House Rules and Rule Interpretations

Zhym
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Zhym
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Re: House Rules and Rule Interpretations

#2 Post by Zhym »

Basics

Game System
The game system is AD&D 1e. Unearthed Arcana will not be used, with the following exceptions:
  • Weapon specialization is allowed for fighters, paladins, and rangers
  • Double specialization is allowed for single-classed fighters only
Posting Rate
Posting rate is once per week. I will try to update on weekends. I may post sooner when the events depend on the actions of a single player or when all players are posted.

Player Absences
I will NPC characters during combat. I will attempt to play characters consistently with how they've been played, following any "standard actions" posted with the character's sheet. In critical situations, I may ask other players to declare an inactive player's actions. There is, of course, no guarantee that characters won't die while being NPC'ed.

If a player does not post for two weeks without having notified me of his or her absence, I will send a pm asking if the player still wants to play. If the absent player does not respond within a week of the pm, I will post in the recruitment thread for people interested in taking over the character. If no one is interested in taking over the character, it will probably meet with a dire fate.

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Zhym
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Re: House Rules and Rule Interpretations

#3 Post by Zhym »

Character Creation Rules

Campaign ID: 562

Ability Scores
4d6, drop the lowest, arrange as you like. Feel free to use the "Roll Stats" function on the roller and to keep rolling until you get a set you like (just don't select "Aye" until you get a set you like, so the roll log doesn't get cluttered). If your scores still don't fit the class you want to play, pm me and we'll work something out.

Single-classed humans may add 4 points to their stats, allocated however the player chooses. The max of 18 for any stat still applies. Fighters, rangers, and paladins may use 2 of these points to increase exceptional strength one bonus level (e.g., from 18/01 to 18/51, or from 18/76 to 18/91). Fighters may do this twice; rangers and paladins may only do it once.

Character Classes
Any class from the 1e PHB is allowed except assassins.

Character Races
Races from the AD&D 1e are allowed. I'm not a fan of dark <race> races. If you want a non-AD&D 1e race, let's talk, but if allowed they won't have special abilities (e.g., the drow's native spell abilities). Basically, non-PHB races will be for flavor only.

Racial Class and Level Limits
Non-humans are not limited as to class or level. However, as mentioned above, single-classed humans may add 4 points to their stats.

Starting Experience and HP
All characters start with 2,750,002 XP, but no PC may start at a level over 20. Thus, Illusionists start with 2,500,000 XP and thieves start with 2,250,000 XP.

Roll HP for all levels for which HP should be rolled (i.e., no max 1st-level HP). Note that most classes stop rolling for new HP around level 10 or 11.

Constitution Bonuses
Constitution bonuses apply per hit die,* not per level. When a character reaches name level and stops rolling HP for the new levels, constitution bonuses are not applied to those levels.

* This means that rangers and monks get their bonus twice at 1st level.

Alignment
Non-evil. Lawful and/or good highly encouraged.

Dual-Classed Humans
Dual-classed humans are allowed with the following limitations:
  • All attribute requirements apply (15 or better in principal attribute of the primary class and 17 or better in the principal attributes of the new class).
  • Dual-classed humans do not get the 4-point attribute bonus.
  • A dual-classed human can only have two classes.
  • The dual-classed human's level in his or her new profession must be only 1 greater than the character's level in his or her old profession. In other words, the levels must be as close as possible while still allowing the PC to use the skills of both classes.
  • The weapon, armor, and code-of-conduct restrictions of both classes apply.
Starting Equipment
You can start with any standard non-magical items from the PHB shopping list. This includes weapons and armor. Full plate is not available. You may have a mount or pack animal, but keep in mind that most animals are prone to bolt when scared and can't enter buildings or, in some cases, dungeons. And most of them won't willingly go to hell.

Magic Items
New characters:
  • Choose up to 25,000 XP worth of magic items.
  • One item may have a maximum bonus of +5; another may be +4. All others may be a max of +3.
  • For magic items with varying strengths (e.g., a girdle of giant strength) or special or rare properties (e.g., a ring of invisibility that also suppresses sound), I'll roll for strength or to see if they have that property (the roll will be weighted so the chances are higher than BtB).
  • I will assign additional magic items.
Proficiencies
Weapon specialization is available for fighters, rangers, and paladins. Single-classed fighters may double specialize. Characters may specialize in only one weapon (otherwise it's not a specialty).

