Houserules (From a generous DM)

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Hey all. Putting together my own list of house-rules for future games, wanted to get some feedback.

First off, I've become convinced that 3.5 is way too stingy with it's feats. I'm thinking "A feat at every odd level, plus two flaws at 1st". I'd actually like to go a little bit further than that, though, and give some option by which characters can buy feats for other resources, either at character creation or in-game. Maybe reduced point buy (4 points = feat?), or some sort of XP tradeoff? Does anyone know of a good system like this?

I'm also planning to be nicer to MAD characters - something like "Every four levels, you may raise any ability score by 1; every five levels, every ability score raises by 1." I also seem to recall seeing something a while ago for reducing item dependency - it was something along the lines of "Every other level, raise an ability score by 1; enhancement bonuses to ability scores no longer exist." I'd prefer something that was more MAD friendly than just that, though - anyone got a link?

For flaws, I prefer custom stuff to the ones from UA. My idea is to have two flaws - one of which must be mechanical, and the other should be role-play. So, an old war wound that reduces your speed by 10 and your saves against AoE damage by 2 might be a mechanical flaw; hubris that makes you incapable of recognizing when a task is too great for you would be a role-play flaw. (The second one is basically just me giving out another free feat, but using it to trick players into making actually developed characters.) I was thinking for character creation, I might let these either give you a bonus feat, or an extra +4 on your point buy. Does +4 sound right?

What other rules out there might I adopt? In particular, I'm still looking for something useful mundane classes can do with their XP, while the mages are all off crafting.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by FreakyCheeseMan
...I'm still looking for something useful mundane classes can do with their XP, while the mages are all off crafting.

For a long while I've been wanting to work up some way for characters to use downtime for training, spending either gold or XP and receiving some scaled benefit in exchange.

The classic argument is "that's assumed in between adventures, it's called leveling up," but in practice it isn't always, and I like the idea of mundanes crafting themselves, as it were.

Very rushed at lunch and probably not phrasing this too coherently, but it's an idea I'd love to develop.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

RuneQuest has one idea I like, but don't think would translate well to 3.5. It basically goes "Your physical and mental stats represent yourself at the peak of your normal ability, through reasonable training, study, etc. It is possible to push yourself further - through more grueling training regemines, intense mental exercises, etc. However, doint so for any sustained period is costly; for every stat that you raise this way, you get X% less XP until you relax and allow the ability score to return to its "Natural" value."

Sadly, that only works for long games, and probably wouldn't work very well with 3.5 to begin with.

[Doug Lampert]

Hey all. Putting together my own list of house-rules for future games, wanted to get some feedback.

First off, I've become convinced that 3.5 is way too stingy with it's feats. I'm thinking "A feat at every odd level, plus two flaws at 1st". I'd actually like to go a little bit further than that, though, and give some option by which characters can buy feats for other resources, either at character creation or in-game. Maybe reduced point buy (4 points = feat?), or some sort of XP tradeoff? Does anyone know of a good system like this?

I'm also planning to be nicer to MAD characters - something like "Every four levels, you may raise any ability score by 1; every five levels, every ability score raises by 1." I also seem to recall seeing something a while ago for reducing item dependency - it was something along the lines of "Every other level, raise an ability score by 1; enhancement bonuses to ability scores no longer exist." I'd prefer something that was more MAD friendly than just that, though - anyone got a link?

Mad friendly abilities are easy. Don't be complicated with multiple formulas and bonus schedules, think simple, if you want to help characters needing all abilities then simply do so. You expect a character's best ability to increase by 11 points (baring inherent bonuses) over 19 levels and want to roughly duplicate that. You don't want to penalize characters for needing multiple abilities, so let everything advance equally.

Since you're giving a feat at odd levels give a +1 to EVERY ability at even levels, or to 4 different abilities of the player's choice if you think every ability is too generous. You're at a slightly worse bonus to your best ability, but much better at everything else. Declare that the points for levels 16+ are inherent so as to keep a small limit on things. This will inflate HP, but you're admitting to being generous.

