House Rules

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AleBelly
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House Rules

#1 Post by AleBelly »

Table of Contents
Alignment
Character Classes
Character Generation
Money
Equipment/Armor
Spells
Movement
Gaining Levels and Miscellany
Combat
Exploring the Wilderness
Multiclassing
Weapons
Mounted Travel and Maintenance
Starvation
Injury Status
Surprise


Game rules: OSRIC

Campaign ID: 230

Note: These notes are pretty brief, and not meant to cover every possible situation. I will likely add to this as the campaign rolls along.

Character generation: Use the dice roller to roll stats [4d6c1]. At this point, you can either 1) rearrange as you like or 2) play the attribute scores as they were rolled. If you do this, you are rewarded with an additional 2 ability points that you can distribute as you like (as long as it doesn't take the natural over 18). OSRIC ability minimums apply to the character classes.
Last edited by AleBelly on Thu Nov 24, 2016 1:58 am, edited 9 times in total.

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Re: House Rules

#2 Post by AleBelly »

Alignment

I’m not going to be an alignment stickler. I’m more interested in characters acting in a consistent manner and according to their backstory (although paladins will be held to their code).

No alignment languages.

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Re: House Rules

#3 Post by AleBelly »

Character Classes

All classes allowed, with the addition of the monk from the 1e PHB. This character must be human, and must have minimum ability scores of STR 15, INT 6, WIS 15, DEX 15, CON 11, CHR 6. If you need more information on this character let me know and I’ll send the specs.

I will allow neutral assassins.

Weapon specialization (no double specialization) for fighters only, not paladins or rangers.

Magic-users and illusionists select start with Read Magic. Players should choose two additional ones for their spellbooks, and I’ll assign another. For each spell the player chooses, they'll need to include a roll for the % chance of learning that spell. If they fail, they can select others to learn until they reach two spells. (p.15,16)

Clerics need their holy symbol to cast spells and turn undead

When demi-humans reach their class level limits, they can advance further, but they only earn 50% of the normal XP.

Thieves’ climb checks are good for each 100’. If the climb fails, roll d100; this is the number of feet the thief reaches before falling. If a thief is attempting to climb a 30’ wall, fails her throw then rolls a 33 on the d100, the climb will be considered successful. Thieves climb at 30' vertically per turn.
Last edited by AleBelly on Tue Dec 30, 2014 6:35 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Re: House Rules

#4 Post by AleBelly »

Character generation

It was pointed out to me that players can game the character generation system by rerolling using the "roll stats" option as often as they like until they get a stat set they want...then they click the "aye" button. This is obviously against the spirit of the game, so from this point forward I'm going to insist that ability scores be generated using 6 [4d6c1] rolls linked to the dice roller. You can just copy and paste the following two macros for the dice roller:

STR [4d6c1], INT [4d6c1], WIS [4d6c1]
DEX [4d6c1], CON [4d6c1], CHR [4d6c1]

Under no circumstances will stat rolls using any other form of ability score generation be accepted.

After you have your scores, you can either 1) rearrange as you like or 2) play the attribute scores as they were rolled. If you do this, you are rewarded with an additional 2 ability points that you can distribute as you like (as long as it adheres to race/class limits and minima).

Your character's first hit die roll is automatically for maximum points, then add/subtract constitution modifier

Strength rolls

If you want to play a fighter/paladin/ranger with 18 STR, you must include STR percentile in your 1d100 roll macro. You make this roll after determining that your character will have 18 STR. In other words, you can't roll percentile strength then decide if your character has 18 STR.
Last edited by AleBelly on Mon Jul 24, 2017 1:08 am, edited 6 times in total.

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Re: House Rules

#5 Post by AleBelly »

Money

Coins are 50 per pound, not 10. (p.27) Based on the density of metal gold and platinum pieces are dime-sized and the others are approximately nickel-sized.

