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    Canonfire :: View topic - House Rules for Greyhawk
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    House Rules for Greyhawk
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    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 06, 2011
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    From: South Africa, Cape Town

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    Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:54 pm  
    House Rules for Greyhawk

    I have always wondered what house rules people use in there individual campaigns. I pretty sure some are similar.

    Although I run my version of Greyhawk using Pathfinder rules, I still find myself enforcing restrictions from AD&D.

    Some of my house rules:

    Paladins & druids are human, half-elf and elf.
    Max Hit points for first 3 levels
    You need train to advance a level
    Death is equal to your CON score. CON 16 then -16


    What I really want to know who still uses speed factor, armor class adj vs weapons? I really beleive that these two rules helped players select a wider variety of weapons.

    I will be adding more during the course of the day

    Please share your house rules

    Wink

    Sorry posted in wrong forum!
    Novice

    Joined: Jul 25, 2003
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    From: France

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    Wed Mar 02, 2011 4:00 am  
    Re: House Rules for Greyhawk

    DarkHerald wrote:

    You need train to advance a level

    What is your house rule about training to advancing a level ?
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Sep 14, 2009
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    Wed Mar 02, 2011 1:28 pm  

    As far as house rules, it is all up to your GM. If your GM has a house rule and make the game fun for his/her players and the GM as well, LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!!!!
    I'll get shot for this from Mort, but I was listening to a enterview of Tracy Hickman ( he is the creator of Dragonlanc%) anyways, he made a commite about he saw 3 new gamers looking over some 4th edtion rule and wondering how to make a spell permanent. They were going over all of the rules over and over again. He interrupted and said " you can make it permanent". They said how? He awswered "it's up to you to make it permanent" and they looked at him like he was from mars. Rules are not 100% set in stone.
    My only house rule is that their is no gather info. If you need info, you need to ask the guard ( who's me) the maid at the bar ( who's me as well) and so on.
    Journeyman Greytalker

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    Wed Mar 02, 2011 4:33 pm  

    baronzemo wrote:
    My only house rule is that their is no gather info. If you need info, you need to ask the guard ( who's me) the maid at the bar ( who's me as well) and so on.


    I still have them make the roll or I do it secretly which just gives me a good idea of how much info they can get and weather I need to nudge them in the right direction or not. Not all players are good at thinking of where to get the info but their characters can be. I still make them play it out though.
    Journeyman Greytalker

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    Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:35 pm  

    House rules... hmmm....
    Ya, I've definitely got a few. Keep in mind, of course, that my campaign is 2E.

    There are no "generic" clerics or druids. All divine (as opposed to arcane) PCs (and NPCs), including druids, are specialty priests, and as such must choose a deity to worship. Druidic priests are generally priests of Obad-Hai, Ehlonna, Beory or Ulaa.

    I use the hovering-on-deaths-door rule. You fall unconcious at 0 hit points, and proceed to loose points per round until someone either spends a full round binding your wounds, or you reach your negative constitution score, at which point you die. NPCs and monsters also follow the same rule of course. Its only fair.

    You must train when you go up a level that gives you something more than just hit points. For example, gaining a new spell level, a new weapon or non-weapon proficiency, or other special skill or ability. And you must pay for it! (Unless you've made some special arrangement with an NPC capable of training you.) Works out so that you must train twice for every three to four levels (varies depending on your level and class).

    I use 8 (9 in some cases) ability scores, rather than just the standard 6. My custom character sheets contain all 9 scores. All PCs must determine Perception and Comeliness. I also use Willpower (or just "Power"), but I have PCs generate that score only when it becomes necessary to their character (that is, when something happens to them that requires that score - most PCs never need to).

    I don't use the weapon modification tables for Armor Class. Never have. I don't know anybody who actually did use those tables. There was a period when I used speed factors for determining initiative, but ended up dropping it after a while.

    I used a smoothed out combat table (see my Combat Computer), that doesn't jump 2 steps every two levels. Never made sense to me.

    I made a new "max # of spells known" table, because it never made sense to me that an 18th level wizard had the same limitation as a 1st level wizard, even if they did have the same intelligence.

