21d 15:22:31 until the OGMW forums will transition to fully read-only mode. Read more here.
For consistency with the new site, OGMW now accepts email address as a login credential in addition to user name. User name will eventually be removed, so we recommend getting in the habit of using email address going forward.
Just a bunch of custom rules I came up with while mulling over the d20 Modern system for a game I'm in. Suggestions, questions and constructive criticisms are welcome:
Just a bunch of custom rules I came up with while mulling over the d20 Modern system for a game I'm in. Suggestions, questions and constructive criticisms are welcome:
Dead Aim Feat Change:
Take Aim Action:
Evasion/Improved Evasion Talent Change:
Thrown Weapon Changes:
Placed Explosive Save DC Changes:
The Save DC for a placed explosive is now Base DC + 1 for every increment of 5 in excess of 15 on the Demolitions check made to place it.
Autofire Changes:
Save DC is now equal to 10 + Number of bullets fired / 2 (rounded down, max 20 bullets, minimum 6 bullets) + Dexterity bonus. Each level of the Weapon Focus feat for the firing weapon increases the DC by 1. The Advanced Firearm Proficiency and Strafe feats each increase the DC by 1, reflecting the increase in Autofire proficiency gained with the acquisition of those feats.
For each increment of 5 that a character fails his Reflex save by, he takes an additional dice of damage up to the maximum number of shots fired. For example, if Bob rolls 10 against an Autofire Reflex save DC of 20 from a gun that does 2d6 damage, he suffers 2 additional dice of damage, or another 2d6; 20 minus 10 divided by 5 equals 2 increments of 5.
Characters can increase the length or width of the Autofire area by up to 5 feet per 5 bullets fired above 10, if they waive the DC bonus provided by those additional bullets. This increase in area is transferable to use of the Strafe feat, allowing a character using the feat to target a number of five foot squares in a straight line up to the number of five foot squares in the new Autofire area.
Suppressive Fire:
Characters within 10 feet of the area of effect of a hostile Autofire attack or one of unknown origin who do not benefit from total cover, or take damage from it must make a Will save against Fear with a DC equal to that of the Autofire's or immediately stop and drop into a Prone position, whether or not that Autofire attack actually hits them. If they've taken damage from the Autofire, this DC increases by the damage dealt to them. A character who drops prone in this way must make another Will save against the same DC whenever he willingly attempts to get up from the prone position for one round; failure means the action is wasted and the character remains prone. If a character cannot go prone and fails the Will save, they flee as if panicked instead for one round towards (and behind if possible) the nearest piece of cover. Cover applies a bonus to all Will saves made against Suppressive Fire equal to its Reflex save bonus.
Mindless creatures, and characters immune to Fear and Mind-Affecting effects are immune to this effect.
Burst Fire Changes:
Players can now utilize all of the abilities granted by the Burst Fire feat, such as firing a burst of gunfire at an enemy. However, all penalties inflicted by the use of those abilities are doubled. For example, Bob would suffer a -8 penalty for attempting a basic Burst Fire on an opponent. If he attempted to utilize the Full-Auto ability, he'd suffer an additional -4 penalty to his attack for every additional damage dice added to it instead of the normal -2.
Three shot burst modes are specially calibrated to maximize accuracy while minimizing ammo consumption. The base attack roll penalty for using them in a Burst Fire attack is thus -3 instead of the normal -4 (-6 for users without the Burst Fire feat).
Players with the Burst Fire feat can attempt a new type of attack called Full-Auto:
Full-Auto: As part of a Burst Fire attack, characters may fire additional bullets by going full-auto. Every 3 additional bullets beyond the first 5 add +1 to an attack's damage dice, and -2 to hit (to a maximum of 15 additional bullets, or +5 damage dice, and -10 to hit). Controlled burst modes (such as the 3 shot burst mode) cannot fire additional bullets in this way, and weapons with such settings must be fired on full-auto in order to utilize this functionality.
