House Rules & Systems

Attendance: This is a game, and thus supposed to be only for fun. People are likely to miss a game from time to time. Missing a game nets no experience points. However, since it doesn't make sense to have characters zipping in and out of existence during the story, the DM reserves the right to use an absent player's PC in as limited a role as possible under the circumstances of the story. I will always set session dates for evenings all players can attend, but if there are last minute changes (usually within a week of the game) for a small number of players, the game will run, provided we have a minimum of four PCs.

Available Classes: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Favored Soul (Crake, Eleste, Gruumsh, and Moradin), Fighter, Healer, Hexblade, Marshal, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Scout, Sorcerer, Spellthief, Spirit Shaman, Swashbuckler, Warlock, Warmage, Wizard (inc. specialists)

Available Races: Bugbear, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Half-elf, Half-orc, Halfling, Hobgoblin, Human, Goblin, Kobold, Lizardfolk, Troglodyte.
 
Charging: The text on pg. 155 of the Player's Handbook reads 'helpless creatures don't stop a charge', which is frankly idiotic (really, Wizards, I can't charge through a square with some pointy rocks, but I can charge over a paralyzed colossal dragon?). I am adjusting this to read 'Helpless creatures two or more sizes smaller than you will not interrupt your charge'.

Death: If your character dies, and you wish to roll another, you will begin play one level below the party average (see sidebar). A Raise Dead spell brings you back one level lower than you were, with no additional games played (as XP). Characters brought to a HP total below -10 due to massive physical damage, fire, acid or disintegration effects are considered to have been physically destroyed and not in proper condition for the use of the raise dead spell. Those dying from bleeding below 0, poison, drowning or other similar conditions are considered still in one piece and qualified recipients of the spell.

Dying: Any healing of characters at negative health levels does no automatically bring them to a positive HP score, unless the healing would mathematically bring them to 0 (zero) or above.

Experience: You can now refer to this post for all your level figuring needs.

Favored Class: As we are not using a normal XP system, there is no penalty for having your multi-class levels more than 1 apart, even if you're not classed into a racial 'favored' class. At the present time, though, I'm only allowing a maximum of two classes and one prestige class per character (this may change).
 
New Players: As of this time, new players begin one level below the party average (see the sidebar on the front page under the PC roster).

Tower Shield: You cannot use the tower shield's Total Cover against hidden opponents who have yet to attack you, or creatures with Reach, one or more sizes above you, provided they allow for 5' of extra slack to reach around the shield. In addition, effects like bull rush, disarm, and sunder can still be made as attacks against you, provided they are targeting the shield itself. Otherwise, the item functions as normal.

Training: There is no required training in your current class. You gain your skill ranks, hit points, new feats & abilities once you 'ding' to the next level. However, if you wish to take a 1st level in another character class, you must train for a week of game time, in addition to whatever costs the trainer might demand upon. You can do this training 'in advance' of your new level, during a pause in the campaign's game world time, however you MUST take the 1st level in the new class when you next level.

Variant Rules: We will be using the following variant rules from the Dungeon Master's Guide in the campaign. If it's not listed below, we're not using it.

Critical Misses/Fumbles (p.28)
Instant Kill (p.28)
Nonlethal Falls (p.303)
Skills With Different Abilities (p.33)
What Disabling a Device Means (p.70)

Fighter Upgrade: I am using the fighter variation from Paizo's Pathfinder RPG in place of the core 3.5 edition class. This will make it more appealing and less one-dimensional. This applies only to the Armor Training, Weapon Training and Bravery class abilities which scale. No other Pathfinder class variants are being considered at this time.

Prestige Classes: Some prestige classes from the Dungeon Master's Guide and other allowed source books are trainable somewhere in or in the vicinity of Floivin Province. Others are scattered as wide as the Eidolorn Empire and beyond. You must of course discover these trainers through your interactions with NPCs ,but feel free to 'build' your PC towards the prerequisites, so that when you do find who you're looking for you can train towards the new class. Once a trainer is revealed, it will be indexed at the original Classes of Udders Well post.

Permanency:  Permanency works largely like the original spell, only the XP cost is transformed into a GP cost for arcane materials, which must be gathered from either a magic institution (Arkana Arkiva, Wizards Elite) or a wealthy independent spellcaster or city market (at the DM's discretion). The cost is 500% the original XP value, and the casting time becomes 2 turns instead of 2 rounds (since it's becoming more or less a ritual that requires prepping). At the end of those 2 turns, you've cast the original spell and then permanency (so they're off the daily allotment of spells as normal). We'll start with allowing the Player's Handbook list (under the spell description) and then others might be possible upon request.

