Houserules
The following is a list of all of the various houserules used on the server. Where applicable, differing rulings on houserules between DMs are mentioned here. They are divided into several broad categories, for ease of reference.
General Guidelines
Tone and Theme
The server strives to maintain a grounded, somewhat retro, very “Dungeons and Dragons” theme to the game. To this end, anime and furry-style character portraits are not allowed. Anthropomorphic animals - aside from Lizardfolk, Thri-Kreen, and certain other very common races from the Basic Resources - are not allowed or heavily disincentivized. It's preferred that players stick to less exotic races, and level adjustment will never be waived to facilitate playing an exotic race. When building your character, it's better to play within the framework the game provides, rather than attempting to replicate characters or archetypes from other media within the DnD 3.5e system.
Number of Characters
Once your character reaches a sufficiently high level, you can make additional characters to play in the server simultaneously. Once your character reaches 4th-level, you can make a second character at 1st-level; and once you have at least two characters above 4th-level, one of which is also above 8th-level, you can make a third character at 1st-level.
If you lose a character due to death or retirement, you do not lose any existing characters (such as if your 8th-level character dies, revoking your third character slot), but you cannot make one to replace it unless you would ordinarily be able to according to the above rules.
Paragon Characters and the Level Cap
This server has a level cap of 10. Once a character reaches level 11, they become a “Paragon” and cannot go on normal adventures. Special, multi-session adventures will be prepared for Paragon adventurers.
Paragon characters not on a Paragon expedition effectively become NPCs. At the DM's option, a player may have their paragon character interact with the world as an NPC, offering quests or acting as an ally or antagonist outside of the player's control.
The player can create a new character at level 1, and receives the Paragon role.
Minimum Charge for Items and Services
If you are selling an item or charging for a service, you must charge to make a profit of at least half as much as an NPC would earn by default. For this reason, mundane items are sold for at least half price, and magic items are sold for at least three-quarters base price (assuming you crafted the item yourself). These rules only apply to items sold to other players; you may always sell items you have crafted to an NPC at half base price. You do not need to charge for services rendered to members of your party during an expedition.
Gifts
Characters may exchange gifts only if it is the recipient's birthday, or the day is a gift-giving holiday in game. Exceptions for minor gifts can be made at the discretion of a DM.
Debt and Loans
Your characters may enter into debt up to the total experience required for their next level. For example, a Level 5 character could enter into 15,000 gp of debt. Loans taken from NPCs have an interest rate of 20%. Loans taken from player character must have an interest rate of at least 10%.
You can only borrow items from organizations with total value up to the total experience required to reach your character's next level (for example a Level 5 character could borrow up to 15,000 gp worth of items); i.e., up to their debt limit. This is counted separately from the character's debt. When borrowing an item whose value decreases as it loses charges (such as a Wand), always treat it as being its maximum value as if it were fully charged.
You may lend your items to your party-members on expeditions with no restrictions, but the items must be owned by the character doing the lending, and must be returned at the end of the expedition (assuming the items were not lost or stolen).
Rules Outside Core
Rules and guidelines from outside of the PHB, MM, and DMG (especially those in the Rules Compendium) are not necessarily used in this server unless explicitly referenced by a DM. DMs may also have their own house rules within their own expeditions.
Retraining
You may expend your character's experience to retrain many aspects of your character. The costs are as follows:
Skills: 10 xp per rank per level
Feats: 100 xp per level
Changing the target of a feat, such as Weapon Focus: 50 xp per level
Changing a known spell: 20 xp per spell level per level. Cantrips are 1/2-level.
Exchanging a class feature, such as a Cleric's domain, whether a neutral Cleric turns or rebukes undead, a Ranger's combat style, a Rogue's special ability, or a Wizard's specialization or prohibited schools: 500 xp per level
Resurrection Failure
Any spell that brings a character back from the dead has a chance of failure (except true resurrection, which always works). The character must roll a d20 and add their Constitution modifier and ECL (hit dice plus level adjustment, if any). If their result is a 0 or higher, the resurrection is a success.
If the result is a failure, the character can no longer be brought back to life by any means short of a carefully worded wish. Each time a character is brought back from the dead, the DC for this roll increases by 5.
