House Rules

[Eanwulf]

Here will be listed the various "House Rules" and other helpful 'game' information that will be used in the 'Time of Legend' campaign.

[Eanwulf]

Called Shots Sometimes a character will wish to strike a particular body part in hopes for a specific effect such as hitting the target's knee to cripple or slow them down, hitting the eyes to blind, or hitting a hand to dislodge a weapon or item. This can certainly be done, however it is very hard to do. Use the following rules for the requirements and possible consequences of attempting a Called Shot.

The following are mandatory rules/requirements to perform a Called Shot:

Called Shot Criteria

You must announce that you are attempting a Called Shot at the beginning of your turn. This is a standard action.

You must roll a successful Concentration check (DC 13). If you fail you may not attempt a Called Shot or your normal attacks, however you can perform a free and/or move action. Note: If you have the Weapon Focus feat with the weapon in question this negates the need for a Concentration check.

You may attempt only one Called Shot each round.

The target cannot have moved more than 5 ft. in that round before your attempt. If the target does move more than 5 ft. in that round before your attempt, you incur a -5 circumstance penalty in addition to all other accumulated penalties.

Delivering a Called Shot provokes attacks of opportunity (AoO) from threatening foes (other than your target) because it involves focused concentration and methodical action.

Once these criteria are met you can attempt a called shot. You receive a called shot penalty to your attack roll, as per the chart below for the appropriate body location. Your Game Master may increase this penalty if the target area is particularly well armored or rapidly moving. Please note that when calculating the AC of a body location that areas unprotected by the target's armor (usually the head) do not receive the target's armor bonus. If you attempt to hit a specific part of a body location, (such as the hand on an Arm, the eyes or mouth of the Head, or the hamstring or knee of the Leg, etc.) the called shot penalty increases by 3. (See the Critical Effects for specific targets section below for more details)

Called Shot Penalties

Body Location	Called Shot Penalty
Head	-8
Sensory Organs	-8
Mouth	-6
Body (torso)	-3
Tail (abdomen)	-3
Appendages (Arms, Legs, Wings)	-5

Should your attack roll succeed, you automatically score a Critical Hit and Critical Effect (Moderate) as is appropriate to the relevant body part hit. If you miss, you miss. If you miss on the called shot but your attack roll still scores a standard hit (that is the target's AC without the Called Shot penalty), it is considered a glancing blow, and normal damage is applied to the creatures' hit points as would a standard attack.

Attempting The Impossible

You may wonder - just how can a gnome wielding a light mace score a called shot on a hill giant's head? It is possible; remember that realistic combat makes a very chaotic dance. Combatants are constantly moving around, turning, and shifting from the side to side. Larger creatures may have to bend down to attack smaller opponents. Still, some situations may very well be too extreme to be plausible. As always, the Game Master has final say as to what can and can't be done.

Critical Effects For Specific Targets

If you attempt a called shot to a specific area (as listed below) and succeed, you inflict the critical effect listed below for the area hit. However, you do not inflict the standard critical hit damage, but instead inflict only the damage you would normally incur from a standard hit.

To attempt a called shot to a specific area with a ranged weapon the target must be within the initial range increment of the weapon used (i.e. 10 ft. for dagger, 100 ft. for longbow, etc.). Not that certain feats and special abilities can greatly affect the effective initial range increment of a weapon.

Hitting a specific target requires precision and some weapons are too large and clumsy to accurately strike such a diminutive target. The Game Master should use logic, common sense, and their best judgment to determining if an attack is even possible.

Ear
Minimum Called Shot Penalty: -11 (this penalty may be reduced if the ear is of larger proportions than normal. (i.e. rabbit ears))

Effect: The victim suffers a -5 penalty to Balance, Listen, Move Silently, and Perform skill checks and/or cannot use that ear at all. (Game Masters discretion) The victim also receives a -2 penalty to Charisma.

Bludgeoning: The impact has ruined the inner ear.

Piercing: The ear is punctured and torn open.

Slashing: The ear is sliced open (or clean off, GM's choice).

Eye
Minimum Called Shot Penalty: -11

Effect: The victim suffers a -5 penalty to Search, Spellcraft, and Spot skill checks and/or cannot use that eye at all. (Game Masters discretion) The victim also receives a -2 penalty to Charisma.

Bludgeoning: The eye has been smashed and ruined.

Piercing: The eye is penetrated and torn open as is now completely useless. Victim must roll a Constitution check (DC 20) or go into shock and suffer and additional hit point loss equal to the base damage of the weapon used to cause the injury.

Slashing: The eye has been deeply cut causing blindness.

Groin
Minimum Called Shot Penalty: -6

Effect: The victim is Dazed for one round and suffers a -2 circumstance penalty to all attack and Reflex save rolls for 1d6 rounds (including the Dazed round).

