Assault on Castle Kringle

[Merc]

~/o You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, better take care, I'm telling you why: Kringle knows you're coming and he's ready, for yooooooooouuuuuuuu... Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho! ~/o

The Set-Up:
You've been on the naughty list for many years, and those lumps of coal are just really insulting!

When one of you card-carrying villains finally snaps and puts a hit out on the jolly/magical fat man, there's no short list of volunteers.

The game starts with various groups of some very not-nice people teleporting to the northern edge of the world, where intel shows Castle Kringle is hidden away, the groups splitting up, and this game following one particular group.

What is this?
This is a Level 10 D&D 3.5e game. I considered picking something else, but D&D is what I felt most comfortable with for this sort of thing. The game lasts until you guys succeed in your mission, the fat man squashes you like the bugs you are, or players (or I) get bored/tired. This is essentially a dungeon crawl. I'd want 3-4 players.

When is it?
Sadly, probably not an IRC game. Would love to, but not sure I'd have time with my IH game also running. Due to probably being a forum game, I don't want more than 4 players, otherwise it'd probably be slow as all hell. As it is, I doubt we'd finish by christmas time, which is kinda 'Awwww!', but it feels like a nice seasonal game to toss up and I've mentioned wanting to assault Santa's castle in the past.

***

HOUSE RULES

Ability Scores:
- Undecided. Probably pick between R5D2 or IH's 24 Point-Buy, depending on players' preference.

Hit Points:
- Max HP at level 1. On other levels, change the dX into (X-4)+d4. For example, a d12 becomes 8+d4. Roll that instead.
- Staggered: You are staggered when your HP is between -10 HP and 0 HP. If you go below -10HP, you are unconscious.
- Death: There is no actual death in this game. The fat man's minions all deal damage as non-lethal (hence no distinction will be made for taking damage except in the case of you guys deciding to deal non-lethal).
- If the party all goes unconscious though, it's game over and it's off to the re-education facility for all of you naughty, naughty people. AKA: Date with Helm of Opposite Alignment, and the helm doesn't take no for an answer~~~~

Critical Rolls:
- A roll of 20 is always a success for players. For non-player characters, a roll of 20 could still fail.
- There is no critical failure (You don't suffer anything besides a possible miss for a roll of 1).
- For players, on a threat confirmation, a roll of 20 results in max damage.

Races:
- Half-Elves gain +1 skill per level.
- Half-Orcs gain Skill Focus (Intimidate) as a bonus feat.
- Half-Orcs get +1 HP/level.
- Only LA+0 or LA+1 races allowed.

Classes:
- Classes Banned: Preparation casters (Wizard, Cleric, etc). Psionics (I know shit about them). Tome of Magic (Mostly ditto).
- Monks get full BAB progression.
- Casters get Eschew Materials feat for free.

Other Restrictions:
- I don't care about alignment except for roleplaying (see below). If you want to be an evil paladin or a lawful barbarian, go for it. If class needs adjustment for flavor (such as smite evil from paladin for evil paladin better being smite good), we'll do so.
- Similarly, I don't care about restrictions on not being able to take levels if you multiclass. Go ahead and alternate monk levels and such.
- For obvious reasons, you guys do have the alignment restriction that you must be non-good. Good people don't attack Santa!

Skills:
- Able Learner: All skills cost 1 skill point, even if it's a cross-class. The maximum rank for cross-class remains 1/2 of max for class skills, however.
- All classes gain an additional +2 skill points per level.
- Add Balance, Listen, Spot, and Tumble to Fighter's class skills.

Stunts:
- If it makes sense, you may do an appropriate skill or ability check to attempt pulling off a stunt as part of an action. If the skill check works, you gain a choice from: +1 atk, +1 AC, or +2 damage circumstance bonus. You may also choose to disrupt an opponent's attack or to inflict a -1 atk penalty on the target for one round.
- You can increase the bonus/penalty effect by 1 by taking a +5 DC penalty on your skill check. You can do this multiple times.
- You may only make one stunt per round. If the stunt fails, it doesn't affect your action. The stunt just fails, you still carry out your actions as normal. You probably feel embarrassed at worst.

[Anastasia]

This sounds kinda amusing. I'd try and run it as an IRC one or two shot, though.