|
.
|
House Rules
No roleplaying system is perfect. First, all the players could be looking for something different out of the game. Secondly, the system designers had a set idea of what "roleplaying" was when they designed it. And probably most obviously, any system that tries to describe life with paper and pencil, dice and cards, is bound to fail.
House rules are a means of approximating that idea of perfection within the game.
Rules in Cyan, Examples in Red.
Systems:
For AD&D
I've always disliked the combat system in AD&D primarily because of Hit Points. A fighter as low as second level can be relatively assured of dispatching an Orc or Goblin without threat of majour harm. At higher levels you start to see things like: Warriors without armour charging a band of Archers (because they know they can take four or five arrows without worrying.) Nobody fears the thief in the tavern with the throwing knife (you can take a direct hit and still strangle the ruffian.) Everyone chooses the same weapons because they of the amount of damage that they do (Brute force is the answer to high Hit points.)
A skilled assasin should be able to kill with one arrow, or one throwing knife. Especially against unarmoured assailents. Yeomen were reknown for dispatching mounted Knights with longbows. A crossbow bolt IS something to be afraid of.
The rule is adapted from the rule governing primitive firearms, plus an article concerning Fencing Styles in Dragon MagazineTM
- Any natural 20 is a critical hit.
This allows for lucky strikes by everyone.
- Any hit that succeeds by 6 or more is also a critical hit.
This allows skilled combatants more critical hits, especially against unarmoured targets.
- Roll twice for damage.
This is the prize of the critical.
- Any roll that maximizes the die (6 on a d6) gets rolled again for extra damage.
This allows a single arrow, from a lucky or skilled archer, to take down even the most powerful creature.
Example
Audry nocks her longbow. She is a fifth level Elven Warrior, specialized in bows, with a +1 Dex adjustment (Thaco 13). She takes aim at the arrogant old soldier who had assaulted her earlier as he stumbles out of the tavern after a long night of carousing (HP 30, AC 10 - No armour, drinking negating any dex bonous). She rolls a ten, hiting the soldier by seven, enough for a crit.
She rolls two d8s for damage (sheaf arrows.) She rolls lucky an gets two eights. 16 pts. She rolls them again since she maxed them. A four, and another eight. 28pts. Then she rolls the eight again, and scores another eight, and then a three. 39pts of damage. The soldier drops to the ground with an arrow burried deep in his chest.
Of course it is still unlikely that a single throwing knife will kill the great red worm. As it should be. But the chance is there. Warriors think twice about charging that small band of country yokles armed with hunting bows.
Working around language barriers is always an interesting and challanging part of roleplaying. This rule is simple:
- Any begining character gets a free nonweapon proficiency to put in either thier 'native' language, or the 'common' language.
Of course, if the character is an elf that has been raised by Dwarves, then Dwarven is his native language. The 'common' language in my campaign is generally Thrilltorian, but not always. In some places, Thrilltorian is reserved for the nobility, and Ballic is the common language. In effect, this rule gives the character a free language that makes sense to the character.
For Car Wars
- There will be exactly 7 seconds of noncombatant activity in the Bradely Public Autoduel arena before any attacks are legal. Any attacks, rams, or intentional attempts to force collisions before the 8th second will disqualify the duelist responsible.
The BPAA is hexagonal with arena mounted weapons in the center of each side. At the end of the seventh second, one of these weapons will fire, signalling that attacks are now legal.
|