My House Rules

Please note that with the advent of 3rd (and now 4th) Edition rules, many of these house rules which I implemented with 1st Edition AD&D are in the core rules now or no longer apply.

The following is a brief summary of the house rules that I use in the course of playing dnd. The purpose of this is to set out from the start the differences in the way that my game goes as opposed to the standard rules outlined in the official manuals.

Time

Time is handled somewhat differently in my game. It is broken up into the following units: meele round, round, and turn. A melee round is six seconds, during which a player can do one of the following:

This differs from the interpretation that some use that says that you can move then attack in one combat, or melee round. Furthur, the official explaination for a combat round is that it is a series of swings and misses and that it lasts one minute. This seems to be a little on the absurd side when you consider that a lousy archer could get off a shot every 15 seconds, which would give a nonproficient archer a firing rate of 4 shots per melee round. A good archer can pump off a round every three seconds, which fits nicely into the firing rate of 2/melee round of a bow if you assume a six second round. This is also about the time required to swing a two handed sword or to swing a lesser sword while protecting.

Initiative

Initiative is handled in the following way: Each party member rolls a six sided dice, as is done for each opponent (by the DM). The lower the roll the better. If I roll a 2, that means that I do my action in the second second of the melee round. If my opponent rolls a 1, he gets to go first. If he rolls a 3 or more, I go first. If we both roll the same (in this case 2's), both actions take place simultaneously.

Movement

Your maximum movement rate is just that, the distance that you can travel at a flat out run. The inches (") rating indicates how many one inch grid squares that you can cover in 6 seconds. An analysis of the sprinting speed of an average man verified this view of time. This is 4X his normal walking speed, and converts directly to mph with pretty accurate results. Thus a man in a flat out sprint could go about 12 mph, or 12" His normal speed is 3 mph, which comes out to 4x his top speed. If you wish to only cover half the distance and then do some action, no dice. The extra time remaining in the round is assumed to be used in stopping and readying for your next action, regaining your composure, as it were. As mentioned before, you cannot move and do an action in the same round. This cuts down on confusion, which often leads to arguments.

Miniatures

Miniatures will be used for all encounters, especially for those in which some combat or potential combat occurs. If you do not have one, one will be provided for you (your DM is a miniatures nut and will almost surely have one that you will like). This is to cut down on confusion and points of contention about who is standing where and the like. If your miniature is at point X, your character is at the same point, no exceptions. You are responsible for moving your miniature, so please don't ask the DM to do it for you. This will free up the DM for more important things which he must keep track of, and the physical action of moving the piece will tend to solidify in your mind where your character is at. Most players find that the miniatures really help in visualizing what is going on. Again, the reason behind this is simply to cut down on confusion and contention.

Spells

Spells are handled in the following way. If you have two or more spells of a given level, you can cast one of each, or the total amount of spells for that level of a single spell, or a combination. For example, if you have three first level spells, you could cast one once and another twice, all three of the same spell, or one of each. This gives more flexibility to the spellcaster and eliminates "double memorizing" and such silliness. When a spell is cast in melee, the casting time should be taken into account in the following way: You may not act sooner in the round than it would take to cast a given spell. In other words, if the spell takes 3 segments (seconds) to cast and you roll a 2, your spell will go off in the third segment. If you roll a 4, there is no difference from not using spell casting time at all. Spell "points" are regained with sleep. They are an expression of how much mental/metaphysical strength that the mage has rather than the "cast and forget" explanation on limit of spells per day. There is no limit placed on the number of cantrips used, which take no spell points. They are considered inherent talents of the mage. Cantrips will be limited to the ones listed formally in the Players Handbook (or Unearthed Arcana). Magic books must be carried and used to brush up on the day's spells before magic points are awarded. They should be guarded well, as without them, you are out of luck when out of magic points. Daily study is required to accomplish the complex rhythms and tones of casting magic, and this requires constant study.