Also: Give all non-spell casters +4 skill points per level (or +2 and consolidate skills substantially).

[Firechanter]

Hm, it's a nice thought but I think it would be a bit too fiddly to swap Point Buy for feats or the like.

Some things you could do:

* use Race mods similar to Pathfinder, which essentially means every LA0 race gets a +2 net stat gain. Humans and certain other races get a floating bonus, while most other races get fixed bonuses.

* You might give certain feats to everyone for free. I am thinking about things like Able Learner; possibly even Power Attack. My line of thought is, everyone who _can_ make use of these will take them, so they are practically a feat tax. Anyone who can't make good use of them is none the worse off.
Oh, Item Familiar would be another good candidate for that. So each PC gets one Signature Item. You might rule that this must be a weapon, to actually give a benefit that mundanes get more out of than casters.

* Seeing how so many players are tempted to take a single level of Cloistered Cleric to gain three free Devotion feats plus Turn Undead to fuel those feats: why not give _everyone_ their choice of Devotion feats, and treat them as having TU for purposes of activating those feats. (Of course, actual Clerics would not stack.)

* increase natural stat boosts, yes why not. Possible modes might be:
- +1 to any stat at every even level;
- +1 to any stat at every 4th level, and +1 to _each_ stat at 6th level and every 4 levels thereafter. Be aware that this will increase stats that are useless for the character.
- 2x +1 to any stat at every level divisible by 4 (can be the same stat)
or whatever else.
However, I don't think you should remove magic stat boosters, or you might end up shortchanging the players. For instance, a PC starting with an 18 in their primary stat can normally reach a score of 34 at level 20, _and_ boost his secondary stats by +4 to +6. All in all, you can expect a total of about 28 points of meaningful stat increases between level 2 and 20.

* reducing MI dependency is also an idea. One way to help with that is implement an AC progression:
- every character with Shield proficiency gets +1 AC / level
- every other character gets +3 AC / 4 levels (as medium BAB)
- in turn, there are no more magic armors, shields, natural or deflection bonuses.
- adjust WBL accordingly (downwards)
However, I should note that I once proposed this, and my players refused this change, as they wanted to keep hunting for better gear and didn't want to get the sense of achievement taken from them when they could finally get hold of that +3AC item.

In particular, I'm still looking for something useful mundane classes can do with their XP, while the mages are all off crafting.

Hm, good question. Again, Item Familiar can be an answer to that, as it allows mundanes to upgrade their IF with XP.

[Ferronach]

Eberron introduced a potentially useful system of "action points" which can act like "feats" in the correct situations.
If you want way more useful ones that are in a sure easy format just look them up on the DDO wiki!
The guys at Turbine did a great job of keeping the core of 3.5 with their game. Granted, you may need to alter some of them (Some are definately MMORPG oriented and don't translate all too well) and nerf them a bit (DDO tends to have waaaay higher HP and damage than PnP 3.5).
In DDO you get 4 Action Points (AP) per level at logical intervals. You use these points to buy the feat-like "enchantments" with better ones costing more points etc.
The newer updates have a more structured system but the oler ones had alot more freedom of choice etc.
Some can be very potent when combined in the correct manner with the correct feats.


In the case of Flaws and etra feat buyoffs, the web comic Goblins has a funny character called Min Max who gives up certain things for extra feats/stat boosts. In the main story he gave up literacy etc. and in an alternate reality he gave up the ability to speak.

[heavyfuel]

I always liked +1 Ability every four levels, makes them meaningful! However, I did play at table once that gave Ability Scores every level (1 per level) and it didn't break the game, but it made MAD classes happier (though I use some houserules to reduce MAD altogether). As for your Flaw equals +4 Point Buy, I'd say +3 is good... That's enough to raise someone from 17 to 18 or from 11 to 14.

Here are the Houserules that I use that you may like:

Classes

Spoiler: Fighter

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Use the PF Fighter, 4+Int skills per level

Spoiler: Paladin

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Key casting Ability like the Favoured Soul, Spell progression starts at lv 2, good Will save, proficient with Tower Shield, 4+Int skills per level

Spoiler: Ranger

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Spell progression starts at lv 2, due to the lack of need for Combat Styles, you can choose any feat related to the combat style you chose, as long as you meet the BAB prerequiste. If there is no BAB prerequisite, you can't pick the feat.

