A few notes: I have pillaged many of these rules from across the internett. Currently, there are only four classes in my campaign (Fighter, Thief, Cleric, Magic-User). They use the same XP table. Also, English is not my native language, as you may have noticed.
Level Range: Level 8 is considered high-level. Level 10 is max for mortals. Exceeding 10th level is possible, but only through dark, sanity-blasting magic.
Alignment: Alignment is removed from the game. Spells that target alignment (protection from evil, etc) instead protect against obviously evil monsters, such as undead, demons, devils, etc.
Armour: There are three types of armour: leather, chain and plate. Leather gives +3 AC, -2 armour check penalty and 10% arcane spell failure. Chain gives +5 AC, -4 armour check penalty and 20% arcane spell failure. Plate gives +7 AC, -6 armour check penalty and 30% arcane spell failure. In addition, characters may equip themselves with a shield that gives +1 AC, -1 armour check penalty and 10% arcane spell failure. The bonus and penalties of a shield stacks with the bonus and penalties of armour.
Weapon Damage: All weapons deal 1d6 damage. Two-handed weapons allow a wielder to roll damage twice and take the highest number. Only fighters and other warrior classes may wield two-handed weapons in an effective manner (other classes wielding two-handed weapons suffer a -2 penalty to hit). All classes add BtH as a bonus on damage rolls. This bonus applies only to physical attacks, not spells.
Two-Weapon Fighting: Wielding two weapons at the same time gives a +1 bonus on attack rolls. If the attack roll is evens, the main hand hit. If the attack roll was an odd-number, the off-hand weapon hit. Characters of all classes except clerics and wizards can dual wield.
Attribute Checks & Level Bonuses: A character gains a level bonus if the attribute check is considered integral to the class archetype. For example, a fighter attempting to move silently does not gain a level bonus, but a thief definitely does. The DM might also decide that a character gets half his level bonus.
Treasure & XP: Each gold piece found (or stolen, scavenged, given, etc) equals XP. Each gold piece spent equals another XP.
Death: A player character dies when he reaches a number of negative hit points equal to his Constitution score.
Critical Hits: A natural 20 on the attack roll gives double damage. The damage bonus derived from Base Attack Bonus is doubled as well.
Critical Fumbles: An attack roll resulting in a natural 1 means a possible disaster. This is usually a DM call, but you can also roll 1d20 and check out this handy chart:
1-4 fall down, lose a round!
5-8 lost weapon!
9-12 jammed weapon into ground!
13-15 mud in your eye! Blinded!
16-17 weapon broke!
18 hit random target!
19 hit ally!
20 hit self!
CLERIC
Prime Attribute: Wisdom
Armour: Any
Base Attack Bonus: +0, +1, +1, +2, +2, +3, etc
Hit Die: d8
Turn Undead: The cleric can channel the divine energy of his patron deity and damage or heal undead. A good cleric turns undead, an evil cleric heals undead. A neutral cleric must choose one or the other. You may turn undead once per day. Turning undead takes 1 full round. All undead within 30 feet suffer 1d6 points of damage per cleric level. They may make a Charisma saving throw for half damage. Undead five HD lower than the cleric loses the saving throw automatically and suffer maximum damage per die.
Spontaneous Healing: The cleric can spontaneously convert any memorized spell into a cure spell of same or lower level.
Divine Spells: The cleric casts divine spells from the cleric spell list (see Castles & Crusades PHB). The cleric gains bonus spells based on a high Wisdom score.
FIGHTER
Prime Attribute: Strength
Armour: Any
Base Attack Bonus: +1, +2, +3, +4, +5, etc
Hit Die: d10
Armour Specialization: The fighter gains a +1 AC bonus when wearing armour of any sort. This increases to +2 at 4th level and +3 at 8th level.
