My House Rules

Bonus XP
Races
classes
feats
magic
Books Allowed

Basic Rules

0 - The objective is for EVERYONE to have fun. This includes the GM.
1 - Don't be a jerk
2 - NPCs will react to your PC. If your PC acts like an idiot, the NPCs will treat him/her like an idiot. If your PC acts like a homicidal maniac, guards will arrest him/her. NPCs will react to how your character acts, not to how you perceive your character in your mind's eye. Just because you see your character as 'cool' and 'badass' doesn't mean all NPCs are going to tolerate him tracking mud on their newly cleaned floors and pinching the bottom of the Queen. Sometimes, your character isn't the baddest ass in the room. To make it slightly more clear, let's go with 'don't dress in a Frontier Marshall uniform and expect to be treated politely in the goblin-wilds no matter how 'cool' you think Frontier Marshalls are'. Also, see rule 1.
3 - If you take exalted feats, I will pay attention to your alignment. Otherwise, act like your character, not your alignment. Chaotic Stupid, Stupid Good, Stupid Evil, Lawful Stupid, Neutral Stupid, Stupid Neutral, and True Stupid are still forbidden as alignments. See rule 1.
4 - New players have a 3 session probationary period.
5 - If you want to argue rules, please do it in IMs or after the game.
6 - Missed sessions - Two misses in a row without explanation = booted.
7 - If it's cinematic and within the bounds of believability, go ahead and try it, we'll find some sort of way of adjudicating.
8 - Just because it is technically allowed by the rules doesn't automatically allow it to work.
9 - If you must quote from a movie, do it in the chat room.
10 - The other PCs are not obligated to like your character or react to your character the way you want them too. In fact, if your character annoys them and they kill your character, they get XP for the kill. See rule 1.
11 - If you have a rule question, please ask in the chat room. Sometimes the other players know the answer better than I do. We keep Chris1 around for a reason ;).
12 - It's a character driven campaign. I will put plot hooks into your path, but I won't make you follow them. The world is capable of going on without you though, the bad guys don't stop plotting because the PCs decide to take a month off to go fishing. Some of the plot hooks will be subtle, others may involve bashing you over the head with a clue-by-four. The level of subtlety has little to do with the importance of the plot hook ;)
13 - All new feats, spells, skills, weapons, etc…. must be approved by the entire player base and the GM before they can be used. If you post something new, the others have one week to comment. If they don't comment, the GM will assume they are okay with the rule.
14 - Gnomes suck
15 - Once per session, each player has the ability to give another player a bonus 50XP if the other player does something suitably amazing role-play wise.
16 - At any point the GM may count to ten. If you have not taken your action by the time the GM reaches 10, you forfeit your action
17 - During any game session I reserve the right to apply the rule of 'if you typed it in the game window, you did it/said it'

Character Creation Rules

Starting Character Info -
1 - New characters start at the same level as the lowest leveled party member.
2 - Max hit points at level 1, half+1 for all other levels.
3 - Starting stats are 18,15,14,13,12,10 or you may have a 36 pt buy.
4 - Start with average gold. (If your character starts with more than 2 ranks in a craft or profession skill, I may increase that to represent recent earnings)
5 - You will begin in the city of Shieldmeet and your character will have been there for at least 6 months. If some of you want to RP previously acquainted characters, go right ahead.
6 - Your character's development will be limited to a maximum of 3 base classes and 3 prestige classes. (for multi-classing, I will allow fractional saves and BAB)
7 - All WOTC 3.5 books except campaign specific books are permitted. Don't abuse the privilege or I will make you baby-sit.
8 - You are not limited to the PHB Races. And yes, this campaign world has gnomes.
9 - Prior to the first session, I must have a copy of your character sheet. There will be a sidebar for each PC prior to the first session.
10 - All PCs get a bonus feat at 1st level. This feat must be chosen from a list of regional feats.
11 - From the unearthed arcana, you can use bloodlines, fractional BAB, fractional save, traits, and flaws. All else should be considered a no-go without first checking it with me.
12 - Casters need to keep track of their spell components.
13 - I will be using Eberron-style action points.
14 - Gnomes suck
15 - If I don't own the book, it's banned. I own a lot of books, the ones I don't have I didn't get for a reason. Sometimes, its banned even if I do own it.
16 - Just because it is a playable race doesn't mean it's beloved by the populace at large.
17 - You must get approval before taking a prestige class. Chances of approval go up considerably when you've already let the GM know you are considering a prestige class so she has time to make it fit into the world.

Additional Fluff

I will be using sanity, fear, and taint. Whether this will ever be relevant depends entirely upon what sort of adventures you guys choose to go on.

House Rules

STANDING FROM PRONE - A character normally has three options when standing from prone. A character can stand as a move action, but this will provoke attacks of opportunity. A character may stand as a standard action without provoking attacks of opportunity. A character with ranks in Tumble can "kip up": by succeeding on a DC 20 Tumble check, the character may stand as a move action without provoking attacks of opportunity, or as a free action that provokes with a DC 25 check. A character with 5 or more ranks in Tumble who makes successful DC 30 Tumble check can stand from prone as a free action, without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Dodge - Straight +1 to AC vs all opponents. Lost when flat-footed, or when in heavy armor.

Hit Points - Instead of rolling HP, you have the option of taking half+1. Thus if your hit dice is a d4, you get 3 per level, a d6, you get 4 per level, d8 = 5, d10 = 6, d12 = 7. If you roll, you get what you rolled, no option of taking the higher of the two.