    There are individual spells that I have house-ruled (such as Chromatic Orb), as well as skills, and a host of things related to my extra ability scores.

    I use my own critical hit table.

    I use my own "Notoriety" mechanic, that I got the idea for from a much more limited mechanic used in Sargent's City of Skulls module.

    There are more that I'm not thinking of at the moment. If I think of any, I'll post them here as well.

    Denis, aka "Maldin"
    Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
    Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, mysteries, magic, mechanics, and more!
    Journeyman Greytalker

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    Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:45 pm  

    Quote:
    I use the hovering-on-deaths-door rule. You fall unconcious at 0 hit points, and proceed to loose points per round until someone either spends a full round binding your wounds, or you reach your negative constitution score, at which point you die. NPCs and monsters also follow the same rule of course. Its only fair.


    I use a similar rule except I allow players to act normally at 0HP if they do a FORT save, if they make it they can continue fighting if they fail they drop to the ground and get a temp negative ability score drain, depending on the action that they were trying. ie. striking with a sword would be a -1 STR, strained muscle, -1 DEX for running etc.

    Quote:
    I use my own "Notoriety" mechanic, that I got the idea for from a much more limited mechanic used in Sargent's City of Skulls module.


    I like your expanded NORT rule and will be using it in my comming campaign

    Quote:
    My only house rule is that their is no gather info. If you need info, you need to ask the guard ( who's me) the maid at the bar ( who's me as well) and so on.


    The way I run this rule is the players need to "Roleplay" the questions or how they go about it. They roll after BUT the Roleplay part gives them an added or negative bonus to their score.

    ie. So bob cant get his point across at the table, he still gets his class and ability bonus, but would get a nagative from me, because he couldnt get his point across. All he has to do his state I do this and I ask that, even with an example, I dont want players just assuming things will happen because of high stats
    Apprentice Greytalker

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    Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:52 pm  

    Our House Rules 3.5e game:
      Stand from prone as a Full Action, no Attack of Opportunity.
      Stand from prone as a Move Action, provokes Attack of Opportunity.

      Casting Defensively:
      DC=10 + Spell Level + highest Reflex save of threatening creatures
      Tumble at one half-speed provoking no attacks of opportunity:
      DC=10 + highest Reflex save of threatening creatures
      Tumble at one half-speed through an area occupied by an enemy:
      DC=20 + highest Reflex save of threatening creatures
      All other modifiers to the DC apply as described in the rules.

      When you are "killed" by being dropped to your CON or more in negative HP, the other players are given from the initiative point at which it happened until the same initiative point the following round to somehow get you back into the living range of less than your CON in negatives.

      If you are in that magic zone of -1 to -CON in HP, you can try and regain consciousness by making a Con or Wis check at DC negative HP. If you succeed you are now conscious for one round and can do a partial action, if the action is strenuous (attacking, casting, feat or skill use, etc.) you will take 1d4 damage at the end of that action instead of the single point of bleeding. If you had stabilized before you came back to consciousness and you take damage due to the action you took then you are bleeding again.

      Once you are at or below your -CON in HP you can make a FORT save with a DC equal to your negative HP to survive one more round. During that round you will bleed one point of damage, you cannot stabilize for any reason until you are above -CON in HP, you CAN try and become conscious but the damage taken is 4 points after the action completes. On the next round you can make another FORT save with a DC equal to your -HP to survive one more round.

      With the advent of Swift and Immediate actions, I have decided to provide a specific rule on the number of Free actions you can do during your initiative. As an aside, you cannot do free actions (other than 5' step) during a readied action.

      Quote:
      Dexterity: Measures hand-eye coordination, agility, reflexes, and balance.
      Wisdom: Describes a character’s willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition.


      Dexterity modifier capped by your Wisdom modifier with a minimum of 1 is the number of Free actions available.

      ex: Dex 18(+3), Wis 13(+1) allows 1 free action.
      ex: Dex 14(+2), Wis 15(+2) allows 2 free actions.

      Each player is allowed a Swift or an Immediate action each round. Unless you have an ability that allows otherwise, you can only do the equivalent of free actions with them.


