1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime

[Jackinthegreen]

Feats for races with SLAs


Studied Racial Arcana: Spell-like abilities gained from your race use your Intelligence score to determine if you can cast them and what their DCs are, if any.  This feat may only be taken at 1st level.

Special: This feat applies only to the base creature's spell-like abilities and not to any gained through templates, class levels, and so on.


Intuitive Racial Arcana: Spell-like abilities gained from your race use your Wisdom score to determine if you can cast them and what their DCs are, if any.  This feat may only be taken at 1st level.

Special: This feat applies only to the base creature's spell-like abilities and not to any gained through templates, class levels, and so on.

[Garryl]

Dirty Brawling [General]
Prerequisites: BAB +1, Improved Unarmed Strike
Benefits: You can use any part of your body (fists, feet, elbows, knees, head butt, shoulder tackle, etc.) to make an unarmed strike. In addition, you can make an unarmed strike as a secondary natural attack. This allows you to make an extra unarmed strike (at your BAB -5 and adding 1/2 Str to damage) as part of a full attack, among other benefits. You can make unarmed strike natural attacks alongside and without interfering with your ability to make unarmed strike attacks as though wielding a manufactured weapon. For example, if your Base Attack Bonus were +12, you could make 3 normal unarmed strikes (at +12, +7, and +2) and a special secondary natural attack unarmed strike (at +7) as part of a full attack.

Your unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.
Special: You can select this feat up to 4 times. Each time beyond the first, the BAB requirement is +5 higher and you gain one additional secondary natural attack unarmed strike.

[Garryl]

Explosive Spells

Detonation Charge: Scribes a rune on an object. You can discharge the spell within 1 min/level to explode the object and deal 1d6/level damage in an area.
Blast Wave: Deals 2d6 damage/3 levels to creatures near you, half fire, half bludgeoning. Any damaged creature is also pushed away from you 5 ft. for every 5 damage taken.
Kinetic Wave: Deals 1d6 damage/2 levels to creatures in a cone and bull rushes them as a Gargantuan create w/ Str equal to your CL+26. Creatures pushed into walls or other impassable spaces are dungeoncrashed for an extra 1d6 damage/2 levels.

[Garryl]

Damage Subtypes
In addition to damage types (piercing, slashing, fire, acid, etc.), damage can have subtypes. These subtypes modify how the damage interacts with various abilities and defenses. Any form of subtyped damage still has a normal damage type (for example, nonlethal cold damage). Subtyped damage can be dealt alongside normal damage of the same type, or even damage of the same type but with different subtypes or combinations of subtypes (for example, an attack that deals 7 cold damage, 2 nonlethal cold damage, 5 irresistible cold damage, and 1 nonlethal irresistible cold damage).

Nonlethal Damage
(Same as normal.)
- Nonlethal damage is a damage subtype.
- Nonlethal damage is not subtracted from the creature's hit points. Instead, it accumulates.
- A creature whose nonlethal damage total equals or exceeds its hit points is staggered.
- A creature whose nonlethal damage total exceeds its hit points is unconscious.
- A creature heal 1 point of nonlethal damage per hit die each hour.
- Healing spells remove an equal amount of nonlethal damage as the normal damage that they heal.

Irresistible Damage
- Irresistible damage is a damage subtype.
- Irresistible damage is not affected by damage reduction, hardness, resistances. Irresistible damage still counts against a target's damage reduction, hardness, and resistances when determining the amount remaining to apply to the rest of the attack. For example, an attack dealing 50 acid damage and 5 irresistible acid damage to a creature with acid resistance 20 would ultimately deal 40 points of damage; the 5 irresistible acid damage would apply and also count against the acid resistance, and the 50 normal acid damage would be reduced by the remaining 15 points of acid resistance.
- Irresistible damage is not affected by damage immunities. Complete immunities to the effect as a whole (for example, immunity to mind-affecting effects) can still negate irresistible damage.
- Creatures that are normally healed by a given type of damage are neither healed nor harmed by irresistible damage of that type.

Unstoppable Damage
- Unstoppable damage is a damage subtype.
- Unstoppable damage works like irresistible damage except as follows.
- Creatures that are normally healed by a given type of damage are still harmed by unstoppable damage of that type.
- Unstoppable damage ignores regeneration and other effects that convert damage into nonlethal damage.
- Unstoppable damage ignores temporary hit points. Any unstoppable damage taken applies directly to a creature's normal hit points.
- Unstoppable damage ignores effects that prevent, negate, transfer, or absorb hit point damage, such as the shield other spell or the Energy Shield ability (Power of Cybernetics).

Normal Damage
- Not an actual damage subtype, just a convenient and unambiguous way to indicate that the damage has no subtypes.

