What house rules do you use?

[Kloster]

On 1/5/2023 at 4:35 PM, Soccercalle said:

I let the players use their seasonal experience checks in skills that normally only can be increased by study, example a Lore. That is just a small variant on the rules on p416. I think that it is realistic that they may learn something from their cult or other teachers. I also let them check for experience (off-season) for two Passions and or Runes that they have less than 80 in.

Same.

On 1/5/2023 at 4:35 PM, Soccercalle said:

I also let them check for experience (off-season) for two Passions and or Runes that they have less than 80 in.

I like this. I will have a look.

On 1/5/2023 at 4:35 PM, Soccercalle said:

Two Passions rolls can be translated to a new Passion (if they can give a good explanation).

To be checked.

[soltakss]

In my last two Gloranthan campaigns, I have just given out a number of experience points to use at the end of each scenario, or each real year sometimes. The Players just rolled experience attempts based on whatever skills they wanted, up to the number of experience points. That allowed them to focus on speciality skills, meant that everyone wasn't good at all the skills, and avoided the Tickchase.

[Martin Dick]

26 minutes ago, soltakss said:

In my last two Gloranthan campaigns, I have just given out a number of experience points to use at the end of each scenario, or each real year sometimes. The Players just rolled experience attempts based on whatever skills they wanted, up to the number of experience points. That allowed them to focus on speciality skills, meant that everyone wasn't good at all the skills, and avoided the Tickchase.

So, if I had  4 XP, I could use all of them on the one skill and make 4 rolls? Or can I only use a maximum of 1 XP per skill per scenario?

[soltakss]

27 minutes ago, Martin Dick said:

So, if I had  4 XP, I could use all of them on the one skill and make 4 rolls? Or can I only use a maximum of 1 XP per skill per scenario?

Normally one spend per session.

However, sometimes I gave out more points and allowed 2 or 3 Spends, usually because I had not given out any points for over a year in a weekly campaign. One of the Players kept track of the number of times I had given experience points and he asked if we were having a cake as the last one was over a year ago.

[Dragon]

My main house rules:

• If your POW check is successful, my campaign uses the increase from RQ2: 01-10 is 3 points, 11-40 is 2 points, and 41-00 is 1 point. It is an average of only 1.5, so barely over the RAW average of 1. Stat training over a season gets the same roll. Hence no one spends the money and an entire season training their STR and gets +0 STR.
• Seasonal skill training went to a straight 5 (capped at 75 for check-box or 100 for non-check-box).
• I figured we are about to enter the Hero Wars, so I slightly increased experience gains. All check-box skills can have up to 3 checks: for a normal, critical, and special success. BUT you only get to increase once. So if a character rolled 6 normal successes and 1 special with their weapons skill, that character gets to check twice if they will get a gain. They still can gain only 1d6.
• Non-check-box skills can only have one check, and they can increase by experience each season. I may have done it once annually at Sacred Time, but I didn't want to have the players retain the checks that long.
• Heal Wound still requires magic points, but this does not affect the speed of casting, i.e. it goes off at SR1. This is the main advantage to use Heal Wound when you have Healing 6; use a RP and get it fast. In comparison Heal Body is also SR1.
• I found the 1 week to learn a spell odd to me. A shaman could summon a spirit and send it to attack in spirit combat. If you drive it to zero, you immediately gain one of its spells. Hence a couple hours out of a day. I figured most people would seek out shamans rather than priests, RAW. So I decided a new spell would be 1 day rather than 1 week. It also frees up the priest for other important functions.

[PhilHibbs]

1 hour ago, Dragon said:

• I found the 1 week to learn a spell odd to me. A shaman could summon a spirit and send it to attack in spirit combat. If you drive it to zero, you immediately gain one of its spells. Hence a couple hours out of a day.

You can gain the ability to cast the spell that way, but you'd be casting it without a focus. I can't remember the rules for that. It's the creating of a focus takes a week. I allowed Repair to be learned "on the road" like that, because it wasn't a combat spell so the focus wasn't all that important.

[DreadDomain]

In the "it doesn't change anything" category except my suspension of disbelief.

• Melee rounds last for an undetermined amount of time. It makes the "one attack per turn" more believable and feels less restrictive.

In the general category

• Damage bonus table with more granularity up to STR+SIZ=40, then follow table as is.
• Base Skill Values change for Dodge (20) and Jump (30)
• More sensible Additional experience - increments of 10 years don't make any sense. 
• Add a Hard success result at half the skills. This is mainly for opposed rolls but also for flavor (a Hard is better than a Regular but not really a special) and some maneuvers (Aimed Blow requires a Hard roll)
• Opposed Rolls – When a tie does not make sense, on a same level of success, whoever rolled higher, wins. If still tied, higher skill wins. Otherwise, re-roll. Note that by adding a hard success level, it doesn't happen as often.

