Introduction

Rationale & Applicability

These house rules are not intended for general use. Indeed, for most groups, the Core rules are far superior in many respects. In creating these house rules, there were several design goals which, if not actually achieved, were at least strived for; any failure to attain them is mine. The major goals, and cautions for use, are summarized below.

Character Building: Base classes are more versatile, filling a variety of concepts, making prestige classes or “archetypes” less important. Multiclass options (see “Class Synergy Features” below) are intended to allow multiclassing of casters as well as martial characters, in nearly limitless combinations. Finally, the rules are extremely mechanically “crunchy,” geared towards players who especially enjoy the various tasks associated with creating or “leveling up” a character. If your group just wants to roll up characters and play, then these house rules are not for you; sticking with the core Pathfinder game (or some other system) is recommended. Likewise, if you consider multiclassing to be “cheesy,” you will doubtless intensely dislike these house rules.

Class Rebalancing: Not only in combat (e.g., changing of casting rules), but in terms of narrative power: fighters, rogues, etc. are more versatile, and receive class features enabling them to do more than simply fight and disarm traps. The ranger regains his “schtick” as a tracker, scout, locator, and guide―even across the planes. As long as high-level casters can travel to Heaven at will and stop time, there will never be a total balance, but our hope is that the number of levels of which all classes are playable has been expanded upwards a bit. If you, personally, believe that there is no martial-caster disparity in the core rules, then these house rules are not for you; please delete and/or shred your copy.

Fewer “Timmy” Cards: As much as possible, obviously good or extremely substandard options are obtained automatically, without needing to decide whether to spend a limited resource (feat, talent, etc.) on a “tax” option or on something interesting but sub-par. That means providing bonus skill ranks (to avoid “skill taxes”) and expanded bundling of skills; selective “beefing up” or “nerfing” of talents and feats, and so on. In addition, many feats scale with skill ranks or base attack bonus, so as to remain useful throughout the character’s career rather than becoming obsolescent at some point.

Nostalgia: In a number of cases, a seemingly bizarre rules change has been implemented as a “nod” to previous editions, especially 1e AD&D. Overall, those rules were mechanically a mess, but they did provide a certain type of experience that these rules use as a reference.

Player Involvement: Considerable creative power is intentionally shifted from the hands of the “DM” or “GM” to those of the players. Accordingly, the person running the game is now termed a “referee” instead, in order to focus on this shift in role. Custom races, design of personal magic items, expanded leadership options in these rules all very intentionally contribute to player empowerment. If you believe the “GM” should wield absolute authority and exercise sole creative power, stop reading now and delete/burn/shred your copy of these rules. These rules assume that the referee’s job is to design and run encounters, and to impartially facilitate the rules during play. His or her job is not to railroad the adventure, “fix” the rules by fiat, and so on. This implies a correspondingly high level of responsibility required of the players not to intentionally disrupt play or “break the game.”

Rebalanced Attributes: Uses have been rebalanced so that there are fewer obvious “dump stats” (particularly Charisma).

Rock-Paper-Scissors: In many ways, a d20 + modifier task resolution system breaks down very quickly when the disparity of modifiers becomes too great. However, abandoning the core d20 mechanic is beyond the scope of these house rules, so the problem noted above becomes a something of a necessary evil. In order to ameliorate this, some “full stop” options are included in order to nullify part of a numerically overwhelming advantage. For example, at low levels AC can be “jacked up” to the point where a target is essentially impervious to attacks except on a natural 20; however, a number of feats and talents are included that potentially allow an attacker to ignore armor bonuses, insight bonuses, deflection bonuses, etc. This in no way eliminates potential disparities, but it re-introduces an element of risk to investing in any “obviously overpowered” ability or feature.

Character Creation

As noted above, these house rules are written on the assumption that the players enjoy working on their characters―when leveling up, for example, they enjoy selecting feats, allocating skill ranks, etc. Accordingly, there are far more options at each level, and at the start, than is typical. If you’re looking for a system in which you can roll up a character in minutes and start playing, there are far better options for that than these house rules.

Attribute Scores and Modifiers

The term “abilities” is overly vague, in my opinion (especially given the existence of other terms like “spell-like abilities”); Strength, Dexterity, etc. need a better name. “Attributes” is recommended, unless someone comes up with an alternative suggestion.

Because of the bonuses associated even with relatively low scores (12+) in the Pathfinder rules, the 1^st^ edition expectation of mostly 15s and above is not carried over in the Aviona campaign (indeed, a 15 Dexterity in 1^st^ edition is exactly equivalent to a 12 Dexterity in Pathfinder and by extension in these rules, in terms of bonuses). Also, all people are not created equal. Therefore, I prefer a simple “roll 4d6, drop the lowest” for each attribute. You can then arrange the six scores in any order you like. This corresponds to the “Standard” method described in the Core Rules.

After rolling, if you decide the resultant scores are unplayable, you can instead choose to start with the Heroic array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8, plus racial adjustments) for attribute scores. Unless otherwise noted, cohorts and other followers with PC classes always use the Heroic NPC array.

For people who refuse to roll for stats, a 15-point buy as described in the core rules, is an acceptable alternative.

If your group prefers the very high stats (20- or 25-point buy and the like) that seem to be more or less expected in a straight Pathfinder game, that’s fine, but expect your referee to jack up the challenges you face accordingly. In the default Aviona setting, however, the PCs are expected to become exceptional through their deeds, not by virtue of being genetically-superior beings from the start.

Strength: A character whose Strength is reduced to 1 is entangled (see Conditions, below). A character with a Strength of 0 is helpless, prone, and cannot stand up. Note that certain animals in the Pathfinder Bestiary are indicated as being much weaker, in terms of Strength, than their real-life counterparts; certain animals such as apes might therefore use the 3.5 edition Strength scores instead. As described in the core rules, your Strength modifier applies to melee attacks and damage; your carrying capacity is also determined by your Strength score.

Dexterity: Note that attack rolls with projectile weapons, rays, etc. use the Wisdom modifier (see below). Thrown weapon attacks, initiative, Reflex saves, and AC are still modified by Dexterity, as in the Core Rules. A character with a Dexterity of 1 is slowed; a character with a Dexterity of 0 is paralyzed.

Constitution: A character with a Constitution of 1 is infirm and can do nothing but rest; a character with a Constitution of 0 is dead. As in the Core Rules, undead and constructs have no Constitution scores. Undead use their Charisma modifier for hit points and Fortitude saves in place of their Con modifier, as in the core rules. Constructs use their Strength modifier similarly; this supersedes the arbitrary size-based bonus hp listed in the Core Rules.

Intelligence: A character with an Intelligence of 1 is feebleminded, with the mental acuity of a reptile. A character with an Intelligence of 0 is a mindless automaton. In these house rules, animals (especially higher primates) may have Intelligence scores higher than 2, to reconcile them with the intelligence of some of their real-life counterparts.

Wisdom: Wisdom is poorly-defined in D&D in general. In these house rules, it is assumed to be a general measure of your awareness, both in terms of your physical senses and in terms of your being “in touch with the universe” (faith, karma). It is also a measure of patience, caution, and mental calm. I personally envision it along the lines of the Perception attribute from the old Victory Games rules.

The bonus for ranged attacks with projectiles has been moved from Dexterity to Wisdom, both to relieve the predominance of Dexterity as an attribute, and to give something back to Wisdom (see below). If a rationale is needed, we have these words:

“The most important lesson I learned… was the winner of a gunplay usually was the man who took his time. The second was that, if I hoped to live long on the frontier, I would shun flashy trick-shooting—grandstand play—as I would poison.” ―Wyatt Earp.

Earp also stressed the need for constant practice, whereas a low Wisdom score would seem to indicate someone too careless or impatient to do so.

“Intuition” saves against illusions and charm effects (see below) are modified by Wisdom, whereas compulsions and other more forceful Will saves are modified by Charisma (see below).

A character with a Wisdom of 1 is confused. A character with a Wisdom of 0 is completely insane, has no external sensory input, and is unaware that the outside world exists.

Charisma: Charisma in these house rules strictly represents confidence, presence, and force of personality (physical attractiveness is governed by the optional Comeliness attribute; see below, and is totally decoupled from Charisma). Charisma is therefore directly analogous to the Willpower attribute from the old Victory Games rules. To reflect this, the Charisma modifier, rather than the Wisdom modifier, applies to Will saves against compulsions, fear, etc. You also apply your Charisma modifier to certain uses of Hero Points (see below). These uses provide a disincentive for everyone other than bards, paladins, and sorcerers to always make Charisma their lowest attribute (as is expected for 3^rd^ edition and Pathfinder).

Social skill is dictated by your bonuses in Bluff and Diplomacy—with your personal confidence and magnetism (Cha) providing a modifier, rather than dictating your baseline. People with low Charisma are typically unsure of themselves, lack presence, and are often ignored. Characters with high charisma scores are heeded and paid attention to; they are leaders, rather than followers.

A character with a Charisma of 1 has insufficient ego to exert autonomy; he or she acts as if charmed by everyone he or she interacts with. A character with a Charisma of 0 is dominated, likewise.

How Wisdom and Charisma Interact: A character with a high wisdom (awareness and caution) and low Charisma (confidence and force of personality) is likely to be timid and overly-paranoid about “getting in trouble.” His or her constant warnings will often be ignored by companions.

Conversely, a character with low Wisdom and high Charisma is likely to be egocentric and careless, assuming that things will “somehow work out.” He can be bold and reckless, like Douglas Fairbanks’ Robin Hood, but he or she will also often need to be rescued by companions, and may, in the worst case, have a tendency to treat others as tools.

A character with high scores in both stats is like Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade―ruthless, domineering, guileful, and always with a backup plan or two.

Secondary Attributes (Optional)

In addition to the “main six” attributes, there are optionally two “secondary attributes”—normally hand-waved or ignored—that can be used to flesh out characters more quantitatively. These are included for the sake of nostalgia, and for the benefit of people who just really like to roll for stats.

Comeliness: In order to emphasize that Charisma represents force of personality and magnetism, rather than appearance, some groups may choose to add a seventh attribute, Comeliness, which reflects only appearance. Per the 1^st^ edition Unearthed Arcana, racial adjustments to Comeliness in Aviona are as follows:

Race	Adjustment
Orc, hobgoblin	-3
Half-orc	-2
Dwarf, gnome	-1
Halfling, human	0
Half-elf, wood elf	+1
High elf	+2

A high comeliness therefore suggests a “classical” beauty as defined by elves, as appropriate for the campaign setting. A character’s Comeliness modifier can be applied to initial reactions in social settings.

Social Class: Rather than rolling randomly for starting wealth, and declaring one’s social status arbitrarily, social status can be rolled randomly, if desired. Starting wealth can then be determined as the results of a Social Class check (1d20 + modifier) x 15 gp.

Social Class	Civilian Status	Military Status
3 or below	Slave	—
4 – 5	Outlaw	—
6 – 7	Servant/field hand	—
8 – 9	Tradesman	Private
10 – 11	Professional	Corporal
12 – 13	Skilled professional	Sergeant
14 – 15	Land owner	Lieutenant
16 – 17	Knight	Captain
18 – 19	Baronet	Major
20 – 21	Baron	Colonel
22 – 23	Earl/count	General
24 – 25	Marquis	Supreme Warlord
26 – 27	Duke	—
28+	Prince	—

Depending on one’s kingdom of origin, race might also influence his or her starting social class, as shown in the following table. The Kingdom of Northwind is highly egalitarian; no racial modifiers to Social Class apply there. For locations such as the Estren Frontier, social class receives no racial modifiers, but starting social class can generally be no higher than 15.

