Post by Flanwaw on Nov 24, 2015 18:35:20 GMT
As promised, i'm finally summoning up the gumption to post the house rules for this game! Which i will probably add too and take away as people complain about them! :D
We'll start with the ones I'm certain on, later posts will be about the ones i am less positive on and currently am not going to use but may integrate them at some point.
"Mapless combat": Using a battle map in this setting is going to just be too much work for me - i'd have to do a lot of uploading and downloading and asking for the specifics of your movement its just... no. So we'll be using the various common house rule and optional rules for combat without battle maps.
This most effects, obviously, movement, distances, positioning (for flanks and such) and things like Full round attacks and interacting with the environment. Some of the solutions to these problems are very clean, some are less so.
Movement/Distance: Movement and distance becomes largely contextualized and generalized and is separated into 6 major categories. Adjacent, Threatening, Close, Middling, Far, Out of sight. Adjacent is as it sounds - threatening is within 10 feet (5-foot stepping territory and reach weapon range and such). Close is the distance you can cover in one move action. Middling is the distance you can cover in two move actions or a charge. Far is a few moves away or a headlong run. Out of sight is so far away you can't really see whats happening. Usually I won't say they're 'middling distance' or somesuch in the text of the game - to keep it narrative - but rather imply it by the scenario and use less obvious terminology (arms length, for adjacent and just out of reach for threatening etc) but will freely clarify in OOC. Be responsible in correcting me too - if you think your character would be closer or farther to someone else or something else tell me - but don't just do it to gain an advantage.
Obstacles: Brother to movement and distance is obstacles that may be in the way of your movement. The terrain separating two objects or people is either none, easy, light, moderate, difficult, or impassable. None and easy you can usually get through freely though easy may slow the clunkier down a bit or prevent charges, light and moderate is 'difficult terrain' unless you can beat a DC, difficult is unavoidably difficult terrain, impassable can only be crossed with a skill check - and even then its probably going to slow you down.
Positioning: Positioning is tough - but generally speaking if two people are fighting one target at once that target is going to be flanked unless they have their back to a wall or somesuch. Other positioning issues will be delt with contextually and in subordinance to the roleplaying scenario.
FRA's and such: If you're adjacent you can make a full round attack, if you have reach you can do it when you're in threatening range. But usually you can five foot step from threatening into adjacent... but sometimes, of course, you can't.
Objects And Enviornment: once again its going to be pretty contextual but generally speaking you can only interact with objects your adjacent too, and adjacency is going to be determined with objects largely through roleplaying context. (if you're sitting in a bar, you're probably within reach of a chair or a bottle of drink, if you're in a forest you can probably grab a tree branch to climb very quickly - etc.)
We'll deal with any other issues as they come up when they do - taking suggestions of course.
-------------------
DM Direct CONTROL OF PC CHARACTERS!!!!!!
I know this may be sacrilege for forum roleplay, but in Pathfinder it happens more than you'd think. I'll try to keep it to a minimum but in the cases of critical failures or normal failures in really bad scenarios i may describe some of your characters actions directly in my post, to make sure the negative effects the rules intend or i need to inflict occur.
For example: Amber critical fails her attack roll and i roll that she trips (the players don't know that the floor is very unstable and about to break). In this case where i can't just tell Heather that Amber tripped and expect her to roleplay it as normal, i'd take over a bit and say "Amber's blow throws her off balance and she tumbles onto the floor - smashing the floorboards and scrabbling for a grip as she falls into the pit below (roll me a reflex save)." It'll mostly be very small stuff like that, but I just want you to know it may happen when it inevitably must be done.
I'll also take control of your character if we're in combat and you don't post in a while - i'll grab control for the round and just run through the most basic set of actions possible for the scenario.
------------------
Criticals: Criticals get some flavor - depending on what sort of weapon you're striking, where you describe yourself to be striking, and how much you beat AC when confirming the crit, the effects will be variable. Spells can critical too - if a character rolls a 1 on a spell save the spell is a crit if they reroll and fail a second time - providing some unique bonuses to the spell! Criticals will usually it'll just be the basic multiplier but sometimes i get to roll on a really nifty table to roll to see if something interesting- but just as devastating - happens... (We got stuff as varied as a free trip attempt, puncturing larynxs for silence, breaking shit and removing bits'n'pieces) Which leads me into...
