House Rules and Social Contract

House Rules

• Character creation
  • Humans begin play with 2 additional non-weapon proficiency slots.
  • Druids are not allowed.
  • All class kits are allowed.
  • Evil characters are not allowed.
  • Characters are rolled using 4d6 choose 3 12 times, taking any 6 results, and assigning them as desired.
  • Characters begin with maximum hit points for their first Hit Die.
  • Characters may choose to begin with average wealth for their class, or roll randomly. Characters introduced at a level higher than 1 will have starting gold equal to the average party wealth, and magical items of total value approximately equal to those of the rest of the party, assigned by the DM.
  • First level wizards begin with 5 spells of their choosing, plus Read Magic.
• Character advancement
  • All races can advance to any level in any allowed class.
  • Characters may add 1 to any ability score every 4 levels. Characters increasing Strength above 18 instead increase by one category of "exceptional strength." Strength may only reach 19 after passing through 18/00.
  • Clerics still improve THAC0 at a rate of 2 per 3 levels, but instead of 0, 0, 2, they advance at 0, 1, 1.
  • Characters may roll for HP, but any result of half the maximum or below results in one more than half the maximum (1 through 3 on 1d6 all result in 4).
  • Characters may also choose to take the average HP that this method produces (1d4=3.25, 1d6=4.5, 1d8=5.75, 1d10=7). Fractional hit points only apply towards future gains in HP - they do not count in game terms.
  • Characters are awarded individual experience based on their character classes according to the optional tables in the Dungeon Master's Guide, except that Rogues do not gain experience for treasure found.
• Combat
  • Characters fall unconscious at 0 and are stable, or are bleeding from -1 to -9 and lose 1 hp per round until stabilized. At -10, they die.
  • Bleeding characters have a 10% chance of stabilizing each round untended, and a full round spent tending to them by any character will automatically stabilize them.
  • A called shot may have greater or smaller penalties than -4 at the DM's discretion. All other rules apply.
  • A player may change his declared action after initiative is rolled, but this automatically places him last in the queue. If he was already last, he loses his action. You cannot change your action twice in one round.
  • If it is your turn to declare an action and you take longer than 20 seconds to decide, your action is to "wait."
• Unconsciousness/healing
  • Characters who are knocked unconscious and stable can be awakened 2d10 minutes after battle ends.
  • Characters who have been knocked unconscious do not lose all remaining spells for the day.
  • Unconscious characters who are healed above 0 hp but below their maximum, whether magically, naturally, or through the healing proficiency, wake up immediately but are too weak to fight until they have been healed again for at least 1 hp or they have been successfully treated by someone with the healing proficiency for 10 minutes.
  • Characters who are healed from unconscious to their maximum hp from a single effect are able to immediately fight at full capacity.
• Other
  • If a Pick Pocket attempt is failed by more than 25% against a normally alert target, the attempt is automatically noticed by the target.
  • First level wizards and clerics can memorize an extra spell every day. They use the normal casting limits for all other levels.
  • Characters can hold their breath for a number of rounds equal to 1/4 their Constitution instead of 1/3.
• Fate Points
  • All characters begin with 3 Fate Points at level 1, and gain a number equal to the new level gained every time they level up (so 2 at second level, 3 at third, etc).
  • Characters may spend 1 Fate Point to perform any of the following actions:
    • Gain a +8 bonus to any d20 roll before the roll is made.
    • Gain a bonus to damage equal to double the character's level after an attack roll is made.
    • Automatically stabilize when bleeding before rolling the 10% chance for the round.
    • Emulate a single weapon or non-weapon proficiency for the duration of the situation (1 battle, 1 trip, etc).
    • Gain a +10% bonus to experience gained for the previous session (must be stated by the beginning of the following session).
  • Characters may spend 2 Fate Points to stabilize at -9 hp instead of dying. Situations where they would continue to lose hit points after this point will require additional Fate Points to keep the character alive longer (such as drowning, burning, being crushed by a ceiling, etc).

Social Contract

A lot of this stuff is obvious and/or doesn't need to be discussed, but it's always nice to have it actually written down - that way, if anything is different from what you expect, we can talk about it and find something that works for everyone.

