Helborn's House Rules

[Helborn]

While there are many discussion of various house Rules, I have not seen - except for hcobb's link - any real posting of comprehensive house rules.

So here are most of mine.

I am indebted to hcobb for some of them, though most are reworked from his version. Some come from Dark City Games though their elements have also been reworked to protect their copyright. Some come from my time as a player and GM since 1979. Most reflect the changes introduced by the Legacy Edition. They are written as part of a handout that I use with my group.

If there is any concern that any part infringes on a copyright, please let me know and I will remove that section.

[Helborn]

1 Starting Characters and XP rules
Progression for Attribute costs follows Fibonacci Series not quadratic after 1000 XP/pt begins
38:1,000, 39:1,000, 40:2,000, 41:3,000, 42:5,000, 43:8,000, 44:13,000, 45:21,000, 46:34,000, 47:55,000, 48:89,000, etc.
Costs for Talents & Lanaguges and Spells have three options which can be combined in any order.
Standard costs: 50XP * IQ Lvl * number of slots
Base costs: 25XP * IQ Lvl * number of slots
Cinematic costs: 10XP * IQ Lvl * number of slots
You can have an entire campaign with Base costs for Talents and Cinematic costs for Spells or any other combination
All Spells are 1 slot, Talents & Languages are 1-3 slots
Slow Progression: Once a character reaches a specified limit, the cost to learn talents and spells, (but not Languages) doubles
Standard Doubling begins after 42 Attribute pts is reached
Base Doubling begins after 46 Attribute pts is reached
Cinematic Doubling begins after 50 attribute pts is reached
The doubling affects any Talent or Spell learned once the limit is reached
Languages: All languages are IQ 7 Talents. (Except Scholarly Languages q.v.). Some require 3 slots. Some 1 slot. A few 2 slots.
Most Humanoid Character Races languages are 3 slots as is Dragon. This only includes roughly human sized or smaller characters.
Non Humanoid Character Race Languages are 2 slots – Bugbear, Centaur, Gargoyle, etc. Larger than Human sized.
Prootwaddles, Giant,, Ogre, Troll, etc. are 1 slot
Scholarly Languages: High Elvish, Old Dwarvish, Sorceror's Tongue, etc. are 3 slots and IQ 12
No Character has Sorcerers' Tongue as their native language.
Anyone CAN spend the XP to learn it (can't use IQ slots). Wizards learn it automatically at 0 cost and no IQ slot at IQ 16.
No starting character may have Expert or Master Talents for anything
Civilized Wizards start knowing Literacy and the Aid spell at no cost.
Barbarian Wizards start with the Aid Spell but must choose from Swimming, Boating, or Horsemanship in place of Literacy.
No player character may start with any Attribute above 14 unless it is required by their race, then they have the minimum for their race.
Adding one point of IQ adds a Talent/Spell slot (but only 1).
You cannot take a 2 slot Talent when you gain an IQ point even if you have the XP. You cannot combine an IQ slot with XP purchases.
You cannot “save” IQ slots until a later time. They must be filled when you gain the point of IQ
At the time of creation, a wizard character may take:
4 points in Talent(s) at base cost if their IQ is high enough to allow that Talent
At the time of creation, a fighter character may take:
less than ½ of their IQ in spells at base cost (must always have more pts in Talents than Spells)
The staff spell (all varieties) CANNOT be learned by Fighters at any time under any circumstances even with a Great Wish.

[Helborn]

