House Rules (er, Guidelines)

Contents: Character Creation, Natural 20s and Natural 1s, Recovery of Hit Points, Two-Fisted Fighting, Experience Points and Higher Levels, Surprise and Initiative, Unarmed Combat, Combat Against Creatures With Multiple Armor Classes, Combat Against Flying Creatures, Mass Combat, Riding and Fighting from Horseback, Swimming, Starting Spells for First Level Clerics, Starting Spells for First Level Mages and Magic-Users, Acquisition of Clerical Spells, Acquisition of Magical Spells, Platinum Pieces and Gems, Charisma,

There is only one non-negotiable, hard-and-fast rule: After you have created a PC, you will not be allowed to change PCs. So, choose wisely.

Otherwise, I am a liberal DM so I let people use whatever rules that they wish. If a rule causes a problem (e.g. making a character too powerful), I negotiate with the player to come to a fair resolution. But, if the player insists, I let the player have the rule.

However, some people would prefer to have a recommended rule; they want to conform to my interpretation of the rules for a particular situation. These house-recommended rules (er, guidelines, really) are for those people. I will try to post only the most-asked about rules here.

Here are The House Recommended Rules:
  1. Character Creation
    As with all rules, this is my way; use your own way if you like. I trust my players to be adults so do not ask me to watch you roll. If you must cheat, do not be obvious.

    There are 7 ability scores: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma and Comeliness. For each ability, roll 4d6, subtract the lowest die roll. Roll the scores in order. Now chose race and class. Add racial adjustments to scores. If Strength is 18 and you are a non-multi-classed fighter, roll percentile dice. All scores must be a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 18. Percentile dice are for Strength only.

    For hit points, do not roll; choose the maximum. At 2nd level and above, roll as normal.

  2. Natural 20s and Natural 1s
    If a player rolls a 20 on an attack roll, the attack does double damage to the monster unless a 19 would have counted as a miss. Further, a player is allowed to roll a d20 again and a 20 on that roll indicates triple damage. If triple damage is indicated, a player may roll a d20 again to determine quadruple damage and so on. Monsters and NPCs are not entitled to double damage, regardless of their rolls.

    If a player rolls a 1 on an attack roll, his weapon must make a saving throw versus crushing blow or be broken. For metal weapons, the saving throw is 7; for wooden weapons, the saving throw is 10.

  3. Recovery of Hit Points
    To recover 1 hit point per day through rest, a PC must have food, water and a covered place to sleep. The food can be poor and only a little, such as a fried wild rattlesnake. The water must not be salt water but it can be brackish fresh water. The covered place to sleep can be a lean-to, built against a tree or rock. If these conditions are met and the PC sleeps at least 8 hours without interruption, he will recover 1 hit point. Furthermore, if the PC sleeps during the day, too, he will recover an additional 2 hit points. Thus, a PC can recover 3 hit points per day if he sleeps day and night with no other exertion.

  4. Two-Fisted Fighting
    Two-fisted fighting is limited to non-multi-classed characters whose class is fighter, ranger, paladin or cavalier (i.e. the Warrior classes). Weapons usable in primary hand: longsword, broad-sword, shortsword, scimitar, battle axe, hand axe, club, dagger, hammer, footman’s mace, footman’s pick, horseman’s flail, horseman’s mace, horseman’s pick. Usable in secondary hand: shortsword, dagger, hand axe, hammer, horseman’s mace, horseman’s pick. The PC must be proficient with both weapons.

    The basic adjustments are -2/-4 "to hit". The "to hit" adjustment provided by dexterity applies to both weapons: a dexterity of 16 yields a -1/-3 "to hit" penalty. In contrast, strength adjustments are split evenly between the two weapons (with any remainder applying to the first weapon): a strength of 18/00 (+3 "to hit", +6 damage) yields a 0/-3 "to hit" penalty and a +3/+3 damage bonus. A two-fisted fighter may also choose the ambidexterity weapon proficiency (1 slot). This proficiency adds +2 "to hit" to the secondary weapon so the basic adjustments become -2/-2 "to hit".