Death and Retirement
When your character retires or dies and is not resurrected, you can carry over a portion of your old character's gold and experience towards your next one. This cannot be added to an existing character; the gold and experience must be added to a new character that has not yet been on an expedition by the old character's death. If you do not use the gold and xp for your next character, you cannot make use of it for a later character.
If you wish to make use of this houserule, start by adding together the base cost of all of your character's assets. This includes coinage, magic items, and real estate, as well as all gold donated to charitable institutions, tithed to churches, and spent frivolously. Divide this number by 5, then add your total experience.
Take this number, subtract 4,000, and then divide by 4 (if your character died) or 3 (if your character retired). This final result is your new character's experience total and starting gold.
This can also be expressed by the formula: (Assets/5 + Total XP - 4,000) / [4 or 3, depending on if your character died or retired]
At a DM's discretion, you can purchase some magic items at base cost (rather than double) using your new character's starting wealth. These might include non-specific weapons and armor, ability score boosting items, bracers of armor, cloaks of resistance, rings of protection, and similar items.
Creating a New Character With Level Adjustment
If you are creating a new character and want them to play a race or template with Level Adjustment, you are strongly recommended to only do so if you have starting xp and gold from a retired or dead character that allows your character to start at an appropriate ECL. For example, an LA +1 Character would need 1,000 xp (the amount of xp needed to start at level 2), and an LA +2 character would need 3,000 xp (the amount of xp needed to start at level 3).
If you do not have sufficient xp and still want to make a character with Level Adjustment, you must receive permission from a DM. The race or template will be adjusted to be balanced without a Level Adjustment, and you will use the adjusted race or template until you gain enough xp to increase in level. When you do, you unlock new features of your race or template and increase the Level Adjustment by one. This process repeats until you have the full Level Adjustment and all of the race or template's features, at which point you can progress your character as normal. If you are playing a modified race or template, you may not choose to level up instead of unlocking more of the race or template's features.
Books
Basic Resources
Eleven books are allowed in the game in their entirety (or near-entirety):1)
- “Player's Handbook”, “Monster Manual”, “Dungeon Master's Guide”, and “Expanded Psionics Handbook”;
- “Complete Adventurer”, “Complete Arcane”, “Complete Divine”, and “Complete Warrior”;
- “Miniatures Handbook”, “Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting”, and “Player's Handbook II”.
Taking a +1
Aside from those banned outright (see “Prohibited Books”), with DM approval you may choose one other book in addition to the Basic Resources to pull options from for your character. For example, a Paladin may pick the Book of Exalted Deeds as their +1; a demon-summoning wizard may choose the Fiendish Codex I; and a Rogue might take Complete Scoundrel to take advantage of that book's Luck Feats.
Only you (and other characters with the same +1) may use the material from this book. If you craft or purchase a magic item from your +1, you may loan it out to your party-members, but you may not sell it, or loan it on a permanent basis, and you may not share it outside of an expedition (except to other characters with the same +1). If it is a scroll, staff, or wand of a spell from your +1, only you may use it at all.
Because material is approved on a case-by-case basis, even characters with the same +1 may not be able to use items from your +1.
The following books cannot be taken as a +1:
- Spell Compendium
- Magic Item Compendium
- Dragon Compendium
DM Approval
Taking any option from a book outside of the Basic Resources requires explicit DM approval, even if you have received permission to take a particular book as your +1 already. You may request additional material from your +1 beyond what you have already requested at any time.
Items and boons obtained as adventure loot can always be used regardless of what book they are from.
Unearthed Arcana
Variants from Unearthed Arcana may be allowed at DM's discretion. Unearthed Arcana variants do not require a character to have Unearthed Arcana as a +1.
The following variants are allowed:
- Level Adjustment Buyoff.
The following variants are generally disallowed:
- Environmental and Elemental races.
The following variants are not in use:
- Battle Sorcerer variant class.
- Bloodline rules.
- Generic Classes.
Spells from the Complete Series
Each character's spell list consists only of their classes' spell list from the Player's Handbook, or book in which the class appears, plus up to one additional spell per caster level. This additional spell must be on the classes' spell list and from one of the following books: Miniatures Handbook, Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, Complete Warrior, and Player's Handbook II.
