Oct 9, 2016 7:30 am
Accepted Rule Variants and a Few House Rules
-Deception, Insight, Persuasion and Intimidation checks have no effect when a PC uses them against another PC. If you want to convince another PC to do something, you'll need to convince them by your own means instead of forcing it through dice. It's been a rule in all of the games I played in when I was first learning D&D, in person, and so this is more of a tradition for me than anything.
-I'm taking this modified Side Initiative rule from Candi (it may have originated somewhere else), but Initiative will be handled differently in the hopes that we can speed things along. The Enemy Initiative will be an average of all opponents' rolled Initiative, and the Player Initiative will be an average of all PCs' rolled Initiative. These are the only two values that matter in the Turn Order. PCs will act in the order that they post once it is the Players' turn.
-(DMG 266) Healer's Kit Dependency: A character can't spend any Hit Dice after finishing a short rest until someone expends one use of a healer's kit to bandage and treat the character's wounds.
-(DMG 271) Climb onto a bigger creature: After making any ability checks necessary to get into position and onto the larger creature, the smaller creature uses its action to make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by the target's Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If it wins the contest, the smaller creature successfully moves into the target creature's space and clings to its body. While in the target's space, the smaller creature movs with the target and has advantage on attack rolls against it.
The smaller creature can move around within the larger creature's space, treating the space as difficulty terrain. The larger creature's ability to attack the smaller creature depends on the smaller creature's location, and is left to the GM's discretion. The larger creature can dislodge the smaller creature as an action by making a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the smaller creature's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.
-(DMG 271) Mark: When a creature makes a melee attack, it can also mark its target. Until the end of the attacker's next turn, any opportunity attacks it makes against the marked target has advantage. The opportunity attack doesn't expend the attacker's reaction, but the attacker can't make the attack if anything is preventing it from taking reactions. The attacker is limited to one opportunity attack per turn.
-(DMG 271) Disarm: The attacker makes an attack roll contested by the target's Strength (Athletics) check or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the attacker wins the contest, the attack causes no damage or other ill effect, but the defender drops the item. The attacker has disadvantage on its attack roll if the target is holding the item with two or more hands. The target has advantage on its ability check if it is larger than the attacking creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller.
-(DMG 272) Overrun: As an action or bonus action, the mover makes a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the hostile creature's Strength (Athletics) check. The creature attempting the overrun has advantage on this check if it is larger than the hostile creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller. If the mover wins the contest, it can move through the hostile creature's space once this turn.
-(DMG 272) Shove aside: With this option, a creature uses the special shove attack from the PHB to force a target to the side, rather than away. The attacker has disadvantage on its Strength (Athletics) ccheck when it does so. If that check is successful, the attacker moves the target 5 feet to a different space within its reach.
-(DMG 272) Tumble: A creature can try to tumble through a hostile creature's space, ducking and weaving past the opponent. As an action or a bonus action, the tumbler makes a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the tumber wins the contest, it can move through the hostile creature's space once this turn.
-(DMG 272) Cleaving through creatures: When a melee attack reduces an undamaged creature to 0 hit points, any excess damage from that attack might carry over to another creature nearby. The attacker targets another creature within reach and, if the original attack roll can hit it, applies any remaining damage to it. If that creature was undamaged and is likewise reduced to 0 hit points, repeat this process, carrying over the remaining damage until there are no valid targets, or until the damage carried over fails to reduce an undamaged creature to 0 hit points.
-(DMG 272) Hitting Cover: First, determine whether the attack roll would have hit the protected target without the cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target but high enough to strike the target if there had been no cover, the object used for cover is struck. If a creature is providing cover for the missed creature and the attack roll exceeds the AC of the covering creature, the covering creature is hit.
-(DMG 272) Lingering Injuries: At times deemed appropriate by the GM, such as when a PC or NPC falls to 0 hit points, characters may suffer Lingering Injuries as determined by a roll chart on page 272 of the DMG. These injuries range from losing an eye or gaining a minor scar. Injuries such as these can be healed by varying levels of restoration magic, but may force an expedition to reconsider descending further if a PC cannot continue.