2 Races
Humans Learn Faster – take 5 pts from the base cost to learn Talents or spells (see #1)
Elves get ST 6, DX 10, IQ 8, MA 12 plus 8 pts. They do +1 Dmg with all bows.
Dwarves get ST 10, DX 6, IQ 8, MA10 plus 8 pts and can carry 2x encumbrance. They do +1 Damage with Axes only (not maces,etc.)
Halflings get ST 4, DX 12, IQ 8, MA 10 plus 6 pts. They get Thrown Weapons at 0 cost and do +1 Damage with Sling. MAX ST=12
Goblins get ST 6, DX 8, IQ 10, MA 10 plus 8 pts. Ftrs & Wiz know Detect Magic at 0 cost. MAX ST=12
Hobgoblins get ST7, DX 6, IQ 7, MA 10 plus 8 pts. MAX IQ=10, MAX ST=15
Orcs get ST 8, DX 8, IQ 8, MA 10 plus 8 pts and get Brawling at 0 cost and do an additional 1 pt damage with a Club, HTH or Brawling.
Orcs, Gargoyles, Centaurs, Reptilemen, Bear People, and Snakemen purchase ST at Half XP Cost
Goat People begin with ST 10, DX 8, IQ 9, MA 10 plus 5 pts. They see though illusions and images
Fay begin with ST 5, DX 11, IQ 8, MA 8/16 (flight) plus 6 pts. All know both Image and Illusion at 0 cost
Gnomes begin with ST 6, DX 10, IQ 8 plus 6 pts. All know Invisibility at 0 cost. MAX ST=11
Wolf People begin with ST 9, DX 8, IQ 8, MA 12 plus 8 pts. 1 pt Fur armor. They have Tracking at 0 cost
Snakemen (no women are known) begin with ST 8, DX 10, IQ 8, MA 6 plus 4 pts. 2 pt Hide Armor
Cat People begin with ST 9, DX 11, IQ 8, MA 10 plus 4 pts. 1 pt Fur Armor. They know Silent Movement at 0 cost.
Bear People begin with ST 13, DX 10, IQ 7, MA 10 plus 2 pts. 1 pt Fur Armor. MAX IQ=12
Any Character of any race may advance past their racial limits by purchasing the limited attribute at double cost
Werewolves grow claws and fangs. Add +2 to their unarmed attack damage.
Note that this is in addition to WereReptilemen's +2 as they get bigger claws and fangs.
A Zombie's max ST is twice what he had in life. (See spell)

[Helborn]

3 Staff changes
A Staff, whether a weapon or not, does 1d Occult Dmg just by pointing and passing a 3/DX roll. No contact is required.
A Staff that is also a weapon, adds 1d Occult Dmg to the weapon damage it does. It must hit the target for the Occult Dmg to occur.
Staffs are listed as Staff1, Staff2, Staff3, etc. Those that are ST supplies are listed as Staff2(11) denoting how much ST they can provide.
Each Staff Spell is a separate spell and must be learned individually.
Staff1 (IQ 8)
Occult Dmg Max range = 1 hex. All Armor protects (natural, worn, magical) including Toughness
Staff2 (Manastaff) (IQ 11)
As Staff1 PLUS
Acts as a ST supply up to IQ of owning Wizard, Immune to DropWeapon, BreakWeapon
The Basic Spell is ManaStaff0 which enchants the Staff with the ability to provide ST to the owning Wizard.
Each additional Level is an IQ 11 Spell which must be learned separately.
Thus ManaStaff1 is a spell and is a prereq to learning ManaStaff2, which is a prereq to learning ManaStaff3, etc.
However, once learned, only the most powerful needs to be cast to enable the Staff to act as a ST supply at full power.
i.e. Knowing ManaStaff1-11, if the Wizard gets a new Staff, only Manastaff11 needs to be cast to carry 11 additional ST.
If the Wizard only knows ManaStaff1-8 then the Staff can only carry 8 ST
Once a Staff has a ManaStaff #, ST is added to the Staff in the same way as recharging – 1 ST for 5 ST expended by the owning Wizard.
Staff3 (Staff of Striking) (IQ 13)
As Staff2 PLUS
Occult Dmg bypasses armor (natural (incl. Toughness) or worn) but not magical (Stone Flesh, etc., Armor Enchantment, or SpellShield)
Occult Dmg MAX range = 2 hx. 3/DX+3 IF pointing, 3/DX (no +3) if used as weapon
Staff4 (Staff of Power) (IQ 15)
AS Staff3 PLUS
ST supply up to 2x IQ of owning Wizard;
Occult Dmg is a free action (but still requires 3/DX+3 roll) – can also cast spell, etc.
IF the Staff is used as a weapon then the Occult Damage is inseparable from the Weapon attack. The Wizard loses the Free Action.
Staff5 (Staff of Mastery) (IQ 17)
As Staff4 PLUS
does +(1+2) Dmg, bypasses all armor (natural, worn, magical) but not SpellShield
cast Blast as free action @ 0 ST cost doing 1+2 Dmg on 3/DX+3
Can do Occult Dmg to one Target and use Staff as a weapon on a different target. Occult Dmg decoupled from Staff.

