Insectux (3.5e Campaign Setting)/Rules

=Removed=

The below is completely removed from this setting:
 * Abilities (Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha)
 * Touch (AC): insects are always completely armored.
 * Armor, shield, and Dex bonuses to armor
 * Spell-like, Psi-like, and Supernatural abilities, removed, all abilities are extraordinary.
 * Anything magic
 * Most gear; talk to GM for special circumstances.
 * Most skills have been removed

=Modified or Added=

Saves
Saves now modify skills (fort, ref, will).

Every 3 points in a save boosts skills attributed to them by 1. Many skills do not have a save modifier.

When being attacked, one may use Armor Class or a Save to resist (depending on how one defends); however some things can only be resisted with AC, and others only with a specific save. Unless otherwise noted: Reflex can replace AC (and visa versa), and Fortitude can replace Will (and visa versa). (However Reflex cannot replace Fortitude, nor Will replace AC.)

Fauna and flora that poison do not have a DC to resist, instead it is treated as a regular attack.

Skills
Skills play a much larger role in this setting, see the skill page. In most cases the skill has been severely modified, and only the following skills are still in uses here: Acrobatics, Deception, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Grapple, Hide, Intimidate, Sense, Survival, Autohypnosis, Craft, Fly, Heal, Jump, Knowledge and Swim.

Actions
Changes in action types:
 * Attack actions:
 * Movement:
 * Standard/Full-round: Merged into “standard action”
 * Grappling: Grapple becomes a skill; grapple additionally replaces the Ride skill.

Hit points
A players health is either low, medium, high, or very high (see below table). Every level health improves one step.

Armor
If armor is not mentioned in ones insect type, one does not have armor. One can gain armor via evolutions, or from crafting. However, avoiding damage is more practical than taking it in this game.

Damage Types
Slashing, piercing and bludgeoning remain, as do acid, heat, cold, and poison.

Initiative
Add Reflex and sense skill, then divide by 3 (round down) to get initiative bonus.

Movement
Hexagons are used instead of squares in this game, hexagons blocks are one decimeter across. A hexigon block is called for short a Hex. Flying is very common in this game, however, high is not meant to be exactly determined (i.e., using hexagonal prisims) – instead, “you are roughly 10 Hex above the mound,” will do.

Speed signifies total number of Hex one can move to in a round.

Aiding
One may aid in only the following skills: Deception, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Survival, Craft, Heal and Knowledge. Aiding with social skills (deception, diplomacy and intimidate) grants a +1 bonus per 4 points in the skill. Aiding with Escape Artist will give a +2 bonus. Aiding in Survival, Craft and Knowledge gives a +1 bonus per 3 points.

A player can be aided by only one creature per level.

You must have the skill and the minimum ranks to aid (i.e., social: 4, survival, craft and knowledge 3).

Resurrection
This game does not allow resurrection, however a player may choose to become an offspring of their original character. All evolutions and feats remain the same, and Health gets rerolled (if you take a feature that improves health class it will be retroactive).

You do not gain any memories of the original, unless they were shared before death. Reduce skill gain by 1 each level (are granted 4 instead of 5).

A player may instead create a new insect by talking to the GM.

Rolling
Instead of a d20, use a d10 for attack, intuitive, saves, and skill rolls.

Leveling
Every 3 sessions the group will level up. No member will level more or less than others.

Each leveling players select either two feats (that still is usable under the above rules) or two evolutions (or one of each). Players can only do a evolution tree once per level (i.e., if you take “Wings” you must wait until the next leveling to take “Improved Mobility”). Players get 5 skill points they may disperse where they wish (but no more than 2 in a single skill). Players improve health by one step each level.

This setting is made for medium length campaigns.

Sustenance
The monotony of food and eating is generally not considered greatly in most campaigns, unless a special interest should come up (i.e., character is a cook, or the one or two grand feast your party encounters). It is generally assumed the party eat, when studying or in taverns. An insect has even fewer stores of energy within its tiny mass. Making eating much more essential, however this can harm game play if given too many mechanics – if the party does not make a habit of starvation, nothing will be done. Yet if they do so, the GM can always introduce Dooms and other punishing techniques.