This addition is only for that character. Spellcasters cannot prepare nor learn other spells from these books, because their spell list does not include those spells. Spells from a character's +1 do not count against this limit. Spells granted as adventure loot do not count against this limit, but spells transcribed from imported scrolls or learned from other player characters do.
Original Unclear Text: Each character can add one spell per Caster Level to their class's spell list from the following books: Miniatures Handbook, Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, and Complete Warrior. This addition is only for that character. Spellcasters cannot prepare or learn other spells from these books.
Books to Avoid
The following books, while not explicitly banned, have balance issues and content within them is more likely to be rejected than others:
- Complete Mage
- Drow of the Underdark
- Dragon Magazine
- Dragon Magic
- Frostburn
- Oriental Adventures
- Races of Destiny/Stone/the Dragon/the Wild
Prohibited Options
Prohibited Books
The books “Tome of Battle” and “Tome of Magic” are banned. Nothing within is allowed within the game. Tome of Magic is banned because it requires significant worldbuilding to incorporate into the setting which does not exist. Tome of Battle is banned because the classes within are oftentimes better versions of PHB classes, and allowing Tome of Battle would effectively force new players to pick up a book other than the PHB in order to play a martial character.
Compendiums
“Spell Compendium”, “Magic Item Compendium”, and “Dragon Compendium” cannot be taken as a +1.
Setting-Specific Material
While material from setting-books is allowed (the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is even part of the basic resources), setting-specific material is not. This includes the following:
Races: Warforged, Shifters, Kalashtar, Dromites, Maenads, Xephs
Prestige Classes: Harper Scout, Hathran, Red Wizard, most Eberron PrCs
Feats: Thunder Twin
Other: Dragonmarks
The Purple Dragon Knight and Shadow Adept prestige classes are allowed; please see a DM about lore considerations and renaming (if necessary). Likewise, the Red Wizard and Halruaan Elder prestige classes have equivalent lore-specific replacements. As above, ask a DM if you would like to use either.
Material that has setting-specific lore prerequisites (such as “Must be inducted into an Order”, “Must be from a particular clan or region”, or “Must have Pelor as patron deity”) may have alternative prerequisites. If lore prerequisites would normally render certain setting-specific options incompatible (such as two prestige classes that requires different patron deities), the options will likely remain incompatible even if the lore is removed entirely.
Classes
The following classes and class variants have been banned outright:
Artificers
Due to balance issues and potential to interrupt the player-driven economy, the artificer class was banned unanimously by the DM team.
"Abrupt Jaunt" Conjurer
Due to balance issues, the Abrupt Jaunt wizard variant from the Player's Handbook II has been banned.
Spell-to-Power
The Spell-to-Power optional rule for psionic characters is not allowed.
Leadership
Due to balance issues and the problems inherent in a single player running two characters in a game, the Leadership feat was banned by a majority vote of the DM team. It has been replaced by a different feat, “Leader”, which allows the user to run an organization. See the Organizations page for more details
Iaijutsu Focus
Iaijustsu Focus is only available to characters with levels in Oriental Adventures Samurai or Sohei (or prestige classes that grant Iaijustu Focus as a class skill.)
Races
The following races have been banned outright:
- Lesser Planetouched
- Necropolitans
- Hellbred
Changelings are allowed, but their Shapechanger subtype and Minor Change Shape ability do not fulfill prerequisites meant to require Polymorph or Wild Shape, such as Warshaper prerequisites.
In addition, the following races have been changed for use in this server:
- Gray Elf
- Sun Elf
- Drow (Dark Elf)
- Blues
- Hobgoblin
The updated statistics can be found here.
Feats
The following feats have been banned outright:
- Natural Spell
- Born of Three Thunders
- Craven
- Nymph's Kiss is not banned outright, but is highly unlikely to be approved.
Weapons
Unless you find them on an adventure, spiked chains are banned.
Crafting Feats
Feats that reduce the cost (in gp or xp) of crafting magic items are banned, including Magical Artisan, Extraordinary Artisan, and Legendary Artisan.