Character Generation

Characters are rolled as follows: roll four 6-sided dice for each ability stat (ST, DX, WI, CH, CO, IN) and keep the highest three. Ones may be rerolled. If the character that you come up with seems hopeless, you may roll up to three total characters and choose the best one. Stats may be increased by taking away points from another score at the rate of 2-1. Thus if you have a 17 strength and want an 18, you will have to take away two points from another stat, or perhaps one from two stats. At first level, you max for hit points, but thereafter they are rolled as normal. This gives a first level character a fighting chance. Double specializations are not allowed, but single specializations are. Class restrictions

Food/Provisions

For the most part, I will not require the constant tallying of food and water used by the party unless it becomes an issue, like in a desert voyage or somthing like that. Likewise, I will not deal with the issue of encumbrance unless it is abused (you just can't take the kitchen sink with you). If you wish to purchase some equipment, look up the cost yourself and simply let the DM know that you wish to purchase something (while in a town), and he will tell you if it is available. If so, it will be purchased at the price listed in the book except in unusual circumstances.

Hit Points

It will be the responsibility of the individual player to keep track of hit points of their characters. If cheating occurs, a warning will be issued once only. A second time will result in the player being asked to leave the game indefinately. Dnd is a game in the spirit of fun and dishonesty is an issue that seems to trancend this spirit, to the extent of which it becomes a hassle for the DM (which is God here, by the way >grin!< ). Likewise gold and other consumables (arrows, bolts, throwing daggers, etc.) will be tallied by the players. I want as much time as possible for doing what the DM is there for: making an enjoyable and creative playing environment.

Experience Points

The issue of experience points (E.P.) comes up frequently. I issue experience points for killing monsters (as per DM's Guide), obtaining treasure (1 gold piece=1 E.P.), finding and identifying magic items (no experience awarded until it is sucessfullly identified), for good roleplaying, and for style. The last two are very subjective. Good roleplaying would include such things as staying in character and in separation of player and character knowledge. In other words, if you obtain and memorize the Monster Manual from cover to cover to find out how to defeat all of the monsters, but your character has never encountered them before, if you use this knowledge which YOU know, but your character would not, expect to get a minus when experience is awarded. It is also only fair that I warn you that many of the monsters are changed for this very reason, thus monsters in my world may not have exactly the same abilities in the traditional game. This is to keep the experience fresh each time a new monster is encountered. On the other hand, some monsters will just have different names in my world, so again, you will have difficulty in looking them up. In the early days of DND, it was strict taboo for a player to own or even look at a monster manual. This is a bit impossible where players often DM and vica versa, but the idea was good that konwledge be kept from the player which his/her (see I can be politically correct too) character doesn't know. As a brief explanation of style points, this is very hard to define in quantitative terms. It is a bonus given for extrodinary sacrifice, teamwork, brilliant thinking, glorious comebacks, and just generally keeping the DM entertained. If a pc risks his skin for the party, darn it, the guy has style, and should be rewarded as such. Optionally, at the end of each adventure (when E.P. is awarded), a secret ballot can be cast to see who the players think played with most inventiveness, sacrifice, etc. The winner will recieve a 10% bonus to their awarded experience points. In the event of a tie, no such bonus will be given. This is a teamwork bonus, and is strictly optional depending on the opinion of the party.

Alignment

I see alignment, in most cases, as very unimportant. For most characters and classes, your actions define your alignment, not the other way around. There are special exceptions in the case of the Bard and Palladin (certainly others; I'm not digging too deep in my memory). The only thing that I would say is that consistant play (keeping in character) will be awarded with E.P., so keep this in mind when choosing how you wish to play the character. On a related note, choosing a diety is strictly optional. If you feel that it is important to you for character development, it will not be discouraged. On the other hand, if you expect to call on him/her for assistance, forget it unless you can roll 4 twenty's in a row on a 20-sider or something (I have seen it once ... honest!). As far as diety is concerned, you are on your own.

Hirelings

Hirelings are sometimes available in the course of the game. They will be run as any other NPC, though their loyalty will usually go to the group, depending on the danger factor and the amount paid. They will not be willing "cannon fodder" as many use them for, so don't try it. They are brothers in arms, and will expect to be treated with fairness. Whether they will recieve a portion of the treasure gained will be determined at the time of hire.

