Feats
Dodge -- You apply the bonus to all melee combatants threatening you, or you may choose 1 ranged opponent. As normal, you choose on your turn, and it is effective immediately.
Weapon Finesse -- You take this feat once and it applies to all applicable weapons.
Basic Classes
Fast Hero -- Fast Hero's class Defense Bonus has been changed as shown in the following table. You end up after 10 levels with the same bonus but it isn't so darn front-loaded (it still has the highest bonus at all levels).
Level | Defense |
---|
1 | +2 |
2 | +3 |
3 | +3 |
4 | +4 |
5 | +5 |
6 | +5 |
7 | +6 |
8 | +7 |
9 | +7 |
10 | +8 |
Skills
Skill Synergies -- This isn't so much a house rule as a rule clarification. There are no set synergies in d20M like there are in D&D. If you have 5 or more ranks in a skill you think should provide a bonus to another skill, let me know when you make a skill check. If I agree that it should provide a synergy, I will add a +2 bonus to your related check.
Spot and Listen -- Your training in The Company has given you sharp eyes and ears. These are now class skills for all heroic classes.
Climb, Jump, and Swim -- These are now class skills for all heroic and ordinary classes.
Knowledge (Any) -- These can now be used untrained. If you have 0 ranks in a knowledge skill, you can make a check for that skill, but you roll 1d10+int instead of 1d20+ranks+int. You can not take 10 on this check. (Note that this doesn't apply to using Knowledge (Tactics) to gain a tactical advantage).
Knowledge (Tactics) -- because an online game is less visual, it can be a lot harder to for characters to realize how to gain tactical advantage without me simply listing everything you can use for cover, or using pages of text to describe every room. To counteract this, I have created a new use for the Knowledge (Tactics) skill, as described below:
Once per round as a move action (or as a free action with the use of an action point) a character may attempt to gain a tactical advantage. To do this, first make a Knowledge (Tactics) check (unlike other knowledge skills, you can roll 1d20 for this type of check even if you have no ranks). If you succeed on a DC 15 you spot the closest object that you can use to gain cover or concealment. For every 5 points by which you exceed this check, you spot one more cover opportunity. Note that this feat does not create cover or concealment, it only allows you to find some that wasn't described, or wasn't obvious. It can not help you hide in the middle of an empty room.
Changed skill -- The Diplomacy skill has been changed. Ignore the entry in the SRD and instead use the following description. (For an explanation of why it is changed, see
here.)
Speak Language -- it still takes 2 skill points to become fluent in a language, but fluency is no longer broken up into Speak and Read/Write. Instead, your first point gives you basic proficiency in a language. You can discuss basic topics, but it is obvious that you are not a native speaker. More complicated subjects require an intelligence check to properly convey. Spending two points in a language provides complete proficiency in the language. Except for accent, it sounds like you have been speaking the language from birth.
You start the game knowing one language fluently. For every 1 point of intelligence bonus, you gain 1 point that can be spent to learn new languages. If you have 2 or more points, you can spend multiple points in one language, or 1 point in multiple languages.
Diplomacy -- this skill is completely rewritten. Replace the text in the book and SRD with the following:
Diplomacy (Cha)
Use this skill to ask the local mayor for assistance, to convince a band of thugs not to attack you, or to talk your way into someplace you aren't supposed to be.
Check -- You can propose a trade or agreement to another person with your words; a Diplomacy check can then persuade them that accepting it is a good idea. Either side of the deal may involve physical goods, money, services, promises, or abstract concepts like "satisfaction." The DC for the Diplomacy check is based on three factors: who the target is, the relationship between the target and the character making the check, and the risk vs. reward factor of the deal proposed.
The Target -- The base DC for any Diplomacy check is equal to the 15 + level of the highest-level character in the group that you are trying to influence + the Wisdom modifier of the character in the group with the highest Wisdom. High-level characters are more committed to their views and are less likely to be swayed; high Wisdom characters are more likely to perceive the speaker's real motives and aims. By applying the highest modifiers in any group, a powerful president (for example) might gain benefit from a very wise advisor who counsels him. For this purpose, a number of characters is only a "group" if they are committed to all following the same course of action. Either one NPC is in charge, or they agree to act by consensus. If each member is going to make up their mind on their own, roll separate Diplomacy checks against each.
The Relationship -- Whether they love, hate, or have never met each other, the relationship between two people always influences any request. A reputation check has the capability of moving someone from Just Met to Acquaintance (either Positive or Negative, depending on your reputation).
-10 Intimate: Someone who with whom you have an implicit trust. Example: A lover or spouse.
-7 Friend: Someone with whom you have a regularly positive personal relationship. Example: A long-time buddy or a sibling.
-5 Ally: Someone on the same team, but with whom you have no personal relationship. Example: A priest of the same religion or a soldier serving the same country.
-2 Acquaintance (Positive): Someone you have met several times with no particularly negative experiences. Example: The black market dealer that buys your looted equipment regularly.
+0 Just Met: No relationship whatsoever. Example: A bouncer at a nightclub or a traveler on a road.
+2 Acquaintance (Negative): Someone you have met several times with no particularly positive experiences. Example: A police officer that has arrested you for drunkenness once or twice.
+5 Enemy: Someone on an opposed team, with whom you have no personal relationship. Example: A bandit who is robbing you.
+7 Personal Foe: Someone with whom you have a regularly antagonistic personal relationship. Example: An evil warlord whom you are attempting to thwart, or a bounty hunter who is tracking you down for your crimes.
+10 Nemesis: Someone who has sworn to do you, personally, harm. Example: The brother of a man you murdered in cold blood. Shame on you.