Spells
The following spells have been banned outright:
- Luminous Armor (Book of Exalted Deeds)
- Spectral Weapon (Complete Adventurer)
- Last Breath (Complete Divine)
- Revivify (Miniatures Handbook)
- Bands of Steel (Complete Arcane)
The following power has been banned outright:
- Psychic Reformation (Expanded Psionics Handbook)
The following spells and powers cannot be offered by spellcasting organizations:
- Imbue with Spell Ability (Player's Handbook)
- Psionic Identify (Expanded Psionics Handbook)
- Bestow Power (Expanded Psionics Handbook)
Prestige Classes
The following prestige classes have been banned outright:
- The Abjurant Champion
Major Houserules
Accelerated Feat Progression
You gain a feat every odd level, rather than at 1st and every 3rd level thereafter. So a character earns a feat at level 1 and 3, as normal, but then at level 5, 7, and 9, etc.
Free Minor Feat
Every character may take a free “Minor Feat” at level 1. See the list below.
Fractional Base Bonuses
At your option, you may use the “Fractional Base Bonuses” optional rule from Unearthed Arcana. NPCs and monsters generally do not. Using this houserule, you may add the fractional remainders of your class's Base Attack and Base Save bonuses if you are a multiclass character. For example, a Wizard 1/Sorcerer 1 would have a Base Attack Bonus of +1, rather than +0, because each class level gives the character a +.5 to their BAB.
Multiclass Saving Throws
You do not get the additional +2 to a saving throw if you multiclass into multiple classes that have that save as a good save. For example, a Fighter 1/Barbarian 1 would have a Base Fortitude Save of +3, not +5. This is calculated automatically by the VTT when multiple classes are added to your character.
Flaws
You may take a maximum of one flaw at character creation, and it must be one that significantly impacts your character. Further details and a list of available flaws can be found on the flaws page. In foundry, they are located in the 'Flaws' compendium.
Crafting Points
When creating magic items, characters must spend and equivalent number of crafting points in lieu of experience points.
Each level, your character starts with a reserve of crafting points equal to a hundred times their level times the number of crafting feats they possess. For example, a character with the Craft Wondrous Item and Brew Potion feats that reaches level 5 has a reserve of 1,000 Craft Points (5 * 2 * 100).
Crafting points do not persist between levels. At each level, unused crafting points are lost and a new reserve is gained. Crafting feats acquired at the new level count towards the new total, but crafting feats that are trained into part-way through a level do not.
If you retrain out of a crafting feat, you can never retrain back into that feat again on that character.
If you lose a level and later regain it, spent crafting points are still missing from the reserve. Your reserve for each level is only calculated the first time you gain that level.
Player Downtime
Players may engage in professional and craft skills during their time outside of an adventure. To engage in Downtime, you can make a posting to either the DOWNTIME or RESEARCH channels under the Barrow's Maw discord channel group.
Profession/Craft Downtime
This primarily includes passive income earned from performing professions and owning businesses, as well as passive expenditures from permanently-retained hirelings, food, and rent. You are only charged for food and rent at the Axe and Sickle if you have a job in town. Keeping track of expenditures and passive income is completely voluntary and opt-in.
Every day that passes out-of-game represents a week of in-game time. Per rules within the 3.5 SRD on Profession Skill, a player may earn half one's Profession check in gold per week. Normally, this means a player “Taking 10”, adding their Profession skill, and dividing by 2. It is preferred to track passive income in 7-week in-game periods, corresponding to out-of-game weeks (ie, multiply your profession check by 7). Please declare your time-use by including [YYYY WEEK #] in your comment.
While earning income, you are also assumed to enjoy a particular lifestyle, which subtracts from your income. Lifestyle expenses for staying at the Axe and Sickle are as follows; they have no mechanical effect aside from bragging rights:
- Good: 2.5 gp/day (25 gp/week). Inn 2 gp, Meals 5 sp. Includes a suite at the inn with full service and extravagant meals.
- Common: .8 gp/day (8 gp/week). Inn 5 sp, Meals 3 sp. Includes a private room at the inn with food to order and use of facilities.