[Helborn]

4 Melee Weapons
A char having greater ST than min to use a weapon does +1 Dmg / 2 ST over Min up to a MAX of +3
Pole Weapons
A Pole Weapon Charge attack must have at least 2 hexes of movement that Turn to gain the PW Priority attack
A 1 hex Move prior to attacking with a PW means all attacks will be done in Base order of AdjDX
A set for charge pole weapon only gets the extra die of damage if the target moved at least three hexes that turn,
but it gets the +2 DX against all targets to which it is adjacent and which moved at least two hexes toward it.
It is not possible to combine the PW Charge attack or set for PW Charge attack with any other sort of attack such as thrown, shrewd, etc.
A PW charge attack or set for Charge Attack does get the +1 damage from Expertise or +2 damage from Mastery as usual.
Quarterstaff -pg 114
Weapon Mastery(Quarterstaff) negates the -4 DX adjustment to strike to disarm any type of weapon.
5 Missile Weapons
A Character with a Ready Missile Weapon who is engaged and melee attacked in a given Turn
MUST attack the attacking figure with the Last Shot Option
UNLESS he passes a 3/IQ roll – then the Last Shot Option may be against any available target
NO Miss option is available, there may be no intervening targets for a Last Shot
If there is more than one Melee Attacker engaging in a given Turn, any one of them may be the Target
A Character with a Ready Missile Weapon, subject to a PW Charge Attack,
will take the last shot option during the PW Priority attack order.
If the Character is only engaged by another Character making a PW Charge Attack,
and is not the object of the attack, he will take the last shot during the regular Order of AdjDX
Sling Damage is based on the ST Table. Fighters do +2 Damage (1-2 if ST=8 or less)
Second arrow shots in a turn occur at the end of the Actions segment, before Force Retreats.
Crossbowmen
A Character using a Light Crossbow needs AdjDX 14 AND ST 13 to reload in 1 Turn
A Character using a Heavy Crossbow needs AdjDX 16 AND ST 16 to reload in 2 Turns
A prone Crossbowman requires 1 additional Turn to reload
6 Defending and Dodging
A Character can choose to Defend or Dodge when attacked.
If he is attacked by both Melee and Missile/Thrown Weapons in the same Turn
only one type of Attack – Melee or Missile/Thrown - will require 4+/DX roll. He still cannot attack that Turn
HTH Combat can be initiated with a person who is Defending or Dodging at a +1 penalty to the die roll. Treat a 7 the same as a 6.
7 Magic Item activation
To activate a Magic item, the Char must take a Cast Spell option (h)(r). ST Fatigue costs (if any) are immediately assessed.
Once a Magic Item is on, any Fatigue costs are assessed during the Renew Spells Phase
A Magic Item can be turned off either at the end of a Turn (Stage 6 – Post Turn Damage), or at the beginning (Stage 2- Renew Spells)
The Weapon/Armor Enchantment is an exception to this rule – it require no activation, it is in effect as soon as the item is worn/readied
8 Facing -pg 106
A crawling or bent or prone figure has their normal front hexes only for the purposes of determining
what it may see, cast spells, fire crossbows or guns. They cannot throw weapons and other items.
They do not engage any figures in other hexes.
The occult strike of a Wizard's staff can also be used from crawling, bent, or prone position.
Certain effects upgrade rear hexes into side hexes. A prone figure with these effects has six side hexes
for the purposes of resisting melee attacks, but still does not engage figures in other hexes.