Race Aviona Aramni

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Dwarf, hill -1 -2 Dwarf, mountain* +1 -2 Elf, high +2 -4 Elf, wood* -1 -3 Elf, half- +1 -2 Gnome 0 -2 Halfling -2 -2 Hobgoblin -1 0 Human 0 +2 Orc -2 0 Orc, half- -2 +1

* Under normal circumstances, wood elves are never found outside of the Estren Territories, and mountain dwarves are not found above-ground at all. The modifiers shown apply to exceptional PCs of one of these races venturing beyond their typical borders.

It is important to note that social class should not be fixed at the starting value; it should rise and fall according to the ongoing events in the campaign. Also, there is generally only very limited reciprocity from one kingdom to another.

Age

“In layman’s terms, I’ve sucked the magic from him. That leaves him two hundred and twenty-six years old. I believe that gives me the win.”

―Larry Niven, What Good is a Glass Dagger? (1972)

Unlike in the Core rules, aging penalties apply to mental scores, as well as physical ones; a creature past its prime never gains attribute bonuses for aging. The penalty to Intelligence simulates memory issues and eventual dementia; Wisdom can be accounted for as a dimming of senses and slight absentmindedness, etc.

Alignment

Alignment is totally optional for most mortals other than paladins and others who are deeply devoted to a specific deity or cause; it can be recorded as a measure of convenience, for players for whom it is helpful. Outsiders such as demons, etc.—creatures that embody cosmic principles—have alignments in an absolute sense. Fey are inherently [chaotic].

For purposes of adjudicating spells like holy smite, most mortals are treated as “neutral.” Detect evil, when used on normal creatures, will detect actively evil thoughts, but not absolute alignment.

Use of spells with an alignment descriptor leaves behind lingering traces that can be detected by detect evil, etc. in the way that detect magic detects lingering traces of spells. These traces also remain on creatures who cast such spells, or are affected by them. See also “corruption,” below.

Alignment Descriptors: Outsiders and mortals devoted to aligned powers or causes (e.g., clerics and paladins) gain the appropriate alignment descriptor(s), generally indicated in brackets (e.g., [good]); they register as that alignment to abilities such as detect evil, and are fully affected by spells and abilities that target those descriptors. Certain races (Chapter 2) also gain alignment descriptors as a part of their heritage.

Corruption: Continued use of, or being affected by, [evil] spells or magic items can cause corruption, gradually changing a mortal from “neutral” to [evil]. Each such incident requires an Intuition save (see below) at DC 10 + the spell level to avoid succumbing; each additional incident after the first within a 24-hour period adds a +1 profane bonus to the save DC. Once a creature succumbs, an atonement spell is needed to remove the corruption.

Favored Class

Note: I do not like the concept of a “favored class,” but it has become so heavily ingrained in the d20 rules that it’s hard to get rid of.

You gain one (1) favored class of your choice. Additionally, certain races have classes that are always considered favored for them. When gaining a level in a favored class, you can select either 1 bonus hp or 1 bonus skill rank. Certain classes and races provide alternative options, as described in the appropriate sections.

Hit Points

Starting hit points are equal to your hit die size + your Constitution modifier, so a 1^st^ level fighter with a 14 Constitution (+2 modifier) starts with 12 hp (1d10+2).

Thereafter, you can either choose to roll hp (but take whatever you roll), or else receive average hp for the next hit die gained (plus your Constitution modifier, as normal). In the latter case, the fighter mentioned above would gain 7 hp at 2^nd^ level, 8 hp at 3^rd^ level, 7 hp at 4^th^ level, etc., not including bonuses for favored class and/or Toughness. You may decide each level whether to roll or to go with the average.

Saving Throws

Unlike in the core rules, there are two types of mental saves:

• Intuition saves (modified by Wisdom), which apply against curses, divination, illusions, charm effects, confusion, and insanity; and

• Will saves (modified by Charisma) which apply against most compulsions, fear, and most other core rules Will save effects not specifically enumerated under Intuition saves.

There are thus four saving throw categories, each governed by a different attribute.

Saving Throw Progression: All saving throws progress at the rate of +1/2 your CR or effective character level. Good saving throws for your class(es) additionally gain a +2 class bonus, thus matching the Good saving throw progression in the core rules. (Because class bonuses do not stack, you gain no benefit if you multiclass into another class with the same good saves.)

A summary of good (+2) saving throw bonuses provided by the various classes and creature types is provided below.

Class	Fort	Ref	Intu	Will
Barbarian	Y	Y
Bard	Y	Y	Y
Cleric	Y		Y
Archivist			Y	Y
Druid	Y		Y
Fighter	Y	Y		Y
Incarnate	Y			Y

Class	Fort	Ref	Intu	Will
Monk	Y	Y	Y	Y
Prestige Paladin	Y		Y	Y
Ranger	Y	Y	Y
Rogue		Y	Y
Sorcerer		Y		Y
Battle Sorcerer	Y			Y
Summoner			Y	Y
Wizard			Y	Y

Creature Type	Fort	Ref	Intu	Will
Aberration			Y	Y
Animal	Y	Y	Y
Construct
Dragon	Y		Y	Y
Fey		Y	Y
Giant	Y			Y
Humanoid		Y
Magical beast	Y	Y
Monstrous humanoid		Y		Y
Ooze	Y
Outsider		Y		Y
Plant	Y		Y
Undead				Y
Vermin	Y

Level Advancement

Let’s face it, it’s fairly absurd that you can get up in the morning an inexperienced 18-year-old peasant and, a week later, be a demigod. But that’s what 3.5 advancement rates are like. In addition to being a problem with verisimilitude, in these rules there’s a second problem: classes have been rewritten so as to provide a large number of options at each new level, and leveling too fast means that PCs often don’t have a chance to get used to their new abilities before being granted yet another set of options.

Experience and Leveling: I strongly advocate the elimination of experience points (xp). In AD&D, you got them for amassing gold, and that drove a treasure-hunt mentality that sometimes bordered on the absurd, to where PCs would check the bodies of their enemies for gold fillings. If that’s the game experience you’re going for, stick with 1 gp = 1 xp, but everyone else got past that by 1987 or so.

In 2^nd edition, and into 3^rd and Pathfinder, you get xp for killing monsters and so on. This of course encourages you to farm mooks, rather than complete adventures. Again, if that’s your bag, go for it, but it doesn’t really do anything to drive a coherent campaign.

These rules assume level advancement by completion of adventures, according to the following table:

Scope of Adventure	Completion	Advancement
Major story arc	Successful	Full Level
Major story arc	Unsuccessful	Half-Level
Major story arc	Incomplete	None
Minor adventure	Successful	Half-Level
Minor adventure	Unsuccessful or incomplete	None
Very minor side quest	Any	None

A “major story arc” might comprise one or more full adventure path installments, and will generally occur over weeks or months. It is generally assumed that substantial time―months or years―may elapse between major story arcs. A “minor adventure” would be something more along the lines of a GameMastery module or Dungeon magazine adventure, and can take place over a time span of days or weeks.

Half-levels can be “saved up” towards full level advancement, or can be optionally used for half-level advancement (see below).

Half-Levels (Optional): In order to smooth level progression and provide more frequent advancement awards, the referee might choose to use advancement by half-levels (e.g., a 1^st level character completes a major adventure and becomes a 1.5-level character). At levels ending in 0.5, the character gains the Hit Dice, saving throws, and skill points associated with the next level (2^nd, in this example), and any other features automatically linked to hit dice (feats at every odd-numbered hit die, and +1 to an attribute every 4 HD), but none of the actual class features such as spells, talents, class bonus feats, etc.

In this system, each level in an NPC class counts as a half-level. Racial hit dice that do not provide new abilities also count as half-levels. A 5.5-level character might be a wizard 5.5, a fighter 4/wizard 1.5, or a fighter 4/warrior 3, for example.

Non-Associated Class Levels: Certain multiclass combinations are obviously less advantageous than others. When not using the half-level system (see above), characters of at least 2^nd level in a primary class can take up to one level in another class that adds little to their overall effectiveness (for example, a druid taking one level of sorcerer without theurgy; or anyone taking one level in an NPC class) and ignore that level for purposes of determining their challenge rating (CR). This means that a 7^th level fighter/1^st level expert can adventure alongside 7^th level characters on more or less even footing.

Retraining: Although efforts have been made to make “organic” character growth viable (through scaling feats and class synergy), there will still be cases in which previous choices render your current goals impossible. In general, when leveling up, players should be given reasonable latitude to re-assign feats, talents, etc.—or even proportions of class levels—in order to best fit the character as currently played. Changes that are not obvious in play, or that actually underline and support recent campaign events, can generally be made without consultation.

Changes that create contradictions in continuity (“How is it you’ve been using electrical blasts this whole time, but you suddenly don’t have that ability any more?!”) are more difficult, but can still be done. In such cases, a reasonable coherent rationale is needed, and, with that presented, the agreement of the referee and/or other players must be secured.

For example, the player of a sorcerer (Destined bloodline) decides he/she wants to change his bloodline to Elemental Fire. This is a fairly major rewrite, creating definite continuity issues. The player announces, “When my character was burned to death last adventure and then resurrected, his destiny was fulfilled. The flames that consumed him now permeate his being; I’d like to use fire-themed powers from now on, and rework my character with the Elemental Fire bloodline instead of the Destined bloodline.” The request directly supports recent campaign events and should be approved by the referee without issue.

On the other hand, “I want to change my bloodline to fire. We encountered a salamander somewhere in the last dungeon, right?” is a stretch and would require unanimous agreement from the referee and other players.

Class Synergy Features

The core Pathfinder rules are intentionally geared towards encouraging characters to stay with a single class for their entire careers; incentives include favored class bonuses and capstone features; discouragements towards multiclassing include non-stacking spellcasting and other class features. In these rules, multiclassing is intended to be equally as advantageous as remaining in a single class.

The single-class perks in the core rules are retained here, as most players will expect them. However, there are also a large number of feats and class features in these rules intended to facilitate multiclassing. For example, the Eldritch Knight fighter talent allows you apply a half your fighter level towards your wizard level, when determining your total spell capacity (Chapter 7). This type of improvement towards the feature of one class by levels in another class is termed “class synergy.”

There are three rates of advancement for class synergy: Full (levels in both classes stack), Strong (roughly ¾ of your levels in one class are added to the level of the other), and Weak (half your level in the synergy class is added to your level in the base class). These rates are summarized in the table below.

Applying Synergy: When you gain synergy towards a particular class feature from another class, add the total from the appropriate column in the Synergy table above to your level in the class granting the class feature in question.

Table : Class Synergy Advancement

Class Level	Full Synergy	Strong Synergy	Weak Synergy
1st	+1	+1	+0
2nd	+2	+1	+1
3th	+3	+2	+1
4th	+4	+3	+2
5th	+5	+4	+2
6th	+6	+4	+3
7th	+7	+5	+3
8th	+8	+6	+4
9th	+9	+7	+4
10th	+10	+7	+5
11th	+11	+8	+5
12th	+12	+9	+6
13th	+13	+10	+6
14th	+14	+10	+7
15th	+15	+11	+7
16th	+16	+12	+8
17th	+17	+13	+8
18th	+18	+13	+9
19th	+19	+14	+9

The total is your effective class level, for purposes of that particular class feature only. For example, a fighter 6/rogue 6 gains the Martial Outlaw rogue talent, providing Weak synergy towards the effects of fighter talents. That character would adjudicate the effects of his fighter talents as if he were a 9^th^ level fighter, rather than a 6^th^ level fighter.

