Dungeons & Dragons
(4th edition)
Note - these house rules have not been game-tested yet... I still have yet to play 4th edition D&D. But even without playing it, I'm not all that happy with Wizards of the Coast's attempt to dumb-down the game by almost completely removing consequences for player actions. If you are not completely killed outright in a combat, you can just take an 8-hour nap and wake up completely healed? Yeah right! The following rules are designed to add a bit of realism to the game by making combat harder on the characters. For those of you who think that makes the game unplayable or who think I'm being too hard on the players... well, to put it frankly, I think you're idiots. As long as you balance the encounters, and fudge the dice when needed, it shouldn't matter. Besides, combat should never be the primary focus of any RPG - if you just want some hack & Slash, play a video game.
/Rant off
Healing Surges-
You may not use a Second Wind (page 291).
You may not spend Healing Surges after a Short Rest (page 293).
After an Extended Rest, you automatically recover all Healing Surges spent, AND you regain a # of HP back as if you had spent a Healing Surge.
Your total number of Healing Surges and your ability to spend Healing Surges from Feats / Powers are not changed.
Heal Skill (page 185)-
You CANNOT use the Heal Skill to allow an ally to use a Second Wind, but you may use the Heal skill OUT OF COMBAT and during a Short Rest to allow that ally to spend a Healing Surge. The base DC is 15. You suffer a -5 penalty to your roll if your target's Creature Type is different from your own, and an additional -5 penalty if the target's Origin is different from your own.
Retraining (page 28)-
You may NOT retrain at each level- you may, however, retrain 1 feat and 1 power at 11th level, and again at 21st level.
However, whenever you level up, if you would normally acquire a new power or feat, you may forgo obtaining that feat/power until a later time. Essentially, you're passing on instantaneous satisfaction for a greater reward later.
Ritual Casting Feat (page 200)-
This feat is considered a Multiclass Feat, but can be used as either Multiclass: Cleric, Multiclass: Warlock, or Multiclass: Wizard. This qualifies you for Power-swap Feats, but does not prevent you taking another class-specific Multiclass Feat.
Action Points (page 259)-
You do not necessarily gain an Action Point for every Milestone; the GM may award you an AP at any time as a reward for good roleplaying, showing exceptional forethought, helping out-of-game (ie running out to get pizza for the group), or for any number of things. This may, of course, include reaching a Milestone, but it doesn't have to.
Determining Cover (page 280)-
Allies that are in the way grant cover to your target when using ranged attacks. If you roll a natural "1" on the attack roll, resolve the attack as if you had hit the creature in the way.
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition is copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast