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This message was last edited by the GM at 23:58, Fri 19 Mar 2021.

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Some Core Assumptions

These first few aren't house rules per se, more of a philosophy ... and even though this is the House Rules thread, let me start with:


1.  I am very much a Rules-as-Written DM

As much as is possible, I enjoy crafting a tale that works within the rules.  I really dig getting into the spirit of a game.  One of my pet peeves is joining a game, only to find that the DM has house-ruled everything to death (often this was to fix some sort of perceived game-balance problem, but then the new rule invariably causes ten others).

To me, the rules are a constant.  They are a touchstone.

We all have the books — they are the common language, the lens through which we view the game — if it's in the books ... it's in the game.

With that said, I guarantee it ... I am going to get some of this wrong.  If I make a ruling and I have missed something or contradicted a rule in the book, please bring it to my attention.  I'll be more than willing to review it and — after I get up to speed on how it should be — alter my ruling.

Also, if I start tweaking the rules and house-ruling stuff ... I will always track it here in this thread so that we all have a common point of reference.


2.  Questions are OK, arguments are not

With the previous assumption in mind, I am certain that we will uncover some of the gray areas between the rules.  If something comes up where it rests on my judgement, and I make a ruling that doesn't quite sound to your liking, let's chat.  I'll gladly explain my thinking ... but I probably won't change it.  I only mention it here because I've seen games get absolutely derailed by minutiae, and sometimes I have seen players think that each portion of every single DM ruling is up for discussion.  That is not a rabbit hole I want to go down.

I promise, I'm not being a jerk.  But sometimes I will say no.  Sometimes the stakes will feel high.  That needs to be OK.

Besides, it's always darkest before the dawn.  You guys are heroes, and you can win.  I believe it ... you should too.


3.  Character death is a possibility

I'll say it right up front:  I am not trying to kill you.  With that being said, however, combats will be deadly.  Plan accordingly.  A wizard wading into combat, or the we-pick-a-fight-in-every-tavern shtick might work once in a while, but if it's the only trick in your toolbox ... eventually it will end in tears.

You will, of course, have access to healing magics and such, but spells like Raise Dead are going to be above your pay grade for a while.

Additionally, this campaign is very sand-boxy in approach.  Entire areas and villages and other encounters are statted out, just waiting for you to explore them.  Side quests abound.

I'll say it right now: When you walk into an encounter ... it has not been scaled to your level.

[Note the triple emphasis: Bolded, Underlined, and Italicized ]

What does this mean?  Well, in some games, when a DM throws something at you ... it is because you are supposed to plow through that encounter and arrive, victorious, on the other side.  It might be a hell of a fight, but it was designed to be a fight that you could win.  In Curse of Strahd ... all of that is out the window.  For a lot of these encounters, if you can beat it, great.  And if you can't beat it, and are late in recognizing it ... you're dead.   The successful conclusion of an encounter — and the next development in the plot — do not always hinge on an unmitigated victory.

This land is deadly, the encounters are deadly, and sometimes the right answer will be to get away while you still can.

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On Posting

As I'm sure you guys are all aware, tempo management is a tricksy thing here in PbP-land.  Too slow and the game will stagnate and die.  Too fast and players burn out, unable to keep up.

I am very comfortable with a pace of about 2-3 posts per week.  Most times, I can do more than that if  everyone has had a chance to chime in, but I won't be trying to leave folks in the dust, either.

Here is the old Ski-Bird formula for posts per week:

Every story-post I make has an unofficial 'two-day' clock.  Meaning, If I post something that sets the scene or bumps the story ahead in some fashion ... everybody has two solid days to craft a post.

Example:  I post on Saturday evening.  Well, then you guys will have all day Sunday and all day Monday in which to post.  I won't bump the story along until all players have had a chance to respond.  After the 'two-day' clock, however, I will move it along in some fashion ... with or without all of the players chiming in.

[PbP games, not unlike sharks, require some forward momentum at all times or they die]

Sometimes I will post in the early AM before heading out the door for work.  If that is the case ... I count that day as one of the two days.

