My House Rules

[arderkrag]

Hi all,

I've been running Conan since it came out and my group absolutely loves it. I tend to run a pretty brutal game, and it is well received by all. At first, everyone whined a little at the way it differs from a standard D&D game (or even most fantasy rpgs) but thy've really grown to like it. I thought I'd post my house rules here to let you all peruse them and grab what you like out of them.

Armor Piercing value - We add this as damage instead of trying to figure on the fly whether or not damage reduction should be halved. For example, a Greatsword deals 2d10 damage and has a piercing value of 4. If a character has a strength mod of 6, the sword deals 2d10+9. Add the 4 points of piercing and you have a total of 2d10+13 damage.

Parrying/Dodging - The values are figured in the same way, however, a character can choose to remove the base 10 from Parry and attempt to parry as a roll. This uses up one attack at the character's lowest attack bonus the next round.

Ability scores - since Conan is such a brutal world and is about survival, we roll stats with d20s instead of 4d6 or 5d6 methods. Each stat can be rolled for twice, keep the higher of the 2. No scores under 3 , obviously.

Magic - almost nonexistent, like in the stories. Especially healing.

Massive damage - roll 2d12, try to score beneath your Con score. on a roll of two 12s you fail regardless of how high your Constitution score. You only make this save if half your hps are taken in a single shot, such as by a single attack, spell, or fall.

Falling/Traveling damage: Change from core values to d10s.

Experience: Experience is gained individually. Characters gain 50 xp per hit die of their opponent, plus 50 per powerful special ability of the opponent (examples include an ability that reproduces a spell at will, breath weapon, etc.) Characters split experience only for treasure found (1/2 sp value) or for a creature they all help defeat. If one man kills 5 first levels and another kills 1, the first player gains 250 xp and the second gains 50. This develops a lot of friendly rivalries between players.

If I think of any I've forgotten I'll add them later.

 

[Sutek]

Hi all,

I've been running Conan since it came out and my group absolutely loves it. I tend to run a pretty brutal game, and it is well received by all. At first, everyone whined a little at the way it differs from a standard D&D game (or even most fantasy rpgs) but thy've really grown to like it. I thought I'd post my house rules here to let you all peruse them and grab what you like out of them.

Excellent! I love seeing new and interesting ways to play the best RPG out there (IMNSHO). So...

Armor Piercing value - We add this as damage instead of trying to figure on the fly whether or not damage reduction should be halved. For example, a Greatsword deals 2d10 damage and has a piercing value of 4. If a character has a strength mod of 6, the sword deals 2d10+9. Add the 4 points of piercing and you have a total of 2d10+13 damage.

Hmmm...ouch. That's rough, and with a +13 to damage, you'll only need to roll a 7 or more on 2d10 to potentially kill your target outright with the Massive Damage rules. Not sure that's such a good idea. Plus, it makes DR pretty much worthless, or at the least very devalued.

Parrying/Dodging - The values are figured in the same way, however, a character can choose to remove the base 10 from Parry and attempt to parry as a roll. This uses up one attack at the character's lowest attack bonus the next round.

I dont' get it, I guess. You mean they get a roll to Parry instead of to Attack? So what does that do? Attack rolls arent' off-setting, so I'm not quite sure what you do with a Parry roll subtituting for and Attack roll. Explain.

Ability scores - since Conan is such a brutal world and is about survival, we roll stats with d20s instead of 4d6 or 5d6 methods. Each stat can be rolled for twice, keep the higher of the 2. No scores under 3 , obviously.

No need for this at all, in my opinion. You get one stat bump at 4th level and then again at 6th level to all stats, so potentially can have as high as a 20 base to start, not counting racial bonuses too. This sounds like a mistake to me, but it definitely makes for some super-heroic characters.

Magic - almost nonexistent, like in the stories. Especially healing.

Me too. Magic is super dark and super mysterious...and super deadly. If it shows up, you're in some serious trouble...

Massive damage - roll 2d12, try to score beneath your Con score. on a roll of two 12s you fail regardless of how high your Constitution score.

You only make this save if half your hps are taken in a single shot, such as by a single attack, spell, or fall.

Hmm. I see, so you make the Massive Damage threhhold half of the character's HP instead of a flat 20 points, and then, if you take that much damage, you roll the 2d12 to try and avoid being killed outright. I guess that makes sense, but it makes killing through Massive Damage less and less likely. Look at some monsters (which, by using FORT have a better chance to pass MD by the RAW) and you'll see that killing them with 20 points of damage seems easy, but in fact is not. It's creative, but I dont' think necessary.

Falling/Traveling damage: Change from core values to d10s.

