House Rules
While I like to maintain a game that will be fun for everyone, there has to be some measure of control. Threw out the years that I have gamed, both as DM and as a player, I have seen alot and hope I could bring an exciting game to the players. I created these house rules from years of playing and running. I first started gaming and had alot of pages of house rules when I started with the box set, when I transfer to Advance dungeon and dragons I had the same amount of house rules alot of papers full of data. Then I went to 2nd Edition and I had roughly 30 pages of rules. Then when 3rd then 3.5 then to 3.72 ( Pathfinder) I finally was able to bring the rules down to 1 page of rules, and so were here today. To bring playablity, fairness, and enjoyment, plus all the things that come with role playing, I created these simple house rules for the fun of the game and to maintain some control of the game so that everyone can have fun.
In my personal belief the game is made for the players and so it is not the DMs game but the players game. But I have to be a umpire and a person who has to make sure that the game is flowing fine and to make sure that others are not taking the enjoyment away from the other players, even the DM. I'm not G-d or your boss but a storyteller telling a story, were you are interacting in the story, like actors in a play.
I run the game different then most DMS, While some are all roleplay or others are just Hack N Slash I believe in a 50/50 type of game were there is a balance so both types of players can have what they like in a game. Some times I will run all hack in slash and others I run most actor and inter acting with the NPCs. I try to balance the play and will do my best in keeping the players interested. Some times I will fai,l I will appologize now because not all DMs are perfect.
1. I use the Pathfinder role Playing Game, it is still DND but is a 3.72 edition updated and better. This is the exception to the rule when changing I will not run 3.5, I will play 3.5 but not run it. I find that Pathfinder is a lot better and what I was looking for in a game for a long time.
2. Players may vote on house rules out or in. The rule number 1 is unvoteable, the rest is.
3. Please do not rules hound I HATE rules lawyers and will not tolarate it. To me that is insulting to the DM. If you want to bring up a rule, wait to the end of the game or a slow down of the game, like a break time, that way it can be discussed and talked about then a vote can be used to allow it or not.
4. I give XP differently, I like to use what is called the palladium fantasy system in XP, this utilizes everything on the player sheet. I give XP on RP, strategy in combat, was the player having fun, skill use, did you learn anything in the game, avoiding combat when need to be, working together as a team, exploiting the enemies weakness, getting into character.
XP Chart:
25 Performing a skill
25 clever but futile Idea
100 clever, useful idea or action
100 quick - thinking idea or action
200 acritical plan or action that saves the character life and/or a few comrades
400 -1000 a critical plan or action that saves the entire group or many people
100 - 300 endangering the characters own life to help others
500 - 1000 self sacrifice (or potential self - sacrifice) in a " life and death situation" (like leaping in front of a fire ball meant for some one else, to save that person, even though he/she is likely to die, or offering his/her own life to save the group or another)
250 avoiding unnecessary violence and or + monster or encounter CR or XP Divide buy number of Characters.
100 - 200 Deductive reasoning and/or insight
50 good judgment
250 playing in game
250 roleplaying
Monster or encounter XP is monster XP divide buy number of Characters = Xp per character
EXPECT BETTER XP IF YOU PLAN, USE LOGIC, AND WORK AS A TEAM
I will add the following to the base
25 -50 killing or subduing a minor menace
75 -100 killing or subduinga moderate menace
150 - 300 killing or subduing a major menace
450 - 700 killing or subduing a great menace
all these Xps are a estimate and subject to change upon each situation I come upon it
Table: Character Advancement and Level-Dependent Bonuses
Character Level Experience Point Total
Slow Medium Fast
1st — — —
2nd 3,000 2,000 1,300
3rd 7,500 5,000 3,300
4th 14,000 9,000 6,000
5th 23,000 15,000 10,000
6th 35,000 23,000 15,000
7th 53,000 35,000 23,000
8th 77,000 51,000 34,000
9th 115,000 75,000 50,000
10th 160,000 105,000 71,000
11th 235,000 155,000 105,000
12th 330,000 220,000 145,000
13th 475,000 315,000 210,000
14th 665,000 445,000 295,000
15th 955,000 635,000 425,000
16th 1,350,000 890,000 600,000
17th 1,900,000 1,300,000 850,000
18th 2,700,000 1,800,000 1,200,000
19th 3,850,000 2,550,000 1,700,000
20th 5,350,000 3,600,000 2,400,000
5. Paladins are a special class in my game. I wanted to do something different so I decided to make them way out there per say. In my game they are a secret society. In the world people believe that Paladins are a myth and all Paladins are in disguise usually as a battle priest or cleric. A paladin will never tell they are a actuall paladin even the threat of death. There main goal is to search the world for evil and chaos and destroy it at all cost. The Order is called the Order of the Red Rose and the Golden Cross, or otherwise called the Rosicrucian's. There is also Anti Paladins who search the world to destroy them anti paladins are creatures of pure chaos and worship the chaos gods. The paladins have been fighting a secret shadow war for centuries. If they ever told that they are real they would probably be hunted down and killed. Why because Chaos has been found in many parts of society and had infeltrated all manner of society. They cannot trust no one with there secret. They are also worshippers of the G-d Dios.