- Poor: .3 gp/day (3 gp/week). Inn 2 sp, 1 sp. Includes a bed in the common room, use of a lockbox, and a ticket for the soup of the day.
EXAMPLE:
[2021 WEEK 4]: Examplar the Cleric plies his trade as a carpenter. He has Craft(Carpenter) 8, taking 10 for a result of 18. He therefore earns income equal to 63 gp [18/2 * 7] for Week 4 of 2021. He practices a Common lifestyle at the inn, costing him 8gp/day for 7 days, costing him 56gp. This nets him income of 7gp for the week.
Professional/Craft Research
Players may expend equivalent time performing research, which does not net them income but does contribute to the completion of a Research Project as outlined in the rules for Mapping and Research.
Restrictions of New Characters
If your character is newly-made, you may not engage in crafting or downtime activities except during character creation under the supervision of a DM. Once a character achieves level 2, they may contribute to Downtime and Research normally.
Waiving Prestige Class Prerequisites
At a DM's option, you may ignore some skill, feat, and miscellaneous prerequisites to entering a Prestige Class so long as they are not essential to the function of that prestige class nor would waiving them allow you to enter it at a level lower than normal. For example, a DM might choose to waive the Hide skill rank requirement for entering the Blackguard prestige class, but it's unlikely that they would allow a Sorcerer/Cleric to enter the Mystic Theurge class with fewer than 4 Sorcerer levels. Caster Level, BAB, and class feature prerequisites will typically never be waived.
Magic-Psionics Transparency
The game assumes full magic-psionics transparency. Spells, powers, and effects that affect magic/spells also affect psionics/powers, and vice-versa.
GM Points
Every adventure run by a DM earns them 10 “GM Points” (other clerical work by DMs also earns GM points). Each GM point can be redeemed for either of the following:
- 10 × level XP (1% of a level-up)
- 20 × level GP (20 gp/level)
Game Summaries
If a party member writes a recap of an adventure in the Game Summaries channel, every member of the expedition gains 10 XP per character level.
Polymorphing
Creatures under the effect of a polymorph spell or similar effect (including Wild Shape) cannot cast spells, and cannot benefit from the effects of any beneficial buff spells.
Druids with Wild Shape may still benefit from a small subset of spells, which can be found here.
Feats on Companions
Animal Companions do not benefit from the Accelerated Feat Progression houserule and gain feats at first level and every third level as normal.
You may change the feats (though not the bonus feats) of any companion of yours, such as an Animal Companion, Special Mount, or an animal you own and train with the Handle Animal skill. They may be retrained just like feats on PCs, except they cost gold pieces equal to five times the normal XP cost. Any replacement feats must be chosen from the list of approved companion feats, which can be found below. Other feats may be approved by a Dungeon Master on a case-by-case basis.
Learning Spells from Other Spellcasters
In addition to any normal method of learning spells, a spellcaster may teach another any spell they know, so long as it is on both of their spell lists. Casters typically charge 50 gp per spell level, just like wizards. Learning spells this way cannot exceed your normal limit of known spells, if any.
You cannot learn spells from another player's +1 unless that book is also your +1. You cannot exceed your limit of spells outside of your basic book, per Spells from the Complete Series.
Critical Failures
When you roll a natural 1 on your first attack roll during a turn, confirm the attack as if it were a critical hit. If this confirmation fails, the attack is a critical miss. Roll a d8, and consult the following table. Many DMs do not use this houserule; never roll unless asked to.
d8 | Result |
---|---|
1 | The attack hits yourself |
2 | The attack hits an ally within range. If there are no allies within range, reroll. |
3 | Your weapon gets stuck in the wall or ground, and you must use a standard action to pull it free. If your weapon is a ranged weapon that uses ammunition, its string breaks (or it jams if it is a firearm), and you must use a standard action to restring or unjam it. |
4 | You overextend yourself, granting a +4 circumstance bonus on any attacks against you for the next round. |
5 | You drop your weapon and fall prone. |
6 | You provoke an attack of opportunity from each creature that can reach you. If there are no hostile creatures within range, reroll. |
7 | You temporarily injure yourself and take a -4 penalty on attck rolls until the end of your next turn. |
8 | A strange, unrelated event occurs. Its exact nature is up to the DM's discretion. |
Classes and Prestige Classes
Psionic Monks
A Monk's supernatural abilities are psionic, not magical, and a Monk gains one power point per character level and the “psionic” subtype.