Dismemberment and Permanent Injury: Whenever a pc lands a solid hit on an npc - melee, magic, or otherwise, their is a slight chance you manage to deal some sort of permanent injury - critical strikes greatly increase this chance, as does knocking someone below 0. These range from removing limbs, poking out eyes, crushing bones, or horrifically burning and everything else conceivable. These apply some serious negative effects and can even instantly remove someone from the fight for the worst ones (decapitation is a thing). PCs can never be 'randomly' permanently injured but they can be in the case of a critical hit, getting hit by nasty traps, roleplaying scenarios (if you fall into a pit of acid, expect some scars) or being knocked below 0 - though the chances are lower. Regardless, i expect a good number of bad wounds to accumulate by the time this game is over.
Healing Changes: How does one HEAL these wounds - HEALING of course. Magical healing, though, is significantly nerfed while mundane healing gets some buffs.
-Health Healing, Magic: All healing for health (cure light, goodberry, etc.) occurs over time - it isn't instantaneous. One regains hit points at a rate of "Number of health points equal to healer's caster level/minute, rounded up". So if you get healed for 14 damage by a level 3 caster you gain 3 hp per minute, which lasts 5 minutes to do all 14 (rounded up). If you take damage before the healing is complete healing ceases immediately. This is meant to discourage 'bandage' tactics and represent a body gradually 'knitting up' magically, and try to make you all use healing more wisely/outside of combat. Clerics do things in combat other than heal now!
-Raise Dead, and the Like: Raise dead and other such revival spells ALWAYS have a 20% chance of failure and involve a ritual lasting up to a week. Ouch. The exception is breath of life - which maintains the 20% failure chance but is still instantaneous. Wish and True Resurrection have a ritual but no fail chance, because they're pricey and powerful.
-Regeneration: Regeneration works as normal if you have the body part you want to reattach, but just takes a day long ritual. If you don't have the body part, or the damage is more than a week old, it takes 2d4 days and has a 20% chance of failure.
-Mundane Healing: You can perform all heal checks without a healers kit, but take a -4 penalty. Healers kit give a +2 increase to the bonus on top of the usual stuff. You can heal ability score damage with a DC 25 heal check, but it takes 4 hours - you heal an extra point for ever 5 you beat the DC by. You can heal drain (but not negative levels) with a DC 35 check. You can heal some 'permanent injuries' (but not the big ones, like dismemberment) with 2d4 days of extended care, pay a gold cost in medical supplies, and beat a DC check based on the severity of the injury. On any heal check, if you fail by 5 or more you make things worse.
-"Encouragement": One can use a bluff, diplomacy, or intimidate check to 'encourage' someone to keep fighting despite their damage or convince them its not as bad as it looks. This doesn't actually heal anything, but allows someone at 0 hp to take more actions before they go down - though they still take damage for doing those strenuous actions. The DC is variable, but will usually be DC 20 + the number of turns they've been at 0 + their negative hp if they have any. Failing inflicts the shaken or sickened effect, failing by 5 or more inflicts the frightened or nauseated effect.
Alternative Attributes for Skills: Most skills can use a different ability score than normal to perform a skill check, but you receive half of your ability modifier as a bonus instead of the full modifier. They are as follows:
-Appraise: Wisdom
-Bluff: Intelligence
-Climb: Dexterity
-Craft: Wisdom
-Diplomacy: Wisdom
-Disable Device: Intelligence
-Disguise: Wisdom
-Escape Artist: Intelligence
-Handle Animal: Strength (functions like intimidate - big penalties on failure)
-Intimidate: Strength (The feat that does this already gains a +3 on top of giving you your full strength)
-Linguistics: Charisma (only with people, not with texts)
-Ride: Charisma
-Sense Motive: Charisma
-Sleight of Hand: Intelligence
-Stealth: Wisdom
-Swim: Dexterity
We'll be using the 'Chase' optional rules, heavily altered for the forum setting, if a pursuit breaks out.
We'll be using the Duel rules if a duel happens, which i doubt - but maybe. Any mono-a-mono combat with preset terms and conditions is a duel.