• Absent/late players
  • The game will be canceled when more than 3 players are absent.
  • Missing characters will be excluded from the adventure if it makes sense within the story. Otherwise, they will be controlled by other players or by the DM. Either way, they will receive group experience awards, but no individual awards.
  • The character of the player who is controlling the absent player's character gains an additional 10% of the experience for the session.
  • If an absent player's character is killed, the character will not lose the normal level or point of Constitution upon resurrection, and has a 100% resurrection survival rating, but all other penalties apply normally.
  • Absent characters receive a normal share of the monetary treasure, but have no say in magic item distribution.
  • Late players will be treated as absentee, except that their characters will always be controlled rather than left behind.
  • If a player is more than 30 minutes late, or there is reason to believe they will be, those present may start the game at any time without them.
• Player character behavior
  • Intra-party combat is prohibited unless all players at the table (and the DM) agree that it is suitable in the situation.
  • The party may not intentionally split up for extended durations or over very large distances. Players responsible for separating the party may suffer experience penalties or lose experience at the DM's discretion.
• Player behavior & player/character interaction
  • Common sense and decency are of course expected at all times.
  • If you will be significantly late, call ahead to let everyone know.
  • Profanity and lewd comments are highly discouraged.
  • Try to limit out-of-character talking, particularly when it is your turn to act.
  • If you say it, your character does it (or tries to). You cannot take back declared actions once any consequences have been stated.
  • Die rolls are invalid if the purpose of the roll is not known beforehand (you can't roll and then say "That's my attack roll"). If the DM is unclear on the purpose of the roll, then it must be rerolled after the intent is stated.
  • Do not use out-of-character knowledge. The DM may disallow actions based on this principle.
  • If your character is unconscious or not present, you may not offer suggestions to other players. Any suggestion that is stated is automatically barred from use by the player to whom it is given, unless it is clear they already planned to act that way.
• Game tone and style
  • Heroic adventure, lots of exploration, teamwork, dungeons, etc.
  • Don't roleplay the unimportant parts (shopping, gathering rumors at the bar) - skip to the action or the major scenes. If there is a particular reason you want to roleplay these parts, make sure it is quick or that everyone can enjoy it.
  • The party members are all adventurers - follow the hooks and do the quests! (Please?)
  • The action is mostly serious, but humor is still appreciated at the table. Don't bring too much silliness into the game world, though.
  • Character death will be rare, but definitely possible. The DM will avoid killing any characters due to sheer bad luck, but otherwise any death is fair.
  • The party is not expected to be able to survive a fight with all encounters, and must know when to run from or avoid a battle.
  • Experience-draining creatures may be used, but will be infrequent, and only after the party has the resources to potentially counteract the drain in some way.
• New players and characters
  • Any player may invite any new player after receiving the DM's approval. They should do their best to make sure the new player will fit in with the rest of the group.
  • Any new character begins play with an amount of experience equal to the character with the least experience in the party.

Currencies and Common Exchange Rates

Freylan

These coins were minted by Freylia, the greatest of the superpowers before the Devastation, and so remain among the most common coins in existence. On average, a commoner's wages would amount to roughly two silver Freylin per week. The designs on the coins vary greatly, depending on the age of the coin. In general, the front features the face of one of the kings, and the back has the Freylian crest. Despite the differences, the metal content is consistent enough that Freylan coins are generally considered to be the standard unit of exchange in civilized areas. These coins also feature a hole near one edge large enough to thread a leather thong through for easy carrying.

Xhan

Xhandi coins were used almost exclusively by the Xhandian Empire, and their use spread little. In the old days, anyone outside of Xhandel found in possession of even a single Xhan was considered suspicious, and those trading in large numbers of these coins were likely to be charged with treason. Even today, Xhandi coins are used primarily by the evil humanoid races and those who deal with them, so using them in the wrong setting may draw suspicion. The design on the back face is an engraved sun, and on the front is an etching of one of the great Xhandian temples. Which temple varies with the type of coin.

Crescent

Crescents are common among elves and sylvan races, and are instantly recognizable by their unique shape. Each coin is cut in the shape of a crescent moon, except for the mythril Full Crescent, which nevertheless has a crescent embossed on each side.