Iaijutsu Focus Samurai Class Feature
Iajutsu Focus is a Samurai class feature, not a skill. The Samurai's bonus is equal to their Samurai level plus their Charisma modifier.
Use Psionic Device
Any class with Use Magic Device as a class skill also has Use Psionic Device as a class skill.
Archivist Spells
An Archivist can only learn spells from the Cleric and Druid spell lists. Ask a DM if you wish to learn a spell from the Ranger or Paladin list, or a Cleric domain list; however, if a spell is available on both the Cleric/Druid list and another list, you always use the Cleric/Druid spell level if it is higher. This same ruling applies for other classes with similar mechanics.
Master of Many Forms
The Master of Many Forms is allowed if played in good faith, and is subject to most of the same limitations as Polymorph spells (see below).
Feats
Dodge
When you take the Dodge feat, you may choose one of the two effects:
- The Dodge feat gives you a flat +1 dodge bonus to AC against all opponents. If you have another feat or ability that acts as a rider on your dodge target, you must still designate a specific creature for that rider-effect.
- The Dodge feats works normally, but provides a +2 bonus to AC instead of the normal +1.
Toughness and Improved Toughness
The Toughness feat grants you 3 hit points or hit points equal to your level, whichever is higher. The Improved Toughness feat is superseded by this and so does not exist. You may still take the Toughness feat multiple times, but each additional feat grants only 3 bonus hit points.
Endurance
A character with the Endurance feat can also sleep in heavy armor without penalty.
Rapid Reload
A character with this feat can reload a Musket or a Revolver as a Move Action.
Monkey Grip
The penalty on attack rolls when using Monkey Grip depends on the size you wield weapons as. A medium-sized creature takes a -2 penalty, a large-sized creature takes a -4, a huge-sized creature a -8, a gargantuan-sized creature a -16, and a colossal one -32. A small-sized creature only takes a -1 penalty on attack rolls, and a tiny or smaller creature takes no penalty at all.
Powerful Build and similar features make you count as one size category larger for the purposes of wielding weapons also increases the penalty you take accordingly.
Extra Turning
Extra Turning applies to only one type of turning.
Practiced Manifester
You may take the Practiced Manifester feat from Complete Psionic without taking the book as a +1.
Superior Unarmed Strike
You may take the Superior Unarmed Strike feat from Tome of Battle. A monk who takes this feat's effective monk level increases by up to four (but cannot be higher than the monk's total hit dice) for the purposes of calculating the monk's unarmed strike damage.
Aiding in Item Creation
A character must have the requisite item creation feat to aid in the creation of a magic item.
Optional Feats
The Hidden Talent, Collegiate Wizard, and Precocious Apprentice feats are allowed. You do not count as knowing a 2nd-level spell for the purposes of qualifying for Prestige Classes and other options with the Precocious Apprentice feat, however.
Spells
Limits of Polymoprhing
Polymorph spells tend to have balance issues because they can give access to many different “solutions” within a single spell. DMs have final say on whether you can take a given form, and may change their answer depending on what you want to do with it. For example, a DM will probably veto you turning the Rogue into an octopus so they can make eight sneak attacks, but would probably be fine with you turning yourself into an octopus just to breath underwater. Using alter self to turn into obscure humanoids with special abilities (especially flight) is specifically banned.
Creatures under the effect of a polymorph spell or similar effect cannot cast spells, and cannot benefit from the effects of any beneficial buff spells.
Limits of Summoning
Summoning spells tend to have balance issues because they can give access to many different “solutions” within a single spell. DMs have final say on whether you can summon a given creature for a particular task. For example, a DM will probably veto you summoning a Thoqqua to melt down a stone door, but would probably be fine with you just summoning it to fight an enemy.
Lesser Vigor
Wands, Scrolls, and Potions of lesser vigor do not exist and cannot be created. We wish for cure light wounds to remain the most efficient hp/gp spell for magic items, so that players do not have to refer to a secondary book for efficient healing.