Magic-User Spells
Spell selection works as follows:
  • All MUs start with Read Magic in addition to the other spells selected.
  • The player chooses as many spells to try to know as the PC can cast at that level. For example, a player with a 17th-level MU would choose 5 each of first through fifth-level spells, 3 sixth and seventh-level spells, and one eighth-level spell.
  • The player should rank the spells in order of preference. The top spell gets +15% on the to-know roll, the second gets +10%, and the third +5%.
  • The DM will roll to see which of those spells the PC is able to know.
  • The DM will determine additional spells that the PC knows.
Importing PCs from Other Games
Players from my Tomb of Horrors and Ravenloft games may import their PCs to this game if they wish. Imported characters will be bumped to 2,750,000 XP, will retain any loot they received in the previous game, and, if single-classed humans, 4 bonus points to apply to attributes. Tomb of Horrors characters should add 5 years to their ages. Ravenloft survivors add 25 years. Additional magic items will be determined case-by-case (or TBD).

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Zhym
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Re: House Rules and Rule Interpretations

#4 Post by Zhym »

Money, Equipment, and Movement

Money Values and Weights
100 cp = 10 sp = 1 gp = 1/10 pp
Encumbrance: Gold and platinum coins are 10/lb. Silver coins are 50/lb., and copper coins are 100/lb.

Encumbrance and Movement
A character's movement rate is the lower of (1) his racial movement rate, (2) the maximum movement rate allowed by the armor type, and the (3) movement rate determined by encumbrance. Encumbrance is determined as per OSRIC.

For example, a dwarf (9" max movement) wearing non-magical plate mail (6" max movement rate) and carrying 75 lbs of gear (very heavy load, 6" max move rate) will have a movement rate of 6". If the dwarf sheds 6 lbs of gear so that he is only carrying heavy gear (9" max move rate), his movement rate will still be 6" because of the plate mail.

Magic armor is unencumbering and allows movement at 3" greater than the rate for non-magical armor. Thus, magical scale, splint, and plate mail armors allow movement at 9", while magical chain, banded, ring, and studded leather armors allow movement at 12" max.

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Zhym
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Re: House Rules and Rule Interpretations

#5 Post by Zhym »

Weapons and Combat

Critical Hits and Misses
On a natural 20, the attack does double damage or max damage, whichever is higher.
On a natural 1, something bad happens. Usually, this will be a dropped weapon. The character can switch to another weapon without losing an attack, or the character can spend the next round picking up the weapon, losing the attack for that round.

Weapon Proficiencies for Different Weapon Subtypes
Wielding a weapon with which a character is not proficient incurs one less point of to-hit penalty if the weapon is of the same type as a weapon in which the character is proficient. Weapon types are: sword, axe, bow, crossbow, mace, lance, flail, etc. Thus, for example, a fighter proficient in the long sword but not the short sword could wield the latter at a -1 penalty to hit instead of the usual -2. A cleric proficient in the footman's mace could wield a horseman's mace at -2 instead of -3.

Fleeing vs. Retreating
I use the OSRIC rules for retreat. There are two ways a combatant can try to disengage from combat or change position: by mounting a fighting retreat, or by fleeing.
  • In a fighting retreat, a character retreats backward while maintaining his defense. The attacker can follow if not otherwise engaged. The retreating character may parry but cannot attack. This move can be used to switch places with another party member, with one character engaging while the other mounts a fighting retreat. A fighting retreat does not give the character's opponent a free attack.
  • Fleeing from combat means turning and running away at top speed. If a character who is in melee flees, his opponent gets a free attack at +4 to hit (in addition to any other bonuses, of course).
Uneven Attack Rates
All combat rounds will be numbered. If a character has an uneven attack rate (e.g., 3/2, 5/2), the extra attacks will always come in even-numbered rounds.

Saving Throws
Magic armor bonuses apply to saves vs. physical damage from acid (except immersion), disintegration, falling, fire, and some spells (except metallic armor vs. electrical damage), and whenever the DM deems it appropriate. Dodge bonuses apply to certain saving throws where the ability to dodge would help (e.g., fireballs, lightning bolts, etc.), as determined by the DM.

Item saving throws are only needed when the character carrying those items failed his or her saving throw.

A roll of 1 is always failure regardless of bonuses.