Spoiler: Monk

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They don't exist. If you want a Monk archetype, play an Unarmed Swordsage.

Spoiler: Tiers 1 and 2

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Banned. I know many people find this lame and lazy, but I just don't like to deal with them. If you want to cast spells, grab a Warmage, Healer, Dread Necro, Bard, Duskblade or Beguiler. Spellcasting PrCs are allowed on a per case basis

Spoiler: Tiers 5 and 6

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Allowed to Gestalt another Tier 5 or 6

Combat Styles

Spoiler: Two Weapon Fighting

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- The feats TW Fighting, TW Defense, TW Pounce, Imp TWF, Imp TWD, Greater TWF and Greater TWD are a single feat called Two Weapon Fighting. You only get the benefits of TW Pounce and the Imp feats when you reach BAB +6, and you only get the benefit of the Greater feats when you reach BAB +11 (no extra Dex requirement).
- "Sister" weapons: Two weapons can receive the same enhancement for the price of one, though they need to be ielded at the same time to be effective. Eg: If you use a Rapier and a Dagger, you can make both +1 Flamingfor the same price of a single +1 Flaming Broadsword. But if you're using a dagger and someone else is using the Rapier, they work like regular masterwork weapons.

Spoiler: Sword and Board

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- Every shield, except for the Buckler and similar, gives a Miss Chance equal to 5% per shield bonus to AC, not including enhancement bonuses. You must be aware of the attack to get this miss chance and it doesn't apply to touch attacks.
- Imp Shield Bash, Shield Charge and Shield Slam are a single feat called Improved Shield Bash.
- Shield Specialization, Active Shield Defense and Shield Ward are a single feat called Shield Specialization and makes so that the miss chance now applies to touch attacks (Parrying Shield feat no longer exist)
- Shield Spec boosts the miss chance due to the +1 bonus (giving the buckler 5% miss chance) and can be used for any shield, including Tower and Exotic ones.
- Enhancing your shield only costs half the price, but two shields can't be made "Sister" shields like in the TWF section.

Spoiler: Archery

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- Point-blank, Precise Shot, Coordinated Shot are a single feat called Precise Shot. You also get Imp Precise Shot for free when you qualify.

Spoiler: Throw Weapons

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- Power Throw's prerequisites are BAB +1 and Str 13.
- "Gloves of Throwing" that work just like a Bow. If you gloves are Masterwork, everything thrown gets the +1 to hit. If you have a +2 Flaming Gloves, everything you throw gets +2 to hit and damage and deals 1d6 fire damage on a hit. This can be used to make "Sister" gloves like in TWF section.

I feel this evens out, somewhat, the combat styles so that people that don't want to play Two Handed Leaping Pouncing Berserker Chargers can have some love.

As you may have noticed, this greatly reduces the need for feats, so I maintain the "every three levels".

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Here are the Houserules that I use that you may like:

I'm not actually worried about balance, so much as just making a handful of things more fun, and widening the scope of what players can effectively build, without just saying "Go Wild." (That's what I like about, say, being able to buy feats for XP/Point Buy. You CAN get as many as you want - but at some point they get so costly you have to wonder if it's worth it.)

As for banning tier 1 and 2... meh. My RL group is friendly enough that if someone's going over-powered, I can just have a quiet word and ask them to tone it down a notch - and in my experience, every wizard has an "Effective" set of spells and a "Fun" set of spells, and won't complain too bitterly if you ask them to switch to the fun set.

My general solution for Fighter/Monk/Paladin is to hand them a copy of Tome of Battle.

I do like your fixes for mundane combat, though... those I will probably keep entirely. Maybe some limits on the Sister weapons (for instance, power storing sister weapons would still only give you +5.)

