Based on some lessons learned from last year, as well as the fact that Bitom is incapable of running a game without adding at least one house rule, there are some changes to the rules and play style of the crawl, as listed below:
- The crawl will consist of 5 dungeons. 4 will be individual scenarios, run by the DJ that created them (2 for Bitom, 2 for Bren) Therefore the teams will swap DJ's and rulings will be consistent for each team. Note: Rulings by a DJ are final for their room, even if another DJ ruled differently in their room.
- All sustained effects, summoned creatures, etc are lost between rooms, but most rooms have "Buff annexes" where you can set up before the fight (We call this the "Virtual home team summoning rule") clarification: Only the following things are carried over between rooms:
- Hit Points
- Spells used
- Psionic points
- Per-Day powers used (turn undead, magic items with limited uses per day, etc)
- per-insert time span greater than a day items.
- A party may choose to "Sleep" between rooms and get back all hit points and per-day effects at the cost of 20 points (see "Points" below)
- Popularity
- Each character starts with 10+Fame popularity. Characters who were in Brencrawl 2008 start with 11, characters who won Brencrawl 2008 start with 12, Retired crawlers coming back for ONE NIGHT ONLY (Vardaen, Jiggly) start with 12. Or, in a table-shaped nutshell:
Character Initial Popularity Boss 11 Sterno 11 Frank "The Tank" 11 Knife 11 Father Fyer 12 The Buldge 12 Tik-along K'cdee
Not attending
Died in a dispel Zombie Wyvern Accident12 Necro Felicia 12 Swank 12 Firestarter 12 Anything V plays 12 Anything JP69 Plays 12 Che'na'na
Not Attending
Killed in a hunting accident.
Stuffed and mounted in the Chateau D'If13 Moonspring Rainbowbeam 13 - Popularity awards in game:
- Every successful mugging earns 1 popularity, every failed mugging loses 1
- Every successful grandstanding earns 2 popularity, every failed grandstanding loses 5 (Live audiences are unforgiving)
- Every enemy killed earns 1 popularity (Assists don't matter, just the killing blow)
- Being reduced to negative hit points loses 3 popularity.
- Using a NoGo door loses 10 popularity.
- Characters successfully completing their signature move will gain 5 popularity. Characters failing to perform their signature move will LOSE 5 popularity. Successfully negotiating a signature move which kills, incapacitates, or otherwise removes an opponent from play will gain 8 popularity instead of 5.
- In the final dungeon, there will be ways to use your popularity. Characters with a low enough popularity might be forced to NoGo before they get out of the first room. So keep your popularity up! This is pay per view! (Clarification: everyone begins with enough popularity to play the final room. Just make sure not to lose enough that you can't.)
- Each character starts with 10+Fame popularity. Characters who were in Brencrawl 2008 start with 11, characters who won Brencrawl 2008 start with 12, Retired crawlers coming back for ONE NIGHT ONLY (Vardaen, Jiggly) start with 12. Or, in a table-shaped nutshell:
- Victory Points: Instead of a battle royale, the game will be decided on the basis of points. Therefore, it's possible to lose the final room and still win the crawl.
- Normal Rooms:
- Each room is worth a total of 50 points if all goals are accomplished The goals and point value of the goals are set up by the DJ of the room. (Kill all the monsters and leave will not always score 50 points)
- 5 points are awarded for each round a team finished a room earlier than their opponents.
- A number of points may be deducted from a team that takes forever to get through a room because they spent an hour planning for each combat round. This "Delay of game" penalty has not yet been fleshed out by the DJ's
- If at any time, all points which CAN be gotten ARE gotten, the room will be called clear.
- Character actions
- Successful mugging/grandstanding earns a Victory point, failed mugging/grandstanding loses one
- a character being reduced to negative hit points loses 5 Victory points
- a character dying permanently loses 10
- a character using the no-go door has no effect on Victory points.
- Party actions:
- Choosing to "Sleep" between rooms costs 20 points
- Final room:
- In the final room, there will be ways to help the other team, and steal their points because of it.
- The final room will be worth 50 points, just like all the others, but only the first team to finish will get ANY points.
- Normal Rooms:
- NO XP gets earned during the crawl. So no, you do not get to kill 300 xp worth of enemies, then use that Xp to make magic items in the buff annex.
And finally, character creation rules, featuring:
- Level 13!
- Vgen!
- Ammo restrictions only by carrying capacity, cash, and common sense! (If you plan to carry 24 quivers into battle, the DJ's will smack you and say "No")
- We are blatantly ignoring the XP penalties for multiclassing rule. Brencrawl is all about making wierd combinations that are fun.
- Revised: 110,000 Starting Gold
- Revised: No magic items with a caster level higher than 13th, no potions or scrolls with spell effects higher than that of a 7th level spell (We still call this the Trogdor rule)
- may not raise more than 2 stats to an 18 with initial points. (Racial bonuses and attribute bonuses due to levels may raise any stat after this)
- 2 Traits as per Unearthed Arcana allowed
- 2 Flaws as per Unearthed Arcana allowed.
- Any official Wizard of the Coast D&D 3.5 supplement is viable, such as the "Complete XXX" Series of books. Xcrawl book is, of course, also acceptable. Other 3.5 sources will be taken on a per player situation, most are allowed for this game.
- Signature move is a feat. Like that from the book, it consists of 3 rounds of actions, one of which is the full-round "Call." Actions which are part of the move get a +2 competency bonus, and the +6 synergy for Mugging/grandstanding stands. Signature Moves must be approved by the DJ's. Fighters and Athletes may take Signature Move as one of their Bonus Feats.
- Hit Points:
- Max Hit Points at lvl 1
- Odd Character levels get half the hit die +1 (5 on a D8)
- Even character levels get half the hit die (4 on a D8)
- item creation:
You must still buy your equipment as normal, even if making it would be cheaper. For the most part, your sponsors are buying your gear anyway, so you don't get much more than anyone else.
HOWEVER, if you have a craft reserve or similar ability that lets you make items without an XP cost, you may use the allowance for 13th level along with any bonuses you have to make creation cheaper to make items. This represents things you've just recently made for this crawl.
A note on returning characters: Returning characters may re-buy any and all equipment, and must comply with the new rules as if they were new characters.