Maximum Synergy: Synergy, in any combination, can provide a maximum effective class level equal to your total character level, and no higher.

New Class Features: Synergy from another class does not provide access to higher-level class features unless the description for the source for that synergy specifically states that this is the case.

Stacking Synergy: Although synergy features from two different classes can be applied individually to a third class without restriction, class synergy features that apply between the same two classes do not stack. Any exceptions to this general rule (e.g., Practiced X feats) will carry a disclaimer specifically stating the intent. Any instances of stacking synergy from the same two classes, that are not specifically spelled out as being permissible, are not permissible.

No Positive Feedback Loops: As a sub-rule of the above, in some cases it’s tempting to create positive feedback loops, attempting to use Class Feature A to boost Class Feature B in order to boost Class Feature A again in turn (an example is provided below). This is never permissible. If you think you find an instance where it technically applies, it does not.

Example: Assume the fighter 6/rogue 6 mentioned above, with the Martial Outlaw talent, also selects the Practiced Rogue Talent feat (which allows him to treat his rogue level as up to 4 higher for purposes of adjudicating his rogue talents).

How it works: The character’s rogue level is 6^th^. The Martial Outlaw talent provides weak synergy from fighter levels, for an effective rogue level of 9^th^ for determining the effects of rogue talents (6 + 0.5 * 6). The Practiced Rogue Talent feat allows him to treat his effective rogue level (for determining the effects of talents) as up to 4 higher, to a maximum equal to his total character level; in this case, 12^th^.

The Martial Outlaw talent also provides Weak synergy to his fighter talents, for an effective fighter level of 9^th^ (see above).

The rules stated above prohibit the following:

• The character cannot first apply the effects of Practiced Rogue Talent, for an effective rogue level of 10^th^, and then also claim full synergy from Martial Outlaw (+3 more, for a total of 13^th). This would be a violation of the “maximum synergy” rule: the character is only 12^th level, so his or her maximum effective rogue level stops at 12^th, no matter how many talents and feats get stacked.

• The character does not apply Practiced Rogue Talents to his rogue level, for a total of 10^th, then apply half of that to his fighter level, for an effective fighter level of 11^th. That would be a violation of the “no positive feedback loops” rule. “Virtual rogue levels” granted by the fighter levels’ effects (from the Practiced Rogue Talents feat) can never be used to create more virtual fighter levels in turn.

Identical Class Features Gained from More Than One Class: In some cases, it is possible to obtain the same class feature from two or more different classes, and that are not covered by the above synergy rules. Typical examples include channel energy, evasion, favored enemies, and favored terrain. Unless otherwise noted, when this occurs, do not keep track of them separately; rather, levels in the classes granting the ability stack (Full synergy). Therefore, a cleric 5/mercy incarnate 5 with Charisma 15, gaining the ability to channel positive energy from both classes, would channel 5d6 hp worth of positive energy up to 5/day (DC 17), rather than channeling 2d6 hp worth of positive energy 10/day (DC 14) as in the Core Rules.

For favored enemies, the maximum bonus for any one type is 1 + half your character level. For favored terrains, the maximum bonus for any one terrain is equal to 2 + half your character level. For sneak attack damage and channeling energy, the maximum number of dice is equal to half your character level (round up).

Stacking Vision: It is possible to gain darkvision and/or low-light vision from class features when you already have one or both abilities due to your race. In general, limited synergy is possible―with the specific exception of spells and magic items, which create effects that overlap with (do not stack with) your existing special vision

• Darkvision: If you already have darkvision and gain darkvision from another stacking source, unless otherwise specified, the range of your existing darkvision increases by half the range youwould otherwise gain. For example, a character somehow acquiring darkvision 60 ft. three times would have darkvision 120 ft. (60ft. + 30 ft. + 30 ft.).

• Low-Light Vision: If you already have low-light vision and gain that ability from another source, you instead gain superior low-light vision, and can see three times as far as a human in dim light, rather than twice as far. Each time you gain low-light vision again, increase the range accordingly (e.g., a character receiving low-light vision three times would be able to see 4x as far in dim light as a human).

Theurgy: As described in Chapter 7 (Spells), in some cases you can gain improved spell capacity in one class through class levels in another class (Cf. the Eldrtich Knight fighter talent). Theurgy is always based on actual class levels, never on “effective class levels.” For example, a fighter 4/rogue 4/wizard 4 with the Eldritch Knight talent and the Practiced Fighter feat would have spell capacity as a 6^th^ level wizard (4 wizard levels + half his fighter level), not as an 8^th^ level wizard, because the Practiced Fighter talent does not count as actual levels in Fighter for purposes of spellcasting theurgy (that would be a violation of the “stacking synergy” rule above).

Effective Class Level Cap

Stated simply, your effective class level for any purpose can never be higher than your total character level. If you have some ability that allows you to cast spells at +1 caster level, that’s fine and good, but if your caster level is already equal to your total character level, that ability has no effect. This is already stated in the rules for class synergy (the “maximum synergy” rule), but is re-stated here as a general rule as well.

Unless otherwise noted, this restriction applies to all class features. No matter what combination of feats, class features, and abilities you use, there is no way to achieve a number of sneak attack dice greater than half your class level (rounded up), for example.

Exceptions to this rule are rare, and will always have a disclaimer indicating the intent (e.g., “this is a specific exception to the general rule…”). Any exploit you think you find that violates this general rule and lacks such a disclaimer is hereby expressly prohibited.

Rounds per Day Use: A specific exception to this rule* are feats or favored class bonuses that grant additional rounds per day uses of barbarian rage or bardic inspiration. Using those features, it is possible to gain additional rounds per day of use in excess of what a character of your class level would normally be capable. However, this applies only to the number of rounds per day of use, not to the level at which effects are determined.

* (Note disclaimer of intent.)

What Does Character Level Mean?

In order to make some sense of the powerful abilities that high-level characters possess, some conceptual framework is helpful. General level equivalents are summarized below, based on the challenge rating of the character.

Character CR	Level Title
1st – 5th	Journeyman
6th – 10th	Hero
11th – 15th	Champion
16th – 20th	Demigod

A journeyman character is a competent adventurer of no great worldwide fame.

A hero has established a great reputation for mighty deeds, and is likely to be known in songs and legends; pseudo-historical figures such as Charlemagne’s paladins, Robin Hood at the peak of his career, and so on, are presented in legend as hero-level characters. This is the maximum level range for any “realistic” framework.

Champion-level characters operate on a scale that cannot be modeled in real-world terms, and leave real-world expectations largely behind. For this reason, many groups will prefer to stop play sometime at or before reaching this level. A champion-level character is one of the greatest adventurers in the world, and will be called upon to save nations, invade other planes, etc.

A demigod-level character’s power eclipses any reasonable analog. Characters at this level can be expected to save or conquer entire worlds, contest with demon lords, and foil the machinations of gods.

In general, it is assumed that only a modest number of adventurers survives and progresses through each tier. Adventuring is a dangerous profession, and the mortality rate for journeymen adventurers and heroes is high. Those who are not killed will generally settle down, establish strongholds, and retire before reaching Champion level. Very few champions are able to find enough challenges suitable to allow them to acquire demigod-like power.

Adding New Material

These house rules are intended to be modular enough to accommodate new material. Although each group will collectively have the final say on what is allowed, the following guidelines are intended to help with the process.

Base Classes: This is one of the most frequently-asked questions received in conjunction with these house rules―conversion of new base classes from various sources. “Where is the Pathfinder Alchemist?” “What about the Inquisitor?” “Can you convert the 3.5 edition Duskblade?” “How do I play a Swashbuckler?” In general, the base classes listed above can be simulated (in some cases very closely) by using multiclassing and taking advantage of the various class synergy features (see above). Common examples are outlined below.

Alchemist (Advanced Players Guide): This class has three main abilities: can throw bombs (similar to a 3.5 edition rogue’s sneak attacking with alchemist’s fire); can gain physical enhancements using mutagens (similar to barbarian rage); and can prepare extracts (similar to wizard spells). A multi-classed rogue/barbarian/wizard in these rules can stand in for an Alchemist almost perfectly, by taking 1 level in wizard, then one in barbarian, then the rest in rogue, selecting the Arcane Trickster, Grenadier, and Savage Outlaw talents ASAP, in that order (alternatively, take a 2^nd^ level of wizard after your first rogue level, then stay in rogue thereafter). For an unusual variant, use archivist or druid levels in place of wizard levels, and select Temple Raider in place of Arcane Trickster.

Duskblade (Player’s Handbook II): This is simply a fighter/sorcerer or fighter/battle sorcerer with appropriate talents and feats, and can be even more closely simulated using High Elf Paragon racial levels (Chapter 2).

Inquisitor (Advanced Players Guide): This class can be simulated using a cleric/rogue or cleric/ranger; the Inquisition domain in these rules was specifically created to simulate the Inquisitor’s “judgments.”

Summoner (Advanced Players Guide): This has been handled as a variant sorcerer, which gains an eidolon in place of a bloodline.

Swashbuckler (Complete Warrior): A more functional version can be simulated using a fighter or fighter/rogue and selecting appropriate feats/talents.

Advanced Class Guide Hybrids: Arcanist—wizard with High Sorcerer esoteric branch; Bloodrager—barbarian/sorcerer with the Bloodline totem; Brawler—fighter/monk with the Ascetic Warrior talent; Hunter—druid/ranger with druidical theurgy spellcasting option and spiritual hunter lore (aspect of nature initiation); Shaman—incarnate/witch with the Spirit Magic feat; Skald—bard (skald)/barbarian with the roaring skald lore; Slayer—ranger/rogue (or simply ranger with the swift ambusher combat style); Warpriest—fighter/cleric with the Templar and Personal Weapon talents. Note that most of these hybrid class options could be created using these rules long before the Advanced Class Guide was announced.

1:1 Correspondences: In some cases, a base class is presented that is simply a minor variant of an existing core class. For example, the Pathfinder Witch (Advanced Players Guide) is basically a wizard with a more limited spell list and hexes; it is simulated in these rules as an esoteric branch of wizardry. The 3.5 edition Spirit Shaman (Complete Divine) is a minor druid variant, simulated in these rules using a druidic initiation. The Investigator (Advanced Class Guide) is modeled adequately using the rogue in these rules. Likewise, the Cavalier (Advanced Players Guide), Gunslinger (Ultimate Combat), Samurai (Ultimate Combat, or Complete Warrior in 3.5 edition), and Swashbuckler (Advanced Class Guide) classes can be simulated using the fighter class in these house rules.

For other player-requested classes, go through the above recommendations; if the class absolutely can’t be built using those guidelines, I recommend a vote on whether to simply “port” it in.

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Prestige Classes: In general, almost all Pathfinder “archetypes,” and most prestige class features, can be simulated using feats and class modularity features (cleric domains, druidic initiations, fighter talents, sorcerer bloodlines, etc.). I do not recommend the creation of separate prestige classes unless a base class or multiclass combination cannot be used to produce the same end effect.

Other Stuff: In general, I use the following process in evaluating whether and how to “convert” new stuff.