Yikes. D6s work fine for me, but ... yep... that's pretty brutal!!! :shock:

Experience: Experience is gained individually. Characters gain 50 xp per hit die of their opponent, plus 50 per powerful special ability of the opponent (examples include an ability that reproduces a spell at will, breath weapon, etc.) Characters split experience only for treasure found (1/2 sp value) or for a creature they all help defeat. If one man kills 5 first levels and another kills 1, the first player gains 250 xp and the second gains 50. This develops a lot of friendly rivalries between players.

Nah...I like it far better to award experience based soley on how it advances the story. Some oopponents get you 500xp, so get you nothing because it doesnt' propell the adventure. Treasure experience...eh...doesn't turn me on either. I jsut usually hand out some coins and a treasure, and the character sell it and spend most of what they found as treasure between adventures. Now, if the goal was to obtain some treasure, then the get awarded EXP for that according to the same criterea of how much it advances the story.

But hey, as long as you all are having fun. I just have little or no problem with the rules are they are. I might swipe something with that 2d12 idea though...

8)

 

[arderkrag]

Hmmm...ouch. That's rough, and with a +13 to damage, you'll only need to roll a 7 or more on 2d10 to potentially kill your target outright with the Massive Damage rules. Not sure that's such a good idea. Plus, it makes DR pretty much worthless, or at the least very devalued.

Well, to be fair, most of the time when someone is hit by a sword, armor or no, it's pretty serious. A single sword shot can hurt you far worse than a similarly placed shot with a gun, for instance. Most people, if hit by a sword, would simply die. Survival is a hard thing to come by in my games.

I dont' get it, I guess. You mean they get a roll to Parry instead of to Attack? So what does that do? Attack rolls arent' off-setting, so I'm not quite sure what you do with a Parry roll subtituting for and Attack roll. Explain.

Ok. The way I basically view the base 10 is that the character is, in essence "taking 10" on his defense. This allows the character a chance to get a higher score, essentially, but it burns an attack to do so. Basically, the character is concentrating more on defense, and giving up open shots to do so.

Example:

Bob has a total parry value of 20. Jill swings at him and rolls a critical hit, totalling a 22. Bob decides to burn an attack to attempt a conscious parry. He rolls 1d20+(Parry value - base 10), or 1d20+10. Bob rolls a 15, giving him a 25 parry for the purposes of that single hit only. If this total parry attempt equals or exceeds Jill's defense, she misses. Essentially, Bob is "setting aside" her weapon as it comes for him.

Now, if Bob had rolled, say, an 8, Jill still would have hit. Players do take a risk in attempting this that they may burn an attack for nothing.

Also, something I forgot to mention earlier on this: if a player doing a parry attempt rolls exactly the same on the d20 as the attacker, an involuntary sunder occurs, with the weapon with the fewest hps breaking.

No need for this at all, in my opinion. You get one stat bump at 4th level and then again at 6th level to all stats, so potentially can have as high as a 20 base to start, not counting racial bonuses too. This sounds like a mistake to me, but it definitely makes for some super-heroic characters.

You'd be surprised how short-lived some of these so-called "heroic" characters are. Think about it - 1d20 vs. 4d6 - that's only 1 mod higher possible. And 20 isn't really that high, when you think about it compared to the average score of 10. It's nice in a brutal set-up like mine to give the players a bit of a edge now and then.

ADDED TO LIST:

We also refrain from using confirm rolls. You have one roll, it is your roll to hit and to score a crit.

Example: Let's say you have total attack bonus with a Greatsword of 16/11. That's strength, feats, everything. You have a strength of 22. Your greatsword under our system (listed above) deals 2d10+13 (19-20/x2). You roll a 19 on the die, giving you a 35 to hit. You also score a critical, if 35 is enough to hit your target (and if not, find a new group, 35 parry or dodge in Conan is crazy).

 

[Trodax]

Armor Piercing value - We add this as damage instead of trying to figure on the fly whether or not damage reduction should be halved. For example, a Greatsword deals 2d10 damage and has a piercing value of 4. If a character has a strength mod of 6, the sword deals 2d10+9. Add the 4 points of piercing and you have a total of 2d10+13 damage.

Hmmm...ouch. That's rough, and with a +13 to damage, you'll only need to roll a 7 or more on 2d10 to potentially kill your target outright with the Massive Damage rules. Not sure that's such a good idea. Plus, it makes DR pretty much worthless, or at the least very devalued.

Nah, I wouldn't say that it really devalues DR. What it does is that it makes weapons with a previously high AP extremely deadly, especially against opponents that lack armor. IMO, this isn't good as I see these weapons as terrible effective already. I do like the idea of getting rid of the AP rules, though; I've thought about ways to do that myself.