  5. Experience Points and Higher Levels
    When a player's PC has enough x.p. (experience points) to gain a new level, the player has two choices: he can use the "unofficial way" or the "official way."

    The unofficial way is the way that most games work. The player merely rolls up his new hit points and updates his character sheet with new skills and spells. That's it. Done. Finito.

    The official way uses the training rules. There are four parts to the official way: the rule, the DM's promise, the warning and the applause. The rule is that the PC must seek out an appropriate teacher, pay for the training and reset his x.p. to the lowest amount allowed for the higher level. An appropriate teacher is a NPC (never another PC) with valuable skills to teach; the NPC is not required to be of the same religion, alignment, race or class of the PC. The cost is around 1,500 gold pieces per level (excluding the level that you wish to gain) so that is 1,500 for 2nd level, 3,000 for 3rd and so on. Finally, the PC should reset his x.p. to one above the last level; for example, if a PC needed 1,500 x.p. but earned 1,830 x.p. before being trained, he should reset his x.p. to 1,501 right after training. Now, the DM's promise is I will always provide some teacher and some financing options, no matter how isolated or poor the PC is; I will e-mail these options on request and a PC will gain the next level if he accepts the teacher and terms. The warning is that a PC may choose to ignore the teacher or financing that I have provided him (say, for a role-playing reason or because the financing terms were too harsh) and invent his own; however, in this case, I absolve myself of all responsibility for making training affordable and easily accessible. The applause is that I applaud anybody who chooses to risk ignoring my options; they may find later that they gained some other benefit or advantage. The training may be easy or it may be hard; it may take a day or it may take months before an acceptable (to the player and DM) opportunity presents itself but any player who takes this road less travelled deserves a word of congratulations from the DM.

  6. Surprise and Initiative
    The official rules on surprise always confused me; I've got look at those again, someday. For my own simple rules, both sides roll an d6 on the first round only. If the rolls are equal, nobody is surprised. If one roll is higher by 1, the high roll wins initiative for the first round only. If one roll is higher by 2, the high roll gets to act the first round while the other can perform no actions; initiative for the second round is rolled separately. If one roll is higher by 3, the high roll gets both to act the first round and wins initiative in the second round. If a roll is higher by 4, the high roll gets the first and second rounds to itself; initiative for the third round is rolled separately. If one roll is higher by 5, the high roll gets first and second rounds to itself and wins initiative for the third round. I rarely use modifiers unless they are clearly warranted. If the party must open a door to see a monster, they still roll but I might decide that any roll below 5 becomes a 5. For monsters who surprise on a 1-5, I still roll but any roll below a 6 becomes a 6 (so the party can, at best, tie by rolling a natural 6).

    For initiative, both sides roll a single d6 without modifiers. If both roll the same score, the actions are simultaneous (though I will choose one side to specify their actions first, for my own convenience). Modifiers are tedious and annoying and, until somebody complains loudly and consistently enough, won't be used.

  7. Unarmed Combat
    Without a weapon, a PC can try to punch, kick, pin one arm, bear hug, pin both arms, choke, knock flat or flip an opponent. Generally, strength and dexterity bonuses apply. Attacks are made using a standard d20 roll with additional "to hit" modifiers and damage according to the table below:

    Attack Type  "To Hit"  Damage  Notes
    Punch  0  1-2  -
    Kick  -1  1-3  -
    Pin one arm  -2  -  Weapon forced from defender's hand
    Bear hug  -2  1-2  Attacker automatically hits until defender hits attacker at -2 "to hit" (defender does normal damage)
    Pin both arms  -4  -  Defender cannot attack (except flip) indefinitely and weapons forced from defender's hands
    Choke  -4  1-4  Attacker automatically hits until defender hits attacker at -2 "to hit" (defender does normal damage)
    Knock flat  -4  1-6  -
    Flip (throw)  -6  2-7  Attacker must be pinned by both arms, bear hugged or choked by defender
    A non-multi-classed PC whose class is fighter, ranger, paladin or cavalier (i.e. the Warrior classes) may choose the unarmed combat weapon proficiency (1 slot). It provides +1 "to hit" and +1 damage on all unarmed attacks.