Hiding Objects/Other Creatures:
Hiding a 5 foot cube of creatures or objects is a full-round action, that uses the Hide skill, and is subject to the rules governing that skill. Finding a creature or object hidden in this way can be done with either the Spot or Search skill. The size of the object/creature penalizes or benefits the Hide result as usual for a creature of the same size. Creatures/objects hidden in this way that move from their location are no longer hidden.
Called Shots:
Called Shots cannot be used in conjunction with a Burst/Autofire, or a Full Attack. Making a Called Shot is a full-round action.
On a successful, untargeted hit, the to-hit roll corresponds with the following body parts:
20 = Head
18-19 = Right Arm
16-17 = Left Arm
14-15 = Right Leg
12-13 = Left Leg
11 and Below = Torso
He then rolls another 1d20 to determine a critical threat as usual.
A player can alternatively and deliberately aim for a particular body part. The effects of hitting each body part, along with their defensive bonuses are as follows:
Called Shot (Head):
A humanoid creature's head is typically 3 size categories smaller than its entire body (Diminutive on Medium chars, +4 to Defense).
A hit against the head provokes a Fortitude save with a DC equal to 10 + Damage dealt. Failure means the target takes an equal amount of non-lethal damage and is dazed for a number of rounds equal to the amount he failed the Fortitude save by.
Failure by 10 or more means the target immediately takes non-lethal damage equal to its maximum HP and suffers 1d4 points of permanent Intelligence, Charisma and Wisdom drain (each rolled separately).
Any weapon that strikes the head enjoys a +10 circumstance bonus to its Critical Threat range.
Failing on a Massive Damage save concerning the head results in instant death, lowering the victim's HP to -10 immediately.
Called Shot (Arm):
A humanoid creature's arm is typically 2 size categories smaller than its entire body (Tiny on Medium chars, +2 to Defense).
A hit against an arm provokes a Fortitude save with a DC equal to 10 + Damage dealt. Failure means the target drops all items held by the targeted arm, and suffers a -2 penalty to his attack bonus and all Dexterity and Strength checks and skill checks involving that arm for a number of rounds equal to the amount he failed the save by until subject to magical healing or a successful DC 15 Treat Injury check.
Failure by 10 or more means the targeted limb is broken/disabled and cannot be used until successfully healed via magical healing or Surgery (DC 20 Treat Injury).
Any weapon that strikes the arm suffers a -5 circumstance penalty to its Critical Threat range. If this would reduce its Critical Threat range below 20, upon rolling a 20 to hit the character firing the weapon must roll more than the excess reduction on an additional d20 to threaten a critical hit (for example, if Bob hits Todd with a knife in the arm that normally has a threat range of 19-20, and rolls 20 on his attack, he must roll another d20, and roll higher than 4 to score the critical since that is excess threat range reduction over 20).
Failing on a Massive Damage save concerning an arm removes the limb rather than its usual effect. In addition to losing use of the limb, the victim bleeds profusely, suffering -4 to all saves, skill checks, attack rolls and defense due to extreme pain, and 1d6 lethal and non-lethal damage each round until victim is magically healed, or is subject to a successful DC 15 Treat Injury check to stabilize. A successful DC 15 Fortitude save halves the recurring damage from bleeding (round down), though the DC increases by 1 each subsequent round until the character is healed.
Called Shot (Leg):
A humanoid creature's leg is typically 2 size categories smaller than its entire body (Tiny on Medium chars, +2 to Defense).
Fort Save DC = to 10 + Damage. Character falls prone on a failure and suffers a 5 foot penalty to speed (to a minimum of 5 feet) and all Dexterity and Strength checks and skill checks involving that leg for a number of rounds equal to the amount he failed the save by until subject to magical healing or a successful DC 15 Treat Injury check.
Failure by 10 or more means the targeted limb is broken/disabled and cannot be used until successfully healed via magical healing or Surgery (DC 20 Treat Injury). In addition the target's speed is halved until healed. If all of the victim's legs are broken or disabled, he immediately falls prone and must crawl.