Massive damage - roll 2d12, try to score beneath your Con score. on a roll of two 12s you fail regardless of how high your Constitution score. You only make this save if half your hps are taken in a single shot, such as by a single attack, spell, or fall.

The problem I have with this is that it makes the Fortitude save not so useful (since you're rolling directly against your Con instead). As I see it, the three saves are pretty balanced in Conan because Reflex=Initiative, Will=save against magic and Fortitude=save against massive damage. If Fortitude isn't used against massive damage it won't be as important as the other saves, and that will hurt some of the classes. Not really a big deal, though, perhaps.
BTW, when you say half your hp, do you mean half you total hp, or half your remaining hp?

Ability scores - since Conan is such a brutal world and is about survival, we roll stats with d20s instead of 4d6 or 5d6 methods. Each stat can be rolled for twice, keep the higher of the 2. No scores under 3 , obviously.

How come you don't use the 1d10+8 suggested in Conan? It usually gives some pretty solid stats.

Magic - almost nonexistent, like in the stories. Especially healing.

Good. Healing is for sissies. :wink:

Falling/Traveling damage: Change from core values to d10s.

Cool, I've always had a bit of problem with how far high-level character can fall (epecially in D&D where you have more hp and no massive damage to worry about).

We also refrain from using confirm rolls. You have one roll, it is your roll to hit and to score a crit.

Ouch, that makes criticals a lot more common. It must especially give low-level guys increased chances to score deadly hits against higher-level opponents. Could work for a deadly game, though, if thats your thing.

BTW, welcome to the boards arderkrag!

 

[rgrove0172]

Im very new to the system, but thought I would comment on one of the rules mentioned above, and thats Fall Damage.

The mechanic of Hit Points has always generated a lot of discussion as in "how can your 5th level thief take a broadsword to the head any better than my 2nd level thief?" and the answer has always been - "Well, its an abstract representation of my thief having the experience and insticts to dodge that fatal blow and lesson its impact." etc This wouldnt seem to fit in the area of fall damage, but in my opinion it does.

Ive always felt that there are other exterior influences that benefit the highter, more heroic, characters in a story besides thier own ability. Look at any of your action heroes in book or film. They are about to get killed when - the sun gets in thier opponant's eyes or they slip, some kid walks in front of the line of fire, the car wont start or - yes, theres a handy awning right there below them when they are plummeting to earth after a fall.

Perhaps the ground slopes a bit where they land, or they bounce off a few minor ledges flowing thier fall, or they break their fall through some branches of a tree - or whatever. Granted, I suppose someone falling from a airplane onto a flat rock is kind of hard to fudge but you ge the idea. The higher the level of the character the LUCKIER they are too. Lady luck seems to prefer heroes, its just teh way it is. Your poor 2nd level thief, well he just hasnt earned her respect yet. Better be careful with him for a while.

 

[Oly]

We also refrain from using confirm rolls. You have one roll, it is your roll to hit and to score a crit.

Ouch, that makes criticals a lot more common. It must especially give low-level guys increased chances to score deadly hits against higher-level opponents. Could work for a deadly game, though, if thats your thing.

It also makes getting a critical as likely for a 1st level scholar as they would be for a 20th level fighter.

One of the effects of the "confirm" roll is that it makes criticals more likely the more skilled you are, which is how I think it should be.

 

[Krushnak]

i use the heroic stat generation for my game, 8 + d10. tends to lean towards more powerful characters as it should be they're supposed to e heroes afterall. 1d20 seems wayyyy to random for stat generation.

i dont really see any need to change ap or massive damage so your changes seem a little unnecessary to me.

as for falling damage, in conan with the capped hp after tenth lvl and massive damage at 20 you wont find many surviving more than a 20ft drop.

 

[Trodax]

rgrove0172; I think you're absolutely spot on for how hit points should be interpreted in d20. I have no problem at all with their abstract nature when it comes to combat and stuff, but falling damage is one specific aspect which I've had some trouble swallowing (I do agree with you in that it can be a matter of "stuff that heroes pull off", to a degree). I remember a game session of D&D a bunch of years ago when my hero found himself confronted with a 30' drop. When I started scrambling for a rope, the DM just looked at me and said "Why don't you just jump?" As a player, I knew how absolutely terrifying a 30' jump would be, but 3d6 damage was of course nothing for my buff character.

It also makes getting a critical as likely for a 1st level scholar as they would be for a 20th level fighter.

One of the effects of the "confirm" roll is that it makes criticals more likely the more skilled you are, which is how I think it should be.