So, for instance, wizard A wants to cast Comprehend Languages and then permanency, it would cost 2500 gold once the character was at the minimum 9th level. Not a bad deal, all told, but the 5x value helps
offset the lack of loss to XP. It has to remain somewhat prohibitive. Or if someone wanted to permanently animate an object (at level 14), it would cost 15,000, etc.

Retirement: This is meant for folks who just wanna hang up their spurs and try something else. Perhaps you think the character's modus operandi no longer fits the campaign status quo, or he or she can no longer travel with other PCs due to personality clashes. Or perhaps you tried a class out for a few months and decided you don't enjoy playing it. Unlike character death, which is penalized by the 1-level loss of the succeeding character, this is a case where a player voluntarily turns in his/her character to become an NPC in the setting. When this occurs, you can begin a new character at the BEGINNING of the same level as the last one (no additional sessions). However, this should not be something taken lightly, or abused, so there is a limit of ONE voluntary character retirement per 18 months, per player.

Additional Notes:

* The character retains his/her gear and gold. It can't just be dumped to the party or even the party treasure.

* The character can't just be used as a permanent party NPC. In extreme circumstances, where it makes sense, he/she might turn up in an adventure, but otherwise it becomes an inactive character.

Retroactive Rulings: There are times where players and the DM are going to forget the maths, neglecting to factor in an attack adjustment, a resistance, a saving throw bonus, an item bonus or other factors that might have led to victory, failure, or death on either side of a conflict. If this happens, the events stand as they occur. No turning back the clocks and no retroactive reversals. If you were fighting a fire elemental and forgot that your dagger was enchanted with fire bane, or if you forgot you had Minor Globe of Invulnerability and took damage from a magic missile, the results remain the same. Chalk it up to human error and self-adjusting consequences. The one exception is if a player has just had his/her turn skipped and notes this the following round.

5th Edition Variants

Customizing Ability Scores (PHB.13): Yes.
Variant Human Traits (PHB.31): Yes, if you want.
Variant Backgrounds (PHB.129-14): Yes, if you want.
Equipment Sizes (PHB.144): No, within reason.
Multiclassing (PHB.163): Yes, absolutely.
Feats (PHB.165): Yes, absolutely.
Skills With Different Abilities (PHB.175): Yes, if it makes sense.
Encumbrance (PHB.176): Yes.
Playing on a Grid (PHB.192): Yes, we are playing on a square grid.

Renown (DMG.22): Yes, we are using it.
NPC Loyalty (DMG.93): Yes, I'm using it.
Villainous Class Options (DMG.96-97): Yes, I might use them.
More Difficult Magic Item Identification (DMG.136): Yes.
Mixing Potions (DMG.140): Yes.
Scroll Mishaps (DMG.140): Yes.
Wands That Don't Recharge (DMG.141): No, they do not recharge.
Only Players Award Inspiration (DMG.241): Yes, in group sessions, by hidden ballot only.
Flanking (DMG.251): Yes, flankers gain advantage.
Diagonals (DMG.252): Yes, we'll continue to adjust for diagonal movement.
Facing (DMG.252): No.
Session-Based Advancement (DMG.261): Yes, we will carry on.
Proficiency Dice (DMG.263): No.
Skill Variants (DMG.263-4): No.
Hero Dice (DMG.264): No.
Honor and Sanity (DMG.265): No, but I might institute Sanity at a later date.
Fear and Horror (DMG.266): No.
Healing Variants (DMG.266-67): No.
Firearms and Explosives (DMG.267-68): Yes, though they are rare.
Alien Technology (DMG.268): No.
Plot Points (DMG.269): No.
Initiative Variants (DMG.270-1): No.
Action Options (DMG.271-272): Climb Onto a Bigger Creature, Disarm, Overrun, Shove Aside and Tumble are all a 'Yes'. Mark is a 'No'.
Hitting Cover (DMG.272): No.
Cleaving Through Creatures (DMG.272): Yes.
Injuries (DMG.272): No.
Massive Damage (DMG.273): No.
Morale (DMG.273): No.
Spell Points (DMG.288): No.