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Re: House Rules

#6 Post by AleBelly »

Equipment/armor

Backpacks weigh 5 pounds, not 10 (p.28)

No padded armor (p.30)

Max movement is irrelevant. Magic armor is like other armor, but is approximately 10% lighter per bonus than unenchanted armor of the same type (p.30).

Thieves may use studded leather armor; druids may not due to the metal content (p. 30).

Please use roll-generated tables for height and weight (p.31-32).

First aid kits that include salves and bandages can be purchased at a base rate of 5 gp with a 0.1 lb encumbrance. Kits must be used within one hour after combat, are only effective on a single fresh wound and restore 1d4 hp of damage. Only one kit can be used on a character after each battle and use is limited to once per day. Any player can administer these. It requires a full round to administer the aid - which will often mean this bleeds into the next round.

Lamp oil isn't flammable enough to be used as a weapon. Greek fire, weaponized oil, can be purchased for 12 gp per flask. Details of this are given in the weapons house rule section.

Rations prices are as given in the 1e rulebook: 3gp/week for standard rations and 5gp/week for iron.
Last edited by AleBelly on Mon Jan 22, 2018 5:23 am, edited 9 times in total.

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Re: House Rules

#7 Post by AleBelly »

Spells

Characters are assumed to have unlimited supply of common spell components. If lost, we’ll work to figure out how to replace them (p.35)

Note the limited area of effect for sleep spells (p.99)

I have not reviewed all spells yet. As characters advance in levels, I will review those spells.

Copying spells from spellbook/scroll or learning a spell from a guild – takes one day per spell, then roll for success. If a character gains a level, they will automatically gain the first spell they can successfully learn via training (but they will still have to pay guild charges if applicable).

Spell Notes

Druid
Entangle
This is a reversible spell, but it takes a round's action to do so.

Call Lightning
The druid need not concentrate on the spell after the 1 turn casting is complete. However, the AOE is fixed at the druid's initial point of casting.
Last edited by AleBelly on Sat Oct 15, 2016 9:08 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: House Rules

#8 Post by AleBelly »

Movement

Reverting back to OSRIC rules. One exception is that magic armor is still encumbering, but for each bonus it will weigh 10-30% less than non-magical armor. It will also enable maximum movement one category faster than non-magical armor. For instance, PC wearing plate mail can move at a maximum of 60' per round, but those wearing magical plate can move at 90'.

For wilderness travel, use the following conversions for movement per hour:

120' - 2.4 mph
90' - 1.8 mph
60' - 1.2 mph

These will scale (for instance, a monk moving alone travelling at 180' per round would move 3.6 mph)

Modifiers: +50% on roads; -25% for forest, hills; -50% for mountains, jungle, swamp…may be modified due to other factors
Last edited by AleBelly on Sun Mar 06, 2016 12:56 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: House Rules

#9 Post by AleBelly »

Gaining Levels and Miscellany

Gaining Levels
Characters will be required to perform training, for 1 week per level. This does not all have to be done at once and can be done before the requisite xp are earned. However, PCs must have both acquired the necessary xp and completed training before the next level is gained. This will be used as a way to allow players to “catch up” with each other if on different ventures. Training will generally cost 200 gp x (level desired - 1). The character will know where to go for this. (p118)

Hit points for multi-classed characters

I will keep track of fractional hit points; half points will be rounded up. For example, Clyde the cleric/thief gains enough experience to gain 2nd level as thief. He rolls a 5 on his hit die, which is halved to 2.5. Adding this to his initial level he has 9.5 points, which will be rounded up to 10. However, when he gains enough experience to level as a druid he rolls a 3, which halves to 1.5. This gives him 9.5+1.5 = 11 hit points, not 10+1.5=11.5 rounded to 12.

