A convenient place to put my house rules, including some class fixes

[Jasuhn]

I have noticed that when I run a game, I tend to play fast and loose with giving xp, which means that for spells with xp cost as a balance, players tend to get over (I just tend to give levels at story appropriate times.)  Also, while I've rarely if ever had a wish farmer/shapeshift abuser, but I've read all the horrible things that they can do.  I have also seen how much a tier 3 class can make a tier 4 class feel absolutely useless, even in its own field, so I understand that some classes need balancing.  
All that said, I will be using this thread for posting my rules so I don't forget them for when I run.

Basic rule set : 3.5 D&D

Character creation - Use what ever method floats your boat.  If you have an idea and want to assign stats, thats fine.  As DM, if I think you're doing it because of wanting to be uber-godly with straight 18s, I will warn you that mister straight 24s might be down the road.  He might not be there, though.  Players max HP every level.  Major story characters will have max hp.  Normal opponent types will have normal hp.  For buttloads of opponents I'll probably make them minions.  Probably.  Depending on the game level, you can have an LA up to what ever would be the game level.  Using LA buy off for free at appropriate levels.  Those levels are effectively double level ups.

Characters will be starting at level 5.  As I'm using level adjustment buy offs for free, most races with an LA of 1 will start fully at level 5, and level 6 will see characters see themselves go from level 3 with a +2 LA to level 5 with a +1 LA.

General - All classes and races from official WotC stuff is in.  This includes world specific stuff (like ebberon and dragonlance and forgotten realms and oriental adventures with the 3.5 update) dragon/dungeon magazine, and the archived web stuff.  Any thing else needs permission, but generally speaking, I love adding new spells.  Be warned, I WILL use them, too, against you if you abuse them.  Anything not pre-approved will fail when first cast/used.  Check with me first.  If you want to make an LA 0 version of an existing race, let me know.  For the half celestial and half fiendish templates, you can probably customize your spell-like abilities a bit.  Non WotC base classes are also likely okay, but do check with me.  Non WotC PrCs definately need to be checked by me first.  Any non standard classes I use will probably be things that are fairly plain obvious variations on other classes that are standards rather than anything completely new.  It will mostly be for making a character mildly different from standard PCs without making them better.  Any class I use is available to PCs.  Also, I encourage web classes or web class fixes for players.  These may be mor powerful than my fixes, but I don't mid if players are a notch above even important NPCs.  This game should be about the party, not the NPCs.  The caveat is, of course, non-wotc of this nature must be run through me first.  So if you want to try and slip something by me, you're better off using WotC stuff, because I'm not double checking that such stuff isnt over powered.  Just know in an escalation of force, DMs generally win.  Of course particularly spectacular sneakiness might earn nice move cool points.  As DM I try to think of my self as facilitator, not adversary.

A note on 3.0 - any feat not reprinted from 3.0 needs pre-approval for use.  Specifically I'm thinking knockdown, though late level I probably won't care.  Spells do not, though I may check for an updated version or enforce an updated version if one exists.  3.0 spells may become unavailable for future use on an individual basis if deemed "broken" after seeing them in action.  In the event it is a spell known for you, like a sorcerer has, you can replace it.  If it's in a book, it MAY be replacable for free, but probably only for a similar type of spell that lacks the brokenness.

Suppliments that are likely to be used and therefore are usable by players without running stuff by me (subject to minor standard tweaking for 3.5) are Arcana unearthed, advanced player's handbook, and heroes of fantasy.

General rules for spells and similar effects -If a spell allows you to cast spells that normally require the expenditure of xp, without the normal xp cost, you STILL PAY THE XP COST.  This is true whether it is because you got another creature to cast it for you, or you shifted into a form that allows such casting.  For psionic abilities that are based on spells and have an xp cost due to the spell having a focus, you may substitute a crystal focus of a cost equal to the normal price for the spell focus.  For powers that have xp costs that are based on spells with xp costs, you pay the xp cost.  Further, spells that have xp costs normally instead cost negative levels that may not be healed for a number of encounters equal to the total number of negative levels.  These do not cost actual levels, but will stay until you save against them (save daily) or get them restored.  A week without encounters also allows them to start healing.  Spells with permanent effects that used xp costs as an economy balance have an isoteric material component cost of 5 times the normal xp cost (specifically permanence).  While this may not stop money farming, it should slow it at least a little.  I should note, though, that paying the xp cost in these homebrew rules means generally taking a nevagive level for every thousand xp the spell costs to cast.  I believe that I wanted it clear here that as I am more likely to award levels than pure xp the temporary cost of a negative level should balance things so there is a cost to using such spells.

Shapechanging/polymorphing effects -For spells and effects of level 5 and under, you gain no more than your (caster level/4) min 1 to each of your physical stats and the same applies to your natural armor or any other armor bonus. Effects over level 5 may add up to (caster level/2) to the above listed characteristics.  This rule does not apply to spells that specifically grant one form (like a spell that turns you into a troll) or spells that specifically name the creatures you can turn into (such as one that lets you turn into various monstrous spiders depending on your level).

