gets the entire party watching the dice like when the d4 get rolled.

It's small enough to not really throw things too far out of whack, and it makes really dramatic combat moments when 2 or 4d4 get rolled. My players have even started sharing them, helping a normally, disjointed, group work together as a team.


Perform in Streetwise, I'll have to give that a try. I have a Bard that is constantly stuck in 3.5.

[p.d0t]

Sure. I replace the SC rules by "how every other RPG runs a normal skill encounter" because that works much better.

Yeah, I feel a "you tell me how your skills help in this situation" approach is a good one. Although players better have a damn good explanation of how their acrobatics will sway the king's opinion, if you're even gonna allow that at all.

I tend to put in more monsters than the XP budget suggests, simply because my players like the challenge.

General rule of thumb is you can go up to 150% of the XP budget, depending on how optimized your party is.


Also, for skills that aren't covered by the rules, use an existing skill but replace the ability mod with a more applicable one. The classic examples being Stealth(CHA) for Disguise or Streetwise(INT) for Appraise. Perform could depend on how you fluff it, like Acrobatics(CHA) for juggling or dancing, or use a Applicable Knowledge Skill(CHA) for storytelling or singing.

[Living_Dead_Guy]

General

1. Everyone gets the auspicious birth background and melee training for free at first, weapon and implement expertise at 6, and improved defenses at 11. Everyone takes them anyway so they may as well be base line.
2. The corner squares of a Large or larger creatures to count as a side for flanking
3. Ignore the encumbrance limits for mounts as often as possible, unless the players are regularly trying to haul every last bit of dungeon furnishing back to town for sale.
4. Religion is a wisdom based skill instead of Intelligence based.
5. A creature can only take damage from entering or exiting a zone, square, space, aura or area once per turn.

Rituals

1. Remove the prerequisite skill training from ritual caster. Instead you may only cast rituals with the skills that you are trained in.
2. Anyone with the ritual casting feat may cast 1 free (non variable cost, such as Raise Dead or Enchant Magic Item) ritual a day per tier.
3. Non variable cost (such as Raise Dead or Enchant Magic Item) rituals cost 1/4 the listed price.
4. When you attain a new level you may learn one ritual your level or lower.
5. You may research new rituals using the spell research rules from 3rd edition.

[p.d0t]

Religion is a wisdom based skill instead of Intelligence based.

This is one I run with, but typically I modify it to "Divine characters may use WIS in place of INT for Religion."

Also,
Letting people pick their racial ability score and skill bonuses is fun for optimization.

[Kurald Galain]

[*]Everyone gets the auspicious birth background and melee training for free at first, weapon and implement expertise at 6, and improved defenses at 11. Everyone takes them anyway so they may as well be base line.

Everyone takes melee training? I thought that was only defenders?

Anyway yeah, giving expertise / improved defense for free is probably the most common house rule ever; we also do that and I didn't even mention it

[UndertakerSheep]

The biggest ''homebrew'' change I made to 4e was removing the skill system, and replacing it with the background system from 13th Age.

In a nutshell: A background is a word or a short sentence that the player thinks up at character generation. It is not tied to an ability. Whenever you roll an ability check and you can explain why your background would benefit your character on that roll, you can add a +5 bonus to that roll (similar to being trained in the skill). A character can have a number of backgrounds equal to how many trained skills it would normally have.

Background examples: Former Occultist of the Lich King's Death Cult, Raised By A Dragon-Hunting Tribe, Magical Abomination, Living Weapon.

This houserule has two benefits:

1. Characters backgrounds are more involved in the ongoing story. If a player has a character who is a war veteran, his soldier background is going to come up a lot. And using your ''War of a Hundred Plagues Veteran'' is a lot more fun than using your Endurance.
2. Characters are going to succeed on more skill checks. Suddenly a wizard who was a ''War of a Hundred Plagues Veteran'' can make the DC as easily as a fighter, provided that he can explain why the background is of use in the situation and why he can use his intelligence instead of his constitution.

It's also a very easy house rule, mostly because you can keep 4e's skill DCs as they were.

A second house rule, which is actually more of a GM-philosophy, is the popular Fail Foward concerning skill checks. If a player doesn't hit the DC, he still succeeds. But something goes wrong. This keeps the story going forward and usually turns out a lot more interesting than simply saying ''You don't make it''.

[shamgar001]

I actually have a .doc with a list of my homebrew rules that I use. The basic ones:

1. Everyone gets an expertise feat and improved defenses for free (and ID's bonus is untyped)
2. All non-Str melee classes without an MBA-substitute power option can use their primary stat for MBAs (the specific classes are listed).
3. Clerics can use Wis for Religion checks and Artificers can use Int for thievery
4. I don't use backgrounds at all. Instead, players who submit a backstory get a small bonus based on what they send me.
5. I use a simplified version of the inherent bonus system, where everything that gets such a bonus gets +1 at levels 6, 11, etc.

I've a completely original (I think) one that I enjoy. If a player does something very original, funny, clever,... basically if the player role plays and makes me happy, I give them a d4. I have a ton, so it's no problem for me to throw a couple out each game. I then let them use that d4 on any roll they dislike. It can turn a miss into a hit, increase some damage, fix a screwed up skill. Once rolled, I get the d4 back.

I really like that. Stealing it.

[p.d0t]

I use a simplified version of the inherent bonus system, where everything that gets such a bonus gets +1 at levels 6, 11, etc.

This is a good one that I also use.

Also:

• Get rid of class skill lists; train whatever you want.
• Minimum 4 trained skills for all classes
• Additional trained skills at level 5/10/15 or similar progression
• You can use a +3 in place of your ability mod for UNtrained class skills

[shamgar001]

Also:

• Get rid of class skill lists; train whatever you want.
• Minimum 4 trained skills for all classes
• Additional trained skills at level 5/10/15 or similar progression
• You can use a +3 in place of your ability mod for UNtrained class skills

I like the idea of adding skills, especially since my players like hybrids, which get screwed out of trained skills.