Difference between revisions of "House Rules"

Revision as of 13:55, 26 March 2012

PURPOSE OF DOCUMENT

This document is designed to serve the local face-to-face game and the online game, being a bridge between the two.

OFFICIAL BOOKS

The Wold uses the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, the Advanced Players Guide (APG) and all of the Beastiaries. The online SRD at http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ is used for reference and eratta of changes to the Core Rulebook. In cases where rules or mechanics differ, the SRD trumps. You may also use the SRD located at http://www.d20pfsrd.com/ -- however, that site makes it sometimes difficult to tell which rules are core only and which are from other sources. You may not use the Classes, Feats, Spells, Domains, etc in the SRD that are not also found in the Core Rulebook.

ABILITY SCORES

New characters are created using 30 point Point Buy. Existing 3.5 characters have the option of having their stats grandfathered in.

XP, STARTING LEVEL AND WEALTH

We will use the medium XP track.

All new PCs begin with the same number of experience points as the lowest character in the party, and gain starting wealth appropriate for their level to spend on equipment.

Starting money for characters above 1st level is found here: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering

RACES, CLASSES, AND PRESTIGE CLASSES

Woldian games uses most of the core races, classes and prestige classes, as well as several additional Woldian unique options.

Please see Races and Classes

HIT POINTS

All classes get maximum hit points at 1st level. At levels above the 1st, all ones are re-rolled. Online, all hit point rolls must be rolled in the Loot and Booty. Hero Points may NOT be used to re-roll the score. Keep records of how many hps are rolled at each level noting any Con Adjustments.

FOLLOWERS, ANIMAL COMPANIONS, FAMILIARS, ETC.

This is an official ruling, and is considered effective immediately. Both of these rulings are in effect until the Pathfinder Conversion.

Leadership:

The Leadership Feat requires the approval of the Campaign DM due to the potential to affect local population, political, and economic demographics.

Cohorts, followers, and henchmen never travel with the PC. There are no exceptions.

Cohorts, followers, and henchmen may be created and managed by the Player, and must be approved by the DM. As with any other NPC, the DM has the prerogative to take control of NPC actions.

Cohort. a. A Cohort can have magic items, but this is subtracted from the overall magic allowed the PC. b. A Cohort can Aid Another, Craft, and provide Knowledge checks up to a maximum of +10 bonus to the check. Other similar actions are allowable with the approval of the DM.

Follower a. Followers only use NPC classes. b. Followers can Aid Another, Craft, and provide Knowledge checks as Cohorts. These effects do not stack. c. Followers can provide limited income, up to your leadership score * 10 in gold, per month after all business expenses (this supercedes the Business House Rule) c. Followers used in business ventures must be 1/3 domestic support (housekeeping, gardening, business staff, etc). Remaining professions are Player choice with DM approval.

MAGIC ITEMS FOR ANIMAL COMPANIONS AND FAMILIARS

Companions of all types have their own set of slots for Magic Items which are different than the standard “bipedal” slots. The following slots will be used for all companions: Armor: suits of armor Belts: belts and girdles Chest: mantles, shirts, and vests Eyes: eyes, glasses, goggles Head: circlet, crown, hat, helm, mask Headband: headbands and phylacteries Neck: amulets, brooches, medallions, necklaces, periapts, and scarabs

Slotless items are available to PCs and Companions in the Catacombs The cost is X2 [double] for all Slotless Magic Items. Names of Magic Items may be changed for role-playing reasons; however, the ACTUAL name must be listed in parenthesis to the right of the ROLE-PLAYING name on the character sheet.

BUSINESS RULES...................................................................................... PCs are allowed to own/manage a business with DM approval. PC owned businesses are primarily a role-playing opportunity and not intended to circumvent character wealth levels. Woldian heroes being, well, heroes, thier primary income is from adventuring.

PCs are allowed to invest up to 1,000 gold pieces per PC character level in their business once per module (normally during the conclusion). The DM then rolls a d100 die and consults the below table to determine the fluctuation of business opportunity.

Roll d100: d1-10--business is extremely slow. Lose 20% of money to be earned this level for the character. d10-20--business is very slow. Lose 10% of money to be earned this level for the character. d20-30--business is slow. Lose 5% of money to be earned this level for the character. d40-60--business maintains current level. No gain or loss of money to be earned this level for the character. d70-80--business is good. Gain 5% of money to be earned this level for the character. d80-90--business is very good. Gain 10% of money to be earned this level for the character. d90-100--business is extremely good. Gain 20% of money to be earned this level for the character.

Modifiers: Skill Ranks in Profession (that business) provide a +1% per Rank to the Roll Venturer PrCs provide a +5% per Venturer Level to the Roll. Skill and Venturer Bonus stacks.

Companions:

Companions are defined as creatures associated with your PC as a result of a class feature. They include familiars, druidic animal companions, and the paladin's warhorse, or any creatures you can purchase in the Players Handbook (such as mounts). Companions may not be gained through the Leadership feat. Summoned/enspelled creatures, creature-like magic items, and NPCs controlled by the DM are not companions and do not fall under these house rules.

