[Mechanics] House Rules and Rule Systems

[Pilgrim]

This will be where I list custom rules I am using. Any questions about them should be posted in the OOC thread. Any rules listed as "Modification" that are not available before the game begins are subject to veto by the majority of the players. "Addition" rules, however, are not, and may not be shown until you encounter the situation in game at the GM's discretion.

Rule	Description	Addition or Modification?
Society Modifiers	Factors differentiating settlements, including skill modifiers	Addition
Starvation and Thirst	The rules for going hungry or thirsty. Modified from the undead feeding rules in Libris Mortis.	Modification
Knowledge: Local	Now tied to a specific location.	Modification
Making Money	Changes to the way Profession, Perform, Craft, and other skills can be used to make income	Modification
Crafting Items	Changes the way crafting items works, decreasing times but increasing material costs	Modification
Criticals	Extra problems created by critical hits and misses	Modification

[Pilgrim]

Thirst and Starvation For each day without water, your character will need to make a DC 25 Fortitude save. A failure on this save causes your character to take 2d4 Constitution damage and become fatigued. If your character was already fatigued from lack of food or water, this becomes exhaustion. This ability damage cannot be healed, and the condition cannot be removed, until the character has something to drink. If your character does drink water, but not enough to sustain him- or herself, the DC is decreased by 3. For every three days without food, your character will need to make a DC 15 Fortitude save. A failure on this save causes your character to take 1d6 Constitution damage and become fatigued. If your character was already fatigued from lack of food or water, this becomes exhaustion. This ability damage cannot be healed, and the condition cannot be removed, until the character has something to drink. If your character does eat food, but not enough to sustain him- or herself, the DC is decreased by 3.

[Pilgrim]

Knowledge: Local Like its parent skill, the subskill Knowledge: Local is actually a group of subskills tied to locations. Each location has a Knowledge: Local skill of its own. You may use that location's skill to gain information about more distant locations, but every 40 miles of distance adds a cumulative -1 penalty to the check. For example, Knowledge: Local: Threefrogs will give you information on Threefrogs and its people. You could use it to gain information on Devonsport and its people, but you would do so at a -4 penalty because Devonsport is 164 miles away from Threefrogs.

[Pilgrim]

Making Money Usually the only time adventurers do "normal" work is before they are called to great deeds or after they retire. Still, an adventurer might on occasion spend some time doing less epic jobs. This system can be used for NPCs and for PCs during those occasions. Many skills can be used to make money as a day job. The most obvious one is Profession - in fact, this is the primary use of it. However, you can use any of the following skills in the same way: Acrobatics (as a performer), Craft (as a manufacturer), Handle Animal (as an animal trainer or maintainer), Heal (as a physician), Perform (as a performer), and Sleight of Hand (as a performer or pickpocket). Other skills may be used at the GM's discretion. Using a skill in this fashion represents a day's work - about 10 hours. Depending on the job, you may work for a shorter time, earning the appropriate fraction, but this is up to the GM. (Some jobs don't work well doing this - for example, working as a physician for an hour isn't going to help a patient much, so you likely won't get paid for it. The amount you make each day depends on 3 factors - whether you are trained or not, the total check result, and the career multiplier. Untrained laborers usually can only do minor or menial tasks and act as assistants. The earn a maximum of 1 silver per day, if they meet a DC 10 check. If fail by 5 or less, they earn 5 coppers; a check result of less than 5 gets them nothing. A trained worker, however, earnes a base value of 1 silver for every multiple of 5 their check is. This base value is then multiplied by their career multiplier, which is based on such factors as training needed, guild membership, length of service, and legality. The multiplier begins at 1, and cannot exceed the combined Wisdom and Intelligence modifiers of the worker. If a multiplier is reduced to 0 or lower, they earn wages as though untrained. Factor Effect Job requires little or no training -1 Job requires months of training +1 Job requires years of training +2 Job requires guild membership +2 Day Labor (usually what adventurers do) -1 Worker is bound by contract for a period of time +1 Worker has moderate work experience with employer +1 Worker has major work experience with employer +2 Job is illegal +2 Job requires moderate trust, financially or physically +1 Job requires lots of trust, financially or physically +2 Job is dangerous +2 Finally, for all jobs, multiply the final value by the society level as follows: Settlement Multiplier Hermit x0 Thorp x1 Hamlet x1.25 Village x1.5 Small Town x2 Large Town x2.5 Small City x3 Large City x4 Metropolis x5 So, for example, working as a physician requires years of training, plenty of trust from the patient, and is likely controlled by a guild. Consequently, a person who got a 15 on a Heal check to work as a physician would have a base value of 3, multiplied by 7, for a wage of 21 silver for that day. However, if the physician in question had combined Wisdom and Intelligence modifiers of 3, he could earn a maximum of 9 silver. Note that illegal jobs also carry legal consequences if you are caught. Doing a guild-only job if not a member of the guild is considered illegal, but only one of the modifiers is used... unless the "guild" is a criminal organization, in which case you get the full bonus from illegality but only half the bonus for a guild job. (Joining the criminal organization gets you full bonuses from both.)