We'll be using a heavily modified version of the "Fame, Honor, and Reputation" system to augment the alignment system and provide some guidance to your relationship to the different people of Absalom in general. Most of this will be kept secret from you, but be hinted at in play through rp and such.
Set Hp gain'd each level: half you hit dice + 1 + con modifier. Example: A fighter with a con of 14 gets 8 hp per level. 1d10= 5 + 1 + 2 for con.
'Common' isn't a catchall language anymore - it's Taldane, the most popular regional human dialect in the inner sea. Every regional dialect takes its own level in linguistics to learn - not all humans, or all races for that matter, will speak Taldane (common)! Yep! For reference, Taldane, Orisian, and Kelish are the three most popular regional dialects in Absalom, but thereare many many more. (Heather and Ryan's character will likely speak Varisian and Hallit respectively). To be nice you'll all get a bonus starting language to make up for the number of regionals out there.
Special FRA rules: You can full round attack starting at level 1! WOW! If you Full round attack you get another attack that functions like a normal iterative. So, for example a two weapon fighter at level 1 who full round attacks will get three attacks at -2/-2/-7 penalties. Once they get a BAB of 6 the'll be going at -2/-2/-7/-12, While a one weapon fighter at 6 bab will have penalties of 0/-5/-10. for their attacks. It basically just gives an extra swing from the get go for Full round attacks - so they matter at early levels.
Mages can also 'full round attack' with cantrips. They can add a cantrip to any spell as a freebee if they spend a full round casting the spell (when it would normally take a standard).
Action downgrading: Normally you can turn a standard into a move, but now you can turn a move into a swift too!
Combat Maneuvers only provoke on a failed check.
Slashing Grace and Fencing Grace function like they used to - in that not just swashbucklers can take them.
Vital Strike and Devastating Strike can be used on any turn where you make just one attack - not just as a 'standard action'.
Piranha strike can be used with any finessable weapon.
You can keep getting your favored class bonuses for levels you take in your first prestige.
EDIT: theworldissquare.com/feat-taxes-in-pathfinder/ We'll be using these rules, excluding the two-weapon-fighting change - FRA is a lot mnore common in mapless combat.
-------------------------------------
I think that's it for now, next post'll be rules i'm not putting in just yet, but am considering.
We'll start with the ones I'm certain on, later posts will be about the ones i am less positive on and currently am not going to use but may integrate them at some point.
"Mapless combat": Using a battle map in this setting is going to just be too much work for me - i'd have to do a lot of uploading and downloading and asking for the specifics of your movement its just... no. So we'll be using the various common house rule and optional rules for combat without battle maps.
This most effects, obviously, movement, distances, positioning (for flanks and such) and things like Full round attacks and interacting with the environment. Some of the solutions to these problems are very clean, some are less so.
Movement/Distance: Movement and distance becomes largely contextualized and generalized and is separated into 6 major categories. Adjacent, Threatening, Close, Middling, Far, Out of sight. Adjacent is as it sounds - threatening is within 10 feet (5-foot stepping territory and reach weapon range and such). Close is the distance you can cover in one move action. Middling is the distance you can cover in two move actions or a charge. Far is a few moves away or a headlong run. Out of sight is so far away you can't really see whats happening. Usually I won't say they're 'middling distance' or somesuch in the text of the game - to keep it narrative - but rather imply it by the scenario and use less obvious terminology (arms length, for adjacent and just out of reach for threatening etc) but will freely clarify in OOC. Be responsible in correcting me too - if you think your character would be closer or farther to someone else or something else tell me - but don't just do it to gain an advantage.
Obstacles: Brother to movement and distance is obstacles that may be in the way of your movement. The terrain separating two objects or people is either none, easy, light, moderate, difficult, or impassable. None and easy you can usually get through freely though easy may slow the clunkier down a bit or prevent charges, light and moderate is 'difficult terrain' unless you can beat a DC, difficult is unavoidably difficult terrain, impassable can only be crossed with a skill check - and even then its probably going to slow you down.
Positioning: Positioning is tough - but generally speaking if two people are fighting one target at once that target is going to be flanked unless they have their back to a wall or somesuch. Other positioning issues will be delt with contextually and in subordinance to the roleplaying scenario.