Bludgeoning: The groin has been deeply bruised.

Piercing: The groin area has been impaled and is bleeding.

Slashing: The groin area has been sliced open and is bleeding.

Note: Any other 'œconsequences' resulting from a hit to the groin are up to each individual Game Master.

Hamstring
Minimum Called Shot Penalty: -8

Effect: See text below.

Bludgeoning: The area is deeply bruised but with no substantial affect other than normal damage.

Piercing: The area is skewered and the victim's movement rate is reduced b 15 ft. and loses all Dexterity benefit towards AC (if any).

Slashing: The victim suffers a -5 penalty to Balance, Climb, Jump, Move Silently, and Tumble skill checks, a -10 ft. reduction in movement rate and loses all Dexterity benefit towards AC (if any).

Hand
Minimum Called Shot Penalty: -8

Effect: The victim suffers a -5 penalty to all attacks involving that hand and Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Forgery, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, and Use Rope skill checks. Victim must roll a Strength check (DC 17) each round or lose any held item, shield, or weapon.

Bludgeoning: One or more small bones in the hand are cracked or broken.

Piercing: The hand has been run clean through.

Slashing: The hand has sliced across the face of the hand, cutting some tendons.

Knee
Minimum Called Shot Penalty: -8

Effect: Reduce the victim's movement rate by one-half. Victim suffers a -8 penalty to Balance, Climb, Jump, Move Silently, and Tumble skill checks and loses all Dexterity benefit towards AC (if any).

Bludgeoning: The kneecap has been smashed.

Piercing: The joint has been impaled and rendered immobile.

Slashing: The joint has been carved open and some tendons have been cut.

Mouth
Minimum Called Shot Penalty: -11

Effect: The victim suffers a -5 penalty to all attacks and Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Perform skill checks. Casting spells with verbal components is impossible. The victim also receives a -2 penalty to Charisma.

Bludgeoning: Victim loses 1d4 teeth/fangs.

Piercing: The jaw/cheek or lips are punctured and torn open.

Slashing: Victim loses 1d4 teeth/fangs.

[Eanwulf]

Critical Fumbles During an altercation, quick reflexes, high adrenaline levels, and split second decision-making are the order of the day. More often than we would like, these extreme conditions sometimes lead to clumsy acts, botched attacks, and sometimes-fatal accidents. An improperly notched arrow or awkwardly swung weapon can not only cost you a missed attack, but may endanger yourself or your allies. This can be especially true when using an attack of opportunity.

To illustrate this side of combat, a variant rule for critical fumbles has been developed. If you roll a natural 1 on an attack, you must roll a Dexterity check (DC 15). Failure constitues a Critical Fumble. To determine the extent of the fumble use the following equation.

1d3 + your Dexterity modifier (minimum 0, maximum +4)

Now use that total to determine the effect of the critical fumble on the appropriate table.

[Eanwulf]

Critical Hits
Combat can be defined as a physical conflict where each participant attempts to inflict injuries upon their opponent while trying to survive the onslaught focused their way. Unfortunately, players can't experience their characters' pain, exhaustion, or sense of impending doom. Because of this lack of sensory connection, many players lose all fear of being attacked and play their characters more like robots (at least during combat) than flesh and blood creatures. All too often, a high-level warrior, even unarmored, will unflinchingly wade into battle against a dozen or so goblins knowing that he can take the hits, and still deal out enough damage to win the battle.

In reality, we think twice before risking real bodily harm and instead try to resolve a potentially violent situation through other means. Fear of attack both encourages role-playing over combat and enriches the game, making the characters seem more real and alive to the players. In order to elicit that kind of fear in d20 players, the characters must begin to suffer debilitating effects from serious injuries. To this end, we have developed a Critical Effects system that gives characters (and their opponents) precise injuries when they take a particularly brutal hit in combat.

Critical Hits And Effects

When an aggressor's attack roll (total score) is high enough to score a critical threat and exceeds the minimum required roll to hit the target's AC by a factor of 5 or more, it is possible that the blow will inflict a critical effect along with whatever critical hit damage she may inflict. A critical effect is a specific wound or injury that has a lasting effect upon the victim, which is sometimes permanent. The severity of the wound depends on the attack roll (including all applicable bonuses) over and above the minimum required roll to hit the target's AC. This is called the Factor Level. Only the initial attack roll determines the Factor Level, not the roll made to determine an actual critical hit.

Example: Olivia (F1, BAB +1), wielding her longsword, attacks an orc with AC 14. She rolls a 19 (+1 = 20 total), which is within her weapon's critical threat range. She rolls again to determine if she scored a critical hit. Her second roll is a 15 (+1 = 16). She scores critical hit damage (total damage x 2) and since her initial attack roll (a20) was 5 or more over what she needed to hit the orc's AC, she also inflicts a critical effect. (In this case she has scored a Mild critical effect, since 20-14=6.)