1. Does it violate design principles inherent in these rules (for example, anything that allows you to increase your caster level beyond your Hit Dice, or that lets you “cheat” on magic item or wish costs)? If so, reject it outright. If not, go to step 2.

2. Is it something that can already be adequately mechanically modeled within the existing rules? If so, use what’s already here; if not, go to step 3.

3. Is it something that can be easily adapted into one or more feats, talents, bloodlines, domains, or whatever? If so, do that, making sure that the individual abilities are more or less on a par with existing ones. If not, go to step 4.

4. Is it something that can be used as-is, or will it require substantial conversion? If it needs conversion, is the demand worth the effort involved?

5. Are the players OK with the end result? If dissent exists, invite discussion and call a vote.

Adding New Players

In the long run, any cooperative game is only as good as the cooperation between players. Even with rules loopholes closed, disagreements will still arise on occasion. For this reason, I strongly advocate screening potential players/referees to get a feel for whether they are socially compatible with the group (this can obviously be waived for existing long-term friends). I use the following guidelines:

• Neutral, non-game setting (go out to lunch or for a pint of beer).

• General conversation rather than game-focused.

• Existing players all invited, but not required to participate.

If at the end of the meeting, the existing players feel the new candidate doesn’t “click” socially with them, no invitation need be extended. This screening process can of course be waived in the case of existing friendships, but for unknown people, I have found it to be an invaluable tool.

Variations in the Core Rules

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Actions

Attacks of Opportunity and Immediate Actions: In these rules, an attack of opportunity is specifically defined as an immediate action. Any time these rules refer to making an attack of opportunity, doing so requires spending an immediate action. Preemptive actions (see Combat rules, below) and Aiding Another (likewise) also require spending immediate actions. Because of the importance of immediate actions in combat, the number of immediate actions you can make during one round of combat automatically scales with your base attack bonus, as follows:

Base Attack Bonus	Number of Immediate Actions per Round of Combat
+0	None
+1 to +5	1
+6 to +10	2
+11 to +15	3
+16 or higher	4

Immediate actions are still subject to the normal triggering conditions, and are limited to one immediate action per trigger

Economy of Action―Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: There are a number of instances in the core Pathfinder rules that require a character to “borrow” against the next round’s actions. The most prevalent example involves taking an immediate action, which counts as a swift action the next round. Another example is the Step Up feat as written in the Pathfinder rules, which counts as the next round’s 5-ft. step.

These sorts of Faustian bargains disproportionately inhibit martial characters, and are therefore abolished in these house rules. Unless otherwise noted, actions from a future round do not need to be “borrowed against” in order to take actions in the current round.

Losing a Turn (Game Play Etiquette): During combat, if for some reason a player cannot decide upon a course of action within a reasonable period of time on his or her turn, that PC is automatically dazed until the beginning of his or her next turn (even if normally immune to effects that cause the dazing condition). There is no saving throw and no appeal, but the referee will always announce “last call” before invoking this penalty.

Bonuses and Random Number Generation

Stacking of bonuses can get fairly extreme in the core rules, to the point at which the accumulated bonuses swamp the base d20 being rolled. These rules do not eliminate that problem by a long shot, but do attempt to ameliorate it in certain areas.

Bonus Types: “Typeless” bonuses are abolished. All bonuses have a type, and very few bonus types (Circumstance and Dodge) stack with like-named bonuses. If you come across an untyped bonus, assign it a type that fits from the following list: Alchemical, Armor, Circumstance, Competence, Cover/Shield (considered the same bonus type), Deflection, Dodge, Enhancement, Insight, Luck, Morale, Natural Armor, Racial, Resistance (specifically considered a type of enhancement bonus in these rules; the name is retained from the core rules to make cross-references simpler), Sacred/Profane, and Size.

Compensation: As noted above, a certain amount of “rock-paper-scissors” is intentionally introduced in these rules. For example, feats and talents have been added that allow an attacker to ignore armor bonuses, deflection bonuses, etc. to AC. To compensate, more ways to bolster AC (Canny Defense, etc.) are added. In general, for each way to drive up a bonus to a very high level, there is (or at least should be) a way to compensate.

Diminishing Returns: Using this optional rule, all bonuses and penalties to any one particular d20 roll (AC, attack bonus, skill check, saving throw, etc.) are calculated normally up to ±5. Any total combined bonuses and/or penalties after that are cut in half, according to the following table.

Total Bonus	Effective Bonus	Total Bonus	Effective Bonus
+1	+1	+21	+13
+2	+2	+22	+13
+3	+3	+23	+14
+4	+4	+24	+14
+5	+5	+25	+15
+6	+5	+26	+15
+7	+6	+27	+16
+8	+6	+28	+16
+9	+7	+29	+17
+10	+7	+30	+17
+11	+8	+31	+18
+12	+8	+32	+18
+13	+9	+33	+19
+14	+9	+34	+19
+15	+10	+35	+20
+16	+10	+36	+20
+17	+11	+37	+20
+18	+11	+38	+20
+19	+12	+39	+20
+20	+12	(etc.)	+20

No effective bonus can ever be higher than +20. To compensate, DCs above 15 are treated similarly, and no DC (or AC, CMD, etc.) can ever be higher than 30.

There are several ways to implement and keep track of this: (1) calculate effective bonuses on the fly (for people who are adept at mental arithmetic); (2) keep a table of effective bonuses like the one above handy, perhaps by reproducing it on character sheets; (3) convert everything (bonuses and DCs) in advance, and halve conditional bonuses/penalties.

Groups choosing not to use this rule can play using the Core rules with no impact, except for the imbalances currently present in high-level play. Groups choosing to implement this rule will find that almost-certain successes and failures become somewhat less certain, but that there are still hard limits to what a person can succeed or fail at.

Saving Throws: Saving throw progression has been evened out somewhat, with no “poor” progression.

Spells and Magic Items: Spells that improve skill checks always provide enhancement bonuses, and in general, when arcane spells directly grant bonuses, those too should be enhancement bonuses. An exception is for bard spells, which all provide morale bonuses. Magic items typically provide enhancement bonuses as well (at a greater cost than listed in the core rules―see Chapter 6). Therefore, guidance, invisibility, and a cloak of elvenkind no longer provide stacking bonuses to Stealth, for example.

Shield Bonuses: Do not apply to your flat-footed AC.

Critical Failure

Note: This optional rule applies only to skill checks with non-fatal consequences for failure, in situations in which the character would not normally be on “full alert.” It should never be used in combat or other potentially lethal situations. In other words, it can be used (with player agreement) to liven up otherwise mundane proceedings, but should never result in a life-threatening fall, for example.

On a natural “1” on such a skill check (assuming the task would normally fail on a 1), rather than the task simply failing, some major blunder is committed in the process. For example, a character arrives in a shady bar to meet with an informant; unbeknownst to the player, there is a bad guy lurking there, too. The player rolls vs. Perception to notice; failure indicates that he fails to spot the bad guy. Total Failure results, on the other hand, might mean that the character doesn't even spot the informant (who might have stepped out for a moment) and thus blows the whole meeting.

A natural 1 also threatens a critical failure. Roll a second check. If this one fails, the Total Failure is even worse. The referee should then manipulate the situation disastrously for the character. In the example above, if the character rolled a critical failure for the Perception check, then not only would he fail to spot the bad guy AND the informant, but he would fail to notice that his wallet has just been lifted, and that a gang of kids outside is engaged in stealing his car.

Critical Success

On the other end of the spectrum from Critical Failures (see above) are critical successes. In this option, skill checks with a DC higher than (10 + the character’s sill modifier) that succeed with a natural 20 should also be played up to be more awesome than regular successes. This can be done in terms of story bonuses; mechanically, it might mean treating the results as 10 higher than is actually the case.

Hero Points

Hero Points are a concept stolen from Victory Games' James Bond 007 rules (and which also appear―often under the name of “Action Points”―in any number of other sources, including Unearthed Arcana, Trailblazer, and the Pathfinder Advanced Players Guide). Hero points provide considerable narrative control to the players, as an alternative to referee “fudging.”

Spending Hero Points: Spending a hero point can be done at any time, even if it is not your turn, and does not require an action on your part. In game terms, one hero point can have any of the following standard effects:

• Add 1d6 + your Charisma modifier as a circumstance bonus to any one d20 roll or damage roll. This amount increases to 2d6 + Cha mod at 6^th^ level, 3d6 + Cha mod at 11^th level, and 4d6 + Cha mod at 16^th level and above.
• Allow you to completely re-roll one die roll, or force an opponent to do the same.
• Allow you to immediately take a single 5-ft. step, move action, or single iterative attack.
• Allow you to disregard the effects of fatigue or exhaustion for a single encounter.
• Cause an attack or spell targeting an ally to target you instead (by “getting in the way”).
• Change the result of a d20 roll to a “10” (as if the character had Taken 10, but without any of the limitations of that mechanic).
• Convert a critical hit against you to a normal hit;
• Provide an additional 1d6 rounds of use of a “rounds per day” ability such as Rage or Bardic Inspiration, or an additional use of a 1/day ability.

If referee and players can all agree on particulars, then hero points can also be used to cause remote but non-quantifiable possibilities to become likelihood or even certainty. For example, a hero point might allow a player to "remember" that his character bought potions of cure light wounds at the end of the last adventure (even though the player himself forgot all about the need to restock). The more reasonable the scenario, the fewer hero points would be required; less likely coincidences ("What are the chances that somebody recently lost a \$100 bill near here?") should require a larger outlay. Judgment and compromise are often necessary here.

Left for Dead: When you would otherwise be killed by hit point damage, you may spend two (2) hero points to avoid being killed outright. You are instead “left for dead.” A character who is left for dead appears dead to a casual examination, though he still has a chance of recovering. If within 1 hour you are healed to a total number of hit points high enough to leave you dying rather than dead, you are considered to be stable. If not healed, you must make a Fortitude saving throw to stabilize at that time. If it fails, you die, whether or not you have any hero points left.

Regaining Hero Points: Each hero point can only be spent only once. With the exception of special bonus hero points awarded to certain classes (e.g., fighters and rogues), hero points are not automatically regained upon resting, nor upon gaining a level. However, additional hero points can be accrued in a number of ways, as described below.

Accumulating Hero Points: An unlimited number of hero points can be accumulated.

• Each player character begins play with one hero point.

• Tough adventures will start with a bonus hero point being awarded to each PC at the start of the adventure, to help ensure survival—the rationale being that the characters are aware a difficult task lies ahead, and are keyed up for it.

• Successful completion of a major adventure or long-term goal (fraught with peril and otherwise heroic; not “I finally wallpapered the house”) results in the gain of 1 hero point.

• Finally, particularly heroic deeds or awesome outcomes―ones that cause the entire table to break out in spontaneous heartfelt cheering― might result in a hero point award. Successful execution of a particularly cunning or daring plan might likewise provide 1 hero point.

Opposed Checks

In the event that two checks are made in opposition to one another (for example, a Perception roll to notice a person using Stealth to sneak up on you), then there are two basic means of resolution:

1. Standard opposed checks, as in D&D 3.5, with the higher results winning.

2. Bidding War: This method can be used for contests in which one party is determined to outdo the another and is willing to take risks to force the issue. The declaring party can state a higher check DC and some set of consequences that could logically result from failure. Such consequences might scale all the way up to significant damage (say, 1d6 per point by which the DC is missed) in situations like car chases.