Combat Movement
A character can move up to half his or her movement rate in a round and still attack. But if the character has to move more than 10', he or she will (1) attack last in the round and (2) get only one attack (i.e., high level fighters attack once; high level monks get one fist punch; bowmen get one shot, etc.).

That's in addition to the option of charging once every 10 rounds.

Missile Attacks into Melee
This is handled by the book. A missile attack into melee will apply to a random combatant, with probabilities determined by the number and size of combatants. For each missile attack into melee, I will (1) determine the probability of hitting each combatant, (2) roll to determine the target of the attack, then (3) determine whether the attack roll hits (with any modifiers that apply).

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Re: House Rules and Rule Interpretations

#6 Post by Zhym »

Magic

Spell Books and Components
I'll assume that all a magic user's spells fit in one spell book that weighs 10 lbs.

Casters do not need to track standard material components except for those required to be of minimum worth. Components for these spells must be limited to 5,000 g.p. total value at the start of the game and tracked. For example, Identify requires a pearl of at least 100 g.p. value; a mage wishing to cast this spell must include these pearls in his or her inventory.

Verbal components must be spoken aloud, clearly and with purpose. The arcane forces do not easily manifest for whispers and mumbles. If a caster wishes to quietly invoke a spell with a verbal component by speaking softly or whispering, he must make a successful check on a d20 vs. intelligence for magic-user spells and vs. wisdom for cleric spells, or the spell will fail.

A silent version of a spell—i.e., one with no verbal component—may be memorized as a spell one level higher than the spell's usual level. For example, a magic user could use a 2nd level spell slot to memorize Silent Magic Missile, which would require only a somatic component. Mouthing the normal verbal component becomes part of the movements needed to cast the spell.

Identifying Scrolls
The contents of a scroll are not necessarily evident to anyone who did not inscribe it. The following rules apply:
  • An arcane caster will recognize any spell that he or she already knows but will need to use read magic or some other form of identification (e.g., an identify spell) to reveal spells with which the caster is not already familiar.
  • Clerics and druids immediately recognize the spells on cleric spell scrolls and druid spell scrolls, respectively.
  • Protection scrolls can only be identified by read magic, an identify spell, or the like. The protection scroll can be used by anyone, but until the scroll has been identified the nature of its protection will be unknown.
Disbelieving Illusions
If you want to attempt to disbelieve something as an illusion, you have to commit to it. That means:
  1. The only action you can take that round (in combat) or turn (out of combat) is attempt to disbelieve, or
  2. You need to take some action to prove your (dis)belief.
Method (2) will have a much greater chance of success than method (1).

For method (2), I'm thinking of things like Indiana Jones stepping off of the lion's head or Spock, Kirk, and McCoy letting the Earps shoot them down. The way you prove something is an illusion is by testing that illusion. If you don't think it's real, act as if it isn't real. Walk through the wall of fire. Let the dragon attack. Step off the cliff. Then face the consequences if you're wrong.

Some illusions may give clues to their illusionary nature. Depending on the circumstances, I may make secret rolls to determine whether characters notice these clues.

Range
The spell range listed in the PHB is the range to the center of the spell's area of effect.

Spell Misfire Table (Roll 1d100)
  • 100: Spell succeeds. Major beneficial effect (permanent duration, max damage, etc.)
    96-99: Spell succeeds. Minor beneficial effect (increased duration, bonus to damage, etc.)
    56-95: Spell fizzles and is lost. No other effects.
    36-55: Random release of magical energy (roll for Wand of Wonder effect)
    21-35: Minor harmful effect (damage or duration halved; spell reversed if reversible; etc.)
    11-20: Major harmful effect (minimum damage, instantaneous duration, spell reversed with increased effect; etc.)
    4-10: Moderate backfire: 1d6 damage per spell level to all in 20' radius; 2d6/spell level to caster
    2-3: OOPS. Spell goes off but not as planned, in a pretty big way (detonates at point-blank range, affects random target, etc.)
    1: KABOOM. Spell energy releases explosive damage of 1d6 per caster level to all in 50' radius (save for half damage).