    "Its not what you are doing, its how you look doing it!"
    The Unknown Bard
    Grandmaster Greytalker

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    Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:03 am  

    Ok I'll start with races.

    Drow are not a subrace of Elves, instead they are merely elves who are cast out of Elvin society because of a heinous crime committed by that elf. Any children born after said Elf is cast out shares his status with his children.

    My Trolls are more akin to those in the Vikings campaign source book 2E.

    I like weapon speed factors but have increased or decreased due to size much like damage is treated on these factors.

    I use hovering on death door but if you allow feats there is the Diehard feat which allows a character to fight until -10
    Master Greytalker

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    Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:11 am  

    My major house rules were limitations on the availablility of magic and on raising the dead.

    I was rather disturbed by the LG tendency to plop wizard universities in every major town and I grind my teeth at the number of wizards running bakeries and other shops in small towns and villages. Magic may be common among adventurers but the majority of peasants are in awe and fear of it. So I have house-ruled that only certain major cities have any magicians of note, adjusting the previous assumptions on maximum character levels and class distribution when rolling up settlements. To a lesser extent I've apllied this to other casting classes too.

    I've also ruled that only clerics of death gods have the power to raise the dead. This makes them powerful and feared. Priests of Wee Jas may trade scrolls to other temples but generally speaking if you want the death goddess to release a soul you have to go on bended knee to one of her temples to petition and pay for the privilege in any number of ways. Priests of Nerull are less choosy, as long as you give them some gold and an intelligent sacrifice to replace the soul you want to reclaim.

    Be warned though, those returned from beyond the veil are marked by a magical tattoo. Peasants may be fearful of anyone so marked and anybody bearing the mark of Nerull even more so. Those who have received Nerull's blessing are unlikely to be welcome in polite society.
    Journeyman Greytalker

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    Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:02 am  

    Quote:
    I've also ruled that only clerics of death gods have the power to raise the dead. This makes them powerful and feared.


    Paul, I couldn't agree with you more! I think it makes the campaign have a far more gritty feel.

    I was looking for an alternative and I you just solved it for me ....

    Thanks!
    Grandmaster Greytalker

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    Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:35 pm  

    Paul

    Yes only clerics of the death gods can raise the dead. All require a suitable sacrifice. Although a priest of another god can petition a priest of a death god to release the soul of one of there faithful. This almost always requires a proper sacrifice to replace the soul to be released. But now lets say A priest of St.Cuthbert petitions a priest of Nerull to release a soul in exchange that priest and his church is indebted to the priest of Nerull and must make good on their end or have the soul torn back to the afterlife and those indebted in such way risk their own souls as well.

    Dwarves do not use magic except rune magic and priestly magic

    Halflings do not have mages priests are ok and their bards can use the magic of song.

    Kobolds I use the first edition kobolds and therefore they are not sorcerers.

    Dwarves can be paladins elves cannot. Any race which has a human ancestry half orc half elf can in rare cases a paladin.

    Spriggan are cursed gnomes or Trolls.

    Giantss do not have gods they are the race whom created magical runes and therefore are the most powerful rune casters.

    Ogre magi are either Trolls or use blood magic.

    Tenser and Otto are still dead.

    Zagyg never actually imprisoned actual gods. Though the creatures released from there imprisonment are quite formidable.
    Journeyman Greytalker

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    From: Second Primordial Ooze on the Left

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    Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:33 pm  

    DarkHerald wrote:
    I like your expanded NORT rule and will be using it in my comming campaign

    Cool. I've had that page up for more than 6 years and I've never ever gotten any feedback from somebody that used it in their campaign. Would love to hear how it works out for you, and if you come up with any tweaks.
    PaulN6 wrote:
    I was rather disturbed by the LG tendency to plop wizard universities in every major town and I grind my teeth at the number of wizards running bakeries and other shops in small towns and villages.

    IMC, arcane universities (indeed, universities of any kind) are rare indeed. Only large cites, or very special places (like Melkot - which has a detailed historical reason for its university) have such things. And if I want merchants to have levels, I tend to use the non-adventurer merchant, sage, and noble classes.

