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House Rules

Ability Scores

• The Ability Scores of player characters are not to be rolled, but assigned. The numbers to be used are 18, 17, 16, 14, 14, and 12. Appropriate modifications because of race and/or additional levels still applies.

"Coma Armor"

• At times, players are unable to attend a game session yet their characters might be directly involved in a plot restrictive setting. For example, the party ended the previous episode with an unfinished combat in the depths of a dungeon, or the environment being journeyed into is so treacherous, various dice rolls are needed for players to survive. The missing player character is assumed to have donned “coma armor”, a device where the character is immune to the adverse situation that the remainder of the group is in, and is unresponsive and does not assist the party during game time. In most cases, the character will return to a previous point of origin to ensure the party is not being outflanked, or wander off and take care of other business that does not involve the group. In rare cases, the character (run by the DM) may provide critical assistance to the remainder of the party in time of need.

Critical Failure Cards

• Whenever a player character or NPC rolls a “1”, the player or Dungeon Master must roll again to determine if their second roll can strike their opponent. If the second roll fails, then nothing happens except for a missed attempt. If the roll strikes, then the player or Dungeon Master must draw a card from “Critical Failure Deck”, accepting the drawn results.

Critical Hit Cards

• Whenever a player character or NPC rolls a critical strike and backs it up, the player or Dungeon Master has the option to draw from the “Critical Hit Deck”, rather than take the usually additional dice in damage. Once a choice is made, there is no option to select the other opportunity.

Character Levels

• To maintain game balance for those players who are unable to consistently attend game sessions, no player character may be more than two levels higher than any other player character. If such a condition exists, the player character with the lower level is given additional experience points to compensate for this, place them at the beginning of appropriate level. 

• For example, if a player character were to earn enough experience point to attain 9th level (36,001 XP), but a fellow player character was only 6th level (less than 21,000 XP), then the DM will award the appropriate amount of experience points to ensure the lower level player character is no more than two levels behind; this being 7th level (21,001 XP).

Hit Points

• All hit points will be assigned the maximum possible rolls for all player characters from 1st through 5th levels. Any levels gained after 5th level will be randomly generated as per the core standards.

Initiative

• In order to streamline combat, group initiative can be used with the party. The initiative order will start in clockwise order from the GM’s chair for the first round, and then switch to counter-clockwise order for the next round. 

• This allows for players to alternate their actions during each round. Subsequent rounds will follow the clockwise/counter-clockwise method until the end of combat.

Leveling Up

• In order to help promote survivability, any time a party member receives an additional level whether through experience point or magic, the player character begin the new level with full hit points, regardless of the circumstances. This can be viewed as having received a second wind, the byproduct of residual magic, the favor of a deity, etc.

Levels

• To maintain game balance for those players who are unable to consistently attend game sessions, no player character may be more than two levels higher than any other player character. If such a condition exists, the player character with the lower level is given additional experience points to compensate for this, place them at the beginning of appropriate level. For example, if a player character were to earn enough experience point to attain 9th level (36,001 XP), but a fellow player character was only 6th level (less than 21,000 XP), then the DM will award the appropriate amount of experience points to ensure the lower level player character is no more than two levels behind; this being 7th level (21,001 XP).

Quick Rules

• Automatic Failures and Successes: A natural 1 on a saving throw is always a failure. A natural 20 is always a success.

• Automatic Hits and Misses: A natural 1 on an attack roll is always a failure. A natural 20 is always a success, but also a threat.

• Magic Spell Saving Throw: Against your spell has a DC of 10 + the level of the spell + your bonus for the relevant ability.

• Spell Resistance: A caster level check (1d20 + caster level) at least equal to the creature’s spell resistance.

Talking During Combat

• Talking is a free action, but monologues are not.

"Wah"

• Rather than repeat dialogue every player has heard, PCs and NPCs can “Wah” each other information in order to streamline gameplay. 

• The “wah” refers to the odd sound made by the teachers in the Charlie Brown television series. Most of the Peanut’s characters usually looked up while the teacher spoke, and replied “I understand”.

Campaign Redundancy

• bale tempest - magical superstorms which randomly appear and disappear on the continent of Gantara. Arcane preparations of civilized areas (the spoke design) and most thoroughfares of the Royal Road allow citizens some sort of protection.

• baron - royal title bequeathed by a duke to a government official responsible for one of Gantara's baronies.

• duke - royal title bequeathed by the overlord to a government official responsible for one of Gantara's duchies.

• Gantara - the least explored of the four continents of Oerth until 1000 years ago when the first monster races first set foot upon the land. 

• lord mayor - local town official assigned by the leader of the barony.

• overlord - the principal leader of the continent of Gantara.

• prifit - a holy leader of a good or neutral deity.

• royal road - an epithet applied to paved roads extending from Hightower to duchies throughout the continent. One significant aspect is these roads are magically protected from bale tempests.

