House Rules

[JmOz]

How many of you use them, and what are they? Also why did you feel the need for the specific house rule

[Pattern Ghost]

The only thing I'm house ruling at the moment is knockback. I'm not calculating it for every attack, only under the following conditions:

1. It's dramatically appropriate, i.e., fighting on a rooftop when one of the characters doesn't fly, or if there's a fair chance of being slammed into something, such as a wall.
2. When the PC wants to do KB.
3. When the attack is bought with extra KB.
4. When an attack succeeds in a big way, such as really high damage roll or really low to hit roll.

[McCoy]

This was a house rule under 4th, think that it may have been changed in FREd.

Killing attacks. I have seen, and once experienced, some rather severe wounds that were totally unfelt at the time. STUN multiplier for killing attacks is 1d6-1, resulting in a range of 0 through 5. It is possible for a killing attack to do BODY but absolutely no STUN.

This is still a house rule because it goes beyond six sided dice. increased/decreased STUN modifier For a +1/4 advantaged on a killing attack, the STUN multiplier can be 1d8-1; +1/2, 1d10-1; +3/4, 1d12-1. For a -1/4 limitation, the STUN multiplier can be 1d4-1;-1/2, 1d3-1; -1, attack does no STUN. 0 STUN is always a possibility with killing attacks.

[McCoy]

Another house rule, PC's are not allowed to buy hardened defenses. No NND's with the defense hardened defenses will be allowed.

This is so the Brick can be wounded by an attack that would not vaporize the Martial Artist.

[McCoy]

Haven't tried this yet, but thinking about giving NPC's a modifier for Presence attacks based on total points.

• Incompetent Normal +3 levels of effect
• Standard Normal +2
• Skilled Normal +1
• Competent Normal +0
• Standard Hero -1
• Powerful Hero -2
• Very Powerful Hero -3
• Low Powered Superhero -4
• Standard Superhero -5
• High Powered Superhero -6
• Very High Powered Superhero -7
• Cosmically Powerful -8

Should modify it for psych limits as well.

• Overconfident -1 level of effect
• Insecure +1
• Coward +2

This allows Presence attacks to be effective against civilians, agents, and the lowest level supervillians, but not for major plot lines to be disrupted by rolling all 6's on a PRE attack.

PC's are never forced to do anything against the players will, such a surrender, on a presence attack.

[TheEmerged]

Really, I use less in the way of "house rules" than "character creation constraints." The following are a few examples I would consider true house rules -- major differences between the way we play, and cases where I'm effectively replacing rule text with my own.

• Mental Defense. Mental Defese (MD) is a figured attribute, not a power. It has a Normal Characteristic Maxima of 8 at normal age; its maxima is 10 @ Age 40+ and its maxima increases to 12 @ Age 60+. The Age 10- maxima is 6.
• COM. I use the book system, with one exception. Anybody that goes for Negative COM does *not* get the 5 extra points for dropping from 10.
• Damage Shield. This is available to an APPROPRIATE, continuous/constant power at +1/2; this includes Suppress and Telekinesis. For an APPROPRIATE power that is not continuous, Damage Shield may be purchased at +1; examples include Energy Blast and RKA. I am also allowing it to be bought as 1 DC for 10 base points (1 DC = 1d6 normal, 2 DC = 1d6 NND, 3DC = 1d6 KA), but may discontinue this. For a power to be considered appropriate for Damage Shield, it must be usable as an attack -- as such Clinging is not allowed despite being used as an example in the book. Further, if the power allows for adders to the damage value (HKA) you must purchase the +1/4 "usable as attack" adder for Damage Shield to do so.
• Suppress. I enforce the 4th Edition "non-cumulative" operation for this power. That is, successive uses of Suppress do not "stack" in effect. It is my considered opinion that there is too weak of a balance between Drain and Suppress, and the 5th Edition "cumulative" Suppress removes one of the few benefits Drain had.
• Reduced END. The power Suppress, and the advantages Uncontrolled and Damage Shield, have the same "doubling" effect on the value of this advantage that Autofire does. That is, 0 END is a +1 advantage on Damage Shield or Uncontrolled power.
• Autofire. Instead of the current +1/2 for 5 shots and +1/2 to double, I am keeping our previous house rule for the extra shots -- +5 shots for +1/4.
• AVLD. I am continuing our long-standing house rule on this. AVLD at the +1 level is STUN only. AVLD at +2 Does Body. NND's can never be purchased with the Does Body limitation.
• The Ironclad Provision. In cases where characters have Extra Mass (either as a result of Growth, Density Increase, or Physical Limitation), the characters take a penalty to their Jumping distance equal to the -KB of that mass -- even if it's the result of the Physical Limitation. Note that -KB bought seperately as a power doesn't have this effect.
• Multiform. I am enforcing the same penalty for Multiform that the rules apply to Duplication and similar perks; points over the base form's value cost 1 pt per point. Also like Duplication, a +1 advantage is required.
  The END Reserve Counter. I have ruled that except in special cases the END and REC of reserves can be targetted seperately by adjustment powers -- most notably Dispel. This has proven to be a wonderful counter to END Reserves without disallowing them.