    Denis, aka "Maldin"
    Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
    Journeyman Greytalker

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    Fri Mar 04, 2011 12:58 am  

    Some more rules ...

    Character Ability Scores:
    Roll 4d6, drop the lowest die and add the remaining dice. Repeat six times and assign the rolls to your six ability scores as you like. (Re-roll any initial 1's once only)

    Critical Hits:
    Threats are automatically 'confirmed'. On a natural 20 "to-hit" roll, your weapon does maximum damage x the critical multiplier (no need to roll dice) and then you add your other modifiers (do not multiply them).

    If the "to-hit" roll is not a natural 20 and falls into the weapons crit range, then roll your weapon damage x the critical multiplier (multiply the dice roll) and then add your other modifiers (do not double them). If the weapon has more than one crit notch then the following rule applies, this is meant to show that a crit is still a better strike than a normal blow.

    Each crit notch will negate the lowest number on the damage die. i.e if you are using a dagger which crits on a 19-20 that does 1d4 points of damage and you roll a "19" and then you roll your damage and you roll a "1", that automatically becomes a "2" and is double because of the crit rule. If your weapon of choices is a rapier and you roll a "18" crit and you roll 1 damage on your d6, that "1" becomes a "2", but if you had critted on a "19" and you roll a "1" for damage, then your "1" becomes a "3" points of damage, as the weapon covers two crit notches. (applies to PC, NPC and Monster)

    Fumbles:
    If a natural 1 is rolled, a character automatically provokes an attack of opportunity from all threatening enemies. If the character is not threatened, he then acts last in the following round instead, and suffers a -2 penalty to the next attack roll.

    Disabled & Dead:
    The disabled range is extended from 0 through to your constitution bonus +1. Dying only kicks in beyond this point. A character is dead when their current hit points drop to a negative amount equal to (or lower than) -10 minus their Constitution score bonus.

    i.e. If your Con is 16, you would have a +3 bonus... with the +1 for the rule you could remain conscious until -4, before having to make a fortitude check to avoid unconsciousness. Further, you would add a -1 penalty for each additional point of damage beyond -4, and would die at -14 points.

    So if your fighter was at -4 and took a further 8 points of damage, you would then be at -12 and your fortitude check would be at 22 (base 10 +12). At -14, this character would be dead.

    Trained Skills:
    'Trained only' skills may be attempted by anyone. A -10 circumstance modifier is applied to the check. The DM reserves the right to veto some 'trained only' skill checks attempted by untrained characters.

    Heal/First Aid:
    A single First Aid check may be attempted immediately after a fight (no more than a few minutes should pass since having suffered the wounds). Up to two additional healers may use aid another to assist with this check. A successful check restores 1 hit point (2 if a natural 20 is rolled on a successful skill check). A First Aid check may be attempted on oneself - if unaided in doing so the attempt is at a -2 penalty. This rule is in addition to the standard First Aid rule and a Healer's Kit is required to attempt First Aid.

    Upperhand:
    Opponents engaged in melee are not static - they move across the battle field according to the ebb and flow of combat. When melee combat begins, initiative is rolled. The winner of the initiative roll is considered to have gained the Upper Hand. Upper Hand allows you to choose in which direction melee moves, provided you land a hit and beat your opponents CMD. For Each successful hit and passed CMD check, you shift the melee (yourself and your oppont) 5’ in the direction of your choice.

    Your attack roll is rolled against both the opponents AC to see if you hit him, as well as against their CMD to see if you can move melee. Melee Movement is not considered part of a characters allotted movement rate for the round. The effect is applied to each successful attack in the case of multiple attacks. The skills Bluff and Intimidate may be added to your CMB for purposes of initiating Melee Movement, while Sense Motive or Perception may be added to your CMD score.

    Upper Hand will only work on creatures up to one size category larger than you. The effects of Upper Hand and Melee Movement only apply to combatants engaged in melee. If opponents separate and re-engage, then initiative must be re-rolled.