Weapon Specialization: The fighter chooses one weapon type (longsword, crossbow, dagger, etc). The fighter gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls. This increases to +2 at 5th level and +3 at 10th level. In addition, the fighter cannot fumble in combat when attacking with his favoured weapon (though a natural 1 is still an automatic failure, no further ill effects are suffered).
Cleave (3rd level): If the fighter deals a creature enough damage to make it drop (typically by dropping it to below 0 hit points or killing it), the fighter gets an immediate, extra melee attack against another creature within reach. The fighter cannot take a 5-foot step before making this extra attack. The extra attack is with the same weapon and at the same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous creature. The fighter can use this ability once per round.
Great Cleave (10th level): The fighter can use Cleave any number of times per round.
MAGIC-USER
Prime Attribute: Intelligence
Armour: None
Base Attack Bonus: +0, +1, +1, +1, +2, etc
Hit Die: d4
Arcane Spells: The magic-user casts arcane spells from the magic-user spell list (see Castles & Crusades PHB). The magic-user gains bonus spells based on a high Intelligence score.
THIEF
Prime Attribute: Dexterity
Armour: Leather, shield
Base Attack Bonus: +0, +1, +1, +2, +2, +3, etc
Hit Die: d6
Backstab: A thief normally avoids face-to-face combat if possible, preferring instead to use stealth or guile to catch an opponent unaware or off-guard. A thief able to attack an unaware or surprised opponent gains a +4 bonus to hit and deals x2 damage. The bonus to hit includes the normal +2 bonus for surprise attacks. The damage multiplier affects base weapon damage and BAB damage bonus. The multiplier increases to x3 at 4th level, x4 at 7th level and finally x5 at 10th level. If the backstab attack is a critical hit, the damage multiplier increases by 1. Creatures immune to critical hits are immune to backstab damage. In order for an attack to be a backstab attack, the thief must be able to strike a vital spot with a small, piercing or slashing melee weapon.
Climb (Dex): The thief gains a full level bonus on Dexterity checks made to climb. When climbing, the thief moves at one-half the characters normal speed. A failed climb check means that the character makes no progress. A check that fails by 5 or more means that the character falls from the currently attained height and suffers falling damage. Nothing can be carried in the hands while climbing. When climbing typical natural slopes and man made inclines, such as a cliff face or steep steps, a thief does not need to make an ability check to climb the surface.
Evasion: Whenever the thief can make a Dexterity save for half damage (fireball, dragon's breath, etc), he instead makes a Dexterity save for no damage. If the thief fails his Dexterity save, he suffers full damage as normal.
Hide (Dex): The thief gains a full level bonus on Dexterity checks made to conceal himself from others. The thief cannot move and remain hidden without making a move silently check (see Move Silently below).
Improved Initiative: The thief gains a +4 bonus on Initiative checks.
Move Silently (Dex: The thief gains a full level bonus on Dexterity checks made to sneak and move silently. The thief can move up to one-half the characters normal Movement Rate at no penalty. At more than one-half and up to the characters full Movement Rate, the character suffers a -5 penalty. Its practically impossible (-20 penalty) to move silently while running or charging.
Open Lock (Dex): The thief gains a full level bonus on Dexterity checks made to pick locks. This is a class-exclusive ability, only thieves may attempt to pick locks. This ability requires the use of a set of thiefs tools, including picks, blank keys, wires, or other appropriate tools. If a thief fails by 5 or more, either the tools are broken (50%) or the lock is jammed (50%).
Remove Trap (Dex): The thief gains a full level bonus on Dexterity checks made to remove or disable traps. This is a class-exclusive ability, only thieves may remove traps. If the thief fails the Intelligence check, the trap is triggered. [/i]
My C&C house rules
Are you asking for our opinion about these?