[Amechra]

More Armor and Weapon crystals:

- "Angelkiller Crystal": Fiendslayer Crystal, except swap every reference from Good to Evil and vice-versa.
- "Weedkiller Crystal": Demolition/Truedeath Crystal equivalent for Plants.
- Phoenix Ash Threat: Rewrite it so the Greater crystal isn't weaker than the Fiery Assault Greater Crystal. Maybe throw in an Acid/Cold equivalent as well.

[Garryl]

Actions and Reactions

Actions
The action types are full-round (or full-turn if you've read one of my prior ideas in this thread), standard, move, swift, and free. (Immediate actions are replaced by swift reactions under this rule change.) During your turn, you can take 1 full-round action, 1 standard action and 1 move action, or 2 move actions, plus any number of free actions (within reason) and 1 swift action.

You can only take an action during your turn, and only when no other actions or events are being resolved (that is, you cannot take an action to interrupt or respond to another action or event).

Reactions
Reactions are just like actions, except that you can take them outside of your turn. Performing a reaction can be either in response to another action or event (in which case the reaction takes place just before, like a readied action), or at a specific time when no actions or events are taking place. Like actions, reactions have types and can be of any action type. Each ability that uses a reaction to activate it specifies the reaction type taken.

When you take a reaction outside of your turn, it counts against the actions you can take in your next turn as an action of the same type. You can take no more reactions of a given type than you have actions still available for your next turn. For example, if you were to take a move reaction, you would still be able to take a standard reaction or move reaction before your turn, but not a full-round reaction as you cannot normally take both a move action and a full-round action during your turn. If you subsequently were to become dazed, you would be unable to take any reactions as you would not have any actions at all available during your upcoming turn.

If you take a reaction during your turn, it counts against the actions you can take during that same turn. It does not interfere with your next turn's actions or with other reactions taken after your turn ends.

Existing Rule Changes
- Anything that refers to an immediate action now refers to a swift reaction.
- The Anticipatory Strike power lets you take any action or actions as reactions as part of manifesting it.
- The Celerity line of spells don't give you an extra action, but instead let you take an action of the appropriate type as a reaction. Bypassing the daze effect consequently just lets you take your remaining actions during your turn. Goodbye action abuse.
- Talking is a free reaction.
- Any other actions that can be taken outside your turn are reactions.

[Garryl]

Magic Tools

Like magic weapons and armor, but for skill-boosting tools.
- Tool must be masterwork.
- Grants an enhancement bonus on skill checks for the tool's skill (although since mwk tools give a circumstance bonus, it stacks, unlike with the enhancement bonus of mwk weapons).
- Maximum +20 raw enhancement bonus, or +40 effective bonus.
- Cost is 100 gp * effective enhancement bonus squared (maxes out at 160k gp for a +40 tool).

Infallible (+4): Reroll any skill check where you roll 10 or less. Only rerolls once. Does not apply when taking 10.
Focused (+4): Reduce the time to take 20 to only 5x normal.
Greater Focused (+12): Reduce the time to take 20 to only 2x normal. Can take 10 while distracted or threatened.
Assisting (+4): Aid another 1/round as a swift action. Recipient gains tool's enhancement bonus if aid another is successful.
Novice's (+4): Allows skill to be used untrained.

[Garryl]

Alignment Points

- 4 types: Good, Evil, Lawful, Chaotic
- Your effective alignment on each axis is whichever you have the most of by a wide margin. If you have at least twice as many alignment points in one direction (for example, 200+ Good with 100 Evil), you count as that alignment. If the two are close (neither is 2x as large as the other), you count as neutral on that axis.
- A starting character has 100 points to divide along each axis.
- Taking levels in various classes adds alignment points at each class level.
Barbarian: +5 Chaotic
Bard: +2 Chaotic
Cleric: +5 towards deity's alignment on each axis (or +5 on both ends for a neutral axis).
Druid: +2 Chaotic, +2 Evil, +2 Good, +2 Lawful
Paladin: +10 Good, +5 Lawful
- Actions that are associated with one alignment or another (the kind of stuff that would, with persistent action, eventually lead to alignment shift) grants points towards that alignment.
- Actions that are strongly associated with one alignment or another (the kind of stuff that would rather rapidly lead to alignment shift) also removes points from the opposing alignment.
- Spells and effects like Atonement don't instantly change alignment. They just add some number of points one way or another.

The goal of this variant rule set is to...
- Provide a number to go with this, because who doesn't love numbers complicating otherwise simple mechanics. Go go computer gameification!
- Providing a more tangible means for DMs to give feedback on how they feel players' characters are acting.
- Force DMs not to suddenly declare the change of player alignment out of the blue (whether seemingly out of the blue or because the DM is a jerk).
- Represent the weight of experience. Folks that have lived longer lives will have accumulated more alignment points and would thus be harder to influence away from their principles, while younger, less experienced individuals would be more likely to shift about as they discover themselves.