Criticals - Double the amount of weapon dice rolled on a critical. Thus if you are using a dagger (1d4) and get a critical, you now roll a 2d4. If the roll to confirm also falls within the critical range, add the number of weapon dice again. Additional damage, such as strength bonus or bonuses on the weapon, is not multiplied. If your crit confirmation roll is a nat20, roll again to bump the multiplier. If this confirmation is a nat20, repeat until you roll a non-20, bumping the multiplier up for every confirmation.

Knowledge skills such as history and nobility are further sub-divided by region. However, for every 5 ranks you have in knowledge (history), I will give you a +1 bonus to the untrained knowledge roll to determine if you know something about the history of another region.

If your turn comes around and you are not paying attention to take your turn, you will be skipped.

Once a class skill, always a class skill.

Profession and Craft skills are exempt from the skill rank limitation. Do not abuse this.

Natural 20s on skill checks give you an additional +5 on the check. Natural 1s on a skill check are an auto-failure. An action point can be expended to make it just count as a '1' instead.

Use Fractional BAB and Saves if multi-classing

You have the option of using your wisdom score instead of your dex score to determine your initiative. Once this choice is made for your PC, it is a permanent choice.

Success on a bluff check convinces the target that YOU believe what you say is true. It does not compel THEM to believe what you say is true.

Diplomacy is not mind control.

Sense Motive can let you get an idea of someone's general power level.

Gnomes suck

Class specific rules

Knowledge (Religion) is now on the Druid class skill list.

Sense motive is a class skill for clerics

Sorcerers get a bonus metamagic feat at 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level.

RANGER ANIMAL COMPANIONS - A ranger's animal companion functions as if the ranger were a druid of two levels lower, instead of as if the ranger had half as many druid levels. If the ranger takes a more powerful companion, assess the level - 2 for being a ranger first and then level - X appropriate for the creature. If a character has both druid and ranger levels, her effective druid level is equal to her full levels of druid, plus her levels of ranger minus two (if this number is negative, simply count druid levels only). For example, a druid 5/ranger 5 has a equivalent druid level of 8 for determining animal companion abilities.

Bards can be lawful because the GM has spent to much time studying Celtic history.

Once a spellcaster can cast 4th level spells in his/her spellcasting class, 0th level spells become cast spontaneously.

Psionic gnomes especially suck.

Critical Fumbles

If you roll a natural 1, roll a d4. On a 4, continue with the round as normal. On a 1-3, you can continue, but you lose any remaining attacks/actions. If you roll a 1 and it was your first attack of the round, roll a critical fumble. If it was a 2, you provoke an attack of opportunity from any creatures within range that can make an AoO.

% Effect
1-25 Trip, Roll DEX (12) check or fall
26-39 Fall, Roll DEX (12) check or drop primary weapon
40-50 Fall and drop primary weapon, Roll DEX check or be stunned for 1 round
51-53 Fall and become stunned for 1 round
54-57 Fall, drop primary weapon, and become stunned for 1 round
58-59 Fall and become stunned for 1d4 rounds
60 Fall, drop primary weapon, and be stunned for 1 round
61 Fall, knock head on floor, knocked out for 1d4 rounds
62-63 Weapon disarmed by opponent and thrown d20 feet in a random direction
64-65 Weapon or appendage breaks or is broken
66-67 Twist ankle, 1/2 move
68-69 Twist knee, 1/4 move
70 Twist wrist, weapon arm incapacitated, drop weapon
71 Opponent steps on foot, go last next round
72 Helm twists or blood in eyes, blind until end of next round
73-74 Wrong move, opponent's next attack is at +4 to hit
75-76 Knuckles hit, -4 to hit until end of next round
77-79 Armor piece knocked off, strap cut, belt cut, clothes torn, -2 to AC until fixed
80 Opponent's parry hits vulnerable area, 1/2 move, -4 to hit for 1d4 rounds
81 Opponent's parry hits arm, -2 to damage for 1d4 rounds
82 Dirt blinds one eye, -1 to hit until cleaned
83 Dirt blinds both eyes, -3 to hit until cleaned
84-85 Hit self, half damage
86 Hit self, half damage, stunned for 1 round
87-88 Hit self, normal damage
89 Hit self, normal damage, stunned for 1 round
90 Hit self, critical hit
91-91 Hit friend, half damage
93 Hit friend, half damage, dazed for 1 round
94-95 Hit friend, normal damage
96 Hit friend, normal damage, dazed for 1 round
97 Hit friend, critical damage
98 Roll twice on fumble table. If this comes up again reroll
99 Roll three times on fumble table. If this comes up again reroll
100 Roll three times on fumble table. If this comes up again add two more rolls

Gear

Herbalism
Alchemy
Goods
Magical Items
Poisons
Drugs

Horses

A few modifications from the standard rules:

Normal horses have a bite as a primary attack at full base attack bonus, 1d3 plus STR bonus for damage. Full attack is one bite and two hooves (either both front or both rear). Hoof attacks are at half base attack with damage 1d4 plus half STR bonus per hoof.

Carrying capacity is determined by ignoring tack and the primary rider, then subtracting 75 pounds from the listed carrying capacity in the Monster Manual.

Using the ride skill while bareback: no penalty to guiding with the knees.

Game Time Rules

1 - In combat, you will have 60 seconds to respond when your turn comes up. If you do not respond in that time, you will be skipped until next round. If your character dies because of this, it's dead.
2 - If you say it in maptools without the ((ooc)) notification, then your character said/did it.
3 - There will be no more character 'take-backs'. If you weren't paying attention and that meant your character did something dumb, then your character did something dumb. This rule is waived if you've let us know you had to go afk for a second.
4 - The ret-con has been used. No more will be offered.

Additional Rules

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Ninety percent of everything is crap.
Anything that can go wrong, will — at the worst possible moment.
The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum.

First law: When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
Second law: The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
Third law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Other Important Rules

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