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The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society
Next Con I am attending: http://www.neoncon.com/
My House Rules: http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... llordgames
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The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society
Next Con I am attending: http://www.neoncon.com/
My House Rules: http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... llordgames
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
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Vicar In A Tutu
- Mist Elf
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:00 am
Code:
Yes, please. I am especially interested in other people's experience with making BtH a damage bonus as well as a bonus to hit. Also, what do people think about a class being able to treat an attribute as a Prime when using the corresponding ability (but only when the corresponding ability uses a different attribute than the class default). For example:
Quote:
The thief treats Intelligence as a Prime Attribute for the purpose of removing traps. If the thief selected Intelligence as a Prime Attribute during character generation, he gains an additional +2 bonus on checks to remove traps.
One thing that I don't like about C&C, is that rogues (or thieves) really ought to choose Intelligence as a Prime during character generation if they want to be good at disarming traps. In my house rules, they are automatically good at disarming traps (i.e. automatic prime when disarming traps), but they get even better if they choose Int as a Prime during character generation (they gain a +2 bonus on disarming traps).
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moriarty777
- Renegade Mage
- Posts: 3735
- Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:00 am
- Location: Montreal, Canada
Well, I'm not sure where exactly to begin so I'll start with the issue of Thieves and Disarming Traps...
Personally, I don't mind using what's already in place. I understand what you're getting at though but I don't have an issue with certain thieves being good with traps and others not so good. One thing you can do is make them do a Traps check with the appropriate ability. If a trap will require more cunning to bypass, have him use Int to disarm -- if it's more nimble skill, have him use Dex to disarm (and so on). This would require re-thinking how one implements traps but a bit of detail in this regard could only be a good thing IMO.
As for the rest of the classes in general:
The Wizard now seems over-powered (I find the Eldritch blast too powerful). If you're looking to improve upon their versatility, I'd consider adopting a spell point system. Maybe granting Eldritch blast at a later level might help too.
The Thief got a significant boost in terms of abilities (Evasion and Improved initiative) which is ok since you're using the same XP chart for all the classes.
For the Fighter, if you want to use Cleave -- I'd grant it at 3rd or 4th level.
As for the Cleric, give his 'd8' back (maybe something like d6+2 in order to follow the logic applied to other classes). This is the only class that seems 'weaker' than it was before.
Other rules:
I find your decision to implement one die type to weapons a bit odd but there's nothing mechanically problematic with doing this. I do like your two-handed weapon damage rule. I might adapt this and use it myself!
On the other hand, though fighting with Two-Weapons (granting a +1 bonus) is a good rule, I don't see much use of keeping track of which weapon hit if they all do the same 1d6 damage (unless one happens to be magical)
Rules for Death are solid enough and the Crit Hit rule is simple enough (Simple is Good). As for your Crit Miss rule, I pretty much do this myself (on the fly and adapting a narrative to fit the situation).
Hope that helps and makes sense... still haven't had my morning coffee.
Moriarty the Red
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Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com
Personally, I don't mind using what's already in place. I understand what you're getting at though but I don't have an issue with certain thieves being good with traps and others not so good. One thing you can do is make them do a Traps check with the appropriate ability. If a trap will require more cunning to bypass, have him use Int to disarm -- if it's more nimble skill, have him use Dex to disarm (and so on). This would require re-thinking how one implements traps but a bit of detail in this regard could only be a good thing IMO.
As for the rest of the classes in general:
The Wizard now seems over-powered (I find the Eldritch blast too powerful). If you're looking to improve upon their versatility, I'd consider adopting a spell point system. Maybe granting Eldritch blast at a later level might help too.
The Thief got a significant boost in terms of abilities (Evasion and Improved initiative) which is ok since you're using the same XP chart for all the classes.
For the Fighter, if you want to use Cleave -- I'd grant it at 3rd or 4th level.
As for the Cleric, give his 'd8' back (maybe something like d6+2 in order to follow the logic applied to other classes). This is the only class that seems 'weaker' than it was before.
Other rules:
I find your decision to implement one die type to weapons a bit odd but there's nothing mechanically problematic with doing this. I do like your two-handed weapon damage rule. I might adapt this and use it myself!