The opposing party then has three options: (a) give up, without any consequences greater than normal for the opposed check; (b) "call," whereupon both parties roll against that DC, with the stated consequences to each for failure; or (c) "raise" by declaring a higher DC and worse set of consequences (generally done only if the initial party was bluffed into the bidding war to begin with). Raising can go back and forth until someone gives up or calls.

Once both parties roll, the higher successful results (if any) win, but any results that do not meet the final DC indicate failure, with the associated consequences.

Examples of when this method is used: chases (for damage upon failure); music competitions between two musicians (for penalties to Diplomacy and Streetwise against all onlookers in the future), or any analogous situation; any situations involving two similar or identical checks being made (two guys attempting to seduce the same girl, etc.). A comedic example is the progressively more outrageous attempts made by Michael Caine's and Steve Martin's characters to con the girl, in the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, with consequences like loss of money, potential relocation or delay (as by the sailors), and damage (caning Steve Martin).

A hero point may be awarded in the case of winning a particularly egregious bidding war.

Combat

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Aid Another and Flanking

In melee combat, you can help a friend attack or defend by distracting or interfering with an opponent. If an opponent that is engaging an ally in melee combat is within your reach, you can attempt to aid your ally by spending an immediate action, granting the ally either a +2 circumstance bonus on attack rolls against that opponent or a +2 circumstance bonus to AC against that opponent (your choice) until the beginning of your next turn. You must declare your intent before the attack is made.

Unlike most bonus types, circumstance bonuses stack. However, when multiple creatures Aid Another for the same ally, each additional such creature after the first increases the total bonus by only +1, rather than +2. If eight kobold warriors surround a lone hero, for example, and all Aid Another for the leader, the leader attacks with a +8 bonus (+2 for the first Aid Another, +1 for each of six additional aids).

This change effectively supersedes the Core flanking rules. Instead of needing to be exactly opposite one other ally to flank, instead you need merely both be in reach, and use Aid Another to each other’s attacks. The added flexibility is made up for by the action cost. Note that a character with access to more than one immediate action (see above) can Aid Another for more than one ally at a time, by spending additional immediate actions.

Battle Fatigue

First: Fatigue and exhaustion affect mental stats, not just physical ones (see Conditions, below). This is true in life, and should be true in the game as well in order to make the mechanics run more smoothly and to preserve some semblance of balance.

The optional rule outlined below is a two-edged sword: it allows accumulated hit point damage to hinder combat effectiveness. This tends to slightly improve the overall effectiveness of melee and of evocation spells, vis-à-vis battlefield-control spells. However, it also inhibits “Die Hard” scenarios for PCs, by presenting them with penalties for wounds.

Light Wound: When using this rule, loss of half of a character’s normal (full) hp is considered a light wound. Upon incurring a light wound, any living creature with a discernable anatomy is unable to take a 5-ft. step for the remainder of that round. Thereafter, lightly wounded creatures are fatigued, suffering a –1 fatigue penalty to attacks, damage, AC, saves, and all checks (including concentration checks) and to the save DC of spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. This flat penalty is to simplify applying the effects of the normal –2 attribute penalties for fatigue, and also serves to inconvenience casters as much as it does warriors.

Heavy Wound: At one-fourth his or her normal total hp, a character is heavily wounded (and also must succeed at a DC 20 Fort or be dazed 1 round) and exhausted, suffering a –3 fatigue penalty to attacks, damage, AC, saves, and all checks (including concentration checks), and to the save DCs of spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. Again, this simplifies the effects of the –6 attribute penalties. A creature incurring a heavy wound is unable to take a 5-ft. step for the remainder of that round.

Note: Barbarians are immune to the effects of fatigue while raging. Fighters and rangers gain resistance to fatigue as a class feature. Some paladins can cure fatigue or even exhaustion using the “mercy” mechanic in the final Pathfinder rules. Characters with exceptional ranks in Endurance might be able to ignore some of these penalties; see the Endurance skill for details.

Combat Maneuvers

The unified CMB mechanic presented in the Pathfinder RPG rules is retained, and is broadened somewhat to include situational maneuvers not specifically listed (for example, pulling someone’s jacket down over his arms to inhibit him from attacking for 1 round). CMB is equal to your BAB + your Strength modifier + your size modifier, as in the core rules.

CMD is equal to 10 + CMB + the following AC modifiers (if applicable): dexterity, dodge, luck, morale, and penalties due to blindness, fatigue, etc. If you lose one or more applicable bonuses to AC (e.g., when flat-footed), you lose those bonuses to CMD as well. The following bonuses to AC are specifically not included: armor, armor training, deflection, enhancement, insight, natural armor, shield.

Types of Maneuvers: For ease of characterizing them, combat maneuvers can be divided into four broad types: Forcing Maneuvers (including the bull rush, overrun, etc.); Tricky Maneuvers (including Feint); Weapon Maneuvers (including disarm, and sunder); and Wrestling Maneuvers (including grapple and trip). Maneuvers not included in the core rules are also possible; the maneuvers described here are not meant to represent every possible maneuver; rather, they provide a list of common options. New maneuvers can be created by player and referee agreement.

Forcing Maneuvers: In addition to the standard bull rush and overrun maneuvers, forcing maneuvers can be used to check opponents (stopping them from moving past you), to deflect charging opponents, and to otherwise reposition opponents around the battlefield.

• Check: Any time someone moves past an area you can reach, you can attempt to stop that creature in its tracks (its movement ends, and any remaining movement for the round is lost rather than beingheld as a preemptive action). Checking an opponent is an attack action, made by spending an attack of opportunity or a Preemptive Action (q.v.). Checking provokes an attack of opportunity unless you have the Improved Bull Rush feat (q.v.). This maneuver supersedes the “Stand Still” feat in the final Pathfinder rules.

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• Counter Charge: If you have one attack remaining as a held action (see Preemptive Actions, below), you can use it to perform a forcing maneuver against any creature that charges you. If successful, the charging opponent automatically misses you. For every 5 points by which you beat the charging opponent’s CMD, you can cause him to move 5 ft. past you (either straight past or diagonally, at your option). This maneuver supersedes the Swordsage counter of the same name, from the Tome of Battle.

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• Reposition: You can attempt to reposition a foe to a different location as a standard action. You can only reposition an opponent that is no more than one size category larger than you. A reposition attempts to force a foe to move to a different position in relation to your location without doing any harm. If you do not have the Improved Bull Rush feat or a similar ability, attempting to reposition a foe provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver. If your attack is successful, you may move your target 5 feet to a new location. For every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD, you can move the target an additional 5 feet. The target must remain within your reach at all times during this movement, except for the final 5 feet of movement, which can be to a space adjacent to your reach. An enemy being moved by a reposition does not provoke an attack of opportunity because of the movement unless you possess the Improved Bull Rush feat and BAB +11 or greater. You cannot move a creature into a square that is occupied by a solid object or obstacle. Source: Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide.

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• Clever Positioning: When using the Reposition maneuver (above), instead of moving the opponent a set number of spaces, you can simply choose to switch places with him or her. Both you and the target must be able to move into and legally occupy the new space in order for this feat to function. For example, an incorporeal character inside a solid object couldn't exchange places with a corporeal character, nor could a non-flying creature exchange places with an airborne flying creature. This subsumes the Clever Opportunist feat from Drow of the Underdark, and also the clever positioning maneuver from the Tome of Battle.

Tricky Maneuvers: These include the Feint maneuver, and also the following.

• Dirty Trick: As a standard action you might use some dirty trick to inflict a condition upon an opponent, as described in the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide. Examples include kicking sand into an opponent’s face to blind him, pulling down an enemy’s pants to halve his speed, or hitting a foe in a sensitive spot to make him sickened for a round. If your attack is successful, the target takes a penalty. The penalty is limited to one of the following conditions: blinded, deafened, entangled, shaken, or sickened. This condition lasts for 1 round. For every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD, the condition lasts 1 additional round. This condition can usually be removed if the target spends a move action. If you possess the Improved Feint feat, the penalty lasts for 1d4 rounds, plus 1 round for every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD. In addition, removing the condition requires the target to spend a standard action. If you do not have the Improved Feint feat or a similar ability, attempting a dirty trick provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver.

• Interrupt Action: In place of a held attack, you can attempt to interfere with an enemy’s actions—knocking aside his hand as he completes a spellcasting gesture, or whatever. Make a combat (tricky) maneuver check against any opponent within 30 ft. If the result exceeds the opponent’s CMD, the opponent’s action is wasted (spells, magic item charges, or daily uses are lost harmlessly).

Weapon Maneuvers: In addition to disarming and sundering, the bind maneuver (from Art of the Duel, Sinister Adventures LLC, and later included the Pathfinder Campaign Setting) is also included.

• Bind: As a melee attack, you can perform a combat maneuver to attempt to bind your opponent’s weapon. A bound weapon cannot be used to make attacks. A bound weapon can be wrenched free with a successful opposed maneuver check, or can be dropped as a free action. If your opponent does not free or drop his weapon he does not threaten an area and cannot move. While binding your opponent, you suffer the same limitations, except you may end the bind as a free action and make an attack of opportunity against that opponent as an immediate action. If you use this attack of opportunity to attempt to disarm your opponent or sunder the bound weapon, you do not provoke an attack of opportunity in turn, and you get a +4 bonus on the CMB roll and the damage roll.

Wrestling Maneuvers:

• Grapple: Grappling works normally as per the Pathfinder core rules, except that if your base attack bonus is +6 or higher, instead of damaging, moving, or pinning a grappled opponent, you can instead use the victim as cover against a single attack. If the attack misses you, that attack targets the creature you used as cover, using the same attack roll. You cannot use this ability against a creature grappling you, and the cover you gain ends after the attack you gained cover against is resolved. This supersedes the Body Shield feat from Ultimate Combat.

• Unbalance: Instead of tripping an opponent to the ground, you can instead choose to merely knock the target off-balance. An off-balance opponent loses his Dexterity bonus to AC for 1 round. (This maneuver supersedes the Unbalancing Strike feat from Oriental Adventures.)

Nonstandard Maneuvers: In some cases, a character may attempt a maneuver that mechanically duplicates an existing maneuver, but uses a different feat or mechanism. For example, a character might attempt to force a fencing opponent back using dazzling swordplay, rather than brute force. Treat this as a Bull Rush maneuver, but allow Improved Weapon Maneuvers to apply, rather than Improved Bull Rush. All attempts need to be provided with a halfway reasonable rationale by the player, and be approved by the referee.

Conditions

In order add interest to combat by shifting the focus away from simple full attacks, a variety of Strike feats (Chapter 5) have been created that allow single attacks to apply conditions to the target in addition to hit point damage. As a counterbalance, there are a number of class features (barbarian rage, monk’s sutras, paladin’s mercy, etc.) that allow for the amelioration or removal of certain conditions. Given the importance of conditions in combat, an attempt was made to establish a coherent framework and terminology.

Condition Severity: Conditions are rated in terms of severity: a minor condition is one that applies only a small penalty, and can often be applied by a combatant with a base attack bonus of +1, or by a 1^st^ level spell. Severity scales from there to moderate (BAB +6 or 3^rd^ level spell), severe (BAB +11 or 5^th^ level spell), and critical (BAB +16 or 7^th^ level spell). For example, a barbarian in a lesser rage is temporarily unaffected by the entangled, fatigued, flat-footed, shaken, and sickened conditions; in the text, these can now all simply be described as “minor conditions,” rather than listing them all each time.

