Scales of War Dungeon Master notes - house rules, etc.
General Notes
I encourage my players to be creative with their characters, feel free to take Feats, Rituals, Races and Classes that come from outside of the Core Books if they want to, I intend to subscribe to DnDInsider, so I will be able to keep up with the books, even if I don’t buy them all.
While I appreciate the effort that goes into it, I am not really a fan of min/max optimization of characters. I think one of the keys to a fun time with DnD are the unique characters that people come up with. I find it much more interesting to have a player make a low-strength Halfling Fighter with a memorable personality than your run-of-the-mill buffed-up Human Tank. I also suspect I am not alone in this. Offering battlefield advice should probably be done in-character, if that is how your character behaves; we do have a lot of Leaders, so I suspect we will see some headbutting for a while.
In addition, I am willing to work with you guys if you want to try something totally new; for example:
Half-Eladrin
RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 5´ 5˝–6´ 2˝Average Weight: 130–190 lb.
Ability Scores: +2 Constitution, +1 Charisma, +1 to any stat of player’s choice
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Low-light
Languages: Common, Elven
Skill Bonuses: +2 Diplomacy, +1 Insight, +1 Arcana
Dilettante: At 1st level, you choose an Arcane at-will power from a class different from yours. You can use that power as an encounter power.
Dual Heritage: You can take feats that have either eladrin or human as a prerequisite (as well as those specifically for half-eladrin), as long as you meet any other requirements.
Near Infusion: You grant allies within 5 squares of you a +1 racial bonus to Arcana checks.
Racial Feat: Arcane Adept - you gain training in Arcana and a +1 to attack rolls on Arcane abilities.
Andamen
RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 5´ 5˝–6´ 2˝Average Weight: 110–170 lb.
Ability Scores: +2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 7 squares
Vision: Low-light
Languages: Common
Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Acrobatics
Instinctive Power: Choose one power. Add half your DEX bonus (minimum 1) to that power’s attack and damage rolls, if the power gains bonuses from stats (even DEX) normally. You may change the power whenever you learn a new power.
Scurry (Encounter; Immediate Interrupt): Trigger: A Close, Burst, or Blast power is used including you as a target. You may shift 2 spaces. If this moves you out of the area of the interrupted power, that power does not affect you. This movement does not change the location of the area, even if you were the center.
Natural Scent: When bloodied, you gain a +1 to your Armor Class.
Racial Feat: Speedy Scurry - Increase Scurry distance to 3.
Racial Feat: Strong Musk - When bloodied, you gain Aura: 1 Creatures in the aura reduce attack rolls by one.
New Classes/Races
Beyond my imagined Half-Eladrin race, I have incorporated into the Fantasy Grounds Library the following races and classes:
Races
- Drow - From Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide
- Genasi - From Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide
- Warforged - From Dragon Magazine #364
- Minotaur - from Dragon Magazine #369
Classes
- Swordmage - From Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide
- Barbarian - From Dragon Magazine #368
- Bard - Previewed in Dragon Magazine #369
Character Death
As those of you who played in that rat encounter on the 17th know, I’m not terribly interested in pulling punches. I’m really not intending on wiping out players all the time, either, but I will probably never tell you a hit was a miss or vice versa to spare you. That said, if your character dies, like really all the way dies, all hope is not lost. Since sometimes the dice hate players, and you have invested time in these guys (plus it is in the rulebook) there will be Raise Dead rituals available. They will cost what the Player’s Handbook says and be available at major cities (there might be someone in Brindhol who can take care of you, but it could be hard to find them). With all that said, however, I sort of hate making death meaningless. The PHB says you need a part of a dead person to perform the ritual, and it can restore them to life; I hate this. If you get killed, and your buddies bring back your pinky, raise dead will fail. If they bring back your whole body, less your severed arm, you will come back, but without your arm. You get decapitated, the ritual will work, long enough for you to die all over again once your head runs out of air. In a nutshell, death may not be the end, but it sure does suck.