On the other hand, though fighting with Two-Weapons (granting a +1 bonus) is a good rule, I don't see much use of keeping track of which weapon hit if they all do the same 1d6 damage (unless one happens to be magical)
Rules for Death are solid enough and the Crit Hit rule is simple enough (Simple is Good). As for your Crit Miss rule, I pretty much do this myself (on the fly and adapting a narrative to fit the situation).
Hope that helps and makes sense... still haven't had my morning coffee.
Moriarty the Red
_________________
"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"
Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com
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Vicar In A Tutu
- Mist Elf
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:00 am
Quote:
Personally, I don't mind using what's already in place. I understand what you're getting at though but I don't have an issue with certain thieves being good with traps and others not so good. One thing you can do is make them do a Traps check with the appropriate ability. If a trap will require more cunning to bypass, have him use Int to disarm -- if it's more nimble skill, have him use Dex to disarm (and so on). This would require re-thinking how one implements traps but a bit of detail in this regard could only be a good thing IMO.
I just don't like Thief characters feeling they it is required that they choose Int as a Prime in order to get the most out of their class abilities. I would prefer that all class abilities tied to an attribute be tied to the class' default Prime Attribute. Maybe Climb and Disarm Traps ought to be Dexterity abilities? That would make all the thief's abilities Dexterity-based.
Quote:
The Wizard now seems over-powered (I find the Eldritch blast too powerful). If you're looking to improve upon their versatility, I'd consider adopting a spell point system. Maybe granting Eldritch blast at a later level might help too.
I don't want to switch to a spell point system, as I like Vancian magic. I only want it to be (as you mentioned) slightly more versatile. Maybe an ability which gives the magic-user the ability to spontaneously convert memorized spells (of all levels) to magic missile spells? Or simply into an effect that does 1d6 damage per spell level of the spell converted?
Quote:
The Thief got a significant boost in terms of abilities (Evasion and Improved initiative) which is ok since you're using the same XP chart for all the classes.
The thief class has a special place in my heart, I really don't want it to suck. Also, I think the word 'thief' has a much better vibe and stronger connotations than 'rogue'. Although 'rogue' is good at signifying that characters of that class are more (or something different) than thieves.
Quote:
For the Fighter, if you want to use Cleave -- I'd grant it at 3rd or 4th level.
Ok, I'll bump it to 3rd level (the fighter already gains an extra AC bonus from Armour Specialization at 4th level).
Quote:
As for the Cleric, give his 'd8' back (maybe something like d6+2 in order to follow the logic applied to other classes). This is the only class that seems 'weaker' than it was before.
That was actually a mistake. The cleric is supposed to have a d8 HD, as well as a spontaneous conversion of healing spells. My players simply demand a spontaneous healing ability, or none will play the cleric.
Quote:
I find your decision to implement one die type to weapons a bit odd but there's nothing mechanically problematic with doing this. I do like your two-handed weapon damage rule. I might adapt this and use it myself!
I think the rule of one die type comes from OD&D, though I can't remember exactly. The two-handed damage rule was looted from somewhere on the internett, can't remember exactly where though.
Quote:
On the other hand, though fighting with Two-Weapons (granting a +1 bonus) is a good rule, I don't see much use of keeping track of which weapon hit if they all do the same 1d6 damage (unless one happens to be magical)
I like this Two-Weapon rule as well, its simple and sweet. Also, it avoids multiple attacks, which I don't like (bogs down combat). Yep, keeping track of which weapon hits is only necessary if one or more is magical (or simply low quality).
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moriarty777
- Renegade Mage
- Posts: 3735
- Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:00 am
- Location: Montreal, Canada
Vicar In A Tutu wrote:
I don't want to switch to a spell point system, as I like Vancian magic. I only want it to be (as you mentioned) slightly more versatile. Maybe an ability which gives the magic-user the ability to spontaneously convert memorized spells (of all levels) to magic missile spells? Or simply into an effect that does 1d6 damage per spell level of the spell converted?