Entangle
A creature can break free of an entangle spell by dealing a cumulative 10 points of damage to the plants, which have a hardness of 5 (bypassed by fire and slashing damage). This spell has no effect in an area without enough nearby plants to entangle a creature.
Grease
A creature standing within grease does not need to make a balance check to avoid falling prone in reaction to taking damage. A creature that is prone in grease can use a move action to crawl 5 feet, with no chance of failure. In addition, a creature standing on grease can move into an adjacent, non-greased square at half its speed without needing to make a check or save (this first square of movement is still at half speed). A creature is only considered “in the grease” if all of its spaces are greased; thus, a Huge or larger creature is never affected by grease under ordinary circumstances.
Detect Alignment
Spells that detect alignment can only detect the alignment of a non-Cleric, non-Undead, non-Outsider if they have at least 5 hit dice.
Reduced-Cost Metamagic
Features which reduce the cost of applying a metamagic feat to a spell do not stack, and do not work on magic items nor with Divine Metamagic and similar features. Additionally, the pre-reduction level of the spell with metamagic applied cannot be higher than the highest level of spell your character can cast.
Bestow Curse
The 50% chance to miss a turn option of Bestow Curse is not allowed.
Reincarnate
The material component cost of the reincarnate spell is 3,000 gp instead of 1,000. The costs for hiring a caster to cast a resurrection spell are as follows:
- Reincarnate - 3,280 gp
- Raise Dead - 5,450 gp
- Resurrection - 10,910 gp
- True Resurrection - 26,530 gp
Races
The following races have been changed from their counterparts in the core materials.
Gray Elf
Gray elves have the following bonuses in addition to the standard elf traits:
- +2 Intelligence. This is in addition to the standard high elf ability score increases.
- Spell-Like Abilities: Gray elves can use the following spell-like ability once per day: magic weapon. Caster level equals the gray elf’s class levels.
- +2 racial bonus on Will saves against spells and spell-like abilities.
- +2 racial bonus on Craft checks.
- Favored Class: Wizard.
- Level Adjustment: +1.
Sun Elf
Sun elves have the following bonuses in addition to the standard elf bonuses:
- +2 Strength, +2 Intelligence. This is in addition to the standard elf ability score increases.
- Sun elves gain Skill Focus as a bonus feat.
- Favored Class: Wizard.
- Level Adjustment: +1.
Drow (Dark Elf)
Female drow can choose to gain a +2 bonus to Wisdom rather than Intelligence.
Blue (Psionic Goblin)
Blues gain a +2 bonus to Dexterity and do not receive a penalty to Charisma.
Hobgoblin
Hobgoblins have the following statistics:
- +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom. Hobgoblins are fast and hardy, but relatively weak of will.
- A hobgoblin's base land speed is 30 feet.
- Darkvision out to 60 feet.
- +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.
- Automatic Languages: Common and Goblin. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Elven, Orc, and Infernal.
- Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass hobgoblin's fighter class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
- Level Adjustment: +0
Magic Items
Limited Special Materials
Certain special materials, such as Dragonhide, Deep Crystal, Starmetal, and Adamant, cannot be bought from NPC merchants; they may only be found in adventures, typically by slaying dragons and clearing psionic crystal mines, respectively.
Twilight Armor
The Twilight armor enhancement is considered part of core, and can be crafted and purchased without taking any book as a +1.
Custom Magic Items
Many DnD 3.5e communities consider “Table 7-32: Summary of Magic Item Creation Costs” to be player-facing material and that any item made using those rules is “Legal” and allowed. Similarly many communities use the rules for customizing magic items in the Magic Item Compendium.
In this server, we use the table as a guide for determining costs, but any item created using those rules (including items from books we do not allow) is still a homebrew item, and needs approval from a DM like any other homebrew. If you want it to get approved (or rejected) as quickly as possible, you can do the math on what the cost should be yourself; you don't have to do this, but it may speed up the DM response.
This includes changing the slot a magic item occupies, combining magical items into one slot, or creating an item that does not take up a body slot.
Wild Shape Spells
The following spells continue to affect Druids while they are Wild Shaped. All other spells are suppressed while the Druid's shape is changed.