• sacrifit - an unholy leader of a neutral or evil deity.

• "storm peace" - a common greeting and a tradition that developed when settlers first set foot on the continent of Gantara. The vicious storms that troubled the land were unpredictable and sprang up spontaneously without warning. It is said this tradition comes from the old country of Nyrond as a way to put aside differences when weather became too dangerous. When a person declares “storm peace”, an immediate ceasefire is enacted between agreeing parties during instances of inclement weather, particularly bale tempests. The effects of bale tempests can be so damaging that most people realize self-preservation is more important than any current conflict. Although rare, there have been instances when individuals and groups have rebuffed the offer, disregarding their own personal safety. The popularity of declaring “storm peace” has even gone as far as to be used in situations when strangers meet each other during inclement weather, or when seeking a warm evening fire after a long day of travel. Storm Peace is a human tradition, which has been adopted elves, dwarves, and other races of Gantara. However, there have been folktales of where giants, dragons and even a beholder have asked for Storm Peace in the middle of a bale tempest, and it was agreed upon by both parties. These tales are stories of myth in which credible witnesses are missing, and few citizens of Gantara wish to put these stories to a test.

• "trok" -  slang for any non-human race; to be underfoot.

Omega

• Omega is a warforged warblade, and has the following traits because of his race, class, and magical modifications.

• Unlike other constructs, a warforged has a Constitution score, does not have low-light vision or darkvision, and is not immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities.

• A warforged cannot heal lethal damage naturally.

• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, effects that cause the sickened condition, and energy drain.

• Unlike other constructs, warforged are subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, stunning, ability damage, ability drain, death effects, and necromancy effects.

• Blueshine: never tarnishes and is immune to acid damage and rusting effects.

• Death Ward: ignore any death effect (including death spells, magical death effects, and energy drain) or negative energy effect (such as inflict spells or chill touch). This effect is permanent.

• As living constructs, warforged can be affected by spells that target living creatures as well as by those that target constructs. Damage dealt to a warforged can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or a repair light damage spell, for example, and a warforged is vulnerable to disable construct and harm. However, spells from the healing subschool and supernatural abilities that cure hit point damage or ability damage provide only half their normal effects to a warforged.

• The unusual physical construction of warforged makes them vulnerable to certain spells and effects that normally don’t affect living creatures. A warforged takes damage from heat metal and chill metal as if he were wearing metal armor. Likewise, a warforged is affected by repel metal or stone as if he were wearing metal armor. A warforged is repelled by repel wood. The iron in the body of a warforged makes him vulnerable to rusting grasp, taking 2d6 points of damage from the spell (Reflex half; save DC 14 + caster’s ability modifier). A warforged takes the same damage from a rust monster’s touch (Reflex DC 17 half). Spells such as stone to flesh, stone shape, warp wood, and wood shape affect objects only and thus cannot be used on a warforged.

• A warforged responds slightly differently from other living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. A warforged with 0 hit points is disabled, as with a living creature. He can take only a single move action or standard action in each round, but strenuous activity does not risk further injury. When his hit points are less than 0 and greater than –10, a warforged is inert. He is unconscious and helpless, and cannot perform any actions. An inert warforged does not lose additional hit points unless more damage is dealt to him, however, as with a living creature that has become stable.

• As a living construct, a warforged can be raised or resurrected.

• A warforged does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, but he can still benefit from the effects of consumable spells and magic items such as heroes’ feast and potions.

• Although living constructs do not need to sleep, a warforged wizard must rest for 8 hours before preparing spells.

• +2 Constitution, –2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma: Warforged are resilient and powerful, but their difficulty in relating to other creatures makes them seem aloof or even hostile.

• Medium: As Medium constructs, warforged have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

• Warforged base land speed is 30 feet.

• Adamantine Composite Plating: The plating used to build a warforged provides a +8 armor bonus. This plating is not natural armor and does not stack with other effects that give an armor bonus (other than natural armor). This composite plating occupies the same space on the body as a suit of armor or a robe, and thus a warforged cannot benefit from the effects of magic armor or magic robes. Composite plating can gain a magic enhancement bonus and magic armor properties as armor can, using the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat. The character must be present for the entire time it takes to add this enhancement. In addition, spells and infusions that normally target armor, such as magic vestment and armor enhancement, can be cast with the composite plating of a warforged character as the target. Composite plating also provides a warforged with a 35% arcane spell failure chance, similar to the penalty for wearing light armor. Any class ability that allows a warforged to ignore the arcane spell failure chance for light armor lets him ignore this penalty as well.

• Improved Fortification (Ex): You gain immunity to sneak attacks and extra damage from critical hits, but you lose the ability to be healed by spells of the healing subschool.

• A warforged has a natural weapon in the form of a slam attack that deals 1d4 points of damage.

• Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: None.

• Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass warforged’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

"Hattori wakizashi (curved Japanese short sword)" by xxx