Yes... something more along these lines would be better I think. 1d6 per spell level converted with the same guidelines initially posted for the ability.
Vicar In A Tutu wrote:
The thief class has a special place in my heart, I really don't want it to suck. Also, I think the word 'thief' has a much better vibe and stronger connotations than 'rogue'. Although 'rogue' is good at signifying that characters of that class are more (or something different) than thieves.
I've been playing for close to 20 years now and it remains on of my favorite classes as well.
Vicar In A Tutu wrote:
That was actually a mistake. The cleric is supposed to have a d8 HD, as well as a spontaneous conversion of healing spells. My players simply demand a spontaneous healing ability, or none will play the cleric.
Ah... I see... pretty much how I run my Clerics. I believe that clerics should be able to swap out spells when the need is great (like healing spells).
All in all, pretty solid I think... let us know how it goes with your gaming group!
M
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"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"
Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com
Maybe I'm not understanding you here, but why would you want a "dumb" rogue? They aren't required to choose Intelligence as a second prime, and could choose wisdom if they wanted a rogue really good at spying, since listen checks use wisdom. FYI, climb is linked to dexterity, traps is linked to intelligence, and I can understand why traps are linked to intelligence. A rogue has to know about many different kinds of traps and the ways to disarm them. This takes knowledge, not manipulating digits.
In looking over your house rules, I'm finding much that I personally wouldn't use.
I'm not too keen on your armor system, because not only is it missing a few historic* armors (ring mail, scale mail), there is some confusion regarding leather and plate armor. Is the leather armor soft, as in hide armor, or is it cuir bouille? Is the plate armor plate mail (plates over chain) or full plate (you look as if you're in a tin can)? Are wizards allowed to wear armor? You mention arcane failure, yet make no mention of divine spell failure.
The weapon damage is direct from the 1974 D&D rules. When those rules were crafted, they were part of a triumvirate of similar rules, in that both PCs and monsters had d6 hit dice, and that level advancement charts for PCs either had the addition of a die or a +1 hit point bonus at that particular level. Cutting the damage a weapon can do without scaling back the power of the monsters puts the players at a severe disadvantage. At the same time, in making all the weapons do the same amount of damage, you've rendered your own two-weapon fighting rule useless, because it simply doesn't matter which hand hits. Since the weapons do the same amount of damage, there's simply no point in it.
You've implemented a level bonus if the attribute check is integral to the class archetype. This is in fact already codified within the C&C rules, assuming I read the section on pages 109-110 (PHB 2d print) correctly. Since this is in fact codified, I don't believe providing a half level bonus is necessary at all and would simply leave it at full level for everything.
Critical hits and fumbles are not something I use in games, but what you have here is simple and actually rare enough (a 10% chance of rolling either a 1 or a 20 on a d20) that it isn't a problem.
Classes: I liked what you had for classes, though I had reservations regarding the arcane blast ability of the wizard. The only thing I really do not like though is how you generate hit points. 1d4+6 per level is a lot beefier than straight 1d10 (average of 9 points per level instead of 5.5). I don't know if you did this to compensate for the 1d6 damage all weapons do, but that is a severe jump. However, I'll let the numbers tell the tale.
Using the rules as written, an 8th level cleric in C&C will have an average of 36 hit points (4.5hp x 8 levels). In your house rules, the same cleric will have 52 hit points (6.5hp x 8 levels).
An 8th level fighter in C&C will have an average of 44 hit points (5.5hp x 8 levels). In your house rules, the same fighter will have 68 hit points (8.5hp x 8 levels).
The wizard's hit dice did not change (both versions use 1d4 per level for an average of 20hp at 8th level).
An 8th level rogue in C&C will have an average of 28 hit points (3.5hp x 8 levels). In your house rules, the same rogue will have 36 hit points (4.5hp x 8 levels).