Light

As most seasoned players know, you had better have a source of light with you unless all in the party have infravision. This might seem like a given, but I have been surprised before on this matter. Torches or lamps must be bought in advance, and the characters are not assumed to have them in their posession.

Splitting Treasure

As far as how treasure is to be divided, I leave this up to the party to iron out. I will not get involved in who should get what. If a theif wants to keep something that they found on their own, if nobody knows about it, I will try to communicate this through passed notes so as to not let those know things that they would have no way of knowing. If you wish to pass a secret note to the DM at any time, feel free. I think that they add a lot to the game and can often avoid player disputes (as opposed to disputes between characters).

Dungeon Master Style

I would like to put in my two cents worth on how I like to DM to give you an idea of what to expect. To start off with, I try to run a realistic, roleplaying centered game, with the emphasis on all having a good time. I feel that as a DM, my joy is to create an play environment in which the imagination as well as the thinking side of the brain is stimulated.

My world is probably somewhat different than other worlds that you have played in. I try to keep the style somewhat light, avoiding the horror style of Ravenloft, for example.

I have worked on my world for over 15 years off and on, so a great deal of thought has gone into it. I have some of the history worked out as well. My hope is that as you play more and more in this setting, you will come to learn more of the world and your character's place in it. Many areas of the continent of Asterland are quite well developed, while others are projects still under construction, so to speak.

The style of play that I enjoy most is one with quick paced combat as well as slower-paced problem solving. I try to balance the different elements of the game, but on the whole, the game tends to be more weighted towards problem solving, with a fair amount of interaction between pc's and npc's that they will meet, with less emphasis on combat.

I appreciate feedback from the players as to how they think that they campaign is going, and whether they are having a good time. This is absolutely necessary for me to be able to customize the play style to the players. Everyone likes diffent things. If more combat is desired, I can accomodate this, but I need to know honestly what you enjoy. Many think that the ideal is towards heavy role playing, and perhaps it is, but I think that the main purpose of the game is to have a great time, and this will only happen when the DM and players find a happy balance of game style that they can both agree on. I'll try not to preach my style of play, so if I do, feel free to get annoyed, but most of all, let me know. I have seen a few good games destroyed by lack of DM/player communication. I have seen few groups that are completely incompatible, but they DO exist, though I will make every effort to accomodate the party's wishes.

I dislike min/maxx'ing, the practice of squeezing every last plus or advantage out of the DM. I will balance the game to the abilities of the characters (and the players running them).

Death is infrequent among characters. I very much dislike killer DM's (even more than give away DM's). One philosophy that I have is that an "out" should exist at all times. In other words, your character may die due to bad luck, but I will never put you in a situation in which you cannot survive if you use your head. Sometimes using your head involves knowing when to run. I do not divide up my world into places for lower level adventurers to game in, where there will be no really tough monsters about, so don't think that you can take on everything/one that you meet. Many npc's are not supposed to be fought, but are a source of information. Likewise, some monsters are to be avoided altogether if possible.

I will try to give hints if the monster is just too tough to take on. For example, if you cannot score a hit on a monster, or if he seems unaffected by the best damage that you can dish out, this may be an indication to run for your lives! There will be no brand on the side of a catoblepas telling you the hit dice and special abilities of the monster, for example. If one of the party chooses mythology/folk lore type ability as a NWP, he/she may be able to figure out what a given monster is from legends and the like.

Storytelling is the style that I am really after, as if the DM were just the scribe and the players the ones writing the fantasy novel. I have written some fantasy literature before, thus find this a good analogy. I encourage each player to really get into their character and have fun with them. The aim of character development should be one of the most important goals of play, in my opinion. There is satisfaction in creating a believable character separate from the personality of the player. Most players' characters are simply an extension of their own personality. Why not try out something totally unlike yourself? You may find that you learn a lot about yourself as well as having a good time at it.

Feel free to use these rules as you see fit. If you wish to distribute all or parts of this text to others, I only ask that my name, email (cajur@hotmail.com), and the web address (www.imaginate.net/asterland) are included with the subject matter.