All companions that travel with you must be registered with the Campaign DM (Jerry), unless they are companions purchased through the PHB.

You must declare companions as either active, or roleplaying:

Roleplaying companions are companions that provide no mechanical advantages. They may not attack, increase your combat speed, make skill checks, or otherwise assist your character. They may include pets or other strange creatures. They may be pack animals, or mounts, provided you do not use them when combat rounds start. They are purely for roleplaying purposes, Roleplaying companions do not take damage, are not targeted by enemies, and are universally ignored in combat.

Active companions are companions that provide some mechanical advantage during combat rounds. The only companion's allowed other than ones granted by class levels are non exotic mounts (Horses, Warhorses, Pony's, etc). Combat companions may attack, use skills, be ridden, carry items for you, be equipped, scout use abilities and otherwise provide mechanical advantage. They may in turn be attacked.

ALIGNMENT

There is no official listing of alignments in the Wold. All characters, however, must be good. This includes Druids since Woldian Druids are not neutral; druids in the Wold may be Lawful Good, Neutral Good or Chaotic Good. Permission must be granted for any non-good alignment situations and logged in the DM's log as an official decision.

If at any time a PC becomes non-good without permission, that PC immediately is taken over by the DM and is played by the DM until the alignment reverts to normal (if that occurs). If three evil acts are committed during the same adventure, alignment change may occur. Players will be informed quickly of any evil actions being counted against a character. Online this will occur via email. Locally, the player will be drawn aside and informed as soon as is practical.

SPELLS AND MAGIC ITEMS

Only spells that are listed in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, the Advanced Players Guide or on the website as Original Woldian Spells are available for use in Woldian games.

Any ones rolled during any type of positive energy healing are re-rolled until something other than a one is obtained.

In general, any item that may be created using the Pathfinder rules is available for purchase or creation on the Catacombs Board.

RESURRECTION AND REINCARNATION MAGIC

In the Wold, returning a fallen ally to life is far more than casting a spell. The resurrection line of spells enable transport to the realm of Gargul, Lord of Death. There you must bargain for the spirit. The type of resurrection spell cast still determines the state of the spirit, after being resurrected.

Reincarnation can be cast in one of two ways:

The caster can seek the permission of Gargul, Lord of Life and Death, when they cast reincarnate. If they do so, the spell gains a 5000gp Diamond as a material component, and acts exactly as a Raise Dead spell does in the Wold.

If the caster does not seek permission of Gargul, the spell functions as normal. However, this runs the risk of raising the ire of Gargul or his minions, should they find out. DM's are urged to consult with the Campaign DM in this situation.

FATE ITEMS

Sometimes a magic item is unique but does not rise to artifact level. These items are Fate Items. They may not be bought or sold in the Catacombs (but the Catacombs Staff can tell you if you have one). PCs cannot make them. Within the owning PC's game, it may be possible to share, sell, buy, steal, lose, or give away a Fate Item -- or might not be! A Fate Item may "stick" with an owner. Trying to get rid of a Fate Item that does not want to go may be "Tempting Fate." Sometimes a Fate Item goes missing for no obvious reason. Sometimes Fate Items have drawbacks. Sometimes their powers can be shared. Within your game, bards, diviners, seers, or sages may be able to tell you more about a Fate Item.

MAGIC ITEM CREATION POLICY

The Wold follows standard Pathfinder item creation rules, and has some additional item creation feats.

Anyone who successfully researches a new item in the BGC is allowed to place their name on the item and receives the full 10% commission on future sales, even if they do not have any item creation feats.

COMBAT AND DEATH

When your character's current hit points drop to a negative amount equal to his Constitution score or lower, or if he succumbs to massive damage, he's dead. A character can also die from taking ability damage or suffering an ability drain that reduces his Constitution score to 0

A dying character loses 1 hit point every round. This continues until the character dies or becomes stable. A PC will survive an extra round for each hero point that he has unspent.

Thus, a Character with 4 Hero Points and a 14 Constituion score dies at -18.

ROLEPLAYING

Role-playing will be awarded with experience during both play and when the story bonus experience is awarded.

HERO POINTS

Acquiring: Each character begins play with 1 hero point at level 1. We also want to mention that we usually give folks half rounded down of max hero points when starting a character that is not 1st level. So an 11th level character who could earn 11 hero points at that level will get 11 divided by 2 = 5 1/2 which is rounded down to 5 hero points at start. In addition, whenever a character gains a level, they earn an additional hero point. Aside from these basic rules, awarding additional hero points is up to the DM. Hero points are rewards the DM gives to a player when they perform an action that is heroic in nature, according to their class. Each hero point awarded by the DM also grants the character bonus experience equal to 30 times their character level.

Maximum: A character can have a maximum number of hero points equal to their current level

Spending: You may spend hero points to affect certain die rolls. Once used, they are gone and more must be earned. Hero points may be spent by the player in the following ways. The APG uses of "Act Out of Turn" and "Special" are not used within The Wold.

• Bonus: If used before a roll is made, a hero point grants you a +8 luck bonus to any one d20 roll. If used after a roll is made, this bonus is reduced to +4. You can use a hero point to grant this bonus to another character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as distracting a monster, shouting words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check). Hero points spent to aid another character grant only half the listed bonus (+4 before the roll, +2 after the roll).

