Kalesh Houserules

Dunno when we'll play again but here is a list of houserules that are currently in effect, for reference and discussion (inspired by someone else's post somewhere else).

0. Contract

Anyone can suggest houserules and any houserules must be approved by the group. The list below is a compendium of semi-articulated notes and is now public and open for revision.

1. Table stuff

I will endeavor to keep all my rolls* in the open and call DCs before the players roll. (*except Perception and other surprise-based rolls)

The players are responsible for tracking their own resources, including money, gear and xp as well as knowing their character's abilities and spells.

2. Primary rules reference

The base ruleset is Pathfinder, as found on d20pfsrd. Unless otherwise noted, consult those rules.

3. Gold and Treasure

The assumptions about wealth per level and magic item availability from those rules don't stand. Wealth and magic items are handled on an in-game basis, without regard to any officially available material.

4. XP and Leveling Up

Each gold piece spent by a party member during a session adds one point to an XP pool. At the end of the session, each character in the party gains a number of XP equal to the points in the pool, then erase all the points in the pool.

To level up, a character must have enough xp according to the Fast progression chart here.

5. New characters (+ character HP & Death)

New characters created beyond this point in the game start at lvl 1, with zero 0. New characters get the following stats 15 (+2), 14 (+2), 12 (+1), 11 (+0), 10 (+0), 8 (-1). Alternatively you can roll 3d6+1 (18 max) seven times and assign those to the six stats plus wealth in any order. 

From now on, all characters get half their HD rounded up + their Con bonus at each level, including the first. Characters don't die or become unconscious at 0. Instead, any further damage is subtracted from their Constitution score and can be recovered as per ability damage rules. At 0 Con, the regular dying rules kick in.

Dead characters can be brought back in various ways, depending on where in the setting they are and what resources are available to them.

6. Criticals

There is no confirming criticals. The rule is: if you roll a critical threat on the die and the total hits, it's a crit. The marginal increase in damage bothers me not because I have custom monsters.

On the other side, monsters have specific effects that happen on criticals instead of multiplying damage. The poop-flinging apes of the tower of the ape lord blind you with poop, the crystal spider injects its poison into you, etc. Some monsters may do extra damage on a crit, if it's part of their theme.

7. Surprise & Flat-footed

The new Surprised condition replaces the Flat-footed condition. The new condition reads:

A surprised character cannot take any actions and loses their Dex, Shield & Dodge bonus to AC and CMD. The surprised condition ends at the end of the character's turn.

If any abilities or spells target flat-footed characters, they target surprised characters instead.

8. Stamina points & Healing

Each character has a pool Stamina points equal to their level. This represents their "heroic reserve". A Stamina point can be spent once per round to roll a die equal to the character's highest class HD and add that number to:

-an active d20 roll (attack, skill or ability check; saves are passive)

-their current hit points (without going over their maximum total)

A character regains one Stamina point per short rest (10 min), half her level in hero points per longer rest (6h) and her full level using a full day's rest. A character cannot regain more than her level in Stamina points in one day.

If there's a healer in the party (we haven't had one so far), Cure Wounds spells give "free stamina points" that the character being healed must immediately spend to regain hp. The amount of points thus granted is equivalent to the level of the spell being cast.

9. Alignment

Alignment functions on an "allegiance" or "membership" basis. Spells that affect alignment affect members of a specific group (kingdom, religion, organisation, cult, faction, race etc.) instead, as determined by the caster. So when you cast a Circle of Protection, you specify it as a Circle of Protection Against Denizens of the Demon Kingdoms for example.

10. Aid

Aiding another does not require a roll. If you can describe how you're helping and have the right tools, skill or ability, the other person gets a +2.

UNDER CONSIDERATION:

1. Using E6.

2. Allow a penalty on attack roll to increase your critical threat range.

3. Completely revise the action economy

4. Applying Str to Fort, Int to Ref and Cha to Will depending on the effect you're saving against.