For the cleric and fighter, you have severely increased the survivability of those two classes. The rogue gets a small jump, and the wizard is unchanged. The side effect is that you may end up getting more characters to play clerics and fighters, leaving wizards and rogues to rot. This side effect will unbalance your game in my opinion. If you want to increase survivability of the characters without it being unbalancing, try changing the die type. Using the same 8th level characters...
8th level cleric, 8d10, average 44hp (5.5 x 8 levels)
8th level figher, 8d12, average 52hp (6.5 x 8 levels)
8th level wizard, 8d6, average 28hp (3.5 x 8 levels)
8th level rogue, 8d8, average 36hp (4.5 x 8 levels)
*Real world history, not role playing game history.
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NOTE TO ALL: If you don't like something I've said, PM me and tell me to my face, then give me a chance to set things right before you call a moderator.
My small homage to E.G.G.
In looking over your house rules, I'm finding much that I personally wouldn't use.
I'm not too keen on your armor system, because not only is it missing a few historic* armors (ring mail, scale mail), there is some confusion regarding leather and plate armor. Is the leather armor soft, as in hide armor, or is it cuir bouille? Is the plate armor plate mail (plates over chain) or full plate (you look as if you're in a tin can)? Are wizards allowed to wear armor? You mention arcane failure, yet make no mention of divine spell failure.
The weapon damage is direct from the 1974 D&D rules. When those rules were crafted, they were part of a triumvirate of similar rules, in that both PCs and monsters had d6 hit dice, and that level advancement charts for PCs either had the addition of a die or a +1 hit point bonus at that particular level. Cutting the damage a weapon can do without scaling back the power of the monsters puts the players at a severe disadvantage. At the same time, in making all the weapons do the same amount of damage, you've rendered your own two-weapon fighting rule useless, because it simply doesn't matter which hand hits. Since the weapons do the same amount of damage, there's simply no point in it.
You've implemented a level bonus if the attribute check is integral to the class archetype. This is in fact already codified within the C&C rules, assuming I read the section on pages 109-110 (PHB 2d print) correctly. Since this is in fact codified, I don't believe providing a half level bonus is necessary at all and would simply leave it at full level for everything.
Critical hits and fumbles are not something I use in games, but what you have here is simple and actually rare enough (a 10% chance of rolling either a 1 or a 20 on a d20) that it isn't a problem.
Classes: I liked what you had for classes, though I had reservations regarding the arcane blast ability of the wizard. The only thing I really do not like though is how you generate hit points. 1d4+6 per level is a lot beefier than straight 1d10 (average of 9 points per level instead of 5.5). I don't know if you did this to compensate for the 1d6 damage all weapons do, but that is a severe jump. However, I'll let the numbers tell the tale.
Using the rules as written, an 8th level cleric in C&C will have an average of 36 hit points (4.5hp x 8 levels). In your house rules, the same cleric will have 52 hit points (6.5hp x 8 levels).
An 8th level fighter in C&C will have an average of 44 hit points (5.5hp x 8 levels). In your house rules, the same fighter will have 68 hit points (8.5hp x 8 levels).
The wizard's hit dice did not change (both versions use 1d4 per level for an average of 20hp at 8th level).
An 8th level rogue in C&C will have an average of 28 hit points (3.5hp x 8 levels). In your house rules, the same rogue will have 36 hit points (4.5hp x 8 levels).
For the cleric and fighter, you have severely increased the survivability of those two classes. The rogue gets a small jump, and the wizard is unchanged. The side effect is that you may end up getting more characters to play clerics and fighters, leaving wizards and rogues to rot. This side effect will unbalance your game in my opinion. If you want to increase survivability of the characters without it being unbalancing, try changing the die type. Using the same 8th level characters...
8th level cleric, 8d10, average 44hp (5.5 x 8 levels)
8th level figher, 8d12, average 52hp (6.5 x 8 levels)
8th level wizard, 8d6, average 28hp (3.5 x 8 levels)
8th level rogue, 8d8, average 36hp (4.5 x 8 levels)
*Real world history, not role playing game history.
