OOC Thread
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2021 9:24 pm
Okay, I'm working on the houserules, and I've had some thoughts.
I tend to have typical always the same houserules. I'm wanting to do something a little different, maybe have a little fun with this without upsetting the balance of the gameplay, and keeping it simple enough to not get derailed by lots of extra rules. In the past I've usually done critical hits/misses (a complicated Dragon Magazine table) that made for some interesting results, but took extra effort to do. I'll probably scale that back to a critical hit does double damage or something like that. I've also done a weapon focus thing for fighters where they can choose a weapon and get +1/+1 on that weapon. This isn't awful, and fighters don't have a lot of extra things they can do aside from that, and the chop when they drop rule.
So I'm thinking of giving each class something unique and maybe new. My ideas - let me know what you think or some suggestions:
Fighters: Either weapon focus and chop when they drop (bonus attack on 1HD or less when they are dropped in one blow, additional attacks up to the level of the fighter.
Magic Users: Zero level spells, or maybe free casting - you can cast any spell that is in your book as long as you have a slot avail. This is big, and if PCs can use it, then so can the bad guys. Not sure about this, but open to input. The other thing is the ability to generate an arcane bolt at will - it'd just be 1d3, and you'd have to roll to hit, but it's something different.
Clerics: Maybe zero level spells as well, or maybe free casting also (seems to make sense, as you are praying for spells, and the deity knows what you need, so no need to have set spells.) Clerics will start with zero spells at first level, and can only gain spell ability when they perform a pious act or similar. I've also tried one game before where clerics can occasionally perform a "miracle" under certain circumstances. Maybe combat is going bad, and all is lost, but the cleric and party have been faithfully executing their duties, and so everyone is healed 1d6 HP, or blessed, or something like that. Or the cleric can pray for a specific affect (such as purifying a fouled well for a community, or curing someone's disease or whatever. And if they are in good standing, there's a chance it could happen. In that campaign, No one ever wanted to play a priest, and when they did, priests were just poor fighters who could heal occasionally. This made them more in line with their skillset.
Thief: Thieves luck - thieves can re-roll any single die roll a set number of times (hit, dmg, save, ability check) 1/day at level 1-2, 2/day at level 3-4, 3/day at level 5+, capping at 3x per day. And/or maybe thieves can decide at creation of one thief ability that they want to specialize in and get an extra 5-10% on that one ability.
Other classes: There are a few optional classes in BFRPG, and I haven't really looked too deeply at them, but if anyone sees one they are interested in, let me know.
Anything else: Not promising anything, but if you have an idea, run it by me. Maybe we'll try it. Maybe not. I'm open to ideas.
I tend to have typical always the same houserules. I'm wanting to do something a little different, maybe have a little fun with this without upsetting the balance of the gameplay, and keeping it simple enough to not get derailed by lots of extra rules. In the past I've usually done critical hits/misses (a complicated Dragon Magazine table) that made for some interesting results, but took extra effort to do. I'll probably scale that back to a critical hit does double damage or something like that. I've also done a weapon focus thing for fighters where they can choose a weapon and get +1/+1 on that weapon. This isn't awful, and fighters don't have a lot of extra things they can do aside from that, and the chop when they drop rule.
So I'm thinking of giving each class something unique and maybe new. My ideas - let me know what you think or some suggestions:
Fighters: Either weapon focus and chop when they drop (bonus attack on 1HD or less when they are dropped in one blow, additional attacks up to the level of the fighter.
Magic Users: Zero level spells, or maybe free casting - you can cast any spell that is in your book as long as you have a slot avail. This is big, and if PCs can use it, then so can the bad guys. Not sure about this, but open to input. The other thing is the ability to generate an arcane bolt at will - it'd just be 1d3, and you'd have to roll to hit, but it's something different.
Clerics: Maybe zero level spells as well, or maybe free casting also (seems to make sense, as you are praying for spells, and the deity knows what you need, so no need to have set spells.) Clerics will start with zero spells at first level, and can only gain spell ability when they perform a pious act or similar. I've also tried one game before where clerics can occasionally perform a "miracle" under certain circumstances. Maybe combat is going bad, and all is lost, but the cleric and party have been faithfully executing their duties, and so everyone is healed 1d6 HP, or blessed, or something like that. Or the cleric can pray for a specific affect (such as purifying a fouled well for a community, or curing someone's disease or whatever. And if they are in good standing, there's a chance it could happen. In that campaign, No one ever wanted to play a priest, and when they did, priests were just poor fighters who could heal occasionally. This made them more in line with their skillset.
Thief: Thieves luck - thieves can re-roll any single die roll a set number of times (hit, dmg, save, ability check) 1/day at level 1-2, 2/day at level 3-4, 3/day at level 5+, capping at 3x per day. And/or maybe thieves can decide at creation of one thief ability that they want to specialize in and get an extra 5-10% on that one ability.
Other classes: There are a few optional classes in BFRPG, and I haven't really looked too deeply at them, but if anyone sees one they are interested in, let me know.
Anything else: Not promising anything, but if you have an idea, run it by me. Maybe we'll try it. Maybe not. I'm open to ideas.