Advancement house rules

Character creation/advancement houserules

My campaigns use the Medium advancement rate (CRB30).

At character creation no stat can be lower than 8, no stat can be higher than 20. (Both after racial bonuses/penalties.)

Maximum Level

As I'm using an adventure path that expects characters to have certain levels at certain times, I use the following rules (basically the ones I used during Savage Tide.)

The maximum level is considered to be the lower of: The level indicated as appropriate for the next adventure, or two levels above the lowest level character currently in play.

If you reach the maximum level, you only get half xp.

Once you get to 1 xp from leveling up past maximum level, you stop gaining xp entirely until the maximum level is raised (i.e. by entering the next adventure or by no longer being two levels above the lowest level character.)

Any xp you do not receieve is shared out equally among all characters of the lowest level in the group, as long as it's lower than yours.

Prestige Classes/Switching classes

Allowed in some campaigns.

  • Ask me first (I won't allow all combinations.)
  • You must, in play, find a willing teacher to be able to switch to a prestige class. You must also convince the teacher to teach you, see below.
  • Switching classes can only be done while leveling up. During the level you are leaving, you must have had access to a willing teacher (or teachers) with the class and archetype(s) you want to switch to.
  • The closer you are to fulfilling the prerequisites, the easier it will be to convince the teacher. Specific details on how to convince the teacher are not available at your security rating (most likely a good reason, a hefty fee, and one or more rolls against some appropriate attribute, with a DC that rapidly gets higher the more prerequisites your are missing.)
  • If you are missing any prerequisites, the first act of the teacher will be to require you to retrain until you have all prerequisites.

Learning spells

I'm of the firm opinion that it's too easy to learn spells from scrolls and spellbooks. So, the rules for this are from now on:

  • You must know the language the spellbook's writer used when writing. (Spells can handle this requirement.)
  • The Spellcraft DC to learn from a book or scroll is 20 + 2 * spell level. To try again, you either need another spellbook or scroll to learn from, or wait until you have leveled up in that spellcasting class.
  • A failure to learn from a scroll uses up the scroll, even if it was not a mishap.

Overpowered Options

If you find a powerful feat/spell/combination of things/whatever making you outshine the others, save it for the appropriate moment. I'll probably nerf it (or possibly disallow it entirely) after the first or second use to keep the group on a reasonably even footing...

If something is disallowed in Pathfinder Society play, I'm highly unlikely to allow it in my campaigns. For a list of what is allowed and not in Pathfinder Society, follow this link:

http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/about/additionalResources

I have not yet edited the hero lab campaign file to remove stuff I disallow, but I'll get around to it eventually.