[Helborn]

9 Spells
IQ 8 Spells -pg 18
Blur stacks with Dazzle for -6 DX.
Blur works against all senses so, except for Mage Sight, opponents have a -4 DX adjustment against a Blurred target.
Detect Magic doesn't reveal if the target is capable of spell casting.
Once a wizard is convinced that a mundane object is magical, it requires a 3/IQ-6 or critical Success to change his mind
Drop Weapon affects one item held in the target's hand(s). The caster specifies which hand is affected
Light can be cast on a three inch radius or smaller part of anything and does not the damage the part.
Light cast on the end of an opponents nose, will act as a Dazzle spell for that char only until covered/put out.
Slow Movement halves combat speed. Other MA becomes 1.
IQ 9 Spells -pg 18
Aid added ST is used up before native ST for fatigue. Damage is assessed against Native ST not AIDed ST .
The added points last for two Action Phases. If cast on the wizard herself, they last for the following two Action Phases
There is NO limit of attribute points that any figure can be magically boosted by through the Aid spell.
A figure subject to multiple Avert spells must move so as to satisfy as many of them as possible. This is unconscious movement.
The priority is to not move towards an aversion. Surrounded by aversions the figure would stop in place.
Once cast, Avert is not a line of sight effect. It affects movement even when neither can directly see the other.
Darkness protects all figures in its area of effect from all fire damage each turn that it lasts.
It is perfectly fine to stand in a fire hex while Darkness is in effect. Also completely protects against the Fireball spell.
Fireball will not affect a person in a Darkness hex IF the Fireball lands in a Darkness hex, otherwise it has full effect.
Unless specifically excluded, Detect Life will detect all life including microbial.
Summoned creatures are detected, but not images or illusions.
The caster may name either specific creatures or categories of creatures to ignore as SOP, (party members, microbial life, etc.)
On a critical failure the GM lies.
Look Your Best: The change is in the mind of the observer, different observers can see different changes at the same time.
Summon Scout: If the scout is uncommon for the area then observers get a 5/IQ roll to notice when they are first spied upon.
Reroll if the wizard commands his scout to do something unnatural for its type.
Subtract one die for each of Alertness, Animal Handler, and Naturalist the observers have.
Add one die if the caster has Naturalist or Animal Handler, 2 die if both.
Whatever type of creature the scout is, it will have the attack, armor and hit points of an average specimen of that creature.
The scout uses the caster's IQ to resist Control Animal.
On a 4, it will have +1 attributes and have double duration.
On a 3, it will have +2 attributes, have triple duration and exceptional senses.
If, after rolling a 3, the caster makes a second, normal IQ roll, the scout will remain with the caster as a familiar.
A Familiar requires no upkeep unless on a ship, in a desert, etc. but will need to be carried if travel is undertaken by the caster.
The Familiar will remain with the caster until the Caster dismisses the animal.
Turn Missiles works on all thrown weapons, missile weapons and missile spells. AND all area effects that have an avoidance roll.
IQ 10 Spells -pg 20
Adhesion Can be cast in the reverse sense to gently undo mundane or magical bindings of no more than ST 5.
Clearheadedness is an instant spell and automatically snaps a beserker or werewolf out of their condition.
This spell works on the brain and not the arms or the eyes so does nothing against Dazzle, DX adjustments from armor and such.
Dispel Missiles works exactly like Turn Missiles except that the missiles are teleported somewhere out of sight.
Minor Medicament negates current allergic reactions, but as an instant spell grants no long term protection.
Magical protections such as Stone Flesh can reduce Shock Shield damage, but fur, the Toughness talent, and armored skin won't.
The Staff to Snake's ST and the staff's mana are tracked separately and do not interact.
If the snake is picked up it won't explode until it reverts, but it will enter HTH combat with the roll @-2. -1 or 0 = 1
The Control Animal spell has no effect on it.
Mana cannot be drawn from the Staff while in Snake form neither can an occult strike be made.
Summon Myrmidon has only the IQ 7 weapon talents, whatever his starting IQ.
The "regular weapons and armor" are non-silver, non-fine, not enchanted and non-missile, but may be thrown.
If the figure is killed before the spell lapses, any dropped gear remains. Any gear still held or carried disappears with the figure.
Creations of the caster of a Trailtwister are also not confused.
Ward: The wizard is limited to be within 15 hexes for the spell version, use the items for larger areas
IQ 11 Spells -pg 21
The subject figure and his clothing, armor and held items gain immunity to all acids while under the Acid Touch spell.
Control Animal works on summoned animals as well as real animals. Animals have an IQ of 2-6
Create Wall matches the local material, and hence has the same resistance to damage.
Note that while this spell must cover an entire hex it doesn't have to be all the same height. You can create a staircase.
Ferment has no effect on larger living things.
Persuasiveness only works if the listeners understand your language.
Rope always entangles the figure the wizard selects, even when multiple figures are in the same hex.
Scour can prepare a silver hand mirror for a Scrying spell.
Staff II The wizard may use mana to recover his own fatigue, cast spells, or maintain spells while the staff is held/holstered (if possible)