The base attack bonus and spell level guidelines given for each severity level are for basic comparison purposes only and should not be taken for hard and fast rules. In many cases, momentary conditions (lasting only 1 round) can be applied at lower base attack bonuses/spell levels than the ones shown, for example.

Descriptors: Conditions of escalating severity that form logical chains (e.g., shaken, frightened, panicked, and cowering) for the most part are given like descriptors in order to make their relationships clear. Common descriptors, and a list of the conditions of escalating severity associated with them, are listed below.

[Affliction]: Afflictions include disease, nausea, poisons, and so on: conditions that target Fortitude saves and are generally non-magical. The chain of affliction conditions includes the following; others that fall outside a chain are listed below.

• Minor: Sickened (–2 on all attacks, damage, saves, and checks).

• Severe: Nauseated (unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention; the only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn).

[Debilitation]: Debilitating conditions target the victim’s attribute scores.

• Minor: Fatigued (–2 to all attributes (treat as -1 to all rolls for the sake of simplicity); cannot run or charge). Doing anything that would normally cause fatigue causes the fatigued character to become exhausted. After 8 hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued.

• Moderate: Exhausted (-6 to all attributes (treat as -3 to all rolls); move at half speed; cannot run or charge). After 1 hour of complete rest, an exhausted character becomes fatigued. A fatigued character becomes exhausted by doing something else that would normally cause fatigue.

• Severe: Attribute damaged.

• Critical: Attribute drained.

[Fear]: Conditions resulting from fear are spelled out as a coherent chain in the Core rules, as follows:

• Minor: Shaken (-2 to attacks, saves, and checks).

• Moderate: Frightened. A frightened creature flees from the source of its fear as best it can. If unable to flee, it may fight. A frightened creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. A frightened creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape. Frightened is like shaken, except that the creature must flee if possible. Panicked is a more extreme state of fear.

• Severe: Panicked. A panicked creature must drop anything it holds and flee at top speed from the source of its fear, as well as any other dangers it encounters, along a random path. It can't take any other actions. In addition, the creature takes a –2 penalty on all saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. If cornered, a panicked creature cowers and does not attack, typically using the total defense action in combat. A panicked creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape.

• Critical: Cowering (the character is frozen in fear and can take no actions). A cowering character takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class and loses his Dexterity bonus (if any).

[Inertia]: These conditions result from interference with the victim’s ability to respond to actions taking place around him or her.

• Minor: Flat-Footed. A character who has not yet acted during a combat is flat-footed, unable to react normally to the situation. A flat-footed character loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) and cannot make attacks of opportunity or take other immediate actions.

• Moderate: Staggered. A staggered creature may take a single move action or standard action each round (but not both, nor can he take full-round actions). A staggered creature can still take free, swift and immediate actions. A creature with nonlethal damage exactly equal to its current hit points gains the staggered condition.

• Severe: Dazed (unable to act normally). A dazed creature can take no actions, but has no penalty to AC. A dazed condition typically lasts 1 round.

• Critical: Stunned. A stunned creature drops everything held, can't take actions, takes a –2 penalty to AC, and loses its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any).

[Restraint]: Conditions interfering with the victim’s ability to move are grouped under this descriptor. Note that the slow spell applies a severe condition essentially combining the effects of entangled and staggered.

• Minor: Entangled (moves at half speed, cannot run or charge, and takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity). An entangled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a Concentration check or lose the spell.

• Moderate: Grappled (cannot move; –4 penalty to Dexterity). A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks, except those made to grapple or escape a grapple. In addition, grappled creatures can take no action that requires two hands to perform. A grappled character who attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability must make a Concentration check or lose the spell. Grappled creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity.

• Severe: Pinned. A pinned creature cannot move and is denied its Dexterity bonus.. A pinned character also takes an additional –4 penalty to his Armor Class. A pinned creature is limited in the actions that it can take. A pinned creature can always attempt to free itself, usually through a combat maneuver check or Escape Artist check. A pinned creature can take verbal and mental actions, but cannot cast any spells that require a somatic or material component. A pinned character who attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability must make a Concentration check or lose the spell. Pinned is a more severe version of grappled, and their effects do not stack.

• Critical: Paralyzed (frozen in place and unable to move or act). A paralyzed character has effective Dexterity and Strength scores of 0 and is helpless, but can take purely mental actions. A winged creature flying in the air at the time that it becomes paralyzed cannot flap its wings and falls. A paralyzed swimmer can't swim and may drown. A creature can move through a space occupied by a paralyzed creature—ally or not. Each square occupied by a paralyzed creature, however, counts as 2 squares to move through.

[Sensory]: These conditions interfere with the victim’s ability to perceive the world around him or her. Visual [sensory] conditions form something of a chain:

• Minor: Dazzled. The -1 to attacks and Perception rolls cited in the Core rules is so minor as to be hardly worth tracking; instead, the dazzled condition now applies partial concealment (20% miss chance) to everything the afflicted creature sees. In addition, the penalty to Perception checks is increased to -4.

• Severe: Blinded. The creature cannot see. It takes a –2 penalty to AC, loses its Dex bonus to AC (if any), and takes a –4 penalty on physical skill checks and on opposed Perception skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Perception checks based on sight) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) against the blinded character. Blind creatures must make a DC 10 Acrobatics skill check to move faster than half speed. Creatures that fail this check fall prone.

• Critical: Senseless (blinded and deafened; cannot smell or taste; has no tactile awareness). A senseless creature cannot use special senses such as blindsight, scent, and tremorsense, and has no sense of balance (falls prone). It is helpless and cannot take actions.

Other: A number of other conditions not neatly fitting into chains are listed here by severity; descriptors are shown in brackets.

• Minor: Attribute penalized [debilitation] (e.g., from a ray of enfeeblement spell), sickened [affliction].

• Moderate: Charmed [mind-affecting]; deafened [sensory]; diseased [affliction].

• Severe: Confused [mind-affecting]; energy drained [death]; fascinated; poisoned [affliction].

• Critical: Dominated [mind-affecting]; feebleminded [debilitation]; insane [mind-affecting]; petrified; unconscious.

Defensive Fighting

You can fight defensively, gaining a +1 dodge bonus to AC, +1 per 4 points of your BAB (to a maximum bonus of +6 at BAB +20). You take a –2 penalty to your attack rolls for every +1 to AC; this applies to every attack you make during a round in which you fight defensively (even attacks of opportunity).

Using the total defense option works similarly, except that you give up your normal attacks for the round and instead gain a +2 bonus to AC, +2 per 4 points of BAB (this requires a full attack action). You can make attacks of opportunity while using total defense, but if you do so, the penalty to attacks is –2 per +2 bonus to AC.

The Combat Expertise feat (q.v.) now reduces the attack penalties to half—it functions as an “Improved Defensive Fighting” feat. The ratio of defense bonus to attack penalties can be further improved with the fighter’s Elaborate Defense talent (in effect, a “Greater Defensive Fighting” feat).

Untrained

Base Attack Bonus	Attack Penalty	Defensive Fighting	Total Defense
+1 to +3	a	b	c
+4 to +7	a	b	c
+8 to +11	a	b	c
+12 to +15	a	b	c
+16 to +19	a	b	c
+20	a	b	c

Combat Expertise

Base Attack Bonus	Attack Penalty	Defensive Fighting	Total Defense
+1 to +3	a	b	c
+4 to +7	a	b	c
+8 to +11	a	b	c
+12 to +15	a	b	c
+16 to +19	a	b	c
+20	a	b	c

Elaborate Defense**

Base Attack Bonus	Attack Penalty	Defensive Fighting	Total Defense
+1 to +3	a	b	c
+4 to +7	a	b	c
+8 to +11	a	b	c
+12 to +15	a	b	c
+16 to +19	a	b	c
+20	a	b	c

Iterative Attacks

As shown on the class progression tables, the iterative attack penalty is capped at –5. For example, a 16^th^ level ranger would attack at +16/+11/+11/+11, not +16/+11/+6/+1 as in the core rules. The Multiattack feat, applied to iterative attacks rather than to natural attacks, reduces the penalty from –5 to –2.

Miniatures FAQ

In the home game, I do not use battlemats and miniatures except in the cases of combats involving large numbers of participants and/or complicated terrain. Note that this is a personal preference, not an ingrained feature of these house rules. For players who can’t imagine how things might work without those tools, the following FAQs are provided.

How do I know if there’s a table, staircase, spittoon, or whatever? For most combats, the setting will have been briefly described, and other features reasonably expected to be present will be present if declared by the participants. For example, if a fight erupts in a restaurant or tavern, a player can announce “I jump up on one of the tables and then leap up and grab a hold of the chandelier.” Both tables and chandeliers would reasonably be expected to be present, so it is within the player’s scope of authority to use them (subject to the usual skill checks for jumping about, of course). On the other hand, less likely features, or features located in precisely the place you want them in relation to the combatants, might require expenditure of a Hero Point (see above). For example, “I cut the rope so that the chandelier directly over my opponents’ heads falls on them” requires a common feature, but located in a very specific place.

How do I know if I can move into flanking position, or run around the fountain, or whatever? Unless the setting as described would otherwise prevent it (e.g., you’re in a narrow corridor, or there are obstructions creating difficult terrain), you can usually move anywhere your rate of movement allows. Distances can be generalized as “adjacent” (within 5 ft.), “within reach” (of weapon or attack with longer reach), “within 20 ft.,” “within 30 ft.,” or whatever. Note that flanking as been simplified in these rules (see Aid Another and Flanking, above).

How do Attacks of Opportunity work? Moving out of an enemy’s threatened area provokes an attack of opportunity as normal. However, once inside an opponent’s threatened area, you need not track attacks of opportunity unless you leave that area or do something else to provoke them. Doing things like drinking potions or casting non-defensively still provokes attacks of opportunity as normal (although a Sleight of Hand check can sometimes ameliorate this, in the same way an Acrobatics check can negate them for movement).

How do I know if my ally is in the way? If you have at least 5 ft. of movement remaining, you can always choose to step to the side of an adjacent ally to fire a missile past him or her. If you have enough movement left to move around a nearby ally, you can also choose to intentionally step in front of that ally to interpose yourself between that ally and attackers (in this manner, “tank” characters who retain some movement for later use (see Preemptive Actions, below) can serve as effective bodyguards without the need for some kind of “taunt” mechanic.

Monsters

The referee will need to make minor adjustments to existing monsters in order to fit these rules. The easiest thing to do is to simply swap out feats, and as a general rule this should always be done, making sure that the rules in Chapter 5 for feats are used (the Stamina Training feat and ranks in Endurance is a favorite). Adding one or more class levels is also a good way to increase the threat posed by a monster in a way that is consistent with these rules. Other specific adjustments are described below.

Attributes of 1: Creatures with attribute scores of 1 are immune to the corresponding conditions (see Attribute Scores and Modifiers, above).

3.5 Edition Attributes: A number of monsters, notably animals (especially primates), griffins, etc., were “downgraded” in Pathfinder, relative to their 3.5 edition stats (in terms of Strength scores, total number of Hit Dice, and so on). In these cases, it is recommended that the 3.5 edition stats be retained.

Animal Intelligence: To reflect the large differences in intelligence of real-world animals, creatures of the Animal type can have intelligence scores higher than 2 and still be unable to use humanoid languages (due to missing or incompatible speech organs, etc.). Dogs might have Int scores of 4; apes of 6; and dolphins of 10+, for example.

Breath Weapons: Creatures with breath weapons can use the breath weapon in place of a bite attack with that head, rather than as a standard action.

