If you would like to quit, bow out, or go lurker status, because of these rules decisions, I respect your decision and will even welcome your messages on how this affected your decision to leave the game. Ultimately, I can't please everyone, or even a majority if I'm not comfortable with a facet of the game. If you leave, I will very much appreciate your telling me. If you give feedback, or conditions of your return, that is welcome but not required or cause for future bias. I appreciate players that leave by announcing it politely, and will give those players a bias when considering other games, because they've left me with a good communication and not made me wonder about their well being, least of all their boredom.  That said, here are the rules.

RULES

• Starting level: 21st
  
  • however PCs are allowed to start lower and treat any interim (so not in midscene) as a "milestone" for leveling. This will be the only "milestone" XP, the rest will be piecemail but not solely combat or conflict derived. The option to start at lower simply is an ease for players that don't want the paperwork immediately, without penalty to remain behind. This is my best compromise.
• Starting XP: 221,000 (Up for editing! Math may be incorrect. Doing this from memory, should be read as 11,000 over 21st level.)
  
  • Use it if you want, save it if you want. XP will not be the only method of advancement, and will not simply be linear.
• Gestalt: Yes
• Dualcasting: Only on single side, as that single side qualified.
• Multiclass feats: Only if single side qualified
• LA+Racial HD: One side (no restrictions)
• No XP Buyoff
  
  • This will not apply to non-gestalt characters. Since it (seems it) is preferable to be gestalt, I assume no PC will apply. However, guest PCs, or NPCs who use XP may benefit from this.
• Simultaneous Prestige Classes: yes but...
  
  • please assume if you have "explosive synergy" I'll probably veto the combination. It's a case where not all PrCs are equal, and some are really thematically appealing, some are quite potent. Try to lean one side for the latter, rather than both. This caveat, of needing a thematic PrC is optional, the "explosive syngery" is not. I think if I need to define "explosive syngery" it will be by displaying the contest to the PCs as a whole and seeing if you (the rest of you) see what I see.
• Spell Points: no
  
  • ;p *pffft*
• Point buy 40 pts. However...
  
  • since there was some preference for rolling, but some not, I want to instead try to introduce a ceiling to this rolling first. I don't want to halt character creation further. My idea is to have you all roll 3d6+6 drop lowest die, three times, and choose the two best scores. You can apply a -2 pt cost once for each score. This adds a ceiling to how much freebies you get, and opens the accessibility to more of you, while also requiring that if you use the discount it fixes the score, that may itself not be as preferable, even if it's giving higher overall point buy value.
• Hit Points (HP): by RAW, first level is always max future roll with minimum of 1/2 max + 1
• Leadership and Landlord feats: Both. Followers and cohort get NPC wealth for level. Thsi reflects the investment put into them. It is for their assets. Followers are unnecessary to spend wealth on, but if you want to, use a running tally. Cohort should have wealth spent, unless you want the cohort to be eschewed to background. The feat is free, and so won't be forced upon you.
• Starting Wealth: Starting for level. +25,000 to be spent on mundane or consumables. If your class requires gold to make valid, then consider that payment gratis. I don't feel up to crafting accounting ATM, but any items you get can have the hallmark as you desire. DMG II (if you have it) is fine to use for magical aesthetic.

Did I miss anything?
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:38, Wed 22 Mar 2023.

Looks good to me, to help clarify to others our 21-level starting gold is 975,000 + 25,000gp for consumables/mundane items (or basically pocket change). Landlord gives money to build your stronghold, city economics/structures, and hire staff to maintain and run those buildings and economics.

DMG II gives also chance to run a business, even multiple businesses but need to be reminded that if run multiple businesses you need then business partners to run the others besides the main one you spend time running (advice use high-level followers and cohort for that).

11,000 XP is not a lot for crafting wise (or permanency effects), but I read that one fix is to spend 1 XP x 5gp formula to 'pay' missing XP with gold (so overall your not making items by 50% price but rather 75%). Any discounts to crafting gp wise do not apply for the XP tax (but any feats which reduce XP cost for crafting would reduce needed gp payment for missing XP).

Did we decide on epic spellcasting?  I assume it is not on the list.

In reply to Narya (msg # 3):

No epic spellcasting.

Mmmmm, that was an oversight. I think I'll probably award it later as a bonus feat, and give out tablets of pre-made spells. Right now, I think it's best to avoid that, for a few reasons. Not least of all the extra review time.

Ok, so achieve epic spellcasting as part of a event/quest than take it now, which is understandable as epic spellcasting is its own can of worms that needs to be reviewed.