-It's probably just my group, but I don't tend to see Inspiration used very often, and so I forget about it a lot. This game isn't going to use Inspiration, but during particularly dramatic moments I may award specific rolls with Advantage if there's good roleplay or for particularly well-written posts.
-EXP can be gained from more than just combat encounters. Sneaking past an ambush, talking your way out of a tense stand off, solving a puzzle, surviving a trap, making a discovery are all ways of earning just as much EXP as a combat encounter.
-Resurrection: Borrowing the idea from 13th Age, Resurrection is a soul-straining experience for both the caster and the person being revived. A person, PC or NPC, can only be revived 4 times, and similarly a caster can only cast a spell that brings someone back from the dead 4 times. If a 5th use is gained by some means, that 5th use of a resurrection-capable spell will kill the caster upon completion of the spell. A caster killed in this way cannot be revived by any means. The exact effects of all of this can be discussed further elsewhere.
-PC Death and Recycling: I'm very new to GP, and one of my hopes in running a game was to be introduced to a lot of the players here. Therefore, if a PC is killed and the chances of them being revived are slim, a new player will be offered the chance to make a character and play. Unless the incoming character's backstory calls for their immediate entry, that character will join the party when they next return to the surface. This is assuming there are enough people who hold an interest in playing. The queue, if there is one, will be on a first come, first serve basis. Players whose PCs have died may rejoin eventually, or immediately if no other players wish to join.
Some Notes:
-If you have any issues with the game, how I run it, or any ways that I could make it more fun for you, feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to see if we can work something out.
-I should always be able to post at least once a day, but I imagine it'll be more than that on most days.
-A lot of what I wrote in the History of Auwra contains phrases like "It is believed that," or "It is said that," so feel free to write your own take on things. Virtually nothing is set in stone exactly the way that I've written it up, so feel free to talk with me about how your character's backstory could alter what I've written. Also, as far as town names go, feel free to make your own or use one of the names I provided. The majority of them are from a random generator anyway.
-Deception, Insight, Persuasion and Intimidation checks have no effect when a PC uses them against another PC. If you want to convince another PC to do something, you'll need to convince them by your own means instead of forcing it through dice. It's been a rule in all of the games I played in when I was first learning D&D, in person, and so this is more of a tradition for me than anything.
-I'm taking this modified Side Initiative rule from Candi (it may have originated somewhere else), but Initiative will be handled differently in the hopes that we can speed things along. The Enemy Initiative will be an average of all opponents' rolled Initiative, and the Player Initiative will be an average of all PCs' rolled Initiative. These are the only two values that matter in the Turn Order. PCs will act in the order that they post once it is the Players' turn.
-(DMG 266) Healer's Kit Dependency: A character can't spend any Hit Dice after finishing a short rest until someone expends one use of a healer's kit to bandage and treat the character's wounds.
-(DMG 271) Climb onto a bigger creature: After making any ability checks necessary to get into position and onto the larger creature, the smaller creature uses its action to make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by the target's Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If it wins the contest, the smaller creature successfully moves into the target creature's space and clings to its body. While in the target's space, the smaller creature movs with the target and has advantage on attack rolls against it.
The smaller creature can move around within the larger creature's space, treating the space as difficulty terrain. The larger creature's ability to attack the smaller creature depends on the smaller creature's location, and is left to the GM's discretion. The larger creature can dislodge the smaller creature as an action by making a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the smaller creature's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.
-(DMG 271) Mark: When a creature makes a melee attack, it can also mark its target. Until the end of the attacker's next turn, any opportunity attacks it makes against the marked target has advantage. The opportunity attack doesn't expend the attacker's reaction, but the attacker can't make the attack if anything is preventing it from taking reactions. The attacker is limited to one opportunity attack per turn.
-(DMG 271) Disarm: The attacker makes an attack roll contested by the target's Strength (Athletics) check or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the attacker wins the contest, the attack causes no damage or other ill effect, but the defender drops the item. The attacker has disadvantage on its attack roll if the target is holding the item with two or more hands. The target has advantage on its ability check if it is larger than the attacking creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller.
