The Campaign Builder's Guild

In an effort to get a bit more use out of our Wiki, which is an excellent resource that is barely getting used, I'm looking for some items that could be useful there.  So, I would like anyone who has any house rules (non-core, non-standard, etc) whatsoever to post them here.  This is not a criticisms or reviews thread for said rules (though, if you ask for either, I imagine you'll get it), but simply the start of a database.
Cheers!
-Ish

Important questions:

1. Do you want only things that are house-rule variants of D20 or other existing rulesets? (That is, what about rulesets that are built new from the ground up, rather than alterations of something more familiar?)

2. What about things that aren't exactly, how you say... finished?

3. What about things that aren't so much changed house rules as additional rules? (I.e., not "this is my alternate version of elf stats," but "this is a brand-new race I made.")

1. Any system goes, but I think by houserules, it means rules that meld with an existing ruleset.  For instance, If you have a new way of doing HP for d20, then that's a house rule.  If you have created a new system that's not even d20, that's a new ruleset.

2.  Let's stick with finished for the time being; we can always add more later.

3.  Again, like #1, if it's a new rule for an existing ruleset, I say that's fine.

1. Every character gets the equivalent of the human skill bonus (4 at first level and 1 thereafter) to use on nothing but knowledge, craft, profession, or any other fluff-like skill.

Describe those other "fluff-like" skills.  I would like to be as detailed as possible.

It's up to the DM really. For instance, they shouldn't be put into spot, search, listen, disable device, things that come up often. Instead they should go towards something that a character should have based on their character, like knowledge (history) for a book buff, or profession (blacksmith) for the son of a smith, things like that.

We use Dexterity as the bonus to hit, instead of Strength.

We use a midified Hit Point/Shock ruleset, as outlined here: http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Vitality%20and%20Hit%20Points

Damage reduction by armor/weapon type: http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Armor%20Resistances%20by%20Weapon%20Type

Modified, nonmagical Rangers: http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Ranger

We also use modified Casting rules. This includes slots per day without memorization, and these: http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Sorcery

Excellent, thanks Moniker and Jack.

It would be a shorter list if I were to write out the rules that I do adhere to rather than the ones I don't. Neither do my rules lend to a balanced game, but it's never been a concern for me. Off the top of my head here's what I can remember;

Paladins are not allowed to have a patron deity.
I ignore the flat footed at the first round of combat bit.
Rolling 1's and 20's on a saving throw are not an automatic failure or success.
Ignore spell components...
Alchemy doesn't require any spellcaster levels.
Monks and Paladins can multiclass freely.
No Multi-class XP penalties.
Sorcerers can cast meta-magic without taking a full round action to do so (and can use quicken spell).
Alignment is tossed out the window.
Spellbooks are assumed to be able to hold the library of congress.
You roll stats by the 4d6/drop lowest method. Roll seven times, take the six highest.

I'm sure there's many, many more.

No kobold characters. Ever.

Quote from: MinaYou roll stats by the 4d6/drop lowest method. Roll seven times, take the six highest.

I've always preferred a 4d6/drop one method to a 4d6/drop lowest method. Note the difference between giving players freedom and just giving them more powerful stats. Same would go for "choose six" instead of "six highest" if I were to allow my players to roll seven times.

Well, I'll post more later, but here's one I've started using a  little more recently. It's more of an aesthetic change than anything... Darkvision is effectively an inverted colors sort of thing, instead of being black and white. Creatures that have it generally see everything as they would look with their colors inverted during the day, and at night they still see fine, though there's some change to the color of things in accordance with the sky and such. There are a rare few instances (particularly individuals with demonic or angelic parents or recent ancestors) that see as humans do during the day, but see with the inversions at night.

There's also a type of vision featured mostly in spirits (outsiders) that allows perfect sight during the day and looks like how you'd see things in night vision goggles, except the primary color is a bluish-purple (instead of green).

1. I use a Psionic Monk variant. Easy description is that he gains bonus power poins from his Wisdom score as if he had an manifester level equal to his monk levels.
2. All characters gain atleast half their Hit Point die. So if you have a D6 you get a 3 if you roll 1,2 or 3.
3. We always use Action Points, but you get 4+Ã,½ your level +your Charisma BONUS.
4. All magic/psionic items cost one fifth their gold cost in XP and no gold beyond he basics (masterwork sword for a magic sword).
5. We use weapon groups and the associated feats instead of the martial/simple/exotic division.
6. Astrological Alignment - you're born under an astrological sign which marks you with a certain alignment although you are free to do as you wish.
7. Mindblade-as-feats replace the Soulknife class.
8. No multiclassing restrictions (not even for Monks/Paladins)
9. If you are your race's favored class, you gain +1 skill points per level (+4 at first level) - yes, this means that humans get even more skill points.
10. Simplified grapple rules - touch attack to "start", resisted grapple checks after that, if you win you either break away or retain your grapple, you might even "take over" the grapple from the attacker if you win the check.
11. An ability score bonus every even level (2,4,6 asf)
12. A bonus feat at every uneven level (1,3,5,7 asf) instead of the current every third (1,3,6,9 asf)

1. If you're trying to make a disarm attempt while unarmed, you provoke an attack of opportunity unless you have both Improved Disarm and Improved Unarmed Strike. (This might be more of a ruling than an actual rule, but it's a little abmiguous in the PHB, so I drew the line.)

2. If you're using the Perform skill to make up a song, poem, or dance, you have to actually do it out-of-game. It doesn't have to be good. If it is good, you get a +8 luck bonus to the check.

3. Don't roll hit dice, just use the low end of average (in other words, half the number of sides on the die,) for each level after first.

4. Goblin PCs get a +2 racial bonus to Intelligence in addition to their other traits.

5. You gain feats and ability score points based on your ECL, not your Hit Dice (once again, this is actually kind of ambiguous in the PHB, though it's clearly treated the opposite way in the MM. I ruled it this way because I didn't want to penalize players too much for choosing races with level adjustments.)

6. (I'm going to try this one in my next session. It's a relic from old-school AD&D) If you don't decide all of your character's actions in 30 total seconds of real time, you character just stands there indecisively for the round. He's not fighting defensively or using total defense unless he was also doing so in the last round. It's okay if it takes longer than 30 seconds to calculate the effects of the action, but no takebacks.

I like that last one, the 30-second rule...though i tend to not let my players use kobolds, goblins, etc. Those just haunt my mind as things you slaughter mindlessly, not friends...