_________________
NOTE TO ALL: If you don't like something I've said, PM me and tell me to my face, then give me a chance to set things right before you call a moderator.
My small homage to E.G.G.
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Vicar In A Tutu
- Mist Elf
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:00 am
Quote:
Maybe I'm not understanding you here, but why would you want a "dumb" rogue? They aren't required to choose Intelligence as a second prime, and could choose wisdom if they wanted a rogue really good at spying, since listen checks use wisdom.
I don't want a "dumb" thief. I simply don't want the thief player to feel obliged to select Int as a Prime in order to use his class abilities effectively. In my house rules, the thief is already excellent at disarming traps (Int is by default treated as a Prime for the purpose of disarming traps). If the player selected Int as a Prime during character generation, he gets even better at disarming traps (an additional flat +2 bonus). That makes sure there still is an incentive to select Int as a Prime even though disarming traps (Int) is treated as a prime by default.
(Note that in the latest draft of the house rules, I have linked Disarm Traps to Dexterity, which brings us to your next point).
Quote:
FYI, climb is linked to dexterity, traps is linked to intelligence, and I can understand why traps are linked to intelligence. A rogue has to know about many different kinds of traps and the ways to disarm them. This takes knowledge, not manipulating digits.
Thank you for the information. Your argument for linking disarming traps to Intelligence is sound, but it can also be used with other abilities. Why not Open Locks? "A thief has to know about many different kinds of locks and the ways to pick them." I can imagine both Int and Dex would be important when disarming traps (hey, probably Wisdom as well seeing that a good perception doesn't hurt). The reason I linked Disarm Traps to Dexterity, is so that all the class abilities of the thief is linked to that class' default Prime Attribute. I feel pretty sure that none of my players will protest that Disarm Traps now is related to Dexterity instead of Intelligence.
Quote:
I'm not too keen on your armor system, because not only is it missing a few historic* armors (ring mail, scale mail), there is some confusion regarding leather and plate armor. Is the leather armor soft, as in hide armor, or is it cuir bouille? Is the plate armor plate mail (plates over chain) or full plate (you look as if you're in a tin can)?
Whether my armour list is missing some historic armours, I really don't care. A high degree of historical accuracy is not important to me, nor my group.
Quote:
Are wizards allowed to wear armor? You mention arcane failure, yet make no mention of divine spell failure.
If you read the entry on Magic-Users, you would find that they are not allowed to wear armour. Regarding divine spell failure: It is a common trope in fantasy (or at least D&D) that wizards don't wear armour while clerics do. This is represented in my house rules (as well as D&D 3.X) by there being arcane spell failure but not divine spell failure.
Quote:
The weapon damage is direct from the 1974 D&D rules. When those rules were crafted, they were part of a triumvirate of similar rules, in that both PCs and monsters had d6 hit dice, and that level advancement charts for PCs either had the addition of a die or a +1 hit point bonus at that particular level. Cutting the damage a weapon can do without scaling back the power of the monsters puts the players at a severe disadvantage.
Good point. Maybe I ought to implement "damage die = class HD"? In regards to monsters and weapon damage, I am entirely comfortable that monsters become more powerful. In my campaign, horrors of the dungeons and the wilderness are meant to be feared.
Quote:
You've implemented a level bonus if the attribute check is integral to the class archetype. This is in fact already codified within the C&C rules, assuming I read the section on pages 109-110 (PHB 2d print) correctly.
Actually, this isn't a house rule. Some of my players are confused as to when they get a level bonus. I just wanted to clarify.
Quote:
Since this is in fact codified, I don't believe providing a half level bonus is necessary at all and would simply leave it at full level for everything.
I am considering giving the ranger a half level bonus when moving silently or hiding in urban or dungeon areas (when I get around to adding the ranger), but I don't know.