[Garryl]

Mirror Mastery [General]
Prerequisites: Ability to cast mirror image or produce a similar effect.
Benefits: Your mirror images have Armor Class equal to your own. Special senses, barring those that specifically defeat illusions (such as true seeing), sense your mirror images just like you.
Normal: Mirror images from the mirror image spell have AC 10 + your size modifier + your Dex modifier.

[Garryl]

Variant - Skip to the good stuff

Under this variant, whenever you gain a level in a base class, choose a level up to your effective character level (yes, including LA) that you haven't already chosen for that class. You gain all of the increased benefits that that class grants at that level. This does not grant you any benefits of that class from a lower level. For example, a Fighter 2 who took a level of Rogue could choose to gain the features of a 1st level Rogue (Trapfinding, Sneak Attack +1d6, and +2 to Reflex saves), of a 2nd level Rogue (Evasion, +1 BAB, and +1 to Reflex saves), or  of a 3rd level Rogue (Sneak Attack +1d6, Trap Sense +1, +1 BAB, and +1 to Fortitude and Will saves).

Proficiencies are granted to any member of a class, regardless of which level is selected.

For class features that scale with class level, you only gain the increase granted at a given level when you select that level. If you don't yet have the class feature that is improving, you gain the class feature, but only at the strength of the increase. For example, a multiclassed Wizard who choose the 4th level of Wizard to gain would acquire a spellbook with only 2 spells in it (the two learned for free for gaining a new level of Wizard after 1st) and would have a 1 1st-level spell slot and 1 2nd-level spell slot (plus bonuses for a high Intelligence score) as those are the additional spell slots a single-classed Wizard would newly gain at 4th level. The multiclassed Wizard's caster level would only be 1st, not 4th, and he would not gain a familiar, as the familiar's benefits only improve at odd-numbered class levels.

[Garryl]

Unliving subtype, like living construct for undead. There are several different homebrewed equivalents for this. I know that F&K's Tome has one (split with Dark Minded as well), SirP's got something for Lifetorn race (and a similar Bloodsap subtype for plants), etc.

• Unlike other undead, an unliving creature has a Constitution score. An unliving creature gains (or loses) bonus hit points through a Constitution bonus (or penalty) as with other living creatures.
• Unlike other undead, an unliving creature does not have darkvision.
• Unlike other undead, an unliving creature is not immune to mind-affecting effects.
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, and disease, as normal. Unlike other undead, an unliving creature is not immune to paralysis, stunning, or death effects.
• Unlike other undead, unliving creatures are subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, energy drain, ability damage, fatigue, and exhaustion.
• Unlike other undead, an unliving creature can heal damage naturally, even if it is mindless.
• Unlike other undead, unliving creatures are subject to effects requiring a Fort save.
• Unlike other undead, an unliving creatures does not use its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
• An unliving creature responds slightly differently from other living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. An unliving creature with 0 hit points is disabled, just like a living creature. He can only take a single move action or standard action in each round, but strenuous activity does not risk further injury. When his hit points are less than 0 and greater than -10, an unliving creature is inert. He is unconscious and helpless, and he cannot perform any actions. However, an inert unliving creature does not lose additional hit points unless more damage is dealt to him, as with a living creature that is stable.
• TODO: Being raised/resurrected.
• Unliving creatures can be affected by spells that target living creatures as well as by those that target undead. Damage dealt to an unliving creature can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or an inflict light wounds spell, for example, and an unliving creature is vulnerable to a circle of death spell. However, spells from the healing subschool provide only half effect to an unliving creature.
  
• Does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, but can still benefit from the effects of consumable spells and magic items such as heroes' feast and potions.
  

(click to show/hide)

Undead traits

• No Constitution score.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
• Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
• Cannot heal damage on its own if it has no Intelligence score, although it can be healed. Negative energy (such as an inflict spell) can heal undead creatures. The fast healing special quality works regardless of the creature’s Intelligence score.
• Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
• Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
• Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.
• Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
• Proficient with its natural weapons, all simple weapons, and any weapons mentioned in its entry.
• Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Undead not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Undead are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor.
• Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.