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Zhym
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Re: House Rules and Rule Interpretations

#7 Post by Zhym »

Spell Notes

Color Spray
This spell affects up to six creatures of the caster's level or below, with a limit of one HD per caster level; or, if no such creatures are in the spell's area of effect, a single creature with more HD than the caster's level. Thus, a 6th-level caster could affect six 1-HD orcs, three 2-HD troglodytes, or one 6-HD winter wolf. He could also affect a single frost giant, which would get a save. If the frost giant is surrounded by orcs, the spell would affect the orcs instead of the giant.

Detect Evil
Most sentient creatures will be seriously offended if they notice that this spell has been cast on them without their consent. The spell has somatic and verbal components and takes 1 round to cast; anyone around the caster will therefore notice that a spell is being cast, although they may not know the nature of the spell. NB: The paladin's ability to detect evil is an ability, not a spell, and thus not as easily recognized as is the spell; observers would still notice the paladin concentrating, however. A paladin should consider the implications of surreptitiously taking an action that good people would find offensive if they knew about it.

Furthermore, the note as to "Detection of Evil and/or Good" on p. 60 of the DMG will be followed. In general, Detect Evil or Detect Good will only reveal alignment traits of a character in which the evil or good is strong.

Find the Path
This spell reveals the shortest physical path, not necessarily the safest or best path. The target of the spell must be a location, not an object or a person. Per the DMG, "The location must be known or identified in itself, not for what it might house." Thus, the spell cannot be used to find locations such as "the lair of Tiamat," "Tiamat's current position," or "Tiamat's treasure hoard."

The caster gains knowledge of actions only as needed to follow the shortest physical path—the book in a library that must be pulled to open a bookcase to a secret passage, which of three levers to pull, the secret word to open a magic gate, etc. It will not suggest courses of action such as "cast Teleport," or "seek the White Wizard and ask for the Marauder's Map."

Gate
The target of a Gate spell does not have to be on a different plane than the one the caster is currently on. The target must be a "being of great power" such as a demon, devil, god, demi-god, or being of similar power. NPCs, even those of extremely high level, are not sufficiently powerful and cannot be Gated. A successful Gate spell requires the target's true name, which not the same as a person's birth name, and is typically very difficult to discover.

Glyph of Warding
A glyph may have any of several effects depending on the level of the spell caster. Any caster capable of casting the Glyph can make it do fire, electrical, or cold damage for 2 points per level of the caster. Other effects are available if the caster is of high enough level to cast a spell with that effect. Thus, 5th-level casters could, for example, create glyphs that briefly paralyze or blind the target (as a hold person or blindness spell). A cleric of 16th level can create a glyph that drains levels, but good aligned clerics are prohibited from doing so.

No more than one glyph may be inscribed on the same surface (door, 10x10 section of wall, floor, or ceiling, etc.).

Players are responsible for remembering the names of glyphs and for using them to avoid setting off the glyphs. The DM will keep track of those passwords and the glyph locations but not mark them on maps. It is up to the players to remember the location of glyphs and to use the passwords before doing anything that might trigger one.

The Interaction of Light and Darkness Spells
There's a difference between "negation" of a light spell and temporary cancellation of the spell's effect. For a spell to be truly negated, the opposing spell must be cast on the same location or object as the original spell. If multiple light and darkness spells merely overlap, they temporarily cancel each other out, leaving only whatever ambient and natural light is in the area.

Example: Mac the Magnificent casts Continual Light on the end of a stick to make a "wand" of light. If Dirk the Dire casts Continual Darkness on the end of that stick, it negates the Continual Light spell and Mac the Magnificant's "wand of light" is once again just a stick. But if Dirk casts Darkness on Mac's hand instead of the wand, the wand's light is extinguished for as long as it remains within 40' of Mac's hand or until the Darkness spell expires or is dispelled. The darkness is likewise suppressed by the light from Mac's wand. What's left is whatever light is in the area. If Mac and Dirk are outside in sunlight, Mac can see. If Mac and Dirk are deep in a dungeon with no other light sources, it is dark. And if Mac's friend Minnie has a torch, her torchlight illuminates the area covered by the two competing spells.

The following table shows which spells negate the others:

Code: Select all

Spell                    Countered By
-----                    ------------
Light                    Darkness, Darkness 15', or Continual Darkness
Darkness                 Light or Continual Light
Continual Light          Continual Darkness
Continual Darkness       Continual Light
Darkness, 15' Radius     Light or Continual Light
Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound
The duration of this spell is 1 hour + 0.5 hours per caster level until the hound is activated, at which point it will last 2 rounds/level.