• Extra Action: You can spend a hero point on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn.

• Inspiration: If you feel stuck at one point in the adventure, you can spend a hero point and petition the DM for a hint about what to do next. If the DM feels that there is no information to be gained, the hero point is not spent.

• Recall: You can spend a hero point to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.

• Reroll: You may spend a hero point to reroll any one d20 roll you just made. You must take the results of the second roll, even if it is worse.

• Cheat Death: A character can spend all of their Hero Points but one to cheat death. How this plays out is up to the DM, but generally the character is left alive, with negative hit points but stable. Cheating death is the only way for a character to spend more than 1 hero point in a turn. The character can spend hero points in this way to prevent the death of a familiar, animal companion, eidolon, or special mount, but not another character or NPC.

SURGERY CLAUSE

Characters may be modified by the player via character surgery with the approval of the players DM and the Campaign DM.

In addition, if the Campaign DM determines at any time that any PC has become too powerful in any way, he reserves the right to strip a PC of anything he feels is needed. If he decided to do this, the player may always choose to retire the character rather than undergo surgery. Retired characters may return with permission, subject again to possible surgery. Remember, D&D is a game. It is not as fun for your friends or the DM to play, if a PC is too dominant, overbearing or is exhibiting behaviors that the Campaign DM believes is contrary to the precepts with which he runs the game.

The Campaign DM retains the right to inform any player that they should find somewhere else to play. This Surgery Clause may be used if the actions of any player are preventing other players from enjoying the game and having fun. The Campaign DM also retains the right to change any House Rules without vote to preserve game balance and continuance.

SPORTSMANSHIP AND ETIQUETTE

All players and the DM are expected to control their tempers and language at all times. If you cannot do this, please remove yourself from the game until you remember that we do really "like" you and it is just a game. Honesty is expected from everyone at all times. Failure to control yourself is reason for player discipline.

Wildshape

In Pathfinder, familiarity for Wildshape is determined if you can successfully make an appropriate Knowledge check vrs a DC of 10 + the monsters Challenge Rating, taking ten on the roll. The table below includes creature types only the Woldian Shapeshifter can assume. Note that this is not a houserule, but a clarification of Pathfinder rules.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE RETURN OF THE FEY KING

-- Ebryon, king of the fey, slept for many ages of the Wold. But he was awakened, defeated, and pardoned for his crimes -- on the condition of REFORM and ATONEMENT. The following house rules reflect his influence on the Wold.

A) CHARACTERS

(1) Druids and rangers gain Lesser Planar Ally as a 4th level spell. Druids and rangers can only use the spell to call a fey from the Fae Realm. Druids gain Planar Ally as a 6th level spell and Greater Planar Ally as an 8th level spell. Druids can cast these Planar Ally spells spontaneously, just as they can cast Summon Nature's Ally.

(2) The Cradled Emissary, Lost Child, and Defender of the Awakened prestige classes are now available in the Wold. The Cradled Emissary takes the place of the Thaumaturgist prestige class in the DMG.

(3) Certain Fey-oriented spells and magic items are now available in the Wold, such as Ebryon's Tears.

(4) Witches, druids and clerics may honor Immortal Powers. Some Powers are nature or fey related, including the Fae King Ebryon, and his Queen Maab. Some natural regions are Powers, such as the Culverwood. There are special rules for clerics who honor an Immortal Power.

B) CREATURES

Animals, plants, and other natural creatures are thriving in the Wold. Fey creatures are more common. There are rumors about talking animals.

C) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS

(1) Many geographic areas have alignments. All creatures in the area who share the area's alignment gain a bonus on all d20 checks.

(2) Nature is not neutral in the Wold; the Fae King's influence makes places more aligned, and even self-aware. Aligned places have ways of influencing the creatures within their domains. The more strongly a place is aligned, the greater its self-awareness, the more complex its personality. Some self-aware places have become Immortal Powers, and clerics, druids, and witches honor them.

DRAGONS ARE SPECIAL

Dragons were created by Gargul (chromatic dragons) and Alemi (metallic ones) in the first age of the Wold. There may be consquences for assuming the form of a Dragon. Form of the Dragon spells, the Draconic Bloodline for Sorcerors, and the Dragon Disciple prestige class are rare, and those using these options may face unknown special limitations or consequences.

Items made of out of dragons, or using dragon body parts as ingredients and components, also face special limitations. The Catacombs cannot buy or sell dragonhide armor at all. Dragonhide armor must be obtained and/or crafted in game, usually by killing a dragon. The Catacombs CAN enchant or upgrade existing dragonhide armor that is brought in to the magic shop. Armor made of metallic dragons is possible, but in good societies it is vanishingly rare because the murder of metalic dragons is seen as an evil act, and the use of its hide for armor is suspect. Other parts of dragons -- such as scales, blood, heart, etc. -- may have magical properties in the Wold as well. Spells such as Draconic Reservoir and Dragon's Breath can be cast, but the components for such spells, such as a dragon scale, must be obtained in-game, since they are never sold in the Catacombs.