In the "combat maneuvers" category

• Aimed Blow at half skill to choose the hit location. It happens on your SR (not on SR 12)
• Intentional Knockback - as per RQ3
• Bracing against Knockback - as per RQ3
• Stunning and Subduing: No roll on the resistance table. Simply compare damage with the head HP. As per Aimed blow it is at half skill on your SR
• Set versus Charge - as per RQ3
• Close Combat: Moving in and retreating (as per RQ3), plus using the Disengage rules but to close in instead (or opening up the range again, plus allowing to close in (or step out) on a special or better attack or defense.
• Disarm - Uses an opposed roll instead of rolling damage and then opposing STR on the resistance table.
• Attacking on the Run - as per RQ3
• Opportunity Melee - as per RQ3
• Disengaging from Melee - Can disengage on a special or better attack or defense
• Ripostes - Immediate free attack after a special or better defense - modified from Stormbringer
• Fumbles Table - Replace results between 87 and 98 to “Opponent immediately gets a free attack against you, which you can defend against”. I find it more fun (and less silly) than "you hit yourself with your own weapon"
• Crushing Damage – On a special, a crushing attack also inflict a special Knockback (p.224). The target is automatically knocked back 1d3 meters. On a crushing critical, the target is knocked down on a failed DEX x5 roll. 
• Ignore the two exceptions in the Attack vs Parry Matrix ("Failed Attack vs Fumbled Defense" and "Critical Attack vs Special Parry"). 

Some options above can be selected on a "special or better" results. These were exclusive. As an example, on a special attack, the player can choose special damage - or - closing - or - disengaging, etc... 

I am tempted by:

• Weapon skills by weapon categories instead of individual weapons
• Ignore the rules around skills over 100%.  You roll the skill you have, you don't reduce your opponent. I am still not convinced that the complexity of this rule brings a lot to the game. I am even surprised it made it to the Starter Set
• Introduce the Luck mechanics from CoC where your reservoir is actually your highest Rune (so yes, using it reduces your chances to cast rune spells.
• Introduce the push rolls from CoC
• Drop the Attack/defense matrix altogether and use the much simpler RQ3 mechanic.

[Kloster]

7 hours ago, DreadDomain said:

In the "it doesn't change anything" category except my suspension of disbelief.

• Melee rounds last for an undetermined amount of time. It makes the "one attack per turn" more believable and feels less restrictive.

In the general category

• Damage bonus table with more granularity up to STR+SIZ=40, then follow table as is.
• Base Skill Values change for Dodge (20) and Jump (30)
• More sensible Additional experience - increments of 10 years don't make any sense. 
• Add a Hard success result at half the skills. This is mainly for opposed rolls but also for flavor (a Hard is better than a Regular but not really a special) and some maneuvers (Aimed Blow requires a Hard roll)
• Opposed Rolls – When a tie does not make sense, on a same level of success, whoever rolled higher, wins. If still tied, higher skill wins. Otherwise, re-roll. Note that by adding a hard success level, it doesn't happen as often.

In the "combat maneuvers" category

• Aimed Blow at half skill to choose the hit location. It happens on your SR (not on SR 12)
• Intentional Knockback - as per RQ3
• Bracing against Knockback - as per RQ3
• Stunning and Subduing: No roll on the resistance table. Simply compare damage with the head HP. As per Aimed blow it is at half skill on your SR
• Set versus Charge - as per RQ3
• Close Combat: Moving in and retreating (as per RQ3), plus using the Disengage rules but to close in instead (or opening up the range again, plus allowing to close in (or step out) on a special or better attack or defense.
• Disarm - Uses an opposed roll instead of rolling damage and then opposing STR on the resistance table.
• Attacking on the Run - as per RQ3
• Opportunity Melee - as per RQ3
• Disengaging from Melee - Can disengage on a special or better attack or defense
• Ripostes - Immediate free attack after a special or better defense - modified from Stormbringer
• Fumbles Table - Replace results between 87 and 98 to “Opponent immediately gets a free attack against you, which you can defend against”. I find it more fun (and less silly) than "you hit yourself with your own weapon"
• Crushing Damage – On a special, a crushing attack also inflict a special Knockback (p.224). The target is automatically knocked back 1d3 meters. On a crushing critical, the target is knocked down on a failed DEX x5 roll. 
• Ignore the two exceptions in the Attack vs Parry Matrix ("Failed Attack vs Fumbled Defense" and "Critical Attack vs Special Parry"). 

Some options above can be selected on a "special or better" results. These were exclusive. As an example, on a special attack, the player can choose special damage - or - closing - or - disengaging, etc... 

I am tempted by:

• Weapon skills by weapon categories instead of individual weapons
• Ignore the rules around skills over 100%.  You roll the skill you have, you don't reduce your opponent. I am still not convinced that the complexity of this rule brings a lot to the game. I am even surprised it made it to the Starter Set
• Introduce the Luck mechanics from CoC where your reservoir is actually your highest Rune (so yes, using it reduces your chances to cast rune spells.
• Introduce the push rolls from CoC
• Drop the Attack/defense matrix altogether and use the much simpler RQ3 mechanic.

You're close to what I am doing: straight RQ3 combat (almost everything else being RQG RAW).

[Paid a bod yn dwp]

Glancing through this thread it’s one of things I love about BRP games is that there’s so much to borrow from other BRP games. Very adaptable solid system thats easy to mod. 
 

(and yes I have just bought the Big Gold book on sale 🙂 )
 

Great suggestions here 👍

[icebrand]

Hmmm... I don't have house rules, i have a complete game system LOL (which happens to be compatible with RQ2, but has a ton from RQG and Elric!)