Example:  I post early Monday morning (I am east coast US, EST time zone).  Well, then you have all day Monday and all day Tuesday to make a response, and you can expect a story bump on Wednesday of that week.

When I say 'story post' I mean something that substantially changes the scene (or sets a new one).  Something that gives you guys something new to react to, interact with, etc.  I might post more often than the 'two-day', but if it is just an NPC answering a question, or a quick one liner to let you know the results of a skill check or something ... those posts do not count against (or reset) the 'two-day' clock.

A little about me and my availability.  My weekends are generally free (side effect of being old and boring), so you can expect me to post over the weekends for sure.  Weekdays ... sometimes it's hit or miss.  I travel a lot for work and sometimes 1-2 weekly posts is about all I can manage.

On Absences

Real life absolutely comes first.  I know we all have family commitments, weekend camping trips, out-of-town vacations and the like (and sometimes ... you're just sick as a dog).  I do ask, however, that if you can ... give me a heads-up.  Knowing you will be gone for a week-and-a-half is a lot better than wondering if you have dropped from the game.

I'll NPC the character if it's appropriate to the scene, or bench them for a bit, whatever makes sense.

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On Narrative Tense

In general, let's try to keep it in 3rd person.  I'm not a grammar nazi when it comes to tense ... if you drift between past and present tense it won't make steam come out of my ears.

[Although ... as I sit here and type this, I do have one grammar nazi-ish request.  While I'm not a huge dork for punctuation, please place quotes of some sort around speech, and hit the return key once in a while if the post gets longish.  It grates on my nerves to see a solid text wall stream-of-consciousness where I cannot easily tell what is being spoken aloud and what is being typed for exposition.]

I don't mind if you pick a color for speech — but I also do not mind if you don't — completely up to you.

On Using the Dice Roller

- Please label your rolls in the memo block.  The memo can be super short, but I should be able to glance at the roll and tell what you were doing (Attack Skeleton, Charisma Save, Fireball Damage, etc).

- Also, as much as is possible ... let's keep rolls out of the IC thread.  No need, in other words, to roll an attack in the dice roller, then type up the action in the IC thread, and then copy/paste the dice roller results into the IC post.  For this game I would like — as much as is possible — to keep the IC stuff as IC only.

- If you absolutely must  add the results of a roll to your post ... please use a 'private to GM' tag.

- Similarly, a quick OOC at the bottom won't break my brain ... but if it's a question just for me, feel free to use the 'private to GM' tag here as well (and I will do the same).

- I have set the dice roller defaults to secret ... I don't care one bit if you ever uncheck that box.  If you want the rolls to be just between us, cool.  If you want the rolls to be seen by the table, cool.  I will be doing a few rolls 'in front of the DM screen' as it were, but you can expect me to do a lot of rolls that you cannot see.

^^Don't worry ... I enjoy seeing where the dice take us so I won't be placing my thumbs on the scales.

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On Conflict

It happens.  Misunderstandings, etc.  I am very, very much a rules-as-written guy.  So if I get something wrong, and you can put your finger on the line in the book that I screwed up, or applied wrong or whatever ... call me on it.  I will absolutely apply some handwavium and the forgotten rule will be applied retroactively.

I make no promises except this ... I will screw something up at some point of the game. :)

That being said ... if it's something solidly in the gray area and I make a ruling, I expect to rule and move on with life.  I'm not saying don't ask, but if you ask, and get an answer ... it is not an invitation for a multi-post litigation regarding how you think it should be different.

^^ I know that makes me sound like a jerk, but I have seen too many games get derailed by minutia.  Not today, Satan.

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If the conflict is between two players, however, I would prefer if we took it straight to PM to sort it out.  I will play traffic cop and rules lawyer or whatever until we get it all sorted.  Maybe you didn't quite understand what a guy was asking.  Maybe you read some tone into a post and it sat sideways with you.  It happens.

When it does, we'll sort it all out in a PM.

It's been my experience that these are usually simple misunderstandings that can be sorted out without filing a hurt feelings report (or dropping from the game).

