User:DanielDraco/sandbox

Eyes Upon the Hero

An adventurer lives a difficult life. If he fails to save a town, to slay a dragon, to bring everyone back alive, he is considered a failure. These can't really be considered reasonable expectations, can they? Yet everyone holds an adventurer to them. Everyone.

Rules

Character Creation and Levelup

• There are no alignments. This means, for example, that Smite Evil becomes simply Smite -- and you can use it against whomever you want.
• All standard races are replaced with these.
• We are using this point buy system.
• Max HP for every hit die. Also, you get a bonus +20 hit points.
• You gain a bonus to AC based on your BAB, and miscellaneous bonuses are nerfed a bit, as detailed here.
• If you have a Medium BAB (like a rogue), you get some goodies to compensate. For classes that aren't detailed there, consult me.
• Save bonuses are completely different.
• You automagically get bonuses (ignore everything below the table on that page) as you level up, but those bonuses from magic items are gone.
• You get an extra feat at levels 2, 4, and 5.
• Experience-to-level thresholds don't scale quadratically. It always takes only 1,000 XP to go from one level to the next.

Gameplay

• Size bonuses/penalties to special attacks and Hide checks scale at a rate of 1 per size category, instead of the silly quadratic bullshit of the standard rules.
• Any time an effect refers to HD, replace it with CR.
• Spells, maneuvers, and powers have a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 character level (not class level) + relevant ability score. Other abilities may be given this same DC, but ask me first.
• Taking 10 and 20 works differently.
• You can retry Knowledge checks, but it takes 1 round, consuming all your actions -- you can't think of it off the top of your head, so you have to stop and focus on trying to remember. This can be used in concert with the previous rule.
• You can take stock of your situation as a standard action to gain a smallish bonus.
• You gain an ability to increase the effectiveness of any healing effect on you; in exchange, healing effects are limited outside combat. Can also be triggered (with limits) when taking stock.
• Falling below 0 HP works a little differently.
• Full attacks are completely different, but much simpler.
• Concentration and Tumble are harder to use.

Buffed are the Weak, for Theirs is the Kingdom of Celestia

• Stone Dragon maneuvers do not care whether you and your target are touching the ground.
• Stone Dragon stances do not end when you move.
• Sneak attack (and other sources of Precision-based damage such as Sudden Strike and Skirmish) deals 1/2 damage to creatures immune to critical hits.

Sin Queso

• Efreeti's wishes last 1d12 hours. You will not know the result of this roll until the time expires.
• Everything on this list does not exist.
• Save-or-die effects instead deal 10 damage per level.
• Ability damage or drain instead deals damage equal to the target's level for each point of damage dealt, and grants -2 to all checks (skill checks, ability checks, attack rolls, etc) and DCs dependent on the targeted ability score for a number of rounds equal to the amount of ability damage/drain dealt.
• Negative levels instead deal damage equal to twice the target's level for each negative level dealt, and grant -2 to all checks (skill checks, ability checks, attack rolls, etc) and DCs for a number of rounds equal to the number of negative levels dealt.
• When a critical hit is achieved, multiply the base damage of the weapon (including enhancements it might possess) by its multiplier. Sneak attack, Strength damage, and other sources of damage outside the base weapon damage and enhancements are not multiplied. The main effect of this is that high-strength monsters won't one-hit you on a crit.

Possibly Inconsequential

• If the campaign goes beyond level 20, it will operate under E20 rules.
• If you die, you don't just lose. But a hero's quest demands victory -- there will be consequences for falling.
• Healing spells are Necromancy, not Conjuration.

Material

Balance

We will be using primarily High power material. I will not define any hard restrictions, but please try to stay within that range; you can play a Very High class if you want, but I expect you to use your best judgement and not use anything too ridiculously strong. If you're unsure about some material, just ask me. We're operating under Grimoire rules, so anything with that label is likely to fit better than other material (most of it is listed below anyway, but there are a few that I haven't looked at in that category and thus have not listed).

Replacements

This material replaces WotC material of the same name, and either must be used instead of the original because it fixes something, or is strictly superior to the original and so there is no reason to take the original.

• Combat Reflexes
• Goad
• Power Attack (note that it can apply to ranged attacks)
• Spring Attack
• Stand Still
• Toughness

Homebrew Whitelist

Here's a list of pre-approved material from this wiki that you can feel free to use. For any other homebrew, you have to ask me first.

Classes

• Gentleman Explorer -- fights with solitary ranged attacks and has some survivalist utility
• Berskerer -- basically a replacement for the barbarian
• Marshal -- support character; vaguely like a bard, but infinitely more interesting
• Sharpshooter -- exactly what it sounds like
• Flammenwerfer (except that Smoke Blast and the blinding version of Bright Fire are only usable once per encounter each, and Sudden Airblast is not available) -- the Pyro from Team Fortress 2
• Thief Acrobat -- like a rogue, but more interested in mobility
• Grimoire Rogue -- a rogue variant that's a little stronger and cleaned up for Grimoire; be sure to read Sneak Attack, because it works a little differently from core
• Bloodcloud Assailant -- fills the air with blood, then hits harder while standing in it
• Grimoire Soulknife -- you all know what a soulknife is; here's one that doesn't suck quite so hard

Feats

• Bladeblast -- for the Grimoire soulknife; perform psychic strike as an area effect
• Blood of Stone -- use immediate action to reduce damage taken
• Dash -- move as a swift action; can be used instead of Mobility to meet prereqs
• Defensive Strike -- free attack against foes who attack you
• Deft Opportunist -- free AoO against foes that stay close
• Distracting Barrage -- lay down covering fire to give penalty to foes
• Extended Psychic Strike -- for the Grimoire soulknife; frees up your swift action for other stuff
• Focused Energy -- a little more oomph with energy spells
• Iron Tide -- when using power attack, push back foes with each strike
• Quick Reconnoiter -- lets you take stock (or gain a second wind) as a swift actin 1/encounter
• Ranged Feint -- exactly what it sounds like
• Ranged Flanking -- exactly what it sounds like
• Sharpshooter -- vastly superior replacement for Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot
• Shielded in Life -- gain a mental ability score to AC
• Spiritual Weapon -- like Weapon Finesse, but for any weapon, any ability score, and damage too
• Stilled Charge -- gain all the benefits of charging without actually moving
• Grimoire Stone Power -- a little worse than standard in the first few levels, but remains useful indefinitely
• Grimoire Spring Attack -- full attack in a spring attack

Graylist

This is material that I think might be suitable based on what others have said and/or on my knowledge of the authors' work, but which I have not yet looked at. I will probably look through these and either remove or whitelist them on my own (eventually), but they're good articles for you to look over and ask me about if one catches your eye.

• Grimoire Tenken -- a really fast warrior-type
• Grimoire Necromancer -- based on the Diablo II necromancer
• Agent -- as in, a government operative
• Tome Assassin -- a base class assassin that's more worth taking
• Electric Mage -- exactly what it sounds like
• Halberdier -- uses a halberd really well
• Shaman -- a replacement for the Druid
• Schismsoul -- a guy with magical dissociative identity disorder
• Iaijutsu Master -- fights while repeatedly sheathing and unsheathing his weapon
• Trapsmith -- exactly what it sounds like
• The material in Complete Sublime is often quite good, and I would encourage you to consider those classes if you want to play a martial adept. However, those classes use homebrew disciplines that I have not reviewed (and I'm not about to go through every single manuever), so if you want to play one of them I'll need to approve your maneuver selections each level. I doubt I'll often, if ever, veto a maneuver, but I'd like to play it safe.