House Rules

Class Related

HP at Low Levels/h2>

Maximum hit points for 1st and 2nd level For multiclass characters, this means the first two levels of each class.

Combat

Combat Round

A combat round is 10 seconds long.

By the Book: A round is 1minute long, PHB p. 91

Initiative

A character can use their reaction bonus from DEX to improve their initiative

By the Book: DEX only helps in a suprise round. PHB p. 14

Firing into a melee

A character may take a penalty to hit, based on the size of the target, to fire at a specific target in a melee.

Target Size	To Hit penalty
Huge +	No penalty
Large	-2
Medium	-3
Small	-4

By the Book: The target is determined at random when firing into a melee. PHB p. 99

Level Loss

We will keeping a track of hit points gained at each level (along with other benefits like spells gained) so when a level(s) is lost, the appropriate hit points will be lost.

By the Book: An actual hit dice is rolled for each level lost and that number of hp subtracted. DMG p. 73

Spells

Spellbooks and Acquiring Spells

Note that in this variant spell books themselves cost a nominal amount. It is researching and inscribing spells into the book that cost money.

When a wizard increases a level, the wizard gains two spells of the players choice. These spells represent arcane knowledge that has come to fruition in the wizard's mind and may be inscribed into the wizards spell book at no cost. Spells that the wizard acquires from other sources represent how someone else has made that particular spell work for themselves, and the wizard needs to spend time doing his own research based on the acquired spell to make that spell work for him.

Spells are not like recipes where every spell has the same components, gestures and incantations. Rather every wizard has to discover how to make a particular spell work for themselves. Thus a wizard cannot memorize spells out of someone else's spellbook, nor may he memorize spells from a scroll. A wizard can cast spells from either of these sources, but in this case the spell is used up and disappears from the source. Research based on a scroll or another spell book greatly speeds up the time and reduces cost of research for the wizard. After spending the time and money shown on the table bellow the wizard make a check, based on intelligence, to see if the spell has been successfully researched. Should this check fail, the wizard may undertake research on the same spell again, but this time at half the cost and in half the time. Should the wizard fail a subsequent time, research may repeated, each time at half the original research cost and time, until the spell is learnt.There is no limit to the number of spells of each level a wizard may know.

The time and cost to research additional spells, other than the two spells a wizard gains every time he increases in level, is shown on this table:

Spell		From scroll/spellbook			Existing Spell			New Spell
Level		Days	Cost		Days	Cost		Days	Cost
1st		1	50		2	150		3	300
2nd		2	100		4	300		7	700
3rd		3	150		6	450		12	1,200
4th		4	200		9	675		18	1,800
5th		5	250		12	900		25	2,500
6th		7	350		15	1,125		35	3,500(*)
7th		9	450		19	1,425		50	5,000(*)
8th		12	600		24	1,800		150	15,000(*)
9th		15	700		30	2,250		360	36,000(*)

* In addition to the cost in gold pieces there will almost certainly be one or more rare research components needed that the wizard will need to go to extra ordinary lengths to acquire.

Table notes
From scroll/spellbook The wizard has a scroll or another wizard's spellbook, containing the spell being researched, in his posession. The original spell is not used up in the process of the wizard's research and remains available once research is completed.
Existing Spell. These are the spells in the Players handbook and Tome of Magic. These are the spells that are common enough that every Wizard has at least heard of them and general treatise and works on them are available, even if sometimes difficult to acquire.
New Spell. These are spells that are not in the Players Handbook or Tome of Magic. If they closely resemble an existing spell in terms of effect, there may be a discount allowed in time, cost, or both.

Research laboratory. For researching 1st through 3rd level spells all the wizard needs is a large desk, plenty of peace and his research components. For 4th through 6th level spells the wizard will need a dedicated room with plenty of benches and cupboards as well as a large open floor space. For 7th level and higher spells the wizard requires a tower or small keep, with multiple storage rooms, animal holding pens, reinforced experimental areas and the like. While the wizard has to pay for or acquire the structure (rent in an inn, purchase of a house, take over another wizards tower, etc.) the cost of outfitting the workspace/laboratory/complex is subsumed into the research cost above.

Spellbooks A spellbook costs 15gp, weighs 3lb and contains 100 pages. A spell takes up two pages per level.

Illusions

This is an explantion of how the 'Adjudicating Illusions' section on p. 130 of the PHB will be interprated.

• Illusions that duplicate spell effects are keyed to the caster's level
• Illusionists can acurately represent creatures, that they have encountered, with a total HD equal to or less than double the caster's level.
• The illusionist is capable of maintaining a believable illusion of these creatures taking damage based as follows:
  • One creature - 10hp per Illusionist level
  • Two creatures - 6 hp per Illusionist level each
  • Three creatures - 3hp per Illusionist level each
  • More creatures - 1hp per Illusionist level each
• Illusionary creatures in melee/ranged combat will attack using the illusionist's THACO adjusted by the Int bonus of the illusionist and taking a penalty of -1 to hit for every creature beyond the first. Damage inflicted will be appropriate to the creature.
• Illusionary creatures can use special abilities that cause hit point damage, such as firebreathing, but not other special abilities, such as turning to stone or level drain. In these cases damage will be limited to 1d6 for every 3 levels of the illusionist.

General

Armor

Armor comes small, medium, large, etc. Creatures can wear armor based on their size. Haflings and gnomes are small. Dwarves, elves, half-elves and humans are medium.

By the Book: 65% of armor is man sized, 20% is elf sized, 10% is dwarf sized, 5% is gnome or hafling sized. DMG p. 182

Living Expenses

Characters will never record the treasure they find that is in the form of silver or copper. These amounts are assumed to be spent to keep the character living in a style consumate to their level.