    Languages:
    Are a skill and by default your home language you get 10 ranks + INT mod, secondary language you get 5 ranks + INT mod
    DC5 simple words and phrases
    DC10 fluent conversation
    DC15 elaborate world play
    DC20 would be older dialect of the language
    Journeyman Greytalker

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    Fri Mar 04, 2011 1:01 am  

    Quote:
    Upperhand:
    Opponents engaged in melee are not static - they move across the battle field according to the ebb and flow of combat. When melee combat begins, initiative is rolled. The winner of the initiative roll is considered to have gained the Upper Hand. Upper Hand allows you to choose in which direction melee moves, provided you land a hit and beat your opponents CMD. For Each successful hit and passed CMD check, you shift the melee (yourself and your oppont) 5’ in the direction of your choice.

    Your attack roll is rolled against both the opponents AC to see if you hit him, as well as against their CMD to see if you can move melee. Melee Movement is not considered part of a characters allotted movement rate for the round. The effect is applied to each successful attack in the case of multiple attacks. The skills Bluff and Intimidate may be added to your CMB for purposes of initiating Melee Movement, while Sense Motive or Perception may be added to your CMD score.

    Upper Hand will only work on creatures up to one size category larger than you. The effects of Upper Hand and Melee Movement only apply to combatants engaged in melee. If opponents separate and re-engage, then initiative must be re-rolled.


    I created this rule because in my mind combat constantly changes, one moment you are on the attack, the next you on the defence. So why should you stay in the same square that you started the combat in. Obviously you can use your move, but generally more than 5 foot and are asking for AOO. With this rule you now can direct the flow of combat. ie steer your opponent towards the cliff edge, down a narrow corridor, as long as you press the attack you have the advantage.
    GreySage

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    Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:27 am  

    DarkHerald wrote:
    Some more rules ...
    Fumbles:
    If a natural 1 is rolled, a character automatically provokes an attack of opportunity from all threatening enemies. If the character is not threatened, he then acts last in the following round instead, and suffers a -2 penalty to the next attack roll.

    Disabled & Dead:
    The disabled range is extended from 0 through to your constitution bonus +1. Dying only kicks in beyond this point. A character is dead when their current hit points drop to a negative amount equal to (or lower than) -10 minus their Constitution score bonus.


    I like these two very much. I'm going to try incorporating them into my own campaign next time we meet. Thanks for the ideas! Smile

    Quote:

    Upperhand:
    Opponents engaged in melee are not static - they move across the battle field according to the ebb and flow of combat. When melee combat begins, initiative is rolled. The winner of the initiative roll is considered to have gained the Upper Hand. Upper Hand allows you to choose in which direction melee moves, provided you land a hit and beat your opponents CMD. For Each successful hit and passed CMD check, you shift the melee (yourself and your oppont) 5’ in the direction of your choice.

    Your attack roll is rolled against both the opponents AC to see if you hit him, as well as against their CMD to see if you can move melee. Melee Movement is not considered part of a characters allotted movement rate for the round. The effect is applied to each successful attack in the case of multiple attacks. The skills Bluff and Intimidate may be added to your CMB for purposes of initiating Melee Movement, while Sense Motive or Perception may be added to your CMD score.

    Upper Hand will only work on creatures up to one size category larger than you. The effects of Upper Hand and Melee Movement only apply to combatants engaged in melee. If opponents separate and re-engage, then initiative must be re-rolled.


    My players have a small mercenary company on retainer that accompanies them on adventures. It fights in a phalanx. Obviously, such a formation does not want to have individual members moved out of position by an opponent who beats their initiative. Though your current version of Upper Hand seems to work well for fluid combats involving a half dozen individuals all using their own fighting style, I wonder what kind of modifiers you would apply to a situation in which one side is fighting in a phalanx, shield wall, turtle, or similar formation?