6. Do not expected to have the same price from the book in every town you go to. Like in the real world price may very from place to place. Also do not expect that a blacksmith can make weapons that is the province of a weaponsmith which in turn is not found everywere. ( Special note: Artificier are rare in most lands so do not expect them found all over the place) Like there is only two in the city of Dragonport and one willn ot do anything for the player)
7. I do not have magic shops in my game. So no Magics are us. If you happen to be lucky to find a magic shop it is usually for spell components, potions, reagnts, scrolls, spells, with maybe one very minor magical item which will be 10 x the books cost or more. The players if they really want to get a certain item they can try a spell broker which are mostly thieves and are usually government control or illegal. Governments do not like magic in the hands of people other then themselves.
8. When a player goes below 0 HP she is not dead until negative constitution, not the modifier but the actual score.
9. The following alignments are in the game, Lawful Good, Good, Neutral, Evil, Chaotic Evil. This set of alignments work will in my game and makes since and allows more freedom for roleplay.
10. Money and magical Items:
The average person will not have nor have magical items even most nobles.
In this seting having a few gold pieces is allot of money.
but sincemagical items is kept buy the privalge and the rich "player character" they will be considered wealthy and rich.
Since Magical Items is kept out of the hands of the commoners and peasants few would have ever held or seen a magical item in there intire life. People do not want there enemies to have them nor do they want friends to have a advantage over them. Nor do Kingsor rulers wangt magic in the hands of peasants or commoners which in turn can be used to hel a rebelion. Magic can change the political lanscape and can be seen as quit powefful. When a 1st level mage comes in town it is seen witth awe, fear, contempt or outright hostility, they have knowledge in thing that man was not meant to known and so can be seen as dangerous other s will see it as a way to be helped.
Since the monetory systemin the game is odd when it comes to magical items, that is because items that have power will cost allot of more money then what is in the Core book and the DMG. That is because magical items can only be found threw adventuering, spellbrokers, stolen, found, or taken off of a dead body. Since Kings, Princes, Counts, Militayr, wealthy, rich do not want others to have a advantage over them, magical items is not readly avaiable to the players. Prices are either low from the book which is in my game really expensive to 2 to 3 times the cost of the book price. Tis ios because of the rarety of the Item. If a player is finding a potionof invisibility it might cost 25 gold to to book price to up 2 to 5 xS the cost of the book price.
Special Note: Spellbrokers are 90% of the time working for the many thieves guild and cartels out there, Since spellbrokering is illegal inmost kingdoms and countries, if cought exacutuioin to life in prison is usually the price paid for braking the law.
In other kingdoms and countries like Dragonport allows spellbrokering but under the control of the Mages guild.
11. When rolling your stat and ability score rol the following - 4D6 reroll 1s and 2s and take the highest three.
12. There is a axtra ability score, it is called insanity, everyone has it, everyone starts at zero unless chaotic evil then they start with 2D6.
How it works is that when there comes a time when I ask to roll for a insanity check it is a will save. Then if you make it then you will not get any insanity points, if you fail the check then you will get a set of D sixes usuallly 1D6 to 2D6 upon what happened. Certain things will always give insanity checks such as contact or sitting a creature from the farrealm, or seen something your mind cannot handle.
You may get red of insanity points buy going to counciling, a insane asilym, magic etc, each allows a save with pluses, if save then the player will lose 2D6 + Wis bonus in insanity. For every 20 after 30 I will roll to see what type of madness the player will have. This can be found in Unearthed Arcana.
Higher the score pass 30 will start to make the person mad. the max a person can have is a 100. which is totaly mad and insane.
no amount of magic or counciling will help the person the person is forever lost to his/her madness.
13. In the 3.5 rules there is character Level adjustmrent for the races. In the Pathfinder rules they got rid of it. I decided to keep the character level adjustment to maintain Balance between the players.
14. Unless I have stated the Armor and magical items do not fit to the user, it has to be made into the armor. Some Dwarves and some elves would not like to have humans or other races fitting into there special armor and other magical items.
This is a magic that has to be put into the item to do it. In my world some of the races will not want to get there items into the hands of other races. Like a human running around with a cloack and boots of elven kind or dwarven plate on a elf. This is not to say that they may fit to the user, but over all it must be put into the item for it to shrink or enlarge to fit the user. I just think that this is silly. I never liked this even as far back as 1st edition and I still do not like this, the items fit to the user.
A person will Die at - Con score. So one point past there score that person is Dead
Pathfinder got rid of the Level adjustment and ECL system so I will do the same. Some races are more powerful then the other but there is no reason to have this out dated tool. So when creating a monster type character, the use of level adjustments and ECL is not in use anymore and make it as normal character creation.