House Rules

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Spell Components
Barring an unforeseen incident (e.g. damaged, lost), all spell casters are assumed to have an unlimited supply of any common or inexpensive material spell components. In the event new components are ever needed, we will resolve on a case-by-case basis.

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Skill Checks
The DM makes all rolls to determine the result of the following attempts:

Find/Remove Traps
Move Silently
Hide in Shadows

Chapter 3: Player Character Classes > Class Descriptions > Rogue > Thief > Skill Explanations

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Initiative
The DM will make all initiative rolls in this game, and only after all player actions have already been declared.

There will be two methods of determining initiative in this game:
1. Group (with Individual modifiers)
2. Individual (with Individual modifiers)

Initiative Modifiers
While there are other modifiers that will be in play, the two primary modifiers that players need to be aware of are the following:
1. Attacking With Weapon = Weapon Speed
2. Casting a Spell = Casting Time

If attempting any situation not listed above, the DM will advise the player what their initiative modifier will be for that action.

Chapter 9: Combat > Initiative
Chapter 9: Combat > Initiative > Standard Initiative Procedure
Chapter 9: Combat > Initiative > Group Initiative (Optional Rule)
Chapter 9: Combat > Initiative > Individual Initiative
Chapter 9: Combat > Initiative > Spellcasting and Initiative
Chapter 9: Combat > Initiative > Weapon Speed and Initiative (Optional Rule)

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Weapon Type vs. Armor Modifiers
While I like this rule in theory, these modifiers will not be used in this game.

Chapter 9: Combat > Weapon Type vs. Armor Modifiers > Weapon Type vs. Armor Modifiers

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Expended Missiles
Any projectile that has been fired is considered broken or lost and cannot be recovered.

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Natural 20's (and 1's)
Note that critical hits and misses apply to both player characters and monsters alike.

Critical Hit
On a roll of a natural 20, the attacking character will:

(1) Receive 20 unmodified experience points
(2) Roll a second damage die (not double damage).

For instance, hitting critically with a long sword will result in 2-16 points of damage ([1d8]+[1d8]).


Critical Miss
This only applies in melee combat; a natural 1 on a ranged attack is just a bad miss.

A roll of a natural 1 will allow the target of the missed attack a single free counter-attack, typically with their primary weapon. In all cases, logic will dictate the situation. This free attack is in addition to any attacks the counter attacker may have (or have had) that round.

For example, a single orc is actively engaged in melee with two PCs. If PC #1 is attacking the orc and rolls a natural 1, the orc will get a single free attack against PC #1. If PC #2 rolls a natural 1 when attempting to hit the orc, the orc will get a free attack against PC #2. If the orc rolls a natural 1, whichever PC the orc was targeting with the missed attack will get a single free attack against the orc (not both PCs).

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Finesse Weapons
A character using a 'finesse' weapon is able to substitute the 'Missile Attack Adjustment' from their dexterity ability score in place of their normal 'Hit Probability' modifier from their strength ability score (the 'Damage Adjustment' from their 'Strength' ability score is still used for any damage rolls).

Weapons Which Qualify as Finesse
Any melee weapon with a speed factor of 4 or less.
Axe, Hand
Club
Dagger
Knife
Mace, Light
Quarterstaff
Sickle
Short sword
Warhammer

Class Restrictions
None. Any class may take advantage of this 'finesse' skill.

Armor Restrictions
Only character's wearing armor weighing 30 pounds or less may gain benefits from weapon finesse skills:
Unarmored
Hide
Leather
Padded
Ring
Studded Leather

Shield Restrictions
Weapon finesses skills may not be used in conjunction with a medium or large shield; small, bucker or no shield only.

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Opponent Size
The damage differences depending upon the size of the opponent will not be used in this game; the 'S-M' damage values listed for each weapon will be used against all creatures.

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Torch as a Weapon
A torch used as a weapon will do 1d3 damage, or 1d3+1 if lit. A lit torch used as a weapon that misses by more than 5 will become extinguished.

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While we're playing a fantasy game, I do attempt to adjudicate based on logic/reason and realism, while also keeping the mechanics of the game in mind.

Unless in an extremely unique situation which will be spelled out beforehand (or at the same time), an invisible creature (including a PC) will reveal themselves if they attack.

Notes:

1. This includes spells such as 'invisibility to animals' or 'invisibility to undead'. See here for details:
   Will Sylvan's Invisibility to Animals spell render him invisible to the turtles even if he attacks the kobolds?

   Say you stumble upon a mixed group of opponents: 3 kobolds and 2 orcs. If you turn yourself invisible, you become invisible to everyone (fellow party members, the kobolds, and the orcs). If you attack, which breaks your invisibility, you become visible to everyone, not just to the creature you attacked.
   
   So, in this instance, while it's an interesting situation, I think I'm going to stick with the same logic: Once you attack, it effectively ends your invisibility and you become visible to anyone, including the turtle.
   
   From here: viewtopic.php?p=229887#p229887
2. A creature (e.g. imp) with the at-will ability to render itself invisible will still become if it attacks. It, naturally, will be able to turn itself invisible again, but not until its next action. For example, an invisible imp that attacks will become visible from the time it attacks until the next time it is able to make its next action (e.g. from its slot in the initiative order in the attacking round until its slot in the initiative order in the following round). Obviously, during the time a creature is visible, it can be attacked without penalty.
3. Infravision will break invisibility. See here for details:
   Does invisibility prevent creatures from seeing your heat signature in the dark? I wouldn't think it should work that way.

   I did a bit of research on this, and I've come to the conclusion that I'm in agreement with Sean K Reynolds, whom basically concludes that infravision in old-school D&D is broken (and darkvision, which was introduced after AD&D, is a better replacement for it).
   
   It's a good read, which can be found here, but I'll copy his take on mixing infravision and invisibility below:
   
   "Invisibility: Infravision breaks this spell. If a creature is invisible to infravision, then something must be either (a) preventing the heat from escaping your body or (b) rapidly cooling the body heat leaving your body so it's indistinguishable from the surrounding air.
   If it's the first option, then the invisible creature will heat up over time and eventually succumb to heat exhaustion and die; it also should reduce the damage of spells like cone of cold which "drains heat," and keep you warm in arctic areas (since you're not losing heat to the cold air).
   If it's the second option, shouldn't it be a transmutation spell instead of an illusion? And wouldn't the spell have to be very "smart" to recognize the different patterns of heat and cold around you? Basically the spell would have to being doing double duty, muting two entirely different types of radiation to compensate for the senses that detect those types. It's like asking a French horn player (a fairly complex instrument) to play the keyboard at the same time -- quite a lot of work for a 2nd-level spell.
   Furthermore, it doesn't address the secondary effects of a warm body -- the heated air and solid objects it touches. Does invisibility affect the cloud of warm air? If doesn't, an infravision user should be able to see the warm outline of an invisible creature and therefor be able to locate it in some way. If invisibility does affect the cloud of warm air, does it affect the parts of the ground they touch? What about the weirdness of an invisible user holding a torch? The light is visible … is the heat visible? You're asking a lot out of a 2nd-level spell."
4. Discussion: Invisible Monsters and Attacking (2E)

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