Critical Effect Factor Levels

Factor Level	Severity
5 above minimum attack roll	Mild
10 above minimum attack roll	Moderate
15 above minimum attack roll	Serious

Impossible Attacks

In fantasy worlds the relative size of combatants can vary incredibly. Unfortunately, the critical effects system presented in this book doesn't take this into consideration when randomly determining where a critical hit landed. To help remedy this, the following guidelines are suggested.

When an attacking creature is smaller than its intended target by two size categories or more, it cannot strike at the target's head (or any portion of the body that is elevated well above the attacker) unless the targeted portion of the body was used to attack the smaller creature during the same combat round. In other words, the smaller creature can't strike the intended target's head unless it tried to bite him first and he can't attack the intended target's wing (if it is elevated well above him) unless it tried to buffet him first, and so on. Of course, if a smaller creature can utilize some method to elevate itself to an equal or greater height than its intended target (i.e. flying, climbing, jumping, etc.) this is no longer an issue.

Similar rules can be used when an attacker wishes to target any area of the defender's body that is ordinarily inaccessible, (e.g. A human cannot possibly attack the known-to-be-vulnerable-tail of a specific dragon if it keeps facing him and trying to burn him into a toasted aperitif. But if the dragon tries to hit him with its tail, that's another story.)

These guidelines apply only to melee combat situations and are irrelevant when using ranged weapons. If it's in sight, it can be shot at.

Drawn And Quartered

Once you have determined the severity of a critical effect you must determine what body part has been affected. Each creature is a compilation of a number of body parts, consisting of a head, a body, and a number of different appendages in a variety of combinations. I will roll on various tables to determine the body location affected. Once I get a result I will then find that body location and its critical effect.

Critical Effects

All debilitating effects last until the victim has received healing applied directly to the specific wound or healing equal to the hit points lost in the attack that caused the critical effect, unless otherwise noted. Mild and Moderate effects can be removed either magically or naturally; however. Serious effects are usually permanent and can only be removed through means other than natural healing.

Unfortuneately, this system is not 100% foolproof. Eventually, someone's going to roll an effect that doesn't exactly match with a particular creature, such as a broken ribcage on an invertebrate or a jawbone hit for a creature that has no definable jaw. Although the game mechanics of the critical effect system should remain consisten, the Game Master is encouraged to improvise differect and more detailed descriptions of the action and wounds suffered.

Display

While some creatures are immune to critical hits (such as constructs, elemental, plants, and undead), they may still be affected by certain results from a critical effect. Even though such a creature may ignore hit point damage from a critical hit, a broken or severed appendage or damaged sensory organ can still have a serious affect on how the creatures can function. This could reduce the creature's movement rate, cut the number of attacks they make or even eliminate their ability to sense opponents.

It is up to the GM whether or not certain creatures are vulnerable to critical effects. If so, use the critical hits and effects system as normal. Ignore all critical hit damage you would normally apply to the target and only resolve the resulting critical effects.

[Eanwulf]

Wound Severity The following table will be used to determine wound severity during the course of the campaign. Note that the % Loss of HP comes from a single source or attack. Wound severity will be used to help calculate necessary Heal skill check modifiers as well as possible scarring checks. Overall it serves as a colorful combat tool.

Wound Severity	% Loss of HP
Minor Wound	1-20%
Mild Wound	21-40%
Moderate Wound	41-60%
Severe Wound	61-80%
Life-threatening Wound	81-100%

Example

Thorrum Stormhammer has a maximum total of 87 hit points. He suffers 36 points of damage from a single attack. Consulting the table it quickly becomes apparent that Thorrum just suffered a Moderate wound.

Current Condition

The following table will be used to determine a player's condition status during the course of the campaign. It will also be used in determining NPC's and Monster's condition levels as well.

Condition	% Loss of HP
Lightly Wounded	1-20%
Moderately Wounded	21-40%
Seriously Wounded	41-60%
Critically Wounded	61-80%
Mortally Wounded	81-100%

Example

Thorrum Stormhammer has a maximum total of 87 hit points. He just suffered 36 points of damage from a single attack, bringing his current hit point total down to a 35. Consulting the table it quickly becomes apparent that Thorrum is Seriously wounded.

[Eanwulf]

Getting Drunk
An average person's Alcohol Threshold (AT) is equal to his Constitution score, but this number can be modified by several other factors. Any racial, magical, or class-based bonuses to resist poison add to this number, the Endurance feat adds +4 to this number, and the Hard Drinking feat doubles a character's AT (Constitution score and all other modifiers are doubled).

For each size category smaller than Medium that you are, your AT is reduced by half. For each size category larger, double your AT. For example, the AT of the average Halfling is only 5, whereas a great wyrm red dragon would have an AT of 496. Once you reach your AT, you become tipsy. As you drink more, you progress through the various levels of intoxication, with a number of Alcohol Units (AU) equal to your threshold increasing your drunkenness to the next category.