[Helborn]

9 Spells (Part 2)
IQ 12 Spells -pg 23
Analyze Magic: The 17 or 18 here assumes a 3/DX roll. Conceal can add several dice to the roll.
Once a wizard has convinced himself that an item has specific magical properties then he will always determine the same thing
on a recasting except on a 3/IQ-6, or Critical Success.
An Critical success after a Critical failure requires a second 3/IQ roll to accept the new finding.
Drain Strength can be used to recharge the Wizard's ManaStaff or a Powerstone directly @ 25 ST / 1 Mana pt recharged.
Note that this is equivalent to the Wiz recharging 1 pt then using Drain St to recharge himself. All 25 pts MUST come from one source.
IQ 13 Spells -pg 25
A failure to save against Control Elemental breaks the initial control provided by Create Elemental.
Control Person also works on Centaurs (doubled cost for a two-hex target as usual), Giants (tripled cost as above), etc.
The -2 DX for being under a Flight spell is in addition to the modifiers listed on page 133
Staff III The occult strike occurs at DX+3 IF it is done in place of a regular attack.
If a regular attack is made, the occult strike is in addition to regular damage just as in Staff 1 and 2.
The wizard must still point in the direction of the target, but not necessarily directly at the target.
The subject of a Stop spell can change facing, but not altitude.
Flying figures are at their usual half-MA for "takeoff" on their first turn after being stopped in midair.
A figure would fall about 125 yards towards Earth in the five seconds it takes to cast this spell.
Subtract 10 yards for every point in your margin of success over zero when casting this spell on yourself.
IQ 14 Spells -pg 27
Glamor confers no invisibility. It must completely cover the full size of the subject and applies to their apparel and gear.
Spell Shield stops only the staff's occult strike, it doesn't prevent damage from a wizard's staff as a weapon.
The protected figure is NOT prevented from casting spells on himself by a Spell Shield.
Spell Shield protects any items carried by the protected figure against spells targeted on the item.
Weapon/Armor Enchantment cast on a wizard's Staff only affects damage inflicted and DX rolls for physical strikes.
A weapon with a DX boost can allow the figure wielding it to strike earlier in the turn sequence.
AND to activate skills (such as Fencing or Weapon Expertise or Mastery) that the figure has learned but for which the adjDX is too low.
But not for Fast-Draw, which is resolved before the weapon is wielded.
The limit to magically boosted adjDX is 14 as per Attribute Enhancers(page 161).
W/AE DX+ on armor or weapons cannot be used to satisfy minimum requirements for learning specific Talents
IQ 15 Spells -pg 28
Astral Projection is blocked by the Pentagram effect of the Wards magical items, not the Ward spell.
Note that a wizard can pull mana out of his astral staff, but not any powerstones attached to it.
The caster can exclude known members from the effect of a Calling spell, but not specify more than the species for the target.
Enchanted weapons can strike across the boundary of a Pentagram.
A wizard can use his staff to make a mundane strike with his staff against a demon on the other side of a Pentagram.
If the demon grabs the staff out of the Wizard's hand the staff explodes (unless it is a Staff of Power and then it does 3d Dmg)
IQ 16 Spells -pg 33
A newly created elemental will obey the caster's spoken or gestured commands as best it understands them.
The casting cost of the Death Spell is not fatigue but actual damage and cannot be paid from mana (Staff or Powerstone).
The Target or the Caster (whichever dies) can be revived by the usual means.
IQ 17 Spells -pg 31
Insubstantiality protects against the physical blows, but not the occult damage of a wizard's staff.
IQ 18 Spells -pg 33
Shapeshifting does not affect aging attribute rolls – they always reflect the individual's actual age.
Characters cannot raise attributes or learn new spells or talents while shapeshifted – only in their own form.
Death or dismemberment (for the body part) of the subject ends the shapeshift immediately.
The subject of a shapeshifting spell gets a 4/IQ roll to resist it at the moment of casting if it is not willing.
IQ 19 Spells -pg 33
The caster must touch or point the staff at the subject of Long-Distance Teleport.
A Master Physicker can offer the subject of a Revival spell another 3 points of healing. Healing potions also add to ST recovery.
A Zombie can only be cured by healing potions up to the maximum ST its creator bestowed on it.
A zombie retains the IQ 7 weapons talents it had in life.

[Helborn]

10 Talents
IQ 8 Talents -pg 36
A character may take multiple levels of a Mundane Talent or Area Knowledge for the same region.
Each additional level reduces the IQ roll to know any specific fact (at the given level of detail) by one die.
IQ 8 Unusual Weapon Talents may only be taken at start by characters with a good story/reason for having the talent.
Characters with Thrown Weapons Talent have a range of ST hexes
Characters without Thrown Weapons Talent have a range of ST/2 hexes
Unusual Weapons – pg 37 AND 111-114
Boomerang uses Missile Weapon DX Adjustments but not Long Range Missile DX Adjustments. Max Range is ST*5
Bola uses Missile Weapon and Aimed Shots DX adjustments – see “Other Weapons” pg 121. Max Range is ST hexes
Lasso uses Missile Weapon and Aimed Shots DX adjustments – see “Other Weapons” pg 121. Range is 3-10 hexes
Whip uses Aimed Shots DX Adjustments pg 120 but allowed for full 3-5 hex range. Other strikes also allowed – see “Other Weapons” pg 121
Quarterstaff may disarm a 2 handed weapon – same rules.
IQ 9 Talents -pg 37
A figure with Acute Hearing rolls one less die to save against the moving in darkness DX rolls on page 119.
IQ 10 Talents -pg 38
Shield Expertise requires minimum adjDX 12
New Talent: Flight(2) Negates the two points of the DX adjustment for attacking while flying (Flight spell on page 25).
This talent also negates the additional die penalty on saving throws to avoid hazards for those creatures unfamiliar with flight.
This talent doesn't grant any flying ability, it just represents familiarity with flight.
IQ 11 Talents -pg 40
Fencer: None of the Shrewd attacks may be combined with any other attacks that turn.
Locksmith correction, "Non-Locksmiths roll twice as many dice." as per page 70.
Two Weapons applies only to one handed Knife and Swords and Axes/Hammers/Maces.
If the Char ST is high enough to use a 2 handed weapon 1 handed, then Two Weapons applies also.
Weapon Expertise: The Shrewd blow bonuses only apply to one standard melee attack. Cannot combine with Two Weapons dual attack
Weapon Expertise stacks with Two Weapon's double parry. (5/DX to hit @ -1 DX)
Weapon Expertise bonus to defend also stacks with Shield Expertise. (5/DX @ -2 DX)
IQ 12 Talents -pg 42
Expert Naturalist stacks with Alertness to automatically spot slimes, and other animal ambushes while not distracted.
Unarmed Combat III Replace "opponent's roll to defend is on 4 dice" with "opponent's roll to defend is one additional die".
IQ 13 Talents -pg 42
Unarmed Combat IV Replace "opponent's roll to defend is on 4 dice." with "opponent's roll to defend is at one additional die."
Weapon Mastery: The Shrewd blow bonuses only apply to one standard melee attack. Cannot combine with Two Weapons dual attack
Weapon Mastery stacks with Two Weapon's double parry. (5/DX to hit @ -2 DX)
Weapon Mastery stacks with Shield Expertise. (5/DX to hit @ -3 DX)
11 Equipment Table -pg 67
Each vial of potion (not a gas bomb) weighs around 0.2 pounds. The empty vial is 0.1 pounds.
Armor weight and cost modifications for large figures apply also to shields
A Quiver of Replenishment is rearmed by Dispel Missiles.

[TippetsTX]

I see lots of interesting things here. Any chance you will publish this as a formatted document to make content easier to read and navigate?

[Helborn]

I have it in an OpenOffice Spreadsheet - formatted. I'll look into a Google Doc version and post it when I have it.