Raise Dead
A character raised from the dead does not need a day of best rest for each day spent dead. The character returns at 1 HP, regardless of the cause of death or HP at the time of death, but is fully capable of acting.

Wish
The factors that affect how a wish will be granted include:
  • How selfish is the wish? Is it motivated by a desire to harm, or to help?
  • How ambitious or grandiose is the wish? How much would reality have to change to grant the wish?
  • Does the wish duplicate or improve on an existing spell?
  • Is the grantor of the wish friendly, neutral, or malevolent?
The less ambitious and less selfish the wish, the more likely it is to be granted in the spirit in which it was made. Wish for a turkey sandwich and you'll get a really good turkey sandwich. Wish for everyone in the party to be restored to full health, that'll go off without a hitch. Try to wish for everything and the kitchen sink and you're likely to end up wishing you'd wished for a turkey sandwich.

Wishes in my campaign will often follow the path of least change. Thus, the classic "I wish everyone else were dead" wish is likely to send the wisher far into the future (and out of the campaign) because sending one person into the future is less of a change from the world's perspective than killing everyone in the world. It's also motivated by a desire to harm, of course.

Wishes that duplicate or improve on an existing spell will usually work as planned.

There are some things even a wish can't do (for example: disarm most Gygaxian traps). There is no set rule on what wishes can't do, but assume there's a certain amount of plot armor. Wishes to go straight to the adventure objective won't work because there'd be no adventure. Such wishes usually fall into the category of "overly grandiose," too.

Finally, conjunctions may require multiple wishes. "I wish for a million gold pieces and eternal life and a hot girlfriend who's into the weird stuff" is three wishes, not one. The method of wish granting will determine what happens to wishes like these. A ring or similar device might grant only the first clause or might not grant anything at all. Something with its own agency, like a djinn or efreet, might choose which part of the wish to grant or might count such a wish as multiple wishes. Combine multiple goals into a single wish at your own peril.

To sum up: the simpler and less selfish the wish, the more likely it is to work.

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Re: House Rules and Rule Interpretations

#8 Post by Zhym »

Evil, the Undead, Etc.

The Paladin's Protection from Evil Aura
The paladin's protection from evil 10' aura keeps all conjured, summoned, or extraplanar creatures at bay. This "hedging effect" is subject to the following limitations:
  • If the paladin attacks a creature that would otherwise be held at bay by the aura, the hedging effect drops for everyone.
  • If a character other than the paladin attacks a creature that would be held at bay by the aura, the effect drops for that character only.
  • The hedging effect only works when opponents have somewhere else to go. If the paladin moves so that a monster would be trapped between the protection aura and some obstacle, the hedging effect drops for that monster.
Turning Undead
  • A cleric may make only one turn attempt per encounter unless multiple types of undead are encountered, in which case the cleric may make one attempt per undead type as long as each attempt is successful. An unsuccessful turn attempt prevents any more turning attempts for that encounter.
  • Turning is the cleric's only action for that round, but the cleric can take other actions in subsequent rounds (i.e., the cleric doesn't need to "hold" the turn to keep it effective).
  • When an undead monster that has been turned is attacked, that monster may defend itself by striking back at its attacker(s). It may continue to do so until its attackers clearly disengage from attacking it.
  • Because turned undead will be fleeing unless cornered, attacks against turned undead will usually receive the usual bonus for attacking from behind.
  • When the duration of the turning expires, the undead are free to return, but their return is not guaranteed. Whether they return will depend on the intelligence of the monsters and whether they were encountered in their lairs.
  • When undead that have been turned come back, the cleric who successfully turned them may try to do so again. This can be repeated as long as turning attempts are successful. Each turn attempt requires a new roll for the number of undead affected.
Level Drain Effect on Current HP
When a character is level drained by a combat hit, the damage from the hit is applied before the reduction in maximum HP from the level drain. Reduction in maximum HP only lowers current HP if the new current HP would be more than the max.

Example: Ferd the 5th-level fighter has 29/30 HP when he's hit by a wraith for 6 damage, draining a level. The 4th-level Ferd's new HP is 23/24. He takes the 6 points damage (reducing him to 23 current HP), then his max HP are reduced (to 24). Because his current HP are still under his max HP, his current hit points are not further reduced by the level drain.

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