Risk vs. Reward Judgement: The amount of personal benefit must always be weighed against the potential risks for any deal proposed. It is important to remember to consider this adjustment from the point of view of the NPC themselves and what they might value; while 10 bucks might be chump change to an adventurer, it may represent the first hot meal in several months for a homeless man. Likewise, a radical terrorist is unlikely to be persuaded from his tenets for any amount of money, though he might be convinced that a greater good is served by the proposed deal. When dealing with multiple people at once, always consider the benefits to the person who is in clear command, if any hierarchy exists within the group.
Every person has an amount of money which they require to do a certain action. For some this is DC 0 (such as a cop you are bribing to arrest a known purse snatcher) while others will be higher (trying to get the same police officer to look away if
you are the purse snatcher would be more like a DC 10). The GM will secretly set the DC for this check. If you succeed you get a +2 to your Diplomacy check, and if you fail you get -2, for a maximum of +10 or minimum of -10 (see example). For every 5 points you are over or under you add or subract 1 point to the DC of the diplomacy check. You can take 10, but not 20, on this check. Some people require a bribe (and you will get a penalty on your Diplomacy check as if you rolled a 0 on your Wealth Check), and others will be offended if you offer them a bribe (they are treated as having a very high Wealth Check DC, but there is no penalty if you do not offer them a bribe; they may also alert the authorities, if applicible).
Success or Failure -- If the Diplomacy check beats the DC, the subject accepts the proposal, with no changes or with minor (mostly idiosyncratic) changes. If the check fails by 5 or less, the subject does not accept the deal but may, at the GM's option, offer different terms. The character who made the Diplomacy check can simply accept the counter-offer, if they choose; no further check will be required. If the check fails by 10 or more, the Diplomacy is over; the subject will entertain no further deals, and may become hostile or take other steps to end the conversation.
Action -- Making a request or proposing a deal generally requires at least 1 full minute. In many situations, this time requirement may greatly increase.
Try Again -- If you alter the parameters of the deal you are proposing, you may try to convince the subject that this new deal is even better than the last one. This is essentially how people haggle. As long as you never roll 10 or less than the DC on your Diplomacy check, you can continue to offer deals.
Note: not all examples have to involve bribing (indeed, many won't) but that is probably the most complicated part about this system. Here are three different examples for how bribing works. Your Wealth Bonus does not actually go down if you suceed on a bribe.
Example 1: Trying to convince a dirty cop to look the other way for a couple minutes (Wealth DC 10, not required, not refused).
Since the cop does not know you (+0) the DC for a Diplomacy check is 16 (15 base, one character level, no wisdom bonus). If your Diplomacy modifier is +4 you can succeed with a 12 or more (45% chance).
If you decide to bribe the cop you have to succeed on a Wealth Check DC 10 (though you will not know the number). If your Wealth bonus is +7, you only need a 3 or more to succeed, which gives +2 to your diplomacy check. If you roll a 20 (for a total of 27) this is 17 points over the DC, so you get an additional +3 to your Diplomacy check (+9 total). You can now succeed by rolling a 7 or more (70% chance).
Example 2: Trying to convince a court official to push through your gun application faster (DC 10, bribe required).
Say the official has the same Diplomacy DC and you have the same Diplomacy modifier. This time if you do not offer him a bribe it is as if you failed a Wealth Check with a result of 0. This is a -2 penalty for failing, with another -2 for failing by ten points (+0 Diplomacy modifier). You now have to roll a 16 or better to succeed (25% chance).
Bribing the official is the same result as bribing the cop (up to 70% chance of success).
Example 3: Trying to convince a priest not to turn you in for bribing cops and court officials (DC 20, bribe refused).
Same modifiers as last time. Attempting a Diplomacy check without a bribe is the same as before (45% of success).
In this case the priest specifically does not want a bribe (though everyone has his price). If you try to bribe him and roll a 12 or less (60% chance) you will get some penalty to your Diplomacy check.
Action Points -- The premise behind
They Hide In Shadow is that alternate universes exist, and can influence our own. (For a more detailed description, see the Setting thread.) To make this idea more integrated into the game, I have decided to change the use of action points: now instead of representing an expenditure of energy or an extra amount of heroic luck, they represent a hero's ability to force himself onto a more advantageous universal path. Manipulating multiple universes is a difficult task, however, as a small change in the present can have unforseen consequences in the future. The following text replaces that in the core rulebook and the SRD (
bold changes are those that are different from the SRD)
When a character spends 1 action point to improve a d20 roll, add 2d6 to the d20 roll to help meet or exceed the target number. A character can declare the use of 1 action point to alter a d20 roll after the roll is made—but only before the GM reveals the result of that roll (whether the attack or check or saving throw sucĀceeded or failed). (Note: Since this is an online game, there will be some leeway in adjudicating this part of the rule.) A character can’t use an action point on a skill check or ability check when he or she is taking 10 or taking 20.
Backlash: whenever a character uses an action point to add to their die roll they suffer a backlash. On the next d20 roll they make under pressure (this generally means any d20 roll where you can't take 10 or 20), after you have used an action point, roll 1d6 and subtract it from your total. Unlike other subtraction, this can make your total result negative. (Note: If the I rule that you have made a "throwaway roll" to negate the penalty, that roll won't count. The characters are supposed to suffer from every use of an action point.)
Characters are better at manipulating the future as they gain in levels:
Level | Action Points | Backlash |
---|
1st-7th | 2d6 | 1d6 |
8th-14th | 3d6, drop lowest | 2d6, drop highest |
15th-20th | 4d6, drop lowest 2 | 3d6, drop highest 2 |
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:25, Fri 09 Apr 2010.