Living Construct Traits

• Unlike other constructs, a living construct has a Constitution score. A living construct does not gain bonus hit points by size but gains (or loses) bonus hit points through a Constitution bonus (or penalty) as with other living creatures.
• Unlike other constructs, a living construct does not have low-light vision or darkvision.
• Unlike other constructs, a living construct is not immune to mind-influencing effects.
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, and energy drain.
• A living construct cannot heal damage naturally.
• Unlike other constructs, living constructs are subject to critical hits, effects requiring a Fort save, death from massive damage, nonlethal damage, stunning, ability damage, ability drain, and death effects or necromancy effects.
• Unlike other constructs, a living construct can use the run action.
• Living constructs can be affected by spells that target living creatures as well as by those that target constructs. Damage dealt to a living construct can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or a repair light damage spell, for example, and a living construct is vulnerable to a harm spell. However, spells from the healing subschool provide only half effect to a living construct.
• A living construct responds slightly differently from other living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. A living construct with 0 hit points is disabled, just like a living creature. He can only take a single move action or standard action in each round, but strenuous activity does not risk further injury. When his hit points are less than 0 and greater than -10, a living construct is inert. He is unconscious and helpless, and he cannot perform any actions. However, an inert living construct does not lose additional hit points unless more damage is dealt to him, as with a living creature that is stable.
• Can be raised or resurrected.
• Does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, but can still benefit from the effects of consumable spells and magic items such as heroes' feast and potions.
• Does not need to sleep, but must rest for 8 hours before preparing spells.

[Pity Crit]

1. Minimum roll rules for rogue skill checks and initiative. E.g. your minimum d20 result on skills and initiative is 1 plus your rogue levels.

2. Minimum roll rules for fighter and monk melee attacks. This doesn't scale as well, so I would think their level divided by 2 might work.

[Jackinthegreen]

Allow the kusari-gama as a Shadow Hand weapon.

[Amechra]

Infrastructure Magic Locations/Magic Architecture, but Soulmelds.

[Jackinthegreen]

Adaptable Grip:

Feat, class ability, could even be a weapon enhancement, whatever.

Benefit:  Reduce the attack roll penalties for using an improperly-sized weapon by 2.  For example, a Medium character with this ability could wield a Large morningstar in two hands with no penalty instead of the usual -2.

Might also want an ability that allows for improperly-sized reach weapons to still benefit the character wielding them based on the character's size.  For example, a Medium character wielding a Small spiked chain could still get the benefits of reach and adjacent.  As per the Rules Compendium page 151, wielding a reach weapon that's intended for a character smaller than the wielder means it does not grant reach, thus the Small spiked chain example wouldn't work.

Speaking of that, a reach weapon meant for a Tiny creature ought to allow it to threaten the area in adjacent squares.  As per the size rules at http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/movementPositionAndDistance.htm#bigandLittleCreaturesInCombat, Tiny and smaller creatures don't threaten the area around them and must move into an opponent's square to attack it.

[Garryl]

Astral Snare
Abjuration
Level: Sor/Wiz 7
Duration: 1 day/level (D)
Save: None
SR: No

This spell creates a magical trap that ensnares teleporting travelers. When you cast it, designate a location on another plane (other than the Astral Plane). Any attempt at teleportation to or directly through that location is at risk of being caught in the snare.

The snare covers an area up to a {distance} radius around the chosen location. Any teleportation effect passing through the area is halted in the middle of its effect, leaving the travelers stranded on the Astral Plane in the general area in which this spell was cast. A successful caster level check (DC 11 + your CL) allows a teleportation effect to bypass the snare. Additionally, you can specify a password or define certain criteria of teleporters that the snare selects for or ignores (such as by race, name, alignment, number of travelers, and so forth). If any of the travelers within a given teleportation effect match the snare's criteria, the snare tries to catch all of the travelers.

In order to select a location to ensnare travelers, either you must have a strong, personal connection to the location (for example, your home or your place of birth), you must possess an object closely tied to the location (for example, a stone from a building's foundation), or it must be the last place you were at before entering the Astral Plane. For each of these beyond the first, the DC to bypass the snare increases by 5.

Teleportation effects that do not go through the Astral Plane are not caught by this spell. Non-teleportation travel (such as shadow walk or astral caravan) is also unimpeded. Certain particularly powerful effects, such as the transport travelers option of the wish spell, are also capable of ignoring this spell.

This spell can only be cast on the Astral Plane. It has no effect within other planes.

Astral snare can be found and disarmed as a magical trap, both at the chosen location and at the place of casting on the Astral Plane.

[Garryl]

Greater Revivify: 7th level, as revivify except that it works as resurrection instead of raise dead, can affect subjects dead up to 1 minute instead of 1 round, and costs 2500 gp instead of 500 gp.

True Revivify: 9th level, as revivify except that it works as true resurrection instead of raise dead, can affect subjects dead up to 1 hour instead of 1 round, and costs 12500 gp instead of 500 gp.

[Jackinthegreen]

Intimidating Toughness.

Requires dwarf.  Might be a feat, racial ACF, whatever.

Benefit:  Use Con mod instead of Cha for all Intimidate checks.

You're so tough the enemy is scared of you.

[Jackinthegreen]

Allow Improved Buckler Defense to work for wielding a two-handed weapon as well.  As written it's only for TWF.

But at least it's better than Two Weapon Defense and the rest of that line, though that's not saying much.

[sirpercival]

Whoops, pls delete