    Oh, and what are CMD and CMB? Confused

    SirXaris
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    Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:08 am  

    Pathfinder Rules:

    Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB)
    Each character and creature has a Combat Maneuver Bonus (or CMB) that represents its skill at performing combat maneuvers. A creature's CMB is determined using the following formula:

    CMB = Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + special size modifier

    Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD)
    Each character and creature has a Combat Maneuver Defense (or CMD) that represents its ability to resist combat maneuvers. A creature's CMD is determined using the following formula:

    CMD = 10 + Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + Dexterity modifier + special size modifier + miscellaneous modifier

    Quote:
    Though your current version of Upper Hand seems to work well for fluid combats involving a half dozen individuals all using their own fighting style, I wonder what kind of modifiers you would apply to a situation in which one side is fighting in a phalanx, shield wall, turtle, or similar formation?


    I will have to give some thought to that approach and get back to you.
    Smile
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    Fri Mar 04, 2011 10:48 am  

    Add me to the chorus of people who love your rulings on magical universities, Paul. I'd extend it to magical items, too-I'd reinstate the original 1E/2E rules for magic item creation, so you'd have to be 18th level or higher to create a permanent item. This would make magical items much rarer, and even +1 shields would be precious commodities. The only magic items that are typically bought or sold are potions, scrolls and the very occasional wand, which make up a substantial amount of the revenue wizards' guilds and magical universities possess.

    Demihuman class combinations that are not typically allowed under the old rules do in fact exist, but they're oftne substantially different from their human equivalents-dwarven and gnomish rangers, for instance, are much more suited for underground work, or acting in rugged hills in mountains, than they are in forests or prairies. Other combinations may be subject to heavy role-playing sanctions. Dwarves who practice human and elven magic are often heavily shunned by their peers, who view them much the same way as goths or Wiccans are often viewed in our real world.

    Industrialization is impossible, as neither fossil fuels, steam power, geothermal power, or any other kind of fuels work the way they do in our real world. Oil can be used to burn trolls, but if you try and power an engine with it chances are it'll simply catch on fire or not do anything at all. Gunpowder has been tried and abandoned by almost all the major civilized peoples, both human and demihuman alike, as it's proven far too volatile and unreliable to ever function properly. Alchemists have been trying for literally milennia to get it right, but the problem is that attempting to get gunpowder to work on Oerth is like trying to make a perpetual motion machine in the real world-it's simply impossible.

    The energies received from the sun give life to Oerth, just as they do in real life. However, the Oerth itself also emanates other strange energies from its core. Referred to as faerzress by the scholars of our sister world of Abeir-Toril, these energies have many bizarre properties, not all of which are fully known. Studies have confirmed that the faerzress does impede teleportation magic (which was alluded to in the original GDQ series) and can imbue both living and inanimate things with strange physical and magical properties. The weapons and armor of the drow are often as strong as magical arms and armor even though they are not truly enchanted, while many of the underground creatures themselves, such as the derro, the drow and the illithids, possess strange innate magical powers.

    What is less commonly known is that the energies that radiate from the center of the Oerth and the energies that come from the sun are mutually incompatible. Creatures who dwell too long within the faerzress are irrevocably changed by it, to the point where they will literally burst into flames and die if exposed to the sun. No drow, no kuo-toa, no mind flayer can feel the rays of the sun, lest they be burned into nothingness. The weapons and armor of the drow, imbued with the faerzress themselves, will corrode and rust into useless, brittle material weaker even than gold, should they suffer the sunlight.
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    Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:06 am  

    First, I'd like to point out a new post on Dragonsfoot - "House rules and clarifications for 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons". Interesting information therein.

    Second, I have been playing or DMing since the late 70's. During this time, I have gone through every phase of the game and made every mistake along the way. Recently, an opportunity arose to "get it right" from the start.

    In my most recent campaign, among other "house rules", I am trying a variation on awarding experience points. One of the things I have always liked about the World of Greyhawk is that "movers and shakers" can be relatively lower in level. Unlike the Forgotten Realms where you can't walk ten feet without tripping over an Archmage or two.

    My current 1st Edition campaign consists of my step-son and his friends. All of which are brand new to Dungeons and Dragons. With a fresh group who knew little of the monsters and game, I was able to try an idea I had been kicking around.