For example, Stumpy has a Constitution of 14. He drinks two shots of whiskey (12 AU each, total 24 AU). This exceeds his AT, so he becomes tipsy. Another 4 AU will take him to 28, putting him in the merry category.

The DM may give a temporary bonus to a character's alcohol threshold of up to +2 from various factors, such as a full stomach or magical enhancements.

Drink Sizes
Servings of alcohol are measured in shots. A shot does not denote any real-world significance; rather, it is simply a convenient word to measure small volumes of liquid in game terms. The number of shots contained in various drinking vessels is as follows.

Drink Size	No. of Shots
Shot glass/mouthful	1
Small glass (cup)	2
Mug/glass (pint)	4
Wineskin	4
Large flagon (quart)	8
Jug (two quarts)	16
Large pitcher (gallon)	32
Keg (3 gallons)	96
Small barrel (10 gallons)	320
Large barrel (40 gallons)	1280

Drink Strengths
The strength of the drink is measured on a scale, with 0 being no alcohol content, and 10 or higher being powerful beverages. The following table should not be regarded as a definitive list of drinks, but rather a rough guide to how to use alcohol strengths. A drink's total effect is measured in AU. The AU of a given drink is the product of its number of shots times its strength. For example, a mug (4 shots) of wine (Strength 4) is a total of 16 AU.

Sample Drink	Alcohol Strength
Water	0
Weak Beer	1
Regular Beer	2
Wine	4
Strong Wine	6
Spirit	10
Strong Spirit	12
Dwarf Spirits	14

Categories of Drunkenness
Alcohol is basically, a poison. The more you drink, the greater the effect it has. There are several levels of intoxication, each accompanied by penalties to certain abilities, and a slight bonus to resist pain.

Tipsy: Judgment slightly impaired, but no noticeable effects. -1 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and Reflex saves. No effect on movement or hit points. Must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + spell level) to cast spells or take similar actions.

Merry: Inhibitions lower, voices raise, and balance wavers slightly. -2 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and Reflex saves. +1 temporary hit point per Hit Die. No effect on movement. Must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + spell level) to cast spells or take similar actions.

Drunk: Dizzy and disoriented, words slurred. -4 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and Reflex saves. +2 temporary hit points per Hit Die. Can safely take one action each round, but nust make a Balance check (DC 10) to both move and take an action. Falls down on failure. Must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + spell level) to cast spells or take similar actions.
Hammered: Can't walk in a straight line, generally incoherent. -8 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and Reflex saves. +3 temporary hit points per Hit Die. Can safely take one action each round, but nust make a Balance check (DC 10) to both move and take an action. Falls down on failure. Must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + spell level) to cast spells or take similar actions.

Plastered: Communication is nearly impossible, as is standing up. -16 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and Reflex saves (though the character can take no actions, so it usually doesn't matter). +4 temporary hit points per Hit Die (but usually unable to take advantage of this). Must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + spell level) to cast spells or take similar actions. Character is nauseated, and the only action he can normally take is a single move action per round. A character who is plastered can, however, choose to take one standard action other than a move, but is then stunned for the next 1d6 rounds.

Unconscious: Character is unconscious, usually from sickness or extreme dizziness and confusion.

Recovery and Hangovers
A character recovers at a rate of 8 AU per hour. Additionally, eight hours of uninterrupted sleep enables him to recover completely. A character who has become drunk or worse suffers a hangover once he sobers up. A hangover consists of headaches, nausea and other unpleasant side effects. After recovering from drunkenness, a hangover begins. While hung over, a character suffers the same penalty to his attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and Reflex saves of the highest drunkenness category he reached the night before. Every two hours, the severity reduces by one category until the penalties go away.

A Craft (alchemy) check (DC 20) will allow a character to brew a hangover or drunkenness remedy. Characters with 5 or more ranks in Heal get a +2 synergy bonus to this check. Most such folk remedies sell for 2 gold pieces per dose, and many inns and taverns make as much money sobering up their patrons as getting them drunk. A character can only benefit from one dose of a folk drunkenness remedy per day. Remedies have an effect either on current drunkenness, or on hangovers. Particular effects may vary, the following is one example.

Hair of the Dog: This foul-tasting concoction doesn't even try to hide its ingredients: A clump of dog hairs float atop a green-brown broth filled with mashed leaves. The necessary ingredients for 5 doses can be found in a typical forest with an hour of searching and a successful Survival check (DC 12). Two hours of work and a Craft (alchemy) check (DC 20) can turn the ingredients into 5 doses, each the size of a small cup. A dose of hair of the dog reduces the character's penalties from a hangover as if 2 hours had passed. Only one such drink can have an effect per day.