Light and Vision
Magical weapons do not produce their own light (p.119)

Falling
1d6 damage for each 10’ of fall suffered (p.119)
Last edited by AleBelly on Tue Dec 29, 2015 4:57 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: House Rules

#10 Post by AleBelly »

Combat

Individual Initiative
I am a firm believer in individual initiative. Especially at low levels, a party can be wiped out if the enemy gets the jump on them. It also adds to the “fog of war” feel. For combat, all characters should declare actions for the round before actions begin, and feel free to roll your own initiative. For dice-rolling purposes, I will roll 1d6 initiative for players first in alphabetical order of name then the ‘enemies’. Higher numbers are better (a roll of 6 would allow that character to act in segment one). You may post conditional actions, such as “I cast my sleep spell, but will hold it if I see only 2 goblins remaining.” You may also hold initiative till the end of the round. (p.120)

Individual initiative will use the same modifier as the surprise modifier. However, no roll can exceed 6. If a player has a +2 initiative bonus and rolls a 5 for that round, combat will take place as if they rolled a 6, not a 7.

Switching weapons, attaching your shield and wielding two-handed weapons take one segment each

Combat movement
A character moves at 1/5th their total movement per segment (a character that moves 60’ per round moves 12’ per segment up to a total of 60’) (p.121)

Unused rolls
Rolls not used in a specific round will NOT be carried over to the next. Fresh re-rolls are required for each round except under unusual circumstances.

Spellcasting

If a spellcaster is interrupted in mid-spell, they lose that spell for the day. If they are hit before beginning casting in any given round, they lose the ability to cast but they do not lose that spell for the day.

Firing into melee
Note that these rules were completely revamped in April 2015.
When hurling or firing missiles into melee, I will consider all melee combatants proportional to their size. For instance, if three humans were fighting three human-sized orcs, I'd roll a six sider with the archer having an equal chance of hitting all combatants. For an extreme example, let's a assume a 9' 400 lb ogre was fighting a 3' 80 lb gnome. The ogre is 3x taller and 5x "wider," so I would "roll" a 16-sided die and if it was 1-15, the ogre would be targeted and a 16 would target the gnome. Then, the normal hit roll would apply. A critical hit will always critically hit the intended target, and a fumble will always critically hit an ally, no matter what the percentile dice say.

Critical hits/misses
I will use the critical hit table from this post (originally taken from a 1980 issue of Dragon magazine): http://www.epicwords.com/attachments/9232. I do have some modifiers, but will post those later if there’s interest. The most important thing from this is that I’d appreciate you including a d100 roll in all to-hit rolls. I’ll roll for you if you don’t.

Damage, death, healing
Characters are unconscious at 0 hp, but don’t lose hit points. Once a character drops below 0, they lose 1 hp a round until death (-5 hp), unless tended to by an ally. If restored to positive hp by magical means, the character is up and moving after one round. If done by bandages, rest, the player needs an additional eight hours sleep to begin adventuring again. In either case, a character must make a system shock roll or require a complete week of immobile rest before getting back on his/her feet. The PC will also have a lasting minor impairment or scar.(p.124)

Enemies are unconscious at 0, and die at -1.

Natural healing occurs at 1d3 rate per day. (p.124)

After raise dead, a player must rest for a week (p.124)

Energy drain

If an energy drain occurs, the character is reduced to the lower level needing the same % of xp required to achieve the next level

Paralysis
Contact-induced paralysis takes effect at the end of a combat round unless otherwise specified. Magical paralysis is instantaneous. In other words, if a ghoul paralyzes a character, the character can still use her attack that round before paralysis sets in.

Donning armor
It takes 1 round to don leather and studded leather armor, and 4 rounds to don metal armor, except plate, which takes 6 rounds. These times are halved if they have help the entire time. Removing armor takes one round, but the player is open to attack at a +4 bonus with no DEX bonus to AC. Otherwise, it will take as long to remove armor as it does to put it on.

Multiple attack routines
For players with fractional attack capabilities, I will keep track. For instance, a player with a 3/2 attacks per round starts with two attacks. If there's a five round battle, their last attack would be 2 attack routines, so their first attack in the next battle would be 1 attack routine.

