A Fresh(ish) Start

Ever since the near destruction of our current campaign at the hands of Lord Catidsis and the Demonic Basilisk, I’ve wondered about a new character.
If anyone wanted to create a new character within the current campaign, what level would they be and what equipment would they possess?
I’d suggest a 2/3 rule in regard to level or possible a 3/4 one. I.e. We take the remaining party member’s average level and the ‘new’ character is 2/3’s or 1/4 of that level.
This means that if the average party level is 12, the ‘new’ character would be 8th or 9th level. (Having the minimum amount of experience to warrant that level.
As for equipment, I’d propose that they have the equivalent amount of gp as xp.
I WOULD allow them to buy magic items, as the likely hood of them not having magical weapons etc at this level is zero.

(House Rules) Criticals and Fumbles

A natural 20 always succeeds and a natural 1 always fails.
This bothers me.
The DM guide offers an alternative which I approve of.
A natural 20 becomes a 30 (Plus or minus your adjusters). This means a much greater chance of success but not automatic.
A natural 1 becomes a -10 (Plus or minus your adjusters). Massively low but still a slight possibility of success.
This also counts in combat. I didn't like the fact that my twenty archer's would automatically hit whoever they were aiming for once a round, regardless of distance.

Hit Points

As a player, the thing I loathed the most was going up a level and then rolling a 1 for increased Hit Points.
I've spoken to Assif and he's agreed that the minimum you can role on level advancement is half you maximum possible.
This means A Wizard must get at least a 2 on a D4. A rogue must get at least 3 on a D6 etc.
Roll the Hit dice as normal and any roll under half rounds up.
Therefore a Fighter getting 5 Hit points on level advancement is still 5 times more likely than rolling a 6 or above.
Still, 5 is a great deal more acceptable than 1!
My maths may be a bit dodgy but I hope this is OK with everyone.

[Rules] Criticals

A 20 on a d20 (or l8, or 19 depending on the weapon) only gives you a threat of a critical, not an actual critical. If you threaten critical, all it means is you roll again and if you hit, then you get your critical.
I think my minons might have lasted longer had we played the rules correctly!!

[House Rules] Leveling-up

I've been reading up on leveling-up and requirement for training etc. and it seems that both the rules and general opinion have changed since 1st edition days. People even run campaigns now where you can level-up mid-combat (which is a bit crazy if you ask me). Anyway, I thought it sensible to make clear our house rules on this and invite critisism formally.

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General Interpretation : Leveling up is a gradual process that occurs all the time PCs face challenging conditions. They train and practice all the time, but what makes them better is experience - that is what the XP system is about. Otherwise anyone could just train 24 hours a day for 2 years and become a 10th level fighter.

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Rule #1 : PCs can level up in one of their existing classes at any time, it does not require weeks of training with a mentor. However, it does require down time to think and reflect - it cannot be done in mid-combat or in a perilous situation.

Rule #2 : Practically, leveling-up should be left to between game sessions as it can be distracting and time consuming. This means that adventures can be large and split over a number of sessions with leveling up between sessions. There would be no requirement for PCs to go back to town, level-up and then come back for more.
[EDIT] This does not stop us from allowing mid-game level-up where necessary. (e.g. previous session a PC gains not quite enough XP to level-up, he should prepare his leveled up character anyway between sessions and level-up when appropriate. So long as the DM is willing to count XP mid-game)

Rule #3 : Training costs. There are no GP costs associated with leveling up (except for conditions below).

Rule #4 : If a PC wants to multi-class, then gaining the 1st level in a new class does require 1-2 weeks training, and should have a cost of 1000gp. If the PC wants to gain a Prestige Class, then they will require to find a mentor and cover training and costs (2x that of an ordinary class).

Issue: a problem with all this is that the training costs were a general drain on the PCs gold reserves meaning that they did not get crazily rich. However there are other ways of handling this, e.g. paying to identify magical items (instead of the DM just telling them).

So, I welcome your comments:
Assif

DM Dubious has questions

This time, the party was better prepared. They had a plan of action. Mendez would heroically smash the door down and roll deftly into the room while Takis, standing back readies an arrow to strike whatever he sees as soon as the door is down.
Of course, for a new DM grappling with the complex combat rules, this simple action raises a number of questions.

• Naturally, Takis has a "readied action" to be triggered on the event of the door opening, and he would fire at whatever he sees. Is this right, or can you only ready an action against an opponent - e.g. "as soon as I see someone I fire at them"?¹
• If the Kobolds were ready and waiting, then why should they forgo any initiative roll, just because Takis has decided to "ready" an action?
• What should the Difficulty Class for the tumble check be?²
• What happens when fails his tumble check (which he did!)? Does this mean he falls prone, and is vulnerable, or is he actually still standing and so gets an arrow in the back of the head?
• Should the Kobolds get an attack of opportunity against the prone Mendez?³

I think the questions are difficult ones, but in the end what the DM says, goes - and I think I acted fairly. I am beginning to climb that learning curve ...

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1. This is the most difficult question. I ruled that Takis could get an arrow off with the Kobolds flat-footed, and then we went to initiative. However, I think this ruling is entirely debatable. In the end I ruled in favour of the PCs as at least they were thinking about the combat and trying to do as much as possible to prepare well for the fight instead of just saying "we charge in and kill everyone!"
2. I ruled 10 as he was also kicking down the door.
3. Yeah, he failed didn't he ;)