[Pilgrim]

Crafting Items The current system of item crafting has a number of flaws. For example, the crafting times are based largely on item value, so two otherwise identical items can take a great deal of time difference if one is made from a much more valuable item. Further, the earnings from crafting may be much higher than one would expect, even under the standard profession system. This system is an attempt to fix that. It is a little complicated, but then so are the existing crafting rules. Crafting has three variables to it: the sale price of the item, the Craft DC, and the average construction time. The sale prices are listed in the core rules, as are the guidelines for the Craft DC. The average completion time is up to the GM and can take anywhere from a few minutes for a nail to several weeks for heavy armor. In the end, it should provide about the same income to the crafter as any other profession. To begin, find the materials cost of the item. This is done by determining the income (see Making Money, above) at the item's Craft DC. So, for example, a DC 15-19 item would have base wages of 3 sp per day, multiplied by the career multiplier. Once you have determined this wage amount, multiply it by the average completion time, in days. (For items with average completion times shorter than a day, find the fraction of it. Assume a 10-hour work day, so one hour would be .1 day.) Subtract this value from the sale price of the item. This is your materials cost. (If this value is a fraction of a copper, divide 1 by that number and round up; paying one copper gives you enough raw materials to make this many of the item. If the material cost is negative, add 1 copper until it isn't less than or equal to 0.) A masterwork item should use the same method to determine the wages for its masterwork portion, using the same completion time but a DC of 20. An untrained crafter can never make a masterwork item, even if he can meet the DC. The next step is to determine the completion value of the item. Multiply the Craft DC by the completion time, in hours. (Again, assume a 10-hour day.) For a masterwork item, you should also multiply the masterwork portion's DC 20 by the same completion time and add it to the completion value. Now, the crafter is ready to work. Each hour, the worker makes a Craft check. If the check fails by 5 or more, he has ruined 5d10% of the raw materials and must repurchase them to continue. Otherwise, he makes progress, subtracting his check from the completion value. (If the item being made has a completion time of less than one hour, the check should be divided by 60 and represent one minute of work. Alternatively, divide 60 by the number of minutes; this is how many are in a batch, and the completion value should be multiplied by this to get a batch total.) If this equals or exceeds the completion value, the item is finished. An unused item may be sold for full value, rather than half. Assistant provide additional complications; ask the GM how much of a bonus - or penalty! - assistants provide to your checks. (Basically, I use a parabolic equation f(x) = -mx^2+2mnx+-mn^2+s, where x is the number of assistants you have, n depends on how many can efficiently work on the item other than you, s is the maximum bonus for having that efficient number, and m is a "magic number" that makes f(0)=0 when all other constants are determined. I round this to the nearest integer to get your craft bonus.)