Movement coupled with other actions
Spellcasters may move half their normal distance during a round and still cast a spell. Keep in mind this can cause the spell to spill over into the next round. That will also use up the spellcaster's move for the next round.

Those wishing to fire missiles may also move at half normal distance in a round and fire a missile. This will limit the PC to one shot in a round, regardless of how many they are normally allowed.

In both cases, the movement must take place either entirely before or after missile fire/spell.

Fighting blind
As stated in the rules, blind PCs (and their foes) incur a -4 penalty on "to hit" rolls when blind if vision is their primary sense used in combat. Blind combatants also incur a +4 AC penalty only if he/she can be seen by his/her opponent. Regardless, blinded combatants do not benefit from their usual DEX bonuses.

Grappling

1. Determination of First Attack Initiative: Surprise, charging to attack, higher dexterity, higher die roll - in that order.

2. Multiply attacker’s armor class by 10, ignoring magical devices (bracers, cloaks, rings, etc.), but adding 1 for each + magical armor, to find a percentage chance from 100% to 0%. Note: The attacker cannot grapple if either or both hands are holding anything. The base chance to grapple is modified as follows:

Attacker’s dexterity, per point 1%
Defender’s armor protection is-
leather or padded +10%
chain, ring, scale +20%
banded, plate, splint +30%
Opponent slowed or stunned +20%
Opponent base movement 30' faster -10% per 30'
Opponent hasted -20%

3. If the grapple is a success, roll another d100. This is for the result. It is modified as follows:

+1 for each attacker's DEX point
+1 per STR point, + additional 1 for each 10% of 18+ strength
+/- 5% for 10% weight difference (opponents are 80 lb)
+/- 5% for 10% height difference (opponents are 4' tall)
there are adjustments for slowed, stunned, helpless opponents too
-2% for each opponent DEX point over 14
-1% for each opponent STR score over 12
-1% per 10% at STR 18
-10% opponent wearing banded/plate mail
-10% if helmed (metal armor)
-10% if opponent using shield

Damage is as follows (25% actual damage, 75% incidental damage that is recovered at 1 hp per round). 0 is unconscious. The opponent can have its throat slit or be strangled by rope during this time.

d100 result

<21 Waist clinch, opponent may attack no damage
21-40 Arm lock1 hp damage plus STR bonus
41-55 Hand/finger lock/bite 2 hp damage plus STR bonus
56-70 Bear hug 3 hp damage plus STR bonus
71-85 Headlock 5 hp damage plus STR bonus
86-95 Strangle hold 6 hp damage plus STR
>96 Gouge [8 hp damage plus STR
Last edited by AleBelly on Mon Aug 15, 2016 3:24 pm, edited 11 times in total.

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Re: House Rules

#11 Post by AleBelly »

Exploring the Wilderness

I will use actual weather data from a geographical location similar to Alleborg’s. Weather may affect speed of travel, visibility and even the accuracy of missile fire if it’s windy. (p.143)

I’ll do one random encounter check per day and per night (roughly a 30% chance, modified for certain factors). If there is an encounter, I’ll roll with similar chance for a second. The point is, multiple encounters are rare but possible. In rare circumstances, the party may even encounter two groups at once…maybe they’re even fighting! (p.143)

The Perimeter around Alleborg is well patrolled, but threats do pass through their defenses from time to time. It is possible to encounter hostiles within the Alleborg hex, but the chances are less than 1 in 6.

Characters won’t get a good night’s rest sleep in any metal armor (including studded leather), and wearing metal armor garners a -2 penalty on to-hit roll and a +2 AC penalty the next day. These effects will be cumulative over consecutive days.
Last edited by AleBelly on Sat Mar 21, 2015 5:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: House Rules

#12 Post by AleBelly »

Multiclassing

There are some ambiguities around multi-classing. Multi-classing has its advantages and a couple disadvantages.

