DivInc House Rules
From Shadowfell Geographic Society
Contents |
Optional Rules
This is where I come down on some rules explicitly left up to DM's choice in the rules.
Selling Equipment
Mundane equipment can generally not be sold. The expected wealth progression is handled by the treasure awards, and I don't want to cause the extra bookkeeping of bags full of Kobold armor.
Magical equipment can be sold for 1/5 value given access to a large enough town or an affluent merchant.
Masterwork Equipment
Moved to discussion page until I've had a chance to gather comments and make a final ruling.
Monster Races
Players are limited to the PC races in the Player's Handbook. For now at least, the monster races in the Monster Manual are not available.
New/Changed Rules
Since my purpose in running this game initially is to try out the new 4th-Edition rules, I don't plan to make many rules changes initially. Some may come later based on experience in play and player feedback.
All rules here are provisional and subject to change. Players are welcome to comment or make suggestions.
Extended Re-Sizing Rules
The PHB says the Craft Magic Item ritual can be used to re-size magic armor, but doesn't give specifics of what it means for armor to be of the wrong size. It also doesn't give a system for dealing with other item changes which come up. The Transfer Enchantment ritual in Adventurer's Vault provides another alternative, though. Here's my take on the possibilities:
- Armor Size: You can wear armor as long as it's made for a humanoid of the right size category. It'll be uncomfortable (role-playing effect only) until you get it sized for you particularly.
- Cosmetic Changes: A skilled artisan with the CMI ritual can make cosmetic changes (with no game-mechanic effect) to items without upsetting their magic. For instance, you could get different heraldry on your shield, or add horns to your helm. Changes beyond the cosmetic (i.e. a different item type) should be handled via Transfer Enchantment.
- Holy Symbols: You can use a symbol of the wrong deity freely, though you or your deity might find it distasteful. A skilled artisan with the CMI ritual can re-forge the symbol into the form of the appropriate holy symbol for you as a cosmetic change as above. Alternatively, you can transfer the magic to a new holy symbol via Transfer Enchantment.
Stealth
Paladin: Divine Challenge (Engagement)
Note: Based on play experience and discussions, I expect to change these rules before they are used again. Let me know if you plan to play a Paladin so I can finish doing.
A Divine Challenge can only be applied to a legitimate target (see DMG.40).
A Divine Challenge on an individual creature is removed immediately if:
- The creature dies.
- The Paladin challenges a different Creature.
- The paladin loses the power due to failure to Engage, as described below.
In order to avoid losing the ability to use this Power on the next turn, the Paladin must do one of the following on each turn (including the first ):
- Attack a challenged target. That is, a target who is Challenged at the time of the attack.
- End adjacent to a Challenged target. (That is, a target challenged at the time your turn ends.)
- Challenge a target (note, I consider the word "different" from the rules to be superfluous). This includes the initial challenge (meaning the turn in which you issue the challenge is safe), as well as a switch to a new. Note, though, the "Special" clause of the rules which prohibits challenging an already-challenged target.
These conditions are checked once at the end of the Paladin's turn (not once per target), and only if the Challenge is still active at that time (not if it was removed for another reason).
Simplifications
These house rules are aimed at reducing unnecessary bookkeeping.
Merged XP
Since the PCs of absent players are getting XP anyway, the notion of per-character XP totals has been dropped. Instead, the DM will track a single XP total for all characters (after XP is divided), and all characters will level up at the same time.
Ignoring Upkeep
This rule's intent is to avoid unnecessary annoying bookkeeping around the mundane details of adventuring life, including food, lodging, and ammo. I'd rather completely abstract away the details of obtaining supplies, recovering arrows, etc, which don't add any interest to the game. I've considered complicated systems based on fixed "upkeep cost per day" before settling on entirely ignoring the details as being uninteresting in a heroic game and unimportant to treasure balance. So long as a character pays the "entry cost" (see below) they may assume free access to.
- Shelter: Camping or staying in an inn.
- Food: Rations on the road or meals while in town.
- Alchohol: In moderation.
- Ammunition: Standard ammo for projectile weapons only.
- Horsefeed/Stabling: If they have a horse.
In all cases, this provides standard quality goods for personal use only. If you want to buy a round of drinks for the whole bar, or throw glue-pots with your sling, you need to track costs and items as usual.
There is an "entry cost" into this upkeep system, so as to make it at least somewhat realistic. In order to abstract away food and lodging outside of town, all characters must purchase and carry an Adventurer's Kit. In order to abstract away ammo, all characters must purchase and carry an amount of ammo which feasibly covers them for several encounters (30+ shots). Beyond that, the realism argument simply assumes that PCs actually gain slightly more income than appears in-game, and spend it on refreshing supplies when needed.
Note that this system explicitly does not cover the following bits of bookkeeping:
- XP: Tracked by the DM.
- Weight/Encumbrance: Track them yourself.
- Cash and items: Track them yourself.
- Thrown weapons: You need to have as many as you want to throw, though you may assume you recover them after a short rest.
- Expensive consumables: This includes sunrods, potions, alchemical items, etc.