Constructs: Much in the way that undead in Pathfinder were given d8 HD/medium BAB and Cha bonus to Fort and hp, constructs in these rules also have d8 HD/medium HD, and use their Strength scores in place of Constitution to determine hp and Fort saves. This supersedes the arbitrary size-based bonus hp constructs receive in PF. This amendment, borrowed from Frank and K’s “Tomes” rules, allows constructs to be difficult to destroy without increasing their BAB; a strong but clumsy golem running amok is an iconic image not modeled well by constructs with a full BAB progression.

Giants: If you make these guys vulnerable to charm person and hold person spells, as in the Pathfinder rules, they get a lot less scary all of the sudden. I’d suggest not doing that.

Gore Attacks: Like spears, natural gore attacks should have a x3 critical multiplier.

Iterative Attacks: Monsters whose only attack is a primary natural attack (e.g., bite, slam) should either gain iterative attacks per their base attack bonus, or else should be assigned Vital Strike as a bonus feat.

Numen: Use the “minimum” (NPC gear) column in Chapter 6 and assign magical bonuses and properties accordingly, even to creatures that do not use items. For example, there is no reason a winter wolf (CR 5; 3,450 gp minimum) could not be given a +1 enhancement bonus to its bite (2,000 numen) and a +1 resistance bonus to saves (1,000 numen).

Spell-Like Abilities: For monsters that get a mess of spell-like abilities, consider using a racial suite (Chapter 7). This will ensure that the abilities are level-appropriate, and will keep them down to a manageable number.

Undead Spawn: There are two proposed rules keeping undead spawn from overrunning the world; a combination of the two is recommended. A referee should break these rules only in the event of an epic campaign-destroying adventure involving a zombie apocalypse or something similar.

• Bound to Location: In this variant, spawn cannot stray more than 100 ft, from where they were created. This is appropriate for haunted grave sites and so on.

• Bound to Master: Using this variant, no single undead can have more spawn at one time than described under the Command Undead feat (Chapter 5). This is especially appropriate for vampires and the like.

Monsters and Expectations

The duel with the Hill Magician started with a dream, the night after the Warlock's speech made that duel inevitable. It ended thirty years later.

―Larry Niven, What Good is a Glass Dagger? (1972)

Even modifying monsters as outlined above, it should be patently clear that a 3^rd^ level fighter with PC gear (CR 3) will slaughter a single CR 3 ogre most of the time. This is especially true in these rules—the fighter doesn’t necessarily do more damage than in 3.5/PF, but the means by which he can do it are pretty obvious to anyone, not just hardcore optimizers. Then again, we should remember that, as a fighter, that’s his job. Against an assassin vine (also CR 3), his success is less certain, and the CR 3 shadow might make him flee. The cleric doesn’t worry about the shadow, but the assassin vine eats him for lunch. A 3^rd^ level wizard might shut down the ogres, but within reach of them he can’t cast, and gets smashed to a pulp.

A 10^th^ level fighter might be 50/50 against a CR 10 bebelith and probably loses against a CR 10 adult white dragon, but a 10^th^ level fighter with a 10^th^ level wizard supporting him demolishes a pair of either of them.

So what does all this actually mean?

Fighters will slaughter hordes of martial mooks at low levels, without being too worried about being injured in the process. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; the historical Tokagawa Shogunate kept order by withholding arms and martial training from peasants, so an armored guy with a halfway decent sword and some rudimentary training (a 1^st^ level fighter) could easily keep order among twenty or a hundred peasants. Likewise, an Aristocrat 1 (CR 1/3) with a high-powered rifle can kill a CR 4 rhinoceros, because their equipment disparity eclipses their combat disparity. But as you level up, offenses scale faster than defense and equipment, and magical save-or-lose effects come on line, and gradually, the fighter starts to lose—unless he has a caster friend buffing him and the enemy doesn’t, in which case he kicks ass even more. Ideally, the caster equally needs the fighter to keep the monsters from shutting down his spellcasting and eating him—that’s why casting is a full attack action, and why casting while threatened is more difficult.

With that understanding, intelligent adversaries are NEVER going to want to fight the party 4-on-1. At that point, the game becomes more about tactics: whose buffing/martial combo package outdoes the other side’s? And that leads us to the last piece: if you know in advance what that package will be, or can interfere with it, you win. And that means, ultimately, that strategy is the key determining factor, especially at mid to higher levels.

I envision a game in which a party that charges in against a prepared foe gets wiped out. TPK. Sorry, guys. But if they ruthlessly exploit their advantages and deny the enemy his own, eventually they’ll tip the scales to the point where the villain goes down like a chump.

Rolling dice for a straight-up fight is sometimes fun, and the game supports that. But these rules, hopefully, also support a Sun Tzu-style game in which the outcome is decided before the fight even begins.

Parrying

If you have base attack bonus of at least +6, whenever you take a full attack action, you can elect not to take one of your attacks (as described under Preemptive Actions, below). At any time before your next turn you can attempt to parry an attack against you using the held attack. To parry the attack, you make an attack roll, using the same bonuses as the attack you chose to forego during your previous action. If your attack roll is greater than the attack results of the attacking creature, your opponent’s attack automatically misses.

For each size category the attacking creature is larger than you, you take a –4 penalty on the roll. You also take a –4 penalty when attempting to parry an attack made against an adjacent ally. You declare the use of this ability after the attack is announced, but before the roll is made.

Precision Damage

A number of abilities, notably sneak attack, allow you to hit a vital spot for extra damage, usually expressed as a number of six-sided dice. This additional damage is called “precision damage,” and follows the standard rules outlined here. Unless otherwise noted, precision damage is of the same type as the attack that delivered it. It does not multiply on a critical.

Precision damage applies only against creatures with a discernable anatomy; oozes and elementals are immune, and the Fortification ability applies against it. You must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. Normally, you cannot deal precision damage against opponents with concealment. The Blind-Fight feat enables you to deal precision damage in melee against opponents with concealment; the Precise Shot feat allows you to deal ranged precision damage against opponents with concealment, as detailed in the feat description.

Normally, ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within point blank range (normally 30 feet, although the Point-Blank Shot feat can expand this range). As a full attack action, you can make a single ranged sneak attack at any range.

Unless otherwise noted, precision damage stacks.

Preemptive Actions

A combatant can choose to hold movement and/or attacks, to his normal limit, for immediate use later in the round. For example, a ranger with attacks +6/+1 could attack once at +6, then choose to wait make an attack at +1 asd an immediate action at any time before his next turn, even if his doing so interrupts someone else’s turn. These rules supersede the normal rules for Readied Actions and Delay.

Holding attacks and movement can be used in conjunction with the tactical movement option described below. For example, if the ranger above had a speed of 40 ft., he could move 5 feet and attack at +6, then wait and later that round move 15 more feat and attack again at +1, possibly saving an ally.

Any attacks or movement not used before the end of the round are lost. You are still limited to one immediate action per round unless you have the Combat Reflexes feat (see Actions, above).

Beating to the Punch: If two or more creatures attempt to preempt one another with held actions, make a new initiative check to determine who goes first in that particular exchange; the loser must attempt to continue his stated action. Once the series of preemptive actions ends, initiative returns to the normal order.

Tactical Movement

A character can move up to half his or her speed and still make a melee full attack that round (making a full ranged attack still limits you to a 5-foot step). This movement can be taken before, in between, or after attacks, or in any combination thereof, but it must be made in at least 5-ft. increments. For example, a character with Speed 30 ft. and BAB +16 could attack once at +16, move ten feet, attack again at +11, then move five more feet and attack again at +11. Because this is normal movement, rather than a series of 5-ft. steps, you still provoke attacks of opportunity for leaving a threatened area.

If you are using Two-Weapon Fighting, you must take your attacks in pairs (one primary, one off-hand) when possible, unless you also have the Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feat.

An attack of opportunity can be traded for a 5-ft. step (this supersedes the Evasive Reflexes feat from the Tome of Battle).

Taking a Breather

Using this option from Monte Cook’s Collected Book of Experimental Might (Malhavoc Press), once per encounter, any character can take a full round action to rest, regroup, and focus his or her thoughts. Taking a breather allows you to do one of the following:

• Heal lost hit points to an amount up to your character level + your Constitution bonus;
• Gain a morale bonus equal to +1, plus an additional +1 per 4 levels, to one attack or damage roll made during the next round; or
• Gain a +1 morale bonus to the save DC of one spell cast the next round.

Conditions that prohibit actions—such as being stunned or held—prevent you from taking a breather. Because you can only take a breather once per encounter, you cannot stand around between fights taking breathers until you are fully healed; rather, this gives all characters a chance to heal some damage during an adventure without the need for magic.

Campaign Setting

This section provides a brief introduction to the Aviona Campaign Setting, a homebrew world in which the home game takes place. Note that the house rules presented in the other chapters can be used in other settings; however, this setting is the “default” for these rules, much as the World of Greyhawk is for AD&D, and Golarion for the Pathfinder RPG. Selected details are provided here, but even if you use this setting, try not to get too hung up on details or “canon.” Rather, referees and players are encouraged to work together to create a unique campaign that all of them will enjoy equally.

The Kingdom of Aviona

The sky was a deep, dusky blue, and the same blueness pervaded the air as if he rode under water, Grass grew long and soft, with a silvery hue underlying its pale green; white flowers starred the earth. Asphodels, Holger thought. Here and there he saw bushes of white roses. Trees stood alone and in copses, tall, slim, milky of bark, their leaves the color of the grass. The slow wind blew through them with a tiny ringing sound. A brook ran close by which did not tinkle but played, an endless melody on an alien scale. ―Poul Anderson,

Three Hearts and Three Lions (1953)

The Kingdom of Aviona is the primary area of play. It is a culture of ancient, decadent elven aristocracy and their halfling servants, with human immigration and intermarriage increasingly common in the last few centuries as the pure elven population wanes. Style-wise, it draws most heavily from two or three sources; familiarity with some or all of these is helpful, but in no way necessary:

• Anderson, Poul. Three Hearts and Three Lions.

• Brust, Steven. “Vlad Taltos” series.

• Dumas, Alexandre (Père). The Three Musketeers, et al.

Aviona’s current monarch is Elcore I, a young, weak king who in the past relied on his minister of state, the Chancellor Palamis, to do most of the actual governing ― much to his regret, as Palamis proved to be a demonic high priest who nearly toppled the kingdom before he was unmasked. The Queen, Elfreyja (“Ellie”), a half-elf, half-sirine, is beloved of the elven nobles and believed by them to be the reincarnation of the historical Queen Silmar the Good.

The sky in Aviona is a peculiar indigo color not seen in most other places, indicative of a sorcerously-thick ozone layer above (a boon to the fair-skinned high elven folk)―this one of the attributes of the elven lands that makes human visitors immediately aware that they have left the mortal world behind.

The language spoken in Aviona is High Elvish, a language distinct from the tongue of wood elves. Humans in Aviona mostly speak this as a matter of survival, and most of them speak Common as well. Halflings in Aviona speak Halfling and High Elvish, and many speak Common.

The City of Hylore: Hylore is the capital of Aviona, analogous to Dumas’ Paris. It is here that the Elvenking holds court; duels in the streets are fought between the swashbuckling, adventure-loving King’s Guard on the one hand, and the plotting, scheming remnants of the sinister Chancellor’s Battalion on the other. Sheraviel (played by Jess Door), the former leader of the main PC adventuring party in the campaign, was a young elf attached to the King’s Guard. Hylore is also home to a human criminal mob enterprise, run by the enigmatic “Mr. C”― Cadogan (a major PC played by Derek) is a professional criminal in Mr. C’s organization.