Any weapon that strikes the leg suffers a -5 circumstance penalty to its Critical Threat range. If this would reduce its Critical Threat range below 20, upon rolling a 20 to hit, the character firing the weapon must roll more than the excess reduction on an additional d20 to threaten a critical hit (for example, if Bob shoots Todd with a pistol in the leg that normally has a threat range of 20, and rolls 20 on his attack, he must roll another d20, and roll higher than 5 to score the critical since that is the excess threat range reduction over 20).
Failing on a Massive Damage save concerning a leg removes the limb rather than its usual effect. In addition to losing use of the limb, the victim bleeds profusely, suffering -4 to all saves, skill checks, attack rolls and defense due to extreme pain, and 1d6 lethal and non-lethal damage each round until victim is magically healed, or is subject to a successful DC 15 Treat Injury check to stabilize. A successful DC 15 Fortitude save halves the recurring damage from bleeding (round down), though the DC increases by 1 each subsequent round until the character is healed.
Called Shot (Torso):
1 size category smaller than target (Small for Medium sized characters, +1 to Defense). Reacts normally to damage. Critical threat range is increased by 2 due to careful aim; this applies only if a called shot to the Torso was actually made, not if it was randomly hit.
Armour Changes:
Armour provides 1 DR/- for every point of AC it would bestow (this stacks with other sources of DR the character may possess). Armour piercing munitions ignore one dice of DR/Hardness equal to the size of their weapon's damage dice instead of granting an Attack Bonus versus armoured targets (for example, an armour piercing round for a Barrett Light Fifty would ignore 1d12 DR/Hardness).
Characters not proficient in the armour they wear do not incur any penalty to the DR provided by it, enjoying the same DR as those that are proficient, but do suffer a reduction in Defense equal to its armour penalty.
Armour Damage:
Armour gains 1 point of Hardness in addition to its base Hardness for every point of AC it would provide. Armour is damaged whenever the player suffers more damage than its new Hardness. Any excess damage is subtracted from its HP, deducting 1 point from its DR per point of HP damage to a minimum of 1. Steel and Kevlar have a base Hardness of 10. Most armours can be repaired with an Average (DC 15) Repair check, provided sufficient materials, tools and time. More complex armours (such as powered/nano tech armours) can have Repair DCs as high as 20 or 25 if they are particularly advanced.
Spot/Listen Proximity Bonus:
Characters receive a +4 Circumstance bonus to their Spot and Listen checks versus creatures that are 30 feet or closer to them. This bonus decreases by 1 for every 10 feet of distance between the character and the creature as normal.
Cover Changes:
Cover does not provide a bonus to defense. Instead, it provides concealment proportionate to its cover value (i.e. one-half cover provides 50% concealment). If an attack misses due to the concealment a piece of cover provides, it counts as hitting the cover, dealing damage to it. If the attack's damage overcomes the Hardness and Hit Points of the cover, it passes through and hits the target. Subtract the damage dealt to the cover and absorbed by its Hardness from the damage dealt to the target.
If a target benefits from both cover and concealment (something that detracts from accuracy without physically blocking a shot like darkness/smoke), make two separate rolls for each to determine whether the attack misses. Roll to see if concealment causes a miss first.
Critical Successes/Failures:
When rolling a 20 or 1 on any sort of roll where it would guarantee success or failure respectively, roll another d20. Only if a second 20 or 1 is rolled in this way will a guaranteed success or failure occur.