I will say this: At no point will it be acceptable to air dirty laundry in the OOC thread.  Similarly, I will frown on passive-aggressive observations about another player that did something you don't like.

Example: Well, I don't know what he's doing ... but fine, I'll go along.  We're probably going to die, but whatever.

^^ I know we just took a dark turn — talking about all the bad stuff I don't  want to see — but I feel like being upfront about stuff like this pays dividends when disagreement/frustration bubble to the surface.

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On Bookkeeping

I do not plan on tracking encumbrance by weight.  As long as it passes a sanity check, you guys can carry what you please.

I won't be tracking mundane consumables either, like arrows and torches.  If it makes sense, then you can expect to have it.  For stuff like that, you are well-equipped adventurers and are assumed to have what you need ... right up until you don't.  I won't make a habit of it, but if it applies some tension to the story, you can expect me to apply some 'handwavium' to rule that a certain item has become unavailable (just ran out of arrows, your lantern sputters and dies, etc).

Similarly, there will be no need to track inconsequential purchases (1sp for a meal and things like that).  I will periodically deduct a 'cost of living' expense from your gold that will cover all of that sort of stuff.

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On Advancement

When a character earns enough XP to level up, they do so immediately.  Things that must be reset with a long rest [memorized spells or spells per day, etc] must still be reset with a long rest however.

Example:  After an encounter, a 4th level wizard with a single 2nd level spell slot remaining earns enough XP to become a 5th level wizard.

Some things take effect immediately.The wizard's proficiency bonus increases [from +2 to +3] immediately, the wizard also gains another hit die and adds another 1d6 hit points.

Some things must wait until the character can take a long rest.  This wizard would not learn his 3rd level spell or reset his spell slots until he could take a long rest.  Directly after the encounter (and until the next long rest) this would be a 5th level wizard with a single 2nd level spell slot remaining.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:24, Thu 29 Apr 2021.

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On Outcasts

The humans of Barovia are an insular and unworldly lot, most having spent their whole lives within just a few leagues of their birthplace.  When combined with an unhealthy dose of suspicion and a culture brimming with superstition, the result is xenophobia.

This irrational dislike of the 'other' leads to most demihumans being labeled as outcasts.

- All non-human races begin at a Disadvantage  with regard to social skills used on a Barovian human NPC (Deception, Performance, Persuasion).

- Alternatively, any character labeled as an outcast enjoys Advantage  on all Intimidate skill checks used on a Barovian human NPC.

- A successful attempt to disguise one's race (so as to pass as human) will negate the outcast label.

- Similarly, the outcast label may be adjusted, per community, through roleplaying (helpful acts, stopping a monster, etc).

^^

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Tying into the last post on demihumans being considered an outcast.  Here is a snippet from the campaign book:



Ravenloft (for better or worse) has always been a bit of human-centric campaign setting.  For a Dungeons and Dragons setting, there really wasn't a ton of dungeons — or for that matter — dragons.

Second edition mechanized this humanocentric nature by adjusting the results of the Encounter Reactions table (by making any result obtained by a demihuman fall worse by one category; Friendly > Indifferent > Cautious > Threatening > Hostile).  They also counted a demihuman's Cha as if it were three points lower when interacting with human NPC's.

Third edition had a similar mechanic ... the Outcast Rating.  A modifier that varied race-by-race [-1 to -5] that applied as a circumstance penalty to social interactions — Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, etc — but counted as a bonus toward Intimidate checks.

Basically, I'm riffing on those previous examples and, through the 5E lens, using the Advantage/Disadvantage structure.

***

There will likely be some other difference you guys will happen upon (some magic works differently, etc).  But we can burn that bridge when we get to it.

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On Crafting Magic Items

There are two sets of rules for crafting magic items (the DMG and XGtE).  I am willing to have both of these rules in effect, and, when someone opts to craft a magic item ... they may use whichever method is advantageous for that situation.

With regard to house rules ... I will make the following tweak:

-When using the DMG method for crafting magic items, the cost and time needed are halved for items of a consumable or one-time-use nature (potions, scrolls, etc).