[illyahr]

I usually give Fighters a custom special ability at level 8 that gives them an extra attack each round for a -1 to Attack Rolls. This extra attack can be used with a standard attack (two attacks as a standard action) and it gets around the rule that only one such abiltiy functions at a time (a Hasted fighter gets 2 additional attacks instead of just 1).

A fighter should at least be able to fight.

[Fitz10019]

I'm also planning to be nicer to MAD characters - something like "Every four levels, you may raise any ability score by 1; every five levels, every ability score raises by 1."

Rather than that, and rather than +1 to an ability every 4th level (the norm), I suggest you simply increase the point buy budget every 4th level. Make the increased budget exactly the cost of 18->19 at 4th, then 19->20 at 8th, then 20->21 at 12th, and so on. In this system, the SADs (who generally start with an 18 in their primary stat) continue as they would have under the normal rules, but the MADs (who generally have no 18s to start) get the opportunity to boost their 16s and have leftover points to raise their other low stats during the same attribute adjustment.

To me, the flat +1 to an ability every 4th level (or '+1A') is incongruous with point-buy character creation. SADs, who have an advantage in play from level 1, increase that advantage at every +1A. MADs fall behind in point buy equivalency after every +1A. If you start with point buy, just continue with point buy by increasing the budget.

[Doug Lampert]

Rather than that, and rather than +1 to an ability every 4th level (the norm), I suggest you simply increase the point buy budget every 4th level. Make the increased budget exactly the cost of 18->19 at 4th, then 19->20 at 8th, then 20->21 at 12th, and so on. In this system, the SADs (who generally start with an 18 in their primary stat) continue as they would have under the normal rules, but the MADs (who generally have no 18s to start) get the opportunity to boost their 16s and have leftover points to raise their other low stats during the same attribute adjustment.

To me, the flat +1 to an ability every 4th level (or '+1A') is incongruous with point-buy character creation. SADs, who have an advantage in play from level 1, increase that advantage at every +1A. MADs fall behind in point buy equivalency after every +1A. If you start with point buy, just continue with point buy by increasing the budget.

If going that way then declare that attributes above 18 cost 4 points each, and give one point each level (including level 1), with a rule that nothing can be purchased to more than 18+level/4+racial mod. SAD characters have to save up, MAD characters get more immediate gratification as they can buy sooner.

If doing this I'd also eliminate racial ability mods and instead have those become mods to the maximum ability you can purchase.

So a half orc can start with Int 8 to 16 and strength 8 to 20, but int 16 costs only 10 points because that's what int 16 costs and high int is no more beneficial for a half orc than for anyone else. Similarly high strength is no less beneficial to a half orc than to anyone else.

This greatly simplifies checking your point cost, which now has to be done every 4 levels if using Fitz10019's suggestion or every level if using mine since there is a constant point cost/ability value curve. And this also expands the available character space by making that 16 int orc wizard somewhat viable and it allows removal of LA from races where it mostly represents higher ability scores (Hobgoblins being a prime example).

[Fitz10019]

If going that way then declare that attributes above 18 cost 4 points each, and give one point each level (including level 1), with a rule that nothing can be purchased to more than 18+level/4+racial mod. SAD characters have to save up, MAD characters get more immediate gratification as they can buy sooner.

If doing this I'd also eliminate racial ability mods and instead have those become mods to the maximum ability you can purchase.

So a half orc can start with Int 8 to 16 and strength 8 to 20, but int 16 costs only 10 points because that's what int 16 costs and high int is no more beneficial for a half orc than for anyone else. Similarly high strength is no less beneficial to a half orc than to anyone else.

This greatly simplifies checking your point cost, which now has to be done every 4 levels if using Fitz10019's suggestion or every level if using mine since there is a constant point cost/ability value curve. And this also expands the available character space by making that 16 int orc wizard somewhat viable and it allows removal of LA from races where it mostly represents higher ability scores (Hobgoblins being a prime example).

That's interesting, but if a half-orc has to buy his way from Str 18 to Str 20, that devalues the racial ability mod as a feature of a chosen race, which is already weak vs. a human's extra feat. Or, did I misunderstand?