Alternate Base Attack Progressions:
Each class has a separate base attack progression for ranged and melee attacks as follows:
Basic Classes:
Strong Hero:
Melee: High
Ranged: High
Fast Hero:
Melee: Medium
Ranged: High
Tough Hero:
Melee: High
Ranged: Medium
Smart Hero:
Melee: Low
Ranged: Low
Dedicated Hero:
Melee: Medium
Ranged: Medium
Charismatic Hero:
Melee: Low
Ranged: Low
Advanced Classes:
Soldier:
Melee: Medium
Ranged: High
Martial Artist:
Melee: High
Ranged: Low
Gunslinger:
Melee: Medium
Ranged: High
Infiltrator:
Melee: (Player chooses whether this or Ranged is High; the other is Low)
Ranged: (Player chooses whether this or Melee is High; the other is Low)
Daredevil:
Melee: Low
Ranged: Low
Field Scientist:
Melee: Low
Ranged: Low
Bodyguard:
Melee: High
Ranged: Medium
Techie:
Melee: Low
Ranged: Low
Field Medic
Melee: Low
Ranged: Low
Personality
Melee: Low
Ranged: Low
Investigator
Melee: Medium
Ranged: Medium
Negotiator
Melee: Medium
Ranged: Medium
Posture in Combat; Kneeling and Prone:
The fact that kneeling and going prone are actually _detrimental_ to ranged attacks completely irks me. To this end I've given these postures the following advantages and disadvantages:
Kneeling:
+1 to Attack Rolls on Ranged Attacks.
+2 to Defense vs Ranged Attacks.
+1 Circumstance Bonus to Hide.
-2 to Reflex saves.
-2 to Defense vs Melee Attacks.
-2 to Attack Rolls on Melee Attacks.
Movement speed halved.
Prone:
+2 to Attack Rolls on Ranged Attacks.
+4 to Defense vs Ranged Attacks.
+2 Circumstance Bonus to Hide.
Explosive and area of effect damage dealt to character reduced by 50% if not in epicenter/directly hit.
-4 to Reflex saves.
-4 to Defense vs Melee Attacks.
-4 to Attack Rolls on Melee Attacks.
Character may only move by crawling.
Structural Damage:
A 5 foot by 5 foot wall has a total amount of HP equal to its thickness in inches, * height in inches (60) * length in inches (60), * the HP per inch of the material it's comprised of. For example, a 1 inch thick section of a 5 foot by foot wooden barrier has a total HP of 36,000. Typically however, only its length in inches (60) * its thickness in inches * HP per unit of thickness is required to effectively collapse and destroy it, and this is also the figure relied upon to determine degradation of the cover it provides. The amount of damage required to merely penetrate it is as normal. Concussive/explosive damage is squared versus structural targets like walls.
The cover provided by a wall or other obstacle, and its break DC degrades as it takes damage and is generally proportionate to its HP. A wall that provides total cover for example, provides only half cover when at 50% HP, and three quarters cover when at 75% HP. If that same wall has a break DC of 30, it is reduced to 15, and 23 respectively (round fractional amounts up).
Area of Effect Damage Decrementation:
Area of effect damage from things such as explosives and heat decrements at a rate of 1 damage per 5 feet of distance from the epicentre. For example, if Bob is 10 feet away from the epicenter of a fragmentation grenade that rolled 13 damage, he takes only 11 damage.
A player can change the weapon associated with these feats by intensively training for at least 40 hours total with a new weapon to benefit from them. Each of these feats can only benefit one weapon at a time, and the benefits applied to the old weapon are permanently lost until regained in this way.
Short Range Bonus to Hit:
Ranged weapons used on a target at half their range increment or closer have a +2 Circumstance bonus to hit.
Ranged weapons used on a target at a fourth of their range increment or closer have a +4 Circumstance bonus to hit.
You included the hands and feet as well I see. Personally I was aiming to maximize simplicity with my called shot system in the sense that I didn't want to get too granular with the locations.
Amoungst other things. The main change in my rules is not about change in armour or addition of critical hit locations, it is about the reduction in hit points per level. As I have play tested these rules for a long time I can tell you that they work really well and make the game very exciting.
Going over your rules more thoroughly, they strike me as more of a system change than a series of custom rules. The intent of mine were to address very specific things that I thought were amiss, rather than aiming for sweeping reforms.
I see that you're trying to keep high level characters threatened, and I applaud that. Concerning this goal, I think my own rules also present threats for higher level characters in the form of Burst Fire attacks with higher potential damage, and of course headshots for characters with greater finesse.