FRA's and such: If you're adjacent you can make a full round attack, if you have reach you can do it when you're in threatening range. But usually you can five foot step from threatening into adjacent... but sometimes, of course, you can't.
Objects And Enviornment: once again its going to be pretty contextual but generally speaking you can only interact with objects your adjacent too, and adjacency is going to be determined with objects largely through roleplaying context. (if you're sitting in a bar, you're probably within reach of a chair or a bottle of drink, if you're in a forest you can probably grab a tree branch to climb very quickly - etc.)
We'll deal with any other issues as they come up when they do - taking suggestions of course.
-------------------
DM Direct CONTROL OF PC CHARACTERS!!!!!!
I know this may be sacrilege for forum roleplay, but in Pathfinder it happens more than you'd think. I'll try to keep it to a minimum but in the cases of critical failures or normal failures in really bad scenarios i may describe some of your characters actions directly in my post, to make sure the negative effects the rules intend or i need to inflict occur.
For example: Amber critical fails her attack roll and i roll that she trips (the players don't know that the floor is very unstable and about to break). In this case where i can't just tell Heather that Amber tripped and expect her to roleplay it as normal, i'd take over a bit and say "Amber's blow throws her off balance and she tumbles onto the floor - smashing the floorboards and scrabbling for a grip as she falls into the pit below (roll me a reflex save)." It'll mostly be very small stuff like that, but I just want you to know it may happen when it inevitably must be done.
I'll also take control of your character if we're in combat and you don't post in a while - i'll grab control for the round and just run through the most basic set of actions possible for the scenario.
------------------
Criticals: Criticals get some flavor - depending on what sort of weapon you're striking, where you describe yourself to be striking, and how much you beat AC when confirming the crit, the effects will be variable. Spells can critical too - if a character rolls a 1 on a spell save the spell is a crit if they reroll and fail a second time - providing some unique bonuses to the spell! Criticals will usually it'll just be the basic multiplier but sometimes i get to roll on a really nifty table to roll to see if something interesting- but just as devastating - happens... (We got stuff as varied as a free trip attempt, puncturing larynxs for silence, breaking shit and removing bits'n'pieces) Which leads me into...
Dismemberment and Permanent Injury: Whenever a pc lands a solid hit on an npc - melee, magic, or otherwise, their is a slight chance you manage to deal some sort of permanent injury - critical strikes greatly increase this chance, as does knocking someone below 0. These range from removing limbs, poking out eyes, crushing bones, or horrifically burning and everything else conceivable. These apply some serious negative effects and can even instantly remove someone from the fight for the worst ones (decapitation is a thing). PCs can never be 'randomly' permanently injured but they can be in the case of a critical hit, getting hit by nasty traps, roleplaying scenarios (if you fall into a pit of acid, expect some scars) or being knocked below 0 - though the chances are lower. Regardless, i expect a good number of bad wounds to accumulate by the time this game is over.
Healing Changes: How does one HEAL these wounds - HEALING of course. Magical healing, though, is significantly nerfed while mundane healing gets some buffs.
-Health Healing, Magic: All healing for health (cure light, goodberry, etc.) occurs over time - it isn't instantaneous. One regains hit points at a rate of "Number of health points equal to healer's caster level/minute, rounded up". So if you get healed for 14 damage by a level 3 caster you gain 3 hp per minute, which lasts 5 minutes to do all 14 (rounded up). If you take damage before the healing is complete healing ceases immediately. This is meant to discourage 'bandage' tactics and represent a body gradually 'knitting up' magically, and try to make you all use healing more wisely/outside of combat. Clerics do things in combat other than heal now!
-Raise Dead, and the Like: Raise dead and other such revival spells ALWAYS have a 20% chance of failure and involve a ritual lasting up to a week. Ouch. The exception is breath of life - which maintains the 20% failure chance but is still instantaneous. Wish and True Resurrection have a ritual but no fail chance, because they're pricey and powerful.
-Regeneration: Regeneration works as normal if you have the body part you want to reattach, but just takes a day long ritual. If you don't have the body part, or the damage is more than a week old, it takes 2d4 days and has a 20% chance of failure.