    I've always considered 4th - 7th level the "sweet spot" for players. Below these levels adventures tend to focus on goblinoids with a handful of more complex villains and monsters. However, in this "sweet spot" the adventurers start to run into more complex monsters and villains. Creatures hit only by magic, with special immunities or with cool special attacks. The spells they encounter and begin to have access to spice up the game considerably. The dynamic of the game shifts at this point. It becomes much more fun for both the players and the DM. My goal with this new House Rule was to try to prolong this "sweet spot".

    The adjustments I made on awarding experience points were simple and so far it has achieved the goal I set out to accomplish. In this campaign, I award exerience points for creatures defeated or slain. Experience for gold has been reduce to 1xp per 5gp. I do award bonus xp for certain feats performed by the PC's. Lastly, I do not award xp for magical items acquired. In 9 months of steady play, the PC's are in their 21st seperate adventure now. The PC's average 5th level at this point.

    The problem I had with awarding xp for magic items was that the players could advance too quickly for my tastes. Often with a single item, a player could gain so much xp that they shoot through lower levels without really earning it. For example, a wand of magic missiles is a fairly common find at low levels. This one item can net the party members 4000xp.

    The downside to this house rule is that I have to be careful on how many magical items are recovered in the course of their adventures. If this is not watched, a mid-level party could be packing a lot of magical items. So far, I've been able to control this. The next problem I anticipate is how much further their advancement may slow down at higher levels. This may not be too bad because the monsters encountered tend to be worth more xp so at this point, that concern appears to be balanced out.

    Finally, I'd like to say that I find all your "house rules" to be very interesting and helpful. I intend to adopt many of the ideas expressed here to spice up my game further.

    Thanks for all the good infomation!!!

    Dane
    GreySage

    Joined: Jul 26, 2010
    Posts: 2695
    From: LG Dyvers

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    Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:16 am  

    Thanks DarkHerald. Smile

    CruelSummerLord:

    I like your ideas regarding the energies of sunlight and Faerzress, but though you imply that they are equal and opposite, you have not suggested that beings living on the surface world would implode or suffer any other effect for exposing themselves to the Faerzress-full lairs of the Drow, Kuo Toa, Mind Flayers, etc. Have you house-ruled a penalty for light-dwelling creatures entering the domains of the Deep as you have for the reverse?

    SirXaris
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Apr 26, 2002
    Posts: 538
    From: Canada

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    Fri Mar 04, 2011 12:42 pm  

    SirXaris wrote:
    Thanks DarkHerald. Smile

    CruelSummerLord:

    I like your ideas regarding the energies of sunlight and Faerzress, but though you imply that they are equal and opposite, you have not suggested that beings living on the surface world would implode or suffer any other effect for exposing themselves to the Faerzress-full lairs of the Drow, Kuo Toa, Mind Flayers, etc. Have you house-ruled a penalty for light-dwelling creatures entering the domains of the Deep as you have for the reverse?

    SirXaris


    That's because one of the subtle but important properties I forgot to mention is that faerzress has to be fully absorbed into a being's essence before it can start having these effects. No race has solar energy imbued into its essence-rather, they feed on it and convert it from one form to another (solar energy feeds plants, humans and other creatures feed on the plants and absorb that energy in turn, other creatures then feed on them, and so on down the line. Neither humanity nor any other race has incorporated solar energy into itself the way some races have faerzress.

    Faerzress does not feed anything the way solar energy does, which explains why creatures like the drow and the kuo-toa still need to eat. The small doses of energy they absorb from feeding on other living entities is enough for them to tolerate, but it's a direct exposure to solar energy from the sun itself that's harmful. The faerzress is typically only incorporated into a race's essence after a few millennia living deep enough underground-dwarves, orcs and other creatures typically don't go down that far. Not to mention that it can gradually wear off if someone or something goes too long without being exposed to it, which explains why drow lose their powers and their weapons and armor lose their "magical" properties if they aren't periodically reexposed to the radiation. Conceivably, they would also lose their vulnerability to sunlight, although no one has tested this.

