Dumb Unnecessary AC Sources

AC rules where your characters have a base that is the same if they're wearing nothing or wearing normal clothes are a nice gameplay abstraction, but not super “realistic”. People wear clothes to protect themselves from the elements and from nature; your character is most vulnerable when nude! They shouldn't have the same AC as when they're wearing clothes. So...

For each one of these totally unnecessary rules you add, reduce the base AC of your game by -1

1. Shoes grant +1 AC when worn. Having your shoe sucked off by quicksand or destroyed means your feet are more vulnerable, making an easy target.
2. As long as you're wielding a melee weapon, gain +1 AC. You can use the weapon to parry and deflect blows. Alternatively, this only applies to weapons longer then a dagger.
3. If your character is fully clothed, add +2 AC. Reduce base AC by 2 instead of 1. Skimpy clothes like loincloths only grant +1 AC
4. Fighting with any kind of protection for your head (hat or helmet) grants +1 extra AC. You need this to keep the sun out of your eyes, and to avoid your hair being grabbed.
5. If you're fighting in a uniform or under war banner; you get +1 AC. Fighting with a group makes you more intimating and less likely to be singled out- zebra logic.
6. If your character is clean shaven or well groomed, they get +1 AC. Fighting while dirt or unwashed is a disadvantage, you're more likely to get caught on things or your own hair being used to grab and put you in a dangerous position.
7. If you're fighting in a lighting condition that favors you, gain +1 AC. This isn't exactly the same as a negative modifier to enemies striking you, you have better footing. Orcs and subterranean creatures get +1 AC in darkness, surface dwellers get +1 AC in light.
8. If you're dry, warm, and not savaged by the elements gain +1 AC. Characters who get wet or bogged down by flies or otherwise disadvantaged by nature carry this into combat. Bit of a play on the idea of using things like “Freezing cold” or “Wet” as a negative condition that fills an inventory slot, ala Skerples or Goblin Punch.

I have no idea why I wrote this. You could also use the above as a 1d8 table.

ASU- Combat

Last time I wrote about my homebrew ASU I gave the overly story game, narrative version of the combat system. While I'm still a fan of it I also have come to appreciate numerical systems of combat more, and can understand why many would want a more structured game. For both myself and others, I have an alternate set of rules for my basic rule system that works a little better for a tabletop game.

Combat Rules

Every round, each character must roll their class HD as their initiative dice. Higher numbers go first. If they roll a 6 or higher, they get advantage on their attack roll. If they roll a 10 or higher, they can either choose to deal double damage on their attack if they hit OR attack two separate enemies. Sages use d6, Rogues use d8, and Fighters use d10 for their combat dice.

To hit, roll 1d20 vs target's AC. Enemies have a base AC of 10 + modifiers from the creature itself, environmental elements like darkness, and fear or morale penalties. AC above 16 is meant to be very rare to avoid fights taking too long. On a hit, you roll your class die for damage. Sages deal 1d6 damage with all weapons, Rogues 1d8, and Fighters 1d10. You can only roll damage like this if you are armed with a real, functional weapon. Broken or improvised weapons may deal reduced damage, and unarmed attacks may deal only 1 damage or no damage at all. Weapons can be differentiated by weapon training, or by using the fiction. Skeletons still can't be hurt by arrows and such. Two handed weapons get to roll your damage die twice and taking the bigger result.

Hit Dice Rules

Characters roll their class HD at 1^st level and once every level after. Your minimum starting HP is 2, so if you roll a 1 you count it as a 2 instead for first level only. For every point of Constitution modifier, you roll additional hit dice each level and take the highest for positive or lowest for negative. This incentives players to consider playing as a Fighter if they roll high constitution as opposed to a Wizard in traditional D&D, as they will get much more out of that swingy d10 and take highest then much smaller range of the Sage's d6.

Monsters also use HD. Creatures with 10 HD are considered the most powerful, as the players cap at level 10. Monsters also use their number of HD as their initiative, meaning a highly powerful monster gets to go first more often. Some monsters break this rule, very fast creatures may be able to always go first or very slow creatures may always go last regardless of their HD. If a player exploits a monster's weakness or uses a hex to lower its HD temporarily, this would also lower its initiative and other tacked-on features of high HD, such as resistance to spells and so on.

Armor Rules

Each class has a maximum AC. Sages have 12, Rogues 14, and Fighters 16. Each piece of armor, dexterity bonus, weapon specialization bonus, and magical bonuses count towards but cannot exceed this limit. This means a very dexterous Fighter highly trained with parrying swords could wear no armor but yet have maximum AC, and a Sage could reach their maximum AC by just putting on gloves and a helmet.