Negative levels and ability drain -Never permanently cost PCs or important NPC's levels unless they want them to, although they do stay until saved against or restored.

Minions - I love this idea from 4th.  And it works well for those academy mages who learned meteor swarm but never so much as fought anything that they could magic missile to death.  Minions here have the following rules: 1 hp per HD with no con bonus. (editted since before the - I used as a dash could be mistaken for a minus and -1 hp per hd was not my intent, 1 hp per hd was) Not killed by any effect they save against unless already at 1 hp, unless the user of said effect had to roll something to hit them.  No save/ no roll effects kill them fine as do powerwords since they pretty much universally have under the hp cap for power words.  I was going to limit this to a number per casting, but as enchantment spells, it is hard to take away the top level ones or nerf a school with so many weaknesses.

Avoiding ability costs -if an ability says you must take damage to use it, then you either take the damage, or the ability fails.  You may heal said damage, but you cannot avoid taking it.  This does not apply to powers that simply hurt you as a "backlash".  This is probably ability description dependant in a debate.  Here, the flavor text of the ability will probably be used to determine which is the case.  I am not against using risky powers, I am against defying flatly balance-imposed restrictions.

Vampires - can be targeted by blood targeting spells by default and can pay blood, even though they do not have a con score for things that use con as the price.

[Jasuhn]

This should be my gear and classes post.

The class stuff admittedly should be more important, but the gear stuff should be smaller:

The dragon metal from the dragon lance book - Cost as adamantine - effect - items made of this material can have enhancements (like flaming or the like) without plusses, automatically counts as a magic weapon (if it's a weapon), counts as an epic weapon (if it's a weapon) for DR as long as it has at least +6 worth of enhancements.  Cannot have more than 5 points of enhancements without having an enhancement bonus.  Also keeps enhancement bonus (only) in anti magic.

Jade and Obsidian from OA - use updated 3.5 version, the damage penalty is the same as silver weapons rather than reducing die size.  Obsidian is not randomly cursed (may be deliberately cursed, of course).  Also beat DR of any tainted creature, not just shadowlands creatures.  

Frost burn cold materials that take damage from heat can be protected by spells same as characters, or being "alloyed" with blue ice.  Not necessarily actually alloyed, but constructed using some blue ice.  This gives no blue ice properties, just protection from heat.  The cost is 50% more than the normal material price (base material cost, not blue ice cost)

Whips made of the force water from stormwrack (Riverine) do normal damage and are force effects.  They deal damage as magic weapons, not spells.  Actually, any weapon made of riverine has that same benefit.

Probably going to have to type up class rules/modifications separately and paste them here since my typing box refuses to stay at the bottom of the text I am typing and the bounce is ticking me off.

Generally I think the classes are MOSTLY okay as is.  Some are no where near the power level of others, but most people are aware of that.  They cover most archetypes of what people like playing.  I do think that some minor modifications can, however, improve balance without messing up classes or over powering them.  Some feats will also be modified to be more useful for everyone, primarily the feats that just give skill bonuses.

Feats -

Skill bonus feats - Any feat that gives a +2 to two skills also makes those skills permanent class skills.

Skill focus - Makes what ever skill is selected a permanent class skill

Classes - Most of my fixes do not involve really breaking the class’s skeletons or adding anything purely better.  They primarily revolve around making their features work “better”

Fighters -

Most of my improvement to fighters will be in the form of fighter feats that will have prereqs that are based on fighter ACFs so warblades don’t get them.  These feats will probably also be allowed for classes that are dedicated to one weapon, specifically soulknives and samurai (both oriental adventure based and complete warrior based), who can choose daisho as their weapon for feats.  Monks can also qualify for most with their unarmed strike.  Fighter specific background feats are also available to improve fighter skill selection as they are supposed to be guards and knights and mercenaries and modifying their skill lists should not unbalance them.

Fighter ACF - fighter’s background Only available for 1st level characters.
Level 1
Replaces level 1 bonus feat

Benefit - A fighter may choose a background to represent his training that lead him to the life of a fighter
Knighthood training - gain knowledge nobility, and diplomacy as class skills, gain improved shield bash as a bonus feat.

City constable training - gain sense motive and gather information as class skills, gain subduing strike as a bonus feat

Town watch - gain spot and listen as class skills, gain blind fight as a bonus feat

Mercenary - gain appraise and survival as class skills, gain weapon focus as a bonus feat

Brigand - gain bluff and knowledge geography, gain +1d6 sneak attack instead of a bonus feat.