[Pilgrim]

Society Modifiers Settlements have a number of attributes, some of which are not in the core rules. The following comes from the GameMastery Guide. Corruption: Measures general honesty, receptiveness to bribes, and likelihood to report crimes. A settlement's corruption score is added to Bluff checks made against guards and officials, and Stealth checks made to move unnoticed outside. An evil aligned settlement gets a +1 to this. A magical government decreases this by 2; an overlord or secret syndicate government increases this by 2. Crime: Measures level of criminal activity. A settlement's crime score is added to Sleight of Hand checks made to pick pockets, and to Sense Motive checks to avoid being bluffed. A chaotic aligned settlement gets a +1 to this. An overlord government decreases this by 2; a secret syndicate increases it by 2. Economy: Measures the level of trade and overall wealth. Low economy doesn't mean poverty, it simply means little trade and likely self-sufficiency. A settlement's economy score is added to all income checks. A secret syndicate government increases this by 2. Law: Measures the strictness of the city edicts and attitude of citizens towards the government. A settlement's law score is added to Intimidate checks to make people act friendly, and to Diplomacy checks against government officials and when calling for guards. A lawful aligned settlement gets a +1 to this. A council government decreases this by 2; an overlord government increases it by 2; a secret syndicate government decreases it by 6. Lore: Measures the accessibility of libraries and openness of citizens. A settlement's lore score is added to Diplomacy checks made to gather information, and to Knowledge checks when doing research. A neutral aligned settlement gets a +1 to this; if true neutral, it gets a +2. A council government decreases this by 2; a magical government increases it by 2. Society: Measures how open-minded and civilized the citizenry is. A settlement's society score is added to Disguise checks, and to Diplomacy checks made against anyone other than government officials. A good aligned settlement gets a +1 to this. A council government increases this by +4; a magical or overlord government decreases this by 2. Danger: A relative indicator of the city's danger. This is added to any random encounters roll in the city, causing a general increase in CR. Spellcasting: The highest level of spells to be found in the city. A magical government increases this by 1. Settlements may also have qualities, which further impact them. These will only be listed as encountered. Academic: The settlement possesses a renowned school, academy, or university. (Lore +1, Increase spellcasting by 1 level) Insular: The settlement is isolated, and the citizens highly loyal to one another. (Law +1, Crime -1) Rumormongering Citizens: The settlement's citizens tend to be nosy and gossip; everyone tends to know everything going on. (Lore +1, Society -1) Strategic Location: The settlement sits at an important trade point, such as a deepwater port or crossroads. (Economy +1, Increase base value by 10%)

[Pilgrim]

Critical Hits Critical Hits are more than just extra damage - they represent injury to important bits. Similarly, Critical Fumbles should be something to be worried about. As such, whenever you do either, I'll roll on this table to determine the extra effect. Note that a critical hit inflicts this on your opponent; a critical failure affects you or an adjacent ally, determined randomly, who also takes damage as though hit by your weapon (not including any increases based on feats or class abilities, but including extra abilities of the weapon). In addition, injuries caused by critical hits and failures can cause lasting injury. If healing magic is administered without proper treatment, the injury heals the way it is, and must be damaged again to be fixed properly. Instead, healers should use the Heal skill to treat the condition before using curative magics. Roll Injury Effect Heal DC 1-10 Eye Blindness in one eye. You take a -1 AC penalty, a -2 penalty on most Str and Dex based skill checks, and Perception checks relying on vision. Targets have partial concealment from you. Loss of both eyes makes you blinded. 25 if damage was physical, otherwise impossible. 11-30 Arm Your arm is broken - reroll to see which one (primary or off). You take a -4 to all attack rolls made using that arm, to damage rolls where strength is a factor (melee, thrown, and bows), and to Strength checks made with that arm. If both arms are broken, any tasks involving both take a -6 penalty instead. 15 31-50 Hand Your hand has been cut off - reroll to see which one (Primary or off). You cannot wield a weapon with that hand, or do any grasping. 20, unless hand was lost; then impossible. 51-70 Leg Your leg is broken. Your movement speed is halved, and you cannot make special movement maneuvers (such as tumbling or swimming). You may fly if able, but take a -2 to fly checks. If both legs are broken, you cannot stand and can only crawl at a speed of 5 feet. 15 71-90 Torso You have taken a grievous wound to a vital organ. In addition to the normal damage, you become either sickened or fatigued (chosen at random). If struck again, these increase to nauseated or exhausted, respectively. 20 91-100 Head You have taken a blow to the skull. You become either dazed, confused, or deafened (chosen at random). If already dazed and struck again, you become stunned. If stunned and struck again, you become unconscious. 20 Like critical hits, critical fumbles must be confirmed. A roll of a 1 on an attack roll is a "fumble threat". You make another attack roll on the target. If this attack misses, you have fumbled.