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Classes: I liked what you had for classes, though I had reservations regarding the arcane blast ability of the wizard. The only thing I really do not like though is how you generate hit points. 1d4+6 per level is a lot beefier than straight 1d10 (average of 9 points per level instead of 5.5). I don't know if you did this to compensate for the 1d6 damage all weapons do, but that is a severe jump. However, I'll let the numbers tell the tale.
Which variant of the arcane blast didn't you like, the first one or the one I suggested to Moriarty777 (or both)? You have a valid point when it comes to hit points. I don't know if I want the characters to have more hp. I'll just change the way of generating hit points back to normal.
Vicar In A Tutu wrote:
Thank you for the information. Your argument for linking disarming traps to Intelligence is sound, but it can also be used with other abilities. Why not Open Locks? "A thief has to know about many different kinds of locks and the ways to pick them." I can imagine both Int and Dex would be important when disarming traps (hey, probably Wisdom as well seeing that a good perception doesn't hurt). The reason I linked Disarm Traps to Dexterity, is so that all the class abilities of the thief is linked to that class' default Prime Attribute. I feel pretty sure that none of my players will protest that Disarm Traps now is related to Dexterity instead of Intelligence.
Locks only require dexterity because they are a fairly ordinary item that a rogue encounters on a regular basis. No matter how complex the lock, in the end it's still a lock. After all, it's not as if every castle has a Kwikset on it's door. Traps on the other hand, have a nearly infinite variety, especially if the five books of Grimtooth's traps are any indication. Disarming a trap requires intelligence because a rogue has to examine the trap closely and has to think about how to disarm said trap, if he even CAN disarm the trap. For a more contemporary example, try to defuse a bomb before it explodes. If you don't know the first thing about the bomb, unless you're extremely lucky, it's unlikely the bomb will be defused before it explodes, and in fact the bomb could be set off by your tampering. If you know about the bomb, you can work your way around inside it and look for the green wire buried deep in the guts that will stop the fuse from going off.
Vicar In A Tutu wrote:
Whether my armour list is missing some historic armours, I really don't care. A high degree of historical accuracy is not important to me, nor my group.
What if someone wants to wear ring or scale? What armor class would you give them? I know you and your group don't care, and that's fine, but really, this limits choice. Plus, a little clarification is needed here in regards to what plate is. Full plate has an AC 3 better than plate mail, and that's a significant difference, don't you think?
Vicar In A Tutu wrote:
If you read the entry on Magic-Users, you would find that they are not allowed to wear armour. Regarding divine spell failure: It is a common trope in fantasy (or at least D&D) that wizards don't wear armour while clerics do. This is represented in my house rules (as well as D&D 3.X) by there being arcane spell failure but not divine spell failure.
I did read it, thank you very much. But regarding your common trope, there is still no point in having the mention of arcane failure of spells. In this case, d20 Fantasy has screwed the pooch, because older (and better) game systems had a very simple rule for this. Wizards cannot wear armor. Said rule appears in your wizard entry. Now, if you absolutely positively have to codify the effects when a wizard wears armor, older game systems had a much simpler end result: the wizard cannot cast spells while wearing armor, period. No need of this percentage chance of spell failure crap. Such a thing only encourages the dilution of the archetypes.
Vicar In A Tutu wrote:
Good point. Maybe I ought to implement "damage die = class HD"? In regards to monsters and weapon damage, I am entirely comfortable that monsters become more powerful. In my campaign, horrors of the dungeons and the wilderness are meant to be feared.
I would balance it out somehow. But that's up to you how you want to do it.
Vicar In A Tutu wrote:
Which variant of the arcane blast didn't you like, the first one or the one I suggested to Moriarty777 (or both)? You have a valid point when it comes to hit points. I don't know if I want the characters to have more hp. I'll just change the way of generating hit points back to normal.
The original, which was if I'm not mistaken, 1d6 per level. In reality, I'm not a big fan of "automatic" abilities like that, and would remove the spontaneous healing ability of the cleric as well. As to more hit points, the example solution I provided would provide the best balance between the original and what you had intended.
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