    A PC (except those of the Barbarian class) can only attack humans, demihumans and humaniods using unarmed combat attacks. Unarmed combat is non-lethal; when an opponent is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, he becomes unconsciousness.

  8. Combat Against Creatures With Multiple Armor Classes
    Some creatures, such as the sea lion and the beholder, have multiple armor classes and even sometimes separate hit points for different body parts. In such cases, the player rolls a d20 to hit (as normal). Then, a second roll determines the body part attacked. The AC of the rolled body part is used to see if the d20 hits. If there are multiple identical body parts with separate hit points, the damage applies to a single one until it is destroyed.

    For example, a sea lion has a head with AC 5 and a body of AC 3. The PC needs a 14 to hit AC 5 and a 16 to hit AC 3. The player rolls a 15 (using a d20) and a 1 (using a d2). The PC hits the head. If the player had rolled a 2 using the d2, the PC would miss (the body). In a second example, a beholder has: a body (AC 0), 10 eyestalks (AC 2) and a central eye (AC 7). The PC needs an 18 to hit AC 0, a 16 to hit AC 2 and an 11 to hit AC 7. The beholder has 30 hit points for its body, 12 and 6 for two remaining eyestalks and 15 for its central eye. The player rolls a 16 (using a d20) and a 2 (using a d3). The PC hits the 12 hit point eyestalk. Damage is applied to the eyestalk. Later, if rolls indicate another hit on the eyestalks, it is assumed to be the same 12 hit point eyestalk. Only after the 12 hit point eyestalk is destroyed will the 6 hit point eyestalk be damaged.

  9. Combat Against Flying Creatures
    If a PC uses a missile weapon against a distant flying creature, he can usually fire at the weapon's full rate per round. A PC cannot use a missile weapon against a nearby flying creature (or any nearby creature).

    A PC cannot use a melee weapon against a distant flying creature. If a PC uses a melee weapon against nearby flying creature, the flying creature automatically wins initiative.

    A sufficiently large and strong flying creature may opt to pick up a PC by making a successful "to hit" roll. The PC must save versus Strength (possibly with modifiers) to escape the creature's grip. In addition, a flying creature with poor maneuverability may require multiple rounds to achieve a single attack.

  10. Mass Combat
    Basic mass combat rules (see below) are normally used. Other mass combat rules, such as Simple, Strategic or Wargame, may be used at the DM's discretion.

    Under all rules, four factors can give a bonus to one side: Size, Heroes, Organization and Defense. If one side is clearly more numerous as the other (20% more is reputed to be historically accurate but I prefer twice as much), it gets the Size bonus. If one side has clear superiority in strategy and/or in individual leaders, including the PCs, it gets the Heroes bonus. If one side is clearly better trained or disciplined, it gets the Organization bonus. If one side has a significant defensive advantage, such as castle walls, it gets the Defense bonus. As combat progresses, a bonus may be added or removed at the time that circumstances change. For example, if PCs wipe out a large part of an enemy force with fireballs, the enemy would immediately have its Size bonus removed.

    In a Simple mass combat, a battle may be determined by rolling a d20 for each side. For each bonus, a side adds +3 to the roll. The higher modified roll indicates the winner. Further, the difference between the modified rolls indicates the degree of victory. Less than 5 indicates a nominal victory, nearly a tie. 5 or more indicates a clear victory, possibly a rout.

    In a Basic mass combat, the battle plays out, round by round. Each side starts with 3 special mass combat hit points. For each bonus, a side gets +1 mass combat hit point; thus, a side has at least 3 and never more than 7 mass combat hit points. Combat proceeds normally, with initiative and individual actions by PCs and important NPCs. After all individuals act, each side rolls a d20 simultaneously (no modifiers). If one side rolls a 6 or less and the other rolls a 15 or more, the losing side subtracts 1 mass combat hit point. If necessary to know, each round takes 2 hours each with 12 hours of combat (i.e. 6 rounds) each day.