-(DMG 272) Overrun: As an action or bonus action, the mover makes a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the hostile creature's Strength (Athletics) check. The creature attempting the overrun has advantage on this check if it is larger than the hostile creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller. If the mover wins the contest, it can move through the hostile creature's space once this turn.
-(DMG 272) Shove aside: With this option, a creature uses the special shove attack from the PHB to force a target to the side, rather than away. The attacker has disadvantage on its Strength (Athletics) ccheck when it does so. If that check is successful, the attacker moves the target 5 feet to a different space within its reach.
-(DMG 272) Tumble: A creature can try to tumble through a hostile creature's space, ducking and weaving past the opponent. As an action or a bonus action, the tumbler makes a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the tumber wins the contest, it can move through the hostile creature's space once this turn.
-(DMG 272) Cleaving through creatures: When a melee attack reduces an undamaged creature to 0 hit points, any excess damage from that attack might carry over to another creature nearby. The attacker targets another creature within reach and, if the original attack roll can hit it, applies any remaining damage to it. If that creature was undamaged and is likewise reduced to 0 hit points, repeat this process, carrying over the remaining damage until there are no valid targets, or until the damage carried over fails to reduce an undamaged creature to 0 hit points.
-(DMG 272) Hitting Cover: First, determine whether the attack roll would have hit the protected target without the cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target but high enough to strike the target if there had been no cover, the object used for cover is struck. If a creature is providing cover for the missed creature and the attack roll exceeds the AC of the covering creature, the covering creature is hit.
-(DMG 272) Lingering Injuries: At times deemed appropriate by the GM, such as when a PC or NPC falls to 0 hit points, characters may suffer Lingering Injuries as determined by a roll chart on page 272 of the DMG. These injuries range from losing an eye or gaining a minor scar. Injuries such as these can be healed by varying levels of restoration magic, but may force an expedition to reconsider descending further if a PC cannot continue.
-It's probably just my group, but I don't tend to see Inspiration used very often, and so I forget about it a lot. This game isn't going to use Inspiration, but during particularly dramatic moments I may award specific rolls with Advantage if there's good roleplay or for particularly well-written posts.
-EXP can be gained from more than just combat encounters. Sneaking past an ambush, talking your way out of a tense stand off, solving a puzzle, surviving a trap, making a discovery are all ways of earning just as much EXP as a combat encounter.
-Resurrection: Borrowing the idea from 13th Age, Resurrection is a soul-straining experience for both the caster and the person being revived. A person, PC or NPC, can only be revived 4 times, and similarly a caster can only cast a spell that brings someone back from the dead 4 times. If a 5th use is gained by some means, that 5th use of a resurrection-capable spell will kill the caster upon completion of the spell. A caster killed in this way cannot be revived by any means. The exact effects of all of this can be discussed further elsewhere.
-PC Death and Recycling: I'm very new to GP, and one of my hopes in running a game was to be introduced to a lot of the players here. Therefore, if a PC is killed and the chances of them being revived are slim, a new player will be offered the chance to make a character and play. Unless the incoming character's backstory calls for their immediate entry, that character will join the party when they next return to the surface. This is assuming there are enough people who hold an interest in playing. The queue, if there is one, will be on a first come, first serve basis. Players whose PCs have died may rejoin eventually, or immediately if no other players wish to join.
Some Notes:
-If you have any issues with the game, how I run it, or any ways that I could make it more fun for you, feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to see if we can work something out.
-I should always be able to post at least once a day, but I imagine it'll be more than that on most days.
-A lot of what I wrote in the History of Auwra contains phrases like "It is believed that," or "It is said that," so feel free to write your own take on things. Virtually nothing is set in stone exactly the way that I've written it up, so feel free to talk with me about how your character's backstory could alter what I've written. Also, as far as town names go, feel free to make your own or use one of the names I provided. The majority of them are from a random generator anyway.