Yes, I agree with that 100%, didn't really think about that when I posted above. For low-level characters up against a hard-to-hit opponent you could also get a very weird situation when all their successful hits actually turned out as criticals (if they only hit on 19-20, for example).

as for falling damage, in conan with the capped hp after tenth lvl and massive damage at 20 you wont find many surviving more than a 20ft drop.

I don't know about that; a 20' drop is only 2d6 damage. Any character with at least 20 hp could probably count on surviving drops around 40-50' without serious health-risks. And that's a pretty scary jump. :wink:

 

[Krushnak]

you take a d6 for every 5 ft so a 20ft drop would deal out 4d6. thats enough to scare most people seeing as you dont get dr against it.

 

[Oly]

you take a d6 for every 5 ft so a 20ft drop would deal out 4d6. thats enough to scare most people seeing as you dont get dr against it.

Isn't it 1d6 for every 10 feet?

I don't think the Conan game specifies but 10ft is the standard D20 distance (for games using Imperial units anyway). 10ft is also the reduction in falling height that the tumble skill offers in both D&D and Conan, that's because it's the base unit for falling distances.

You can check that out here:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm

 

[arderkrag]

We also refrain from using confirm rolls. You have one roll, it is your roll to hit and to score a crit.

Ouch, that makes criticals a lot more common. It must especially give low-level guys increased chances to score deadly hits against higher-level opponents. Could work for a deadly game, though, if thats your thing.

<b>It also makes getting a critical as likely for a 1st level scholar as they would be for a 20th level fighter.</b>

One of the effects of the "confirm" roll is that it makes criticals more likely the more skilled you are, which is how I think it should be.

Acutally, no. A high level fighter of any worth wll have put feats towards scoring critical hits.

 

[arderkrag]

Yes, I agree with that 100%, didn't really think about that when I posted above. For low-level characters up against a hard-to-hit opponent you could also get a very weird situation when all their successful hits actually turned out as criticals (if they only hit on 19-20, for example).

We've run into that before, it's not as unbalancing as you might think.

 

[Sutek]

We also refrain from using confirm rolls. You have one roll, it is your roll to hit and to score a crit.

Ouch, that makes criticals a lot more common. It must especially give low-level guys increased chances to score deadly hits against higher-level opponents. Could work for a deadly game, though, if thats your thing.

It also makes getting a critical as likely for a 1st level scholar as they would be for a 20th level fighter.

One of the effects of the "confirm" roll is that it makes criticals more likely the more skilled you are, which is how I think it should be.

It also makes a crit equally possible for a 1st level schmoe as it is a 12th level schmoe.

That house rule, I dont' like at all. That reason for the second roll is to see if you can make the DC again with just your base to put that strike "over the edge". Another method for the 'crit confirmation' might be a good idea, but in Conan, especially if you are using an even deadlier version of Massive Damage, you really probably need that 'crit confirmation' roll.

A high level fighter of any worth wll have put feats towards scoring critical hits.

And then there's that. It sounds like you ought to just say "every hit is a critical" and be done with it. I think you're making it far too easy to crit, when if you just use the 20 hit point Massive Damage rules as written[/i] eventually dealing 20 hit point damage blows comes even more often than critical hits!!!

 

[Oly]

It also makes getting a critical as likely for a 1st level scholar as they would be for a 20th level fighter.

One of the effects of the "confirm" roll is that it makes criticals more likely the more skilled you are, which is how I think it should be.

Acutally, no. A high level fighter of any worth wll have put feats towards scoring critical hits.

True, that's likely but it's not certain.

I know that my PCs are all level 8 and none of them has yet taken something such as "Improved Critical", a 1st level scholar certainly has the same chance of scoring a critical against them as they do getting one in return.

As Trodax also says there's then the thing with low level characters scoring only critical hits against certain opponents. With the revision to the mass damage rules those criticals would also be far more deadly.

Those are definite issues, whether they're actually "problems" is down to personal taste.

Personally when I've faced my PCs against a horde or low level fighters the criticals that turn up do guarantee hits but I'm glad that they very rarely them confirm them. It just wouldn't "feel" right to me, but that's just my take on it.

 

[Sutek]

I just think you guys are making a complex bunch of house rules (which work for you so that's cool - don't get me wrong here) when the 20 hit point Massivve Damage rule gets the same result done faster, and without even rolling a crit at all.

I have 4th level characters shooting arrows and doing that amount of damage, plenty to force FORT saves on goons and thugs, which they usually fail.

 

[Sutek]

I don't know about that; a 20' drop is only 2d6 damage. Any character with at least 20 hp could probably count on surviving drops around 40-50' without serious health-risks. And that's a pretty scary jump. :wink:

I usually make a GM roll versus thier DV plus any Acrobatics they have, just to see if the fall "critical hits" them.