House Rules and more

[Merc]

Setting

I've decided to just stick with the Faerun setting since most of us are familiar with it and it does have regions that somewhat fit my wants.

Specifically, the area setting will be the Cold Lands of Faerun and surrounding regions.

House Rules

Crits: No Auto-Fails/Auto-Passes, so you may still pass on a 1 or fail on a 20.

Fumbles:
If you roll a 1, make a second roll identical to the first as a fumble check.
- A pass on the fumble check causes you to fail, but suffer no other effects.
- If you fail the fumble check, you also fumble in some fashion. (Ex: You slip and become prone while attacking, or say, fart while trying to intimidate someone)
- A repeat roll of 1 causes a critical failure of some sort. (Ex: You become stunned for a round or follow tracks leading away from the direction you're looking for)

Abilities:
Charisma: Racial modifiers (positive or negative) do not apply against members of your own race, for the purpose of skills only.

Intelligence: If your Intelligence increases such that your INT modifier increases, and this is a permanent increase, you get additional skill points such that your total skill points would be the same as if you had that Intelligence score from level 1.

Magic items that increase intelligence also grant skill points, on the assumption that you don't plan on getting rid of them (except for something with a higher INT bonus, obviously) and thus counts as a 'permanent' INT increase.

Skills:
Cross-Class skills cost 1 point/rank, not 1 point/half-rank. However, your max rank in them is still half the maximum for a class skill. You basically get the Able Learner feat for free (even if not human).

Intimidate: Characters with negative racial charisma modifiers get a +2 circumstance bonus to Intimidate checks.

Also, characters with charisma scores less than 10 treat their negative charisma modifier as being positive for the purpose of intimidation. So basically, a character with a CHA score of 7 treats their -2 Charisma modifier as +2 instead.

Use Magic Device: Due to it being a headache inducing skill, unless you plan on playing a class that has this as a class skill as more than a class dip, consider it nerfed and non-existant.

Classes
Fighters: Get 'Weapon Aptitude' class feature at Lv 1 for free (See Warblade from Tome of Battle, or ask for details).

Druids: Must take the Shapeshift variant from PHB II.

Knights: If a Knight should fumble or crit fail, their weapons will not go flying in the direction of their allies' faces. It will instead fly in the direction of an enemy's face. This manuever has been drilled into all knights since "A Treatise on Proper Knightly Combat Etiquette", by Sir Gavin Telleran was long ago released.

Monks: At level 4 and every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, 16th and 20th), a monk's damage increases by one step when using monk weapons (kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, and siangham), same as his unarmed damage.

Sorcerers: Get Eschew Materials feat for free.

Warblades: They may only recover one manuever per round when refreshing manuevers. The general mechanism for recovering manuevers is otherwise alright.

ECL Races:
There will be no ECL buyback.

Character Generation

Ability Scores:
You get 75 points to spend in abilities as you wish (no stat lower than a 3, obviously) on a 1 for 1 point basis.

Sample scores - 18,17,14,10,10,6 or 17,14,14,12,10,8

Starting Level:
You get to start at Level 5, with 10,000 GP. No regional items.

BAB/Saves:
Use the "Fractional Base" house rule from Unearthed Arcana page 73 if you're in more than one class.

Hit Points:
Max HP first level, roll or take average up to level 5, and from levels 6+, roll as follows:
1d4 => 1+d3
1d6 => 2+d4
1d8 => 3+d5
1d10 => 4+d6
1d12 => 5+d7

Edit History

* Charisma racial modifiers rule is now only for skills, instead of all effects (such as spell DC, or class abilities)

* Took off the partial levelling rule. It's messy, and I had it originally because I was going to start game at level 1. Since that was bumped to level 5, it's not needed.

* Changed generation system from two rolls of 6#3/4d6 to point buy system on general player request.

* Changes to UMD, version 2.

* Changes to how HP is gained, so characters can always get at least average HP.