South Province: West of Hylore extends a series of grassy plains, woodlands, and mild coast, with farming, fishing, and horses everywhere in evidence; the cities of Vayonnes (on the coast) and Sovalles (in the farm and horse country) typify this area. Also in evidence are scars from the Battle of the Seladan Hills, in which the Marquis d’Ansac, who dared rebel against the Crown, was put down.

The Andoor Mountains: North of Hylore is an old range of mountains, now eroded and shrouded in forests. Similar to the Appalachians of North America, the Andoor Mountains are home to hillbillies, ogres, and forest gnomes. The Corundum River Valley holds the cities of Rainville and Chambard, centers of mining and metallurgy. Further upriver, the mountains steepen, and the ancient demesnes of Ostfels and Serraval (home to the elf-lord Fiachra, played by Derek) can be found.

High Zothique Plain: Past the Andoor mountains is the old, magic-haunted steppe of the Zothique Plain, home to religious fanatics and other malcontents.

Western Aviona: Far to the west are the haunted Forest of Trevallaine and the great Northern Forest, in which the last traditional elven tree-city can be found—a historical oddity. On the far western cape is the city of Oceanbrook, where Count Golvring was lynched amidst the massive Hunger Riots of 1463.

Island of Montour: This large island is the demesnes of Marclore the Archimage, a powerful wizard who general prohibits lesser spellcasters from overtly dominating the politics of the setting (much like Murgen from Jack Vance’s “Lyonesse” novels). The island is used by Marclore for experiments involving the resurrection of dinosaurs as species, for eventual use as a food source. As the Archimage frowns upon visitors, he usually allows trespassers to be eaten by his experiments.

Other Elven Grand Duchies

Balvora: The Duchy of Balvora was once a settled part of Aviona. The western part (Cortland) is now largely marshes and woods, with the low stone walls of former farms running through them – all that remain to show that the area was once inhabited. The eastern portion (Tellaria) is sparsely-settled after the depredations of its last ruler, a vampire. To the north the terrain becomes mountainous, terminating in Baumergarth Pass, a direct route into Northwind (see below) guarded by the impregnable Findach Keep.

The sky in Balvora cycles from twilit to starry; there is no full daylight there. Farming is therefore poor, despite the richness of the soil; the vinyards around the scattered keeps (including the castle of Brut de Corbel and the manse of Rémy the magician) rely on daylight spells.

The natural eastern border of Balvora is the Lake of Fallen Stars, a huge crater lake formed millennia ago by the impact of multiple meteors. On clear nights, the stars above the lake and beneath it are reflected in the waters, and it is said that anyone diving at the center will be destroyed by silver fire – or emerge as a sorcerer, with powers derived from the fallen stars.

Autrisch: The Grand Duchy of Autrisch has long been affiliated with Aviona, but technically independent. The western part features the scarecrow-haunted Pheasant Hills and the drowned city of Antaalmoray; the eastern part is mountainous, with the great City of Weimach sitting like jewel on the Crystal River. Weimach is cosmopolitan, with elves, humans from Northwind and Aramani, and even Orientals from across the sea all living there. It is famous for its banking and skiing, and for the Imperial Museum, accessible by cable car.

The Estren Frontier

Across the Lake of Fallen Stars are the broad Estren Territories, which owe something to James Fennimore Cooper’s “Leatherstocking Tales” and to Robert E. Howard’s “Beyond the Black River.” The forests of Estren are the last strongholds of the Wood Elves―xenophobic near-savages living in tribal villages, skirmishing with neighboring tribes and beasts. The wood elves represent those elven folk who rejected settling in cities, and who met human immigration with violence. They especially hate “civilized” elves from Aviona, whom they view as unnatural traitors to their race. Their language, Wood Elf, is closer to the root elven tongue than is the High Elvish spoken in Aviona (and the two have diverged far enough to be treated as separate languages).

The Estren Territories are bounded to the east by the impassible Elder Mountains. Beneath these snowy peaks is the kingdom of the insular Mountain Dwarves; Agun (played by Jeff) and Rim (played by Jerry “Silverhair”) were the first of their race in centuries to emerge from beneath the mountains to adventure in the surface world. Dwarven is the official language of the Elder Mountains.

South Estren: Recent settlement by human farmers along the eastern shores of the river and lake have been met by raids, followed by reprisals, and have finally settled into an uneasy truce after the extermination of the Blackbird Clan of wood elves. For a time, South Estren was combined with Autrisch and Balvora to form the “League of the Southeast,” with the city of Kaisersburg as its capital; unfortunately, Queen Käcia was imprisoned in a pore 45 miles beneath the surface of the earth at the shore of Estren Lake during a magical duel, leaving Autrisch and Balvora independent again, and Estren largely ungoverned.

North Estren: The Estren Highlands are the home of the hill dwarves, enemies of both elves and men, who have largely turned to Sicilian-style banditry in response to human incursions. Goblin and hobgoblin tribes are also numerous. The main bastion of humans and elves here is Fenrift Keep (the “Keep on the Borderlands”), where young, ambitious soldiers from Aviona come to serve.

The Kingdom of Northwind

The Kingdom of Northwind was settled a millennium ago by barbaric humans who crossed over the polar wastes. It now boasts a relatively high level of civilization and a relatively enlightened central government―a constitutional monarchy under Abalore “The Axe,” a titular king who shares power with an elected parliament. About 100 years before the current campaign date, all of Northwind paid tribute to Talvar I, the Napoleon-like elf-king of Aviona (and later “Emperor of the Pinesvaald”). Northwind is fiercely proud of its current independence, and has built large navies to maintain it in the future. They are also famous merchant marines, sailing to Aramni and even across the sea to the World of Greyhawk to trade. Common is the official language of Northwind.

Baervania: This province, due north of Aviona, is largely occupied by the alpine Griffin Peaks; the low northwest coast receives abundant rain, and is known for logging and fur trapping.

Arkavore: The great prairies of Arkavore county are known as the “Breadbasket of the North.” Along the northern coast, Northwind’s massive shipyards can be found.

Wilden: A rural province, mostly heath and marsh to the south, with the northern reaches covered by swamp and mixed birch and fir forest. Wilden is famous for gin, crossbows, water fowl, and wild rice. The wizards from the forested area are said to be among the most powerful in the world.

Gunderland: A very cold, foggy, gloomy province, apparently stuck in the Viking age. Savage orc tribes can also be found here, as well as occasional hill and frost giants from the north. Most of the human population is centered in the port city of Northaven.

Foreign Kingdoms

Most of the hemisphere has been intentionally left undetailed, so as to provide individual groups the opportunity to explore (and create) new areas as the campaign progresses. Areas already established as part of the campaign setting include the following.

Aramni: To the east of Autrisch lies the human Kingdom of Aramni, a nation of strict laws and secret police, in which slavery is legal and worship of Asmodeus is the state religion. Nevertheless, a triangle trade exists with Aramni, dominated by unscrupulous Northwind traders: liquor (which is illegal in Armani) is smuggled through the ports and sold in Balakash (see below) for slaves, which are in turn sold in Aramni for silver.

Aramni owes something in flavor to what Spain might have become, if the Moorish occupation had been permanent and had become totalitarian in nature. The official language is Aramnic, which is distantly related to Mabrahoring (aka “Infernal”); many of the people also speak Orc as well. Half-orcs are more common as a part of mainstream society in Aramni than they are elsewhere.

Bailakash: Far to the southeast, off the map beyond Aramni, stretch the vast reaches of the Bailakash deserts, including a Caliphate built with the aid of bound genies. This is an Arabian Nights setting, the original homeland of Jazeed (played by Jeff). The people of Bailakash speak Bailakish, which is distantly related to Aquan, Auran, Ignan, and Terran.

Pentabrin Isles: Lying off the map to the southwest, the Pentabrin Isles are where many of the natives of Aramni fled when their nation was conquered by the followers of Asmodeus. These isles are now a haven of pirates and buccaneers of Aramnic descent.

The World of Greyhawk

If one sails west from Aviona or Northwind far enough, eventually the ship will reach the World of Greyhawk setting. The trip is long and dangerous, and only the most daring of Northwind mariners regularly brave it. More recently, Cadogan arranged for shipments of grain from Ulek to replace the harvests lost in Aviona during d’Ansac’s Rebellion. The “Common Tongue” of this setting is Oeridian, which is distinct from the Common spoken in Northwind. Various other languages, including Sueloise and Bakluni, are spoken here was well.

Currencies

The primary unit of value in the campaign setting is the pound sterling―the value of a pound of silver. Due to the relative plentifulness of this metal in the setting, the relative value of silver to gold is a modern 1:50, rather than the historical 1:20 modeled in the 1^st^ edition D&D rules. The D&D “gold piece,” weighing 1/50 of a pound, is therefore equivalent to 1 pound sterling.

The pound sterling is traditionally represented in Aviona by the silver lunate (the “lunate d’argent”), a heavy coin stamped with the image of a dragon turtle on the back; they are therefore often called “dragon turtles” or “shellbacks.” The Silver Lunate is actually minted from palladium (which the humans call “witch-silver”) rather than actual silver; the neighboring human kingdoms will not touch these coins, believing them to be cursed. In order to overcome this problem, Aviona also mints a gold coin called the livre, equivalent to the gold piece in the core rules; the livre is now used far more often than the silver lunate.

In general, all coins other than the silver lunate and the flammonde (see below) are universally accepted, due to the value of the metal in them. A table of currency conversions for the various kingdoms is provided below (the Avionan sou and the Northwind skilling, like the traditional English shilling, weigh 1/20 pound, and are hence worth 1/20 of a pound of silver, or 1/20 of a Pound Sterling). The Northwind word “mark” indicates 1/50 of a pound in weight.

* The Avionan flammonde (“Fallen Star”) is another coin not accepted outside of Aviona, Balvora, and Autrisch; it is a heavy coin made from iridium (“elf-gold”), a metal found in recoverable quantities only in the sediments at the bottom of the Lake of Fallen Stars.

Religion

The campaign setting is almost schizophrenically polytheistic.

Aviona: The elven pantheon, particularly Corellon Larethian, is predominant here. Humans often pray to Greyhawk gods, and when circles of concern overlap (as with Hanali Celanil and Myhriss), the corresponding elven and Greyhawk deities are often simply considered to be aspects of the same entity. Many of the good- and neutral-aligned Greyhawk deities have something of a unified church, with bishops, cardinals, etc. The god Rao is presumed dead; he has one temple, deserted, that sits on the shore of the Bay of Arken (would-be paladins must kneel a week-long holy vigil there).

Northwind: Worship of the Norse pantheon predominates here, along with some of the Greyhawk gods.

Estren: Originally, the elven peoples followed a druidic religion, worshipping trees, the night sky, and a few gods like the Oak King (correlated with the elven god Rillifane Ralathil). The wood elves of Estren still follow this practice. The hill dwarves, goblins, and mountain dwarves all have their own pantheons as well.

Aramni: Devil worship is the state religion, with each of the nine provinces having a separate patron arch-devil.

Bailakash: Ancient noble genies and gods of all descriptions are worshipped here; players selecting a Golarion deity as a patron deity for their PC can simply assume their god is worshipped in Bailakash as well, for the sake of convenience.