User:Ghostwheel/3.x House Rules

House Rules I Use in my 3.x Games

House Rules

• Characters gain Fast Healing equal to their HD while taking a short rest (between encounters and while no one is after them).
• Spells and abilities that have a duration of 1 hour/level last until the next time a character rests, or their normal duration, whichever is longer.
• Poisons cost differently. Here's the original post by Wrecan on the WotC boards.
• When buying items, the maximum cost of an item you may buy is equal to the difference between your next CWBL and current CWBL times 0.75.
• Salt costs at most 1 gold piece per pound.
• Gain max HP for every level.
  • An alternative to this is to gain Max HP -4 +1d4 HP per level. Thus, a Fighter would gain 6+1d4 HP per level and a Rogue would gain 2+1d4 HP per level.
• No death by massive damage.
• Polymorph doesn't change your Type.
• Certain effects (such as some spells, blindness, paralyzed, and a few others) are subject to a 4e-style save at the end of one's turn. That is, one has a 50% chance of breaking out of said effect. This is true for both players and monsters.
• LA Buyoff is not used.
• Use the new "death and dying" rules found at the bottom of this page.
• Psionic users may have more than one astral construct out at a time.
• Bull's Strength line of spells (Cat's Grace, Bear's Endurance, etc) gives an unnamed bonus to the ability score.
• Instead of death, Save-or-Dies now deal damage equal to 2d6 per caster level.
• Ghost Touch weapons effect Ethereal creatures
• Crossbows don't provoke Attacks of Opportunity when fired.
• Sneak attack (and other Precision damage) deals 1/2 damage to creatures immune to crits.
• Psionic tattoos can be created with a ML higher than the minimum required to manifest them.
• All iterative attacks are made at a -5 penalty. This means that instead of +17/+12/+7/+2 attack chain, one would have +17/+12/+12/+12.
• To cast a spell defensively you must make a Concentration checks with the DC equal to 10 + spell level + highest BAB of all threatening creatures. For every creature over the first that threatens, this rises by +2. (For example, if you want to cast a level 0 spell and are threatened by two creatures, one with a BAB of +3 and another with a BAB of +2, you need to make a concentration checks with a DC of 15. (10 (base) +0 (spell level) +3 (highest BAB) +2 (second creature)))
• Change to Tumble: This works exactly like the PHB version of Tumble, except that the "base" DC of tumbling through the area threatened by an enemy is equal to 10+its BAB instead of a flat 15. So tumbling through the threatened space of a creature with a BAB of 3 is 13. To tumble through an area occupied by an enemy, change the tumble check's DC to 20+its BAB instead of a flat 25. So tumbling through the space of an enemy with 6 BAB requires a DC 26 check. As it's noted in the PHB, the DC to tumble through the threatened area or area occupied by a creature rises by 2 for each creature after the first.
• Wealth has been changed to the Influence Points system introduced by Dreamscarred Press's Complete Gear.
• Creatures add their Constitution score to their total HP. This is a one-time gain, and is not gained again at any level but first, and is changed retroactively with changes to Constitution.
• Characters are healed of all ailments apart from diseases and their effects when they sleep. This includes level drain, ability damage (not caused by a disease), penalties due to spells, etc.
• Level-Independent XP Awards are used--these make it far easier for the DM to calculate XP.
• Characters get +1 inherent bonus (stacks) to two different ability scores at every even level. This replaces both the standard ability boost every 4 levels, Tomes/Manuals (such as the Tome of Clear Thought), and the ability gain from the use of the Wish spell.
• Fractional base saves (but not attack bonuses) are used. These are found in Unearthed Arcana, page 73.

Changes/Clarifications to Feats

• Touch of Golden Ice is considered an Extraordinary Special Attack of one's base form.
• Mindsight is blocked by anything that would block a Detect Thoughts spell or Read Thoughts power, meaning an inch of common metal, 3 feet of wood, 1 foot of stone, or a thin sheet of lead, as well as beings that are mindless or are under the effect of spells and powers such as Mind Blank.

Changes to Classes

• The Divine Mind's BAB is replaced with that of the Fighter.
• Master of Shrouds gains the prerequisite of 8 ranks in Knowledge (Religion) instead of 4 ranks.
• Turning undead is now a standard action that deals 1d6 damage/cleric level to all undead within 30' of the cleric. The affected undead get a Will save (DC 10+cleric level+charisma modifier) for half damage. Clerics who would normally gain Rebuke Undead instead heal undead within 30' for 1d6/cleric level. Paladins work as one would expect; they turn undead as a cleric 3 levels lower. Undead with Turn Resistance may subtract a number from the damage that they would take from each turn attempt equal to their Turn Resistance. This does not affect the amount healed by clerics with Rebuke Undead. When using this ability against incorporeal creatures, you do not have to roll the 50% miss chance; turning hits them automatically.
• Lurk augments that last for a whole round:
  • Additional Sneak Attack
  • Solid Strike
  • Ignore Concealment
  • Deceptive Strike
  • Sneak Attack Undead
  • Ghost Touch
  • Aligned Attack
  • Sneak Attack Constructs
  • Planar Attack
• Healers (from the Miniatures Handbook) cast spells from their spell list spontaneously instead of preparing spells. (Similar to Beguilers and Warmages)
• Unofficial Shadowcaster Errata by its Author (Original Can be found here)
  • 1) Grant bonus mysteries per day based on Int. These would work just like bonus spells. For instance, if your Int is 14, you can cast one extra mystery of 1st-level equivalent and one of 2nd-level equivalent per day. (Note that each mystery does give an equivalent level, even though you don't learn them by level.)
  • 2) Eliminate the rule that says you have to take mysteries in a given Path in order. If you want to jump around, so as to broaden your versatility, you can. You must still have at least one mystery of any given level equivalent (1st, 2nd, etc.) before you can get a mystery of the next higher level within a type (Apprentice, Initiate, Master), but they need not come from the same Path.
  • 3) Eliminate the rule that says you get a bonus feat equal to half the number of paths you have access to. Instead, you get a bonus feat equal to the total number of Paths you complete. Thus, while you are no longer required to take the entirety of a given Path, there's still encouragement to do so.
  • 4) Allow the shadowcaster to swap out mysteries, like a sorcerer does spells, with the caveat that if you suddenly "un-complete" a Path, you lose a feat as well.
  • 5) Once your Apprentice Mysteries become supernatural abilities, change the save DC from 10 + equivalent spell level + Cha to 10 + 1/2 caster level + Cha. This makes them useful even against high-HD opponents, and follows the pattern for other supernatural abilities.
  • (And BTW, the warp spell mystery shouldn't say that it allows a Will save. The caster level check determines success or failure.)