There is also no class based armor restrictions; Sages can wear heavy metal plates if they choose, but their AC is still capped at 12 and each point of AC gained from heavy armor gives -1 to combat saves, so they will opt for something like a gambeson instead. This system does allow more freedom for characters overall; as an MU can now totally wear the metal skullcap that lets him see invisible creatures and, if it gives him maximum AC, can just wear robes for the rest of his outfit.

Ego Weapons

Magic weapons can seemingly have a mind of their own. They demand to be wielded by powerful warriors, and those without the skill or power to use them will be betrayed. Magic weapons have an Ego score which is the minimum point total the user must have to avoid being negatively impacted by the weapon or to avoid waking up one morning with the weapon vanished to find a worthy master.

Ego points are calculated by the user's class and charisma modifier. Each level as a Fighter class get +1 ego point, half fighters get +½ point per level, and non-fighting classes get no points. Each positive point of charisma modifier counts as +1 Ego point. If you meet the weapon's Ego score, you will not receive the negative impacts of the weapon or be betrayed by it when you need it most. If you have double the weapon's Ego score it may be imprinted on you and attempt to return to your if stolen, or cause its negative effect to happen on your aggressive if they try to turn it upon you.

March is Monster Month + Monster Rules

How about an entire month dedicated to monsters? I like the idea, but I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with it. Let's try it anyway. For the Month of march, The Manse will only produce the highest quality content with the best homemade “art” with a focus on monsters and fighting monsters.

Monster Rules

Instead of scaling AC and To-Hit, monsters get +1 damage per HD. This makes armor more important for players, and also makes fighters good. The +1 damage per HD also means that monsters are scaling to keep up with the players; a minimum of 1/HD of their health with each hit, reducing HP bloat at higher levels of the game.

Monsters also have a discipline or morale. In order to sneak up to or past a monster, you have to roll a d20 + stealth OVER their morale. Monsters also save with their morale; roll d20 UNDER their morale to save in combat. Spell saves run on a separate system for them, or they just have the basic saving throw.

I like these changes to monster HD as it makes small squads of highly motivated or trained monsters just as dangerous as high powered HD monsters in different ways. Monsters take a morale check on the first one of them that goes down, and again when half their number is depleted. But what about monsters without morale, like zombies and undead? Are they always able to be sneaked past, or never? What about combat saves- is it trivial or impossible to trip a zombie? Personally I'd make it depend on the monster. You can always succeed on maneuvers and sneaking against a zombie, but a stone guardian meant to protect a tomb of a king? There's no way you can sneak past that.

10 Thicker Skins

[1] Special orange pumice stones from the southern deserts. Rubbing it along your skin lets you treat it as leather. 2 days after you use a stone, your skin peels and burns horribly, giving you -2 to all saves unless you spend a day resting.

Each stone can be bought for 100 coins.

[2] Sit under a waterfall and let the water flow on you while you meditate for 30 minutes. You can also use a fountain or a helper to pour water over you, but it takes twice as long.

As long as you keep mental focus and don't take damage, you can treat your skin's AC as chain. You can learn this from a wandering ronin.

[3] Gut and skin a forest boar by yourself. You have to kill it with a spear made of wood, the tip hardened in a fire, and twist the pig's innards around a sacred evergreen tree, then bury the boar's skin in a clearing.

As long as no human sets foot in that clearing, you may treat your skin's AC as chainmail.

[4] Druids of 4^th level and Barbarians of 9^th level or higher can anoint a 'champion' with war paint. The champion cannot wear any clothes or fight against the interests of the administer of the paint; else it wears off and the protection is lost.

While painted, the champion counts the AC of their skin as platemail.

[5] You must be accused of a minor crime that you did not commit. The crime's punishment must be humiliating and painful, but not serious enough for long term imprisonment or death.

After enduring your time in the stockade or getting flogged by children, your skin hardens as chainmail. This lasts until people have either naturally forgiven you or realize you aren't guilty.

[6] Spend a month in silent service to a blind crone. You must grab objects she reaches for, perform basic tasks, and help her get around without ever saying a word, explaining your purpose, or accepting any payment.

If you do, you receive AC as leather until she naturally passes away.

[7] Knighting Potion. Grants your skin AC as plate and makes anything you hold in your hands glow. Lasts for 3 exploration turns.

Requires the tears of a knight to create, which is required to get anyone to brew these for you. Also costs 400+ coins.

[8] Turtle-Kin race. Your 'skin' counts as chainmail until you reach name level, and then becomes as plate. You cannot get any bonuses from your dexterity score.

[9] Magus Shield. Whenever you are about to be attacked, you can 'burn' a spell to increase your AC by the spell level of the expended spell.

[10] Black mites can be poured onto your skin to infect you. Once infected, the user feels an incredible urge to drape raw meat on themselves for the mites to slowly eat inside their skin.

In return, the mites grant the subject AC as chainmail. The infected smells odd for as long as they carry the mites in their skin, and has an unreasonable fear of cleaning supplies & soap.