    Prolonged exposure to solar energy can have harmful effects on humans and demihumans too-heat stroke, sunburn, and so on all exist both in real life and on Oerth. In many respects, the process is just extremely accelerated in beings who are imbued with faerzress. Humans can die of skin cancer, heat exhaustion or exposure to the sun too, it's just that we do it at a much slower rate.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Apr 22, 2009
    Posts: 36


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    Fri Mar 04, 2011 5:29 pm  

    My House Rules -

    Full Hitpoints for 1st level, and reroll 1's on every other level.

    Do not play socially inept lonewolves, find In-Character reasons to hang around eachother - it's a dangerous world out there.

    50-250 Exp for roleplaying, teamwork and good idea/use of skill. Then normal monster awards.

    Seelie : Fey - Not united. Accompanied by Time and Space distortions. Determine randomly when and who is effected, including the Seelie themselves. - Brownie, Dryad, Leprechaun, Nymph, Pixie, Pseudodragons, Satyr, Treant.

    Unseelie : Fey - Not united. Accompanied by Light and Temperature distortions. Determine randomly when and who is affected, including the Unseelie themselves.

    Lycanthropes - Scent
    * Perception check TN 15 check for other Lycans and Creatures with Scent ability, regardless of moon phase.
    * Sense motive could be used to sense unease during a full moon or close to full moon, but the TN would be 20, not something that anyone should or could notice with ease.

    Undead - Life Sense
    * All undead have a Life Sense that works similar to Thermal detection.
    * Undead would have trouble finding people hiding in thick vegetation or underwater.
    * Sunlight has partial Positive energy traits so it confuses Incorporeal undead.
    * Strong emotion, violence or lots of blood could distract any undead.
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 06, 2011
    Posts: 201
    From: South Africa, Cape Town

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    Thu Mar 17, 2011 4:15 am  

    I have also never been happy with the resting/sleeping rules of the game. So I introduced the rule that CON bonus/penalty effected the amount of hours needed to rest/sleep.

    In Pathfinder it states a player needs 8 hours sleep to heal or get spells back.

    So with my rule in place if you had a CON bonus of +2 then you would only need 6 hours of sleep or a CON bonus of +4 then only 4 hours would be needed. BUT if you had a CON penalty of -2 hours then you would need to rest for 10 hours.

    I also feel that if a player gets a full nights rest (uniterrupted) then he should get 2HP + CON bonus per evening rested.
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 06, 2011
    Posts: 201
    From: South Africa, Cape Town

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    Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:46 am  

    I am considering using languages as a skill.

    Your default your home language you would get 10 ranks + int mod, secondary language you would get 5 ranks in + int mod

    DC5 simple words and phrases
    DC10 fluent conversation
    DC15 elaborate world play
    DC20 would be old dialect of the language


    Further I am going to insist that place start playing there home language and common only. Any other language slots need to be fill later as the travel and spend time with another races and countries. Basically using the DC options above players would learn new languages through there studies and adventures. A charactre could take from 3 months to 12 months (game time) to learn a new language. Every few months he would make a DC check to move up a few points this would show his studies, use of the language or prolong stay in an area where the language is spoken. The older and more obscure languages would take long to master and would also have higher DC check needed to master it

    Thoughts?
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 29, 2001
    Posts: 170
    From: Second Primordial Ooze on the Left

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    Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:20 pm  

    DarkHerald wrote:
    I also feel that if a player gets a full nights rest (uniterrupted) then he should get 2HP + CON bonus per evening rested.

    I have exactly the same rule.
    DarkHerald wrote:
    I am considering using languages as a skill.
    .....
    Thoughts?

    My first thought?... Welcome to 2nd Edition! ;)
    I use languages as non-weapon proficiencies. Any languages the PC doesn't choose in the beginning (because of the starting limits, or can't make up their mind yet), they must learn later on. However, because languages would then be competing with other non-weapon proficiencies, I use the language bonus for intelligence (normally used if you don't count languages as a non-weap prof) as a bonus to non-weapon profs that can only be used for languages. Speaking a language uses one slot, learning to read and write that language takes up a second slot. Some exceptional languages are either extremely difficult to find a tutor (rare or extinct), or may use up extra slots (difficult).

    Denis, aka "Maldin"
    Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
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