    In a Strategic mass combat, the battle plays out, round by round. Each side divides into units of a convenient size determined by the DM. Multiple units of the same type are allowed. The table below details each type of unit:

    Troop Type  Rank  Range  Movement  Notes
    Knights  7  1  1  Can attack while mounted without penalty
    Soldiers  6  1  1  -
    Polemen  5  1  1  +3 ranks against mounted units
    Rabble  4  1  1  -
    Archers  3  2  1  -
    Mages  2  2  1  -
    Siege  1  2  1  Defense structure within range has no effect
    Each side lines up its units in a single line before combat begins (i.e. the strategy). Combat proceeds normally, with initiative and individual actions by PCs and important NPCs. Afterwards, units engage each other; higher ranks usually having an advantage. The Heroes bonus raises a unit by 2 ranks. The Defense bonus allows a unit to outrank another but not to be outranked, unless a Siege unit is nearby. (Size and Organization bonuses are already accounted for in the number of units and their ranks.) To resolve the engagement of the units, a d20 is rolled for each unit. If the lower (or same) ranked unit rolls a 15 or more than the higher (or same) ranked unit rolls a 6 or below, the lower ranked unit wins. If the higher ranked unit rolls a 10 or above and the lower ranked unit rolls a 10 or below, the higher ranked unit wins.

    After engagement, each unit can move or exchange places with adjacent friendly units. Mounted units may move 2 positions, rather than 1. Mounted units who are unskilled at fighting from mounts lose 2 ranks until unmounting. Once unmounted, mounts are assumed lost, injured or run away; a unit cannot remount once it has unmounted.

    Please note: By using D to indicate a defensive structure, using m to indicate a mounted unit and u to indicate an unmounted unit, the entire battle scene can be presented as a line of characters using the first letter of each unit type. For example, "AmAuKmDSuAu" might indicate mounted Archers behind unmounted Archers behind mounted Knights attacking a castle wall (D) with unmounted Soldiers defending it and unmounted Archers in the castle courtyard behind them.

    If necessary to know, each round takes 2 hours each with 24 hours of combat (i.e. 12 rounds) each complete day. Each unit can only fight 12 hours per day (i.e. 6 rounds) and must withdraw, re-equip and rest for the remaining 12 hours. These hours are not required to be continuous; a unit may fight for 6 hours in the morning and be brought out again for a 6-hour sneak attack at night on the same day.

    In a Wargame mass combat, the battle plays out as a Strategic mass combat except that units are arranged on a two-dimensional map, rather than in a one-dimensional line.

    After the battle, casualties are counted. For a tie, 10% of each side is killed. For a nominal victory, 10% of the winners and 20% of the losers are killed. For a clear (bloody) victory, 15% of the winners and 50% of the losers are killed.

  11. Riding and Fighting from Horseback
    All PCs can ride a riding or warhorse as transportation from one place to another. A PC who attempts to fight from horseback will have to make Dexterity checks each round to avoid falling off the horse and have "to hit" and damage penalties depending on the difficulty of the fighting maneuver. Alternatively, a PC can choose the expert horseman weapon proficiency (1 slot). A PC with this proficiency fights from horseback without penalty. Paladins and cavaliers are excluded from these guidelines; PCs of these classes automatically have expert horseman proficiency without using a slot since horse skills are an intrinsic part of these classes.

  12. Swimming
    All PCs can dog-paddle in non-metal armor (leather or less) but will drown in metal armor. However, a PC can choose to the expert swimmer weapon proficiency (1 slot). A PC with this proficiency can swim and fight indefinitely both on top and beneath the water in any type of armor.

  13. Starting Spells for First Level Clerics
    PC clerics do not have spellbooks; their spells are granted by praying to their diety. As a consequence, clerics can ask their diety for any spells of the appropriate spell levels at the beginning of each gaming session. See     Acquisition of Clerical Spells for more detail.