- Barkskin
- Death Ward
- Freedom of Movement
- Longstrider
- Magic Fang
- Magic Fang, Greater
- True Seeing
- Water Breathing
Animal Companion Feats
Animal Companions do not benefit from the Accelerated Feat Progression houserule and gain feats at first level and every third level as normal.
These are the approved feats for Animal Companions, Special Mounts, and other animals you own and train with the Handle Animal skill:
- Ability Focus
- Agile
- Alertness
- Athletic
- Awesome Blow
- Blind-Fight
- Cleave
- Combat Reflexes
- Diehard
- Dodge
- Endurance
- Far Shot
- Flyby Attack
- Great Cleave
- Great Fortitude
- Hover
- Improved Bull Rush
- Improved Critical
- Improved Initiative
- Improved Natural Armor
- Improved Natural Attack
- Improved Overrun
- Improved Precise Shot
- Improved Sunder
- Iron Will
- Lightning Reflexes
- Mobility
- Multiattack
- Point-Blank Shot
- Precise Shot
- Rapid Shot
- Run
- Shot on the Run
- Toughness
Minor Feats
Player's Handbook
Feat | Summary |
---|---|
Acrobatic | +2 Jump and Tumble |
Agile | +2 Balance and Escape Artist |
Alertness | +2 Listen and Spot |
Animal Affinity | +2 Handle Animal and Ride |
Athletic | +2 Climb and Swim |
Deceitful | +2 Disguise and Forgery |
Deft Hands | +2 Sleight of Hand and Use Rope |
Diligent | +2 Appraise and Decipher Script |
Eschew Materials | Cast spells without material components |
Investigator | +2 Gather Information and Search |
Magical Aptitude | +2 Spellcraft and Use Magic Device |
Martial Weapon Proficiency | Proficiency with one martial weapon |
Negotiator | +2 Diplomacy and Sense Motive |
Nimble Fingers | +2 Disable Device and Open Lock |
Persuasive | +2 Bluff and Intimidate |
Self-Sufficient | +2 Heal and Survival |
Simple Weapon Proficiency | Proficiency with all simple weapons |
Spell Master | Prepare wizard spells from memory |
Stealthy | +2 Hide and Move Silently |
Expanded Psionics Handbook
Feat | Summary |
---|---|
Autonomous | +2 Autohypnosis and Knowledge (Psionics) |
Open Minded | +5 Skill Points |
Psionic Affinity | +2 Psicraft and Use Psionic Device |
Wild Talent | Gain psionic ability and 2 power points |
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
Feat | Summary |
---|---|
Arcane Schooling | Arcane spellcasting class becomes favored |
Artist | +2 Perform and any Craft (Art) |
Blooded | +2 Initiative and Spot |
Bullheaded | +1 Will and +2 Intimidate |
Cosmopolitan | +2 to any skill, class skill for you |
Courteous Magocracy | +2 Diplomacy and Spellcraft |
Daylight Adaptation | No penalty for bright light |
Discipline | +1 Will, +2 Concentration |
Education | All knowledge skills are class skills, +1 to two |
Horse Nomad | Martial Weapon Proficiency with Shortbow (including Composite Shortbow), +2 Ride |
Mercantile Background | +2 Appraise and Craft or Profession |
Militia | Martial Weapon Proficiency with Longbow and Longspear, or Martial Weapon Proficiency with Shortbow and Shortsword for small size |
Resist Poison | +4 to saves vs poison |
Silver Palm | +2 Appraise and Bluff |
Snake Blood | +2 to saves vs poison, +1 Reflex |
Street Smart | +2 Bluff and Gather Information |
Strong Soul | +1 Fortitude, Will, and saves vs death and drain |
Survivor | +1 Fortitude and Survival |
Thug | +2 Initiative and Intimidate |
Treetopper | +2 Climb, not flatfooted while climbing |
Additional Base Options
The following character options outside of the always-allowed books are allowed without requiring a +1:
- Twilight armor enhancement
- Avoid Planar Effects and Planar Tolerance spells (Spell Compendium versions)
Homebrew
Homebrew content can be found on the character options page.