Archive for the ‘rules’ Category
[PF, 3.5] Not Just Humans Can Mix with Elves and Orcs
While playing Munchkin a couple of weeks ago, a player got a “half-breed” card which lets him combine any two races. Then it hit me: why does D&D (and Pathfinder, etc.) only list half-elf and half-orc as possible half-breeds? Why not half-dwarf, or for that matter halfling-elf or gnome-orc? Well, I guess the reasons are [...]
June 24, 2011
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Tags: dwarf, elf, gnome, half-breed, halfling, orc, pathfinder, races · Posted in: rules
(D&D Any) Simple Hit Location Subsystem?
First, I’m throwing “(D&D Any)” to the front of this post’s title so people can easily see where it applies. I think something like that (borrowed from several message boards) is helpful sometimes. A couple of days ago I had an interesting idea (I hope) regarding hit points. I’m sure there are similar subsystems out [...]
June 13, 2011
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Tags: damage, death, hit die, hit points · Posted in: rules
Random Magic Fountain/Pool Effects Chart
I was searching for a chart that lists random effects if one drinks from a magic fountain or pool of water. (I just think the idea is cool.) I only found references to NetHack’s fountains, an article in Dragon #34 (which I looked up thanks to my Dragon Archive CD and it wasn’t really what [...]
October 26, 2010
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Tags: chart, effects, magic, random · Posted in: resources, rules
More on Multiclassing (or Creating Alternate Classes) in Pathfinder/3.5
A day or two ago I posted here and in a couple of forums about a different (yet simple) way to multiclass in Pathfinder, although the concept probably applies to 3.5 and most variants as well. If you’re just joining this discussion, this version of multiclassing is more along the lines of giving simple rules [...]
October 14, 2010
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Tags: class creation, multiclass, pathfinder · Posted in: rules
Tinkering with Multi-Classing in Pathfinder
So I had a bit of an idea of how to do multi-classing differently than I’ve seen it done before. Before I go further, let me clarify that this is a way to revise the classes as needed. It isn’t so much a matter of creating a Paladin/Wizard as it is a matter of creating [...]
October 12, 2010
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Tags: multi-class, multiclass, pathfinder · Posted in: rules
Alternate Rules for Spellcasters Out of Spells (Update)
About a week ago I asked for small, simple rules changes to let spellcasters have something useful to do or a way to cast one more critical spell even when the spellcaster is spent. There were several good ideas, including reminders about the use of normal ranged weapons (even though I mentioned that) and scroll [...]
May 21, 2010
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Tags: blood magic, familiar, magic, spellcasters · Posted in: rules
Alternate Rules/Ideas for Spellcasters out of Spells?
I’ve been kicking around ideas for some alternate rules or something for spellcasters who run out of spells early in an adventuring day. I’ve thought about this issue before and even put together a tongue-in-cheek top 10 list on the subject. Let me frame the issue a little more: What should a spellcaster (or the [...]
May 14, 2010
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Tags: feats, rules, spellcaster · Posted in: rules
Top 5 2008 Essays @Inkwell Ideas
A day has already passed into the new year so before it gets too much further allow me to highlight a few of my favorite essays here from the past year. One of my most popular essays (and in this case it links to a full 4000+ word article) based on traffic is Worldbuilding: Religion [...]
January 2, 2009
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Tags: 2008, coat of arms, message board, worldbuilding · Posted in: advice, gm tips, heraldry, player tips, rules, worldbuilding
Making Critical Hits More Interesting
An essay on another blog a few weeks back reminded me that I always wanted to revise critical hits to make them more interesting. When considering ways to do this, I remembered how much I loved the old Battletech critical hit system. In that system if a hit was critical a roll determined which specific [...]
November 30, 2008
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Tags: critical hit, double damage · Posted in: gm tips, rules
Alternatives to Magic Item Creation Experience Point Cost
Most fantasy games make magic item creation difficult because the designers believe that some players might abuse the system by creating many (or particularly powerful) magic items. Therefore, some fantasy game systems require characters who create magic items to expend some of their experience points when creating magic items. The key problem with this solution [...]
April 15, 2008
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Tags: experience points, fantasy, magic item creation, magic items · Posted in: rules