  14. Starting Spells for First Level Mages and Magic-Users
    PC mages and magic-users have spellbooks in which to write their spells. A 1st level mage or magic-user always has Read Magic plus three other spells in his spellbook. To determine these three spells, the player rolls a d20 die (2nd Edition) or a d10 die (1st Edition) for each column of the following table (i.e. he rolls 3 times):

    Die Roll  Offensive Spells  Defensive Spells  Miscellaneous Spells
    1  Burning Hands  Affect Normal Fires  Comprehend Languages
    2  Charm Person  Dancing Lights  Detect Magic
    3  Enlarge  Feather Fall  Erase
    4  Friends  Hold Portal  Find Familiar
    5  Light  Jump  Identify
    6  Magic Missile  Protection from Evil  Mending
    7  Push  Shield  Message
    8  Shocking Grasp  Spider Climb  Unseen Servant
    9  Sleep  Ventriloquism  Write
    10  (choose)  (choose)  (choose)
    11  Chill Touch  Alarm  Audible Glamour
    12  Color Spray  Armor  Cantrip
    13  Grease  Gaze Reflection  Change Self
    14  Hypnotism  Spook  Detect Undead
    15  Phantasmal Force  Wall of Fog  Mount
    16  Taunt  (choose)  Wizard Mark
    17  (roll again)  (roll again)  Share Dream
    18  (roll again)  (roll again)  (roll again)
    19  (roll again)  (roll again)  (roll again)
    20  (roll again)  (roll again)  (roll again)

    Spells beyond these first few can either be found as treasure or gained by rising a level. If gained by rising a level, the new spells are randomly selected from the appropriate spell levels (as indicated by the spell tables in the Player's Handbook).

    For information on memorizing and actual spells available to be cast, see Acquisition of Magical Spells.

  15. Acquisition of Clerical Spells
    Before a gaming session, a cleric should choose the spells that he will ask his deity for (and the diety will automatically grant them). The spell tables in the Player's Handbook indicate his number of spells that can be "memorized". Spells can only be memorized once; multiple memorizations of the same spell are not allowed.

    If a cleric runs out of spells, he can pray and appeal directly to his diety for a spell (albeit there is a heavy price to pay). However, a cleric is always better off simply praying for divine intervention, a miracle. Dieties look harshly upon an appeal of any kind (annoying mortals!), making it best to plead for complete deliverance. The cleric is advised to atone and sacrifice readily later, no matter the outcome and even if evidence of divine influence is lacking.

  16. Acquisition of Magical Spells
    Before a gaming session, a mage or magic-user should choose the spells from his spellbook that he wishes to memorize. The spell tables in the Player's Handbook indicate his number of "memorizations". Spells can only be memorized once; multiple memorizations of the same spell are not allowed.

    When a mage or magic-user runs out of spells, he can cast a spell directly from his spellbook (albeit there is a heavy price to pay). When cast, the page with the spell crumbles to dust (like a scroll). To re-acquire the spell, he must seek another mage or magic-user with the same spell, convince him to sell or trade or donate the spell, pay for materials (200 g.p. per spell) and copy the spell into the spellbook (taking 1 day per spell level).

  17. Platinum Pieces and Gems
    In the large cities of Skullport, Sardion and Mezzonoborrean, a PC can convert his gold pieces into and out of more easily transported valuables, such as platinum pieces and gems, without losing any value. There is no need to consult the DM; if the PC is in one of these cities, merely post to the message board that you go to the marketplace and specify what and how much is bought or sold. If a PC is not in one of these cities, the PC can still convert; however, he will lose 25% of the original value in each trade. For example, in Nara, a PC can trade 100 g.p. for 15 p.p. and, if he took that 15 p.p. to Vundor, he could only trade that 15 p.p. for 50 g.p. He loses 25% in each trade; thus, 50% total. If, however, he went to Sardion, rather than Vundor, he would get 75 g.p. for his 15 p.p. Furthermore, all trades must be in a civilized area. A PC cannot trade in a dungeon or barren wilderness.

    Why the stiff fee? Gold pieces are the universal currency. Rural NPCs will only trade platinum pieces or gems if they know that they are getting the better end of the bargain.

  18. Charisma
    To roll a Charisma check (i.e. save versus Charisma), a player must roll his PC's Charisma or less on a d20. Charisma checks are important in Ethshar, especially at higher levels. Charisma checks have been used in the past to determine who will be granted noble status, to convince powerful NPCs to support the PC and to lead armies. These are usually the most enjoyable and profitable encounters.