Mage academy guard - gain spell craft and use magic device as class skills, gain lightning reflexes as a bonus feat

Fighter ACF - Weapon commitment
Fighter level 4 or a later even numbered level
Replaces bonus feat at the selected level

Benefit - gain + 1 to hit and damage with a chosen weapon, this bonus increases by 1 every five levels you gain (over level 4) as a fighter (9, 14, 19) This counts as weapon focus and weapon specialization for the purposes of prerequisites, although it does stack with those feats.

Special - A soulknife may select this as a feat at or after soulknife level 3 choosing mindblade.  Samurai may take this as a feat at or after level 3 and select either katana, wakizashi, or daisho (races that have alternate weapons as their traditional samurai weapons may select those as their weapon).  Monks may select this as a level 2 bonus feat or as a feat anytime from 3rd level on choosing their unarmed strike as their weapon.  For feats that have fighter level as a prereq and weapon focus or weapon specialization as additional prereqs, treat these characters as fighters of their level in the class that granted access to this ability.  Other classes or prestige classes may also be eligible if they have a focus on a single weapon after 3rd level in that class.

Special - This feat, and other feats with this as a prerequisite may not be retrained or switched with a warblade’s  class feature to change the weapons attached to feats.  They may not normally be retrained unless it is retrained to another feat that requires weapon commitment.  Weapon commitment feats will be written up in the separate feats section of my home brew rules when I get around to them.

Crusaders - This is not a balance thing, just a crusader style thing.

Crusader of fire option - lose stone dragon style and heavy armor proficiency, gain desert wind style

Crusader of darkness option - lose white raven style and medium and heavy armor proficiency and diplomacy as a class skill, gain shadow hand style, and hide and move silently as a class skills

Half casters - Paladins (of all alignments), Rangers, Hexblades, Sohei, and Spellthieves

ACF Spell focused - Rather than the normal spell progression these classes normally get, they may instead treat the headers for the spell levels they can cast as reading 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8, rather than 1, 2, 3, 4.  Spellthieves have the same number of spells known for each  paired level.  These classes default caster level is class level - 3.  This means that at level 4 they have a worse caster level than others who do not take this alternate class feature, so there is a cost.  This replaces the normal spell progression of these classes.  This feature is NOT available for 10 level prestige classes.  Classes with their own set spell lists do not gain access to the spells of their class until the level they normally would.  For example a paladin could not use a second level paladin spell until such time as they were at the level that allows them to cast spells of 3rd and 4th level by the new chart.  They still use their second level slots, however. A spell that is on both the bonus spells list and the basic class list can be used when available on the bonus list.

Paladins of all alignments add spells of the healing domain, and righteous might, and spells from domains based on their alignment.  They get no domain abilities.
LG courage, and either law and good, or Celestia :NG glory, and either good and family, or Elysium: CG Liberation, and either Chaos and Competition, or Arborea: LN Retribution, and either law and nobility, or mechanus:  TN balance with air/earth or water/fire, or Oracle, Fate, and Mysticism: CN Madness, and either Trickery and chaos, or Limbo, LE Tyranny, and either Law and evil or Baator: NE Suffering and either hatred and evil or Hades, CE Destruction, and either Chaos and evil, or Abyss

Specific churches tend to modify the domain mentioned immediately following the alignment.  So a NG moon deity might grant spells from the moon domain rather than the glory domain.

Rangers add spells from plant, animal, purification, and war, and any druid spell that improves their weapons or creates a weapon for them.

Hexblades add any curse type spells (ask the DM, primarily spells that require remove curse or the like), spells that cause penalties to saving throws, and spells that cause nausea, sickening, exhaustion, fatigue, negative levels, "pain", or any other condition their spells already cause from the sorcerer or wizard spell list.

Sohei add spells of the law, protection, wrath, and inquisition domains, lawful weapon (this is added even without this ACF), and any self buff that references dragons that is not a polymorph effect.

Spellthieves have pre set schools that they draw from.

Dragon Shaman

ACF - Breath focused - Any level that you gain skill focus as a bonus feat
You may instead gain a meta breath or breath channeling feat, whether you could normally take such a feat or not. (As in you don't need to be dragon blooded for the feats that would normally require it.)  Alternately you may take ability focus breath weapon with this ACF.  
This ACF replaces the normal skill focus you would gain as you gain levels as a dragon shaman.

Swashbuckler - Certain abilities mostly replaceable by feats can be swapped for some duelist abilities.

ACF - Finesse strike - Replaces weapon finesse (easily reacquired by taking the feat) - The swashbuckler may add their dexterity modifier instead of their strength modifier to the weapon damage of light weapons, and weapons that may be used with weapon finesse.  (This also applies dex mod to damage for an off hand weapon rather than half str mod.)

ACF - Precise strike - replaces grace (slightly better than lightning reflexes, but only at highest levels)
At each level grace would be gained, the swashbuckler instead gains 1d6 bonus damage with piercing weapons as per the duelist ability.  Further, this counts as sneak attack for the purpose of taking ambush feats.  (With this ACF, Swashbucklers probably do slightly crazy damage at level