To hit rolls

The more favorable to-hit roll will be used.

Saving throws

The more favorable of the saving throws will be used. Gains in saving throws will not be granted once characters reach their class limits as proscribed in OSRIC until the level gain exceeds the race-specific bonuses.

Training

To offset the above advantages, multi-classed characters must train for each level gained in each class, just as single-classed characters must.

Weapon proficiencies/specializations

I will allow specialization for multiclassed fighters. However, proficiencies don't stack. Much as saving throws work, you pick the more/most favorable number of proficiencies and use that number.

Dual classing

The only requirement for dual classing is that the player meet the ability score requirement for the new class. The need for a 17 in the prime requisite is waived.
Last edited by AleBelly on Thu Dec 17, 2015 6:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: House Rules

#13 Post by AleBelly »

Weapons

Battle axes are one-handed weapons, except for gnomes and halflings who need two hands to wield them.

Greek fire is a viscous, highly flammable oil. It is typically stored in clay jars and glass flasks. This material is difficult to produce, and costs 12 gp per flask (about a pint). It requires a spark to ignite, burns for two rounds and is nearly impossible to extinguish. When employed as a Molotov cocktail, a successful missile attack is needed (-2 penalty at 15' increments), at which point the target takes 2 rounds of 1d8 points of damage. It can also be deployed by spreading on a surface (roughly 5' in diameter) and be ignited remotely using a successful missile throw from a torch or other spark. There is a danger to carrying this material - any fire based attack is likely to ignite Greek fire and cause damage to the person carrying it!
Last edited by AleBelly on Thu May 28, 2015 2:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: House Rules

#14 Post by AleBelly »

Mounted travel and maintenance

Horses will use the same movement chart as adventurers, with some multipliers:

Pony - same as human with 18/76-90 strength.
Palfrey (riding horse) - same as human with 18/76-90 strength, movement doubled.
Medium horse (rouncey) - same as human with 18/91-99 strength, movement x1.5
Heavy horse (nag/pack) - same as human with 18/91-99 strength x 1.2, movement x1.25
Cart horse - same as human with 19 strength
Mule - human with 19 strength x 1.2

Small saddlebags - 3 gp each, 30 lb capacity, weigh 5 lb
Large saddlebags - 4 gp each, 50 lb capacity, weigh 8 lb

As mentioned elsewhere, stabling costs 1 gp per day. Feed costs 1 sp per day and weighs 3 lb.
Last edited by AleBelly on Mon May 25, 2015 2:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: House Rules

#15 Post by AleBelly »

Starvation

One day without food will have no effect if the character makes a 3d6 CON check. For each subsequent day of starvation, and every day thereafter, one point from each ability score will be deducted. Scores can drop as low as 2. Once all scores are at 2, the PC can't move or really communicate, and will starve to death in two weeks.

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Re: House Rules

#16 Post by AleBelly »

Injury Status

Injury status will be given at the bottom of most posts. Here's what the terms mean:

Slightly wounded: at least 90% of HP remain
Lightly wounded: 66-90% HP remain
Moderately wounded: 33-66% HP remain
Heavily wounded: 10-33% HP remain
Critically wounded: 10% or less hp remain

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Re: House Rules

#17 Post by AleBelly »

Surprise

As per rules, normal surprise takes place with 1 or 2 on a d6. Situations may cause me to change these numbers. But given this base case, I will apply bonuses to elves, halflings, rangers, etc as follows:

If a party surprises on a 1 or 2, a +1 bonus to surprise will be added (so most in the party get 1 or 2 surprise segments, with the bonus segments added on). If a 3 is rolled, the ranger has 1 surprise segment while the others don't. And so forth.

For being surprised, a ranger is surprised for 1 segment on a roll of 2, and 0 segments on a roll of 1. Other bonuses are added accordingly.

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