[Chris Goodwin]

http://home.comcast.net/~archer7/houserules.html

All of my Healing house rules came about because (a) people always want to be able to heal more, (b) I don't like the presented options for doing so, and (c) I wanted them to be able to have something, especially for the ones who want D&D style Cure * Wounds spells.

My Best in the West Perk because I thought it was so cool.

Basically, all of my house rules are there because of itches that needed scratched.

[slaughterj]

I allow movement before or after attack (i.e., attack does not end action automatically).

For heroic games, I limit stun recovery to be max - BODY damage, i.e., for every BODY you are down by, you are also down by at least that much STUN - not sure any more why I use that (easier to be ko'd if hurt?)and may just drop it.

[Arthur]

Originally posted by McCoy

range of 0 through 5. It is possible for a killing attack to do BODY but absolutely no STUN.

I don't think that's possible. The rule is that an attack does at least one STUN for each BODY point that gets through.

For example, if your defenses are 21/7, and you are hit with a KA that does 10 BODY and 20 STUN, you take 2 BODY and 2 STUN, not zero STUN.

Unless FRED changed the rule from BBB, which I doubt.

I do concur that the 1d-1 STUN Lottery is Not Good. I use Hit Locations, though, so a x5 is much rarer. I don't remember if it is an official rule or one I lifted from GURPS, but I split Head location into Brain and Head. You hit the Brain location only on a 3, the skull gets you an additional +2 DEF, and then you take the x2 BODY and x5 STUN from there. Locations 4-5 are "Face" which I rated at something like x1.5 BODY and x4 STUN, IIRC (don't have my rules handy).

[OddHat]

I use a lot of house and optional rules, too many to list. Most of them come down to lists of interesting advantages and limits and ways to use skills. In a particular genre game I might require all uses of magic to take a certain set of limits, disallow some powers, change the speed rules, allow Egoists to perform mental blocks or dodges as per the martial arts rules, or do whatever else needs to be done to make the game work within that genre. I think most GMs do that.

[austenandrews]

I've begun to use an Average Roll rule across the board. The rule is, instead of rolling dice the player can take an average roll, which is defined as (a) an 11 on 3d6 for "to-hit" type rolls, and (b) 3.5 per die, round down, for "damage" type rolls. This saves A LOT of time in combat, especially where a group is fighting a group.

-AA

[OddHat]

Originally posted by austenandrews
I've begun to use an Average Roll rule across the board. The rule is, instead of rolling dice the player can take an average roll, which is defined as (a) an 11 on 3d6 for "to-hit" type rolls, and (b) 3.5 per die, round down, for "damage" type rolls. This saves A LOT of time in combat, especially where a group is fighting a group.

-AA

I use a similar "competence" rule for skills. If a character has a skill at 11 or less after all bonuses or penalties have been applied, he doesn't need to roll unless he's going for a major success, a fast use of the skill (-3 gets you one step down on the time chart) or an extraordinary use of the skill (-10 for an "impossible" success). Sometimes this is a useful time saver with a larger group; it's also good in situations where a failed deduction or streetwise rule would slow down the adventure.

[Diamond Spear]

My two inflexible house rules are:

1) I always cook lunch/dinner for the group

2) Dave always brings the beer

No one seems to mind my house rules.

[JohnTaber]

We are trying to use as few house rules as possible to get up to speed with FREd changes. Here is the only one I can remember right now...

Autofire 5 shots gives +2 OCV. Autofire 10 shots or more gives +4 OCV. This is actually the old ruling. We use it because I believe it makes sense.

[McCoy]

Originally posted by Arthur
I don't think that's possible. The rule is that an attack does at least one STUN for each BODY point that gets through.

For example, if your defenses are 21/7, and you are hit with a KA that does 10 BODY and 20 STUN, you take 2 BODY and 2 STUN, not zero STUN.

Unless FRED changed the rule from BBB, which I doubt.

I'm not finding that rule in FREd, anyone?

Anyway, that's the way it works in my game. Buying a killing attack means the possibility that sometimes an attack will do no STUN.