-Mundane Healing: You can perform all heal checks without a healers kit, but take a -4 penalty. Healers kit give a +2 increase to the bonus on top of the usual stuff. You can heal ability score damage with a DC 25 heal check, but it takes 4 hours - you heal an extra point for ever 5 you beat the DC by. You can heal drain (but not negative levels) with a DC 35 check. You can heal some 'permanent injuries' (but not the big ones, like dismemberment) with 2d4 days of extended care, pay a gold cost in medical supplies, and beat a DC check based on the severity of the injury. On any heal check, if you fail by 5 or more you make things worse.
-"Encouragement": One can use a bluff, diplomacy, or intimidate check to 'encourage' someone to keep fighting despite their damage or convince them its not as bad as it looks. This doesn't actually heal anything, but allows someone at 0 hp to take more actions before they go down - though they still take damage for doing those strenuous actions. The DC is variable, but will usually be DC 20 + the number of turns they've been at 0 + their negative hp if they have any. Failing inflicts the shaken or sickened effect, failing by 5 or more inflicts the frightened or nauseated effect.
Alternative Attributes for Skills: Most skills can use a different ability score than normal to perform a skill check, but you receive half of your ability modifier as a bonus instead of the full modifier. They are as follows:
-Appraise: Wisdom
-Bluff: Intelligence
-Climb: Dexterity
-Craft: Wisdom
-Diplomacy: Wisdom
-Disable Device: Intelligence
-Disguise: Wisdom
-Escape Artist: Intelligence
-Handle Animal: Strength (functions like intimidate - big penalties on failure)
-Intimidate: Strength (The feat that does this already gains a +3 on top of giving you your full strength)
-Linguistics: Charisma (only with people, not with texts)
-Ride: Charisma
-Sense Motive: Charisma
-Sleight of Hand: Intelligence
-Stealth: Wisdom
-Swim: Dexterity
We'll be using the 'Chase' optional rules, heavily altered for the forum setting, if a pursuit breaks out.
We'll be using the Duel rules if a duel happens, which i doubt - but maybe. Any mono-a-mono combat with preset terms and conditions is a duel.
We'll be using a heavily modified version of the "Fame, Honor, and Reputation" system to augment the alignment system and provide some guidance to your relationship to the different people of Absalom in general. Most of this will be kept secret from you, but be hinted at in play through rp and such.
Set Hp gain'd each level: half you hit dice + 1 + con modifier. Example: A fighter with a con of 14 gets 8 hp per level. 1d10= 5 + 1 + 2 for con.
'Common' isn't a catchall language anymore - it's Taldane, the most popular regional human dialect in the inner sea. Every regional dialect takes its own level in linguistics to learn - not all humans, or all races for that matter, will speak Taldane (common)! Yep! For reference, Taldane, Orisian, and Kelish are the three most popular regional dialects in Absalom, but thereare many many more. (Heather and Ryan's character will likely speak Varisian and Hallit respectively). To be nice you'll all get a bonus starting language to make up for the number of regionals out there.
Special FRA rules: You can full round attack starting at level 1! WOW! If you Full round attack you get another attack that functions like a normal iterative. So, for example a two weapon fighter at level 1 who full round attacks will get three attacks at -2/-2/-7 penalties. Once they get a BAB of 6 the'll be going at -2/-2/-7/-12, While a one weapon fighter at 6 bab will have penalties of 0/-5/-10. for their attacks. It basically just gives an extra swing from the get go for Full round attacks - so they matter at early levels.
Mages can also 'full round attack' with cantrips. They can add a cantrip to any spell as a freebee if they spend a full round casting the spell (when it would normally take a standard).
Action downgrading: Normally you can turn a standard into a move, but now you can turn a move into a swift too!
Combat Maneuvers only provoke on a failed check.
Slashing Grace and Fencing Grace function like they used to - in that not just swashbucklers can take them.
Vital Strike and Devastating Strike can be used on any turn where you make just one attack - not just as a 'standard action'.
Piranha strike can be used with any finessable weapon.
You can keep getting your favored class bonuses for levels you take in your first prestige.
EDIT: theworldissquare.com/feat-taxes-in-pathfinder/ We'll be using these rules, excluding the two-weapon-fighting change - FRA is a lot mnore common in mapless combat.
-------------------------------------
I think that's it for now, next post'll be rules i'm not putting in just yet, but am considering.