House Rules

Feats, Levelling, & Tiers
Feats may be learned by a period of training (determined by the DM) with a notable teacher. This means someone extremely skilled and knowledgeable on the subject matter.

The Max Level is 10 for players and 5 for party NPCs. After reaching this level characters will gain tiers, each tier granting a small benefit similar to a D&D 5e feat. The tier benefits will be brainstormed and decided on by the character's player (or all the players in the case of party NPCs) and the DM.

Concentration
Spellcasters can concentrate on one spell that affects allies and another that affects enemies at the same time. If a spellcaster chooses to concentrate on two spells, the duration is halved for each. If their concentration is broken it is broken for both spells.

Skills
Each characters starts with 4-6 skills. You can make up any skills you like, try to pick names that aren't too general or specific. It's up to the player to explain why a given skill applies to a particular situation.

Example Skills:

Alchemy, Ambush, Athletics, Awareness, Bounding, Courage, Engineering, Faith, Farming, Gourmand, Hunting, Leadership, Observation, Rhetoric, Sabotage, Schmoozing, Sneak, Statecraft, Strategy, Suspicion, Toxicant, Trickery, Trivia, Witchcraft, Woodcarving

In addition to their skills your character will have up to 2 languages or tool proficiency if they received schooling or professional training in their backstory. Try to pick these based on what fits your backstory. If your character has gained more knowledge through experience than schooling you can add one skill that gains half proficiency instead.

Rolling Stats
Each player will roll 3d6 6 times for stats, these will go into a collective pool. Any player may pick from any set of rolls to use for their character.

Initiative
We will be using group initiative. Each side will roll 1d12 and the higher rolling side acts in whatever sequence they like.

Attack & Defense
Attacks are resolved with an opposed roll. The attacker rolls an attack roll, the defender rolls a defense roll. Both rolls are resolved using d20.

Attack rolls can apply either strength or dexterity modifier, at the attacker’s choice. The GM may rule that it must use one or the other, but this is a rare exception. The character also adds their proficiency bonus if they are proficient in the weapon.

Defense rolls use the defender’s dexterity modifier and proficiency bonus. If the attack roll meets or exceeds the defense roll, it’s a hit. If not, it’s a miss.

A natural 20 to attack is an automatic hit and critical hit.

There are no fumbles and no automatic failure.

A natural 20 on defense is a critical defense, but not an automatic defense. Resolve the opposed check normally. However, if the defense fails despite having such a high roll, then double the protection value granted by armor.

Damage, Penetration & Protection
When an attack is successful the attacker rolls damage, if the penetration is higher than the defenders protection value the attack does full damage.

Damage and penetration (if applicable) is based on the weapon’s base damage and penetration values. If the attacker added strength to attack, they also add strength to damage. If they added dexterity to attack, then they add dexterity to penetration. You do not normally apply both, it’s one or the other. Exception: if strength modifier is a penalty, apply this to damage as well if using dexterity.

Protection is based on the protection value of any armor worn. No stats add to protection, though tiers, abilities, and spells can.

Here’s how these values interact:First, deduct penetration from protection. If penetration exceeds protection, excess penetration has no effect. Next, deduct protection from damage. Apply remaining damage to the defender. If protection exceeds damage, reduce damage to a minimum of 1. ''Note: one exception to this rule. If protection is double the total damage, then the hit is reduced to 0 and no damage is inflicted.''

Outnumbering & Flanking
Outnumbering

Teaming up against your opponent is one easy way to increase the likelihood of scoring a hit, and a great way for a group of lower-level foes to threaten a heroic figure. Gain +1 to attack rolls for every ally that threatens your target in melee.

Flanking

Flanking, therefore, is attacking from your target’s blind spot. Roughly the rear 50% of their perspective would count as flanking. Note, there’s no requirement of teaming up here. If your enemy is facing one way because they shot at someone that direction, and you strike from behind, that’s flanking.

'''Flanking grants advantage on your attack rolls if you are making a melee attack. '''This does not apply if you cannot see your target.

Armor
=== *The Pavise only provides a bonus to defense while it is deployed and the user is taking cover behind it. It provides +5 bonus to defense against ranged attacks from in front of the shield and gives the user 3/4ths cover. It takes an action to deploy a pavise. The Pavise is far too unwieldy to use as a shield and provides no bonus while not deployed. Up to two people may take cover behind a Pavise while deployed. ===

New or Modified Weapon properties
Finesse - Works with rogue's sneak attack feature

Parrying - Adds +2 to defense rolls when used in the off-hand

Indefensible - Ignores the defense bonus from a target's shield when attacking.

Misfire - Whenever you make an attack roll with a firearm, and the dice roll is equal to or lower than the weapon's Misfire score, the weapon misfires. The attack misses, and the weapon cannot be used again until you spend an action to try and repair it. To repair your firearm, you must make a successful Tinker's Tools check (DC equal to 8 + misfire score). If your check fails, the weapon is broken and must be mended out of combat at a quarter of the cost of the firearm. Creatures who use a firearm without being proficient increase the weapon's misfire score by 1.

Rogue
Sneak Attack - Sneak attack now works with any weapon with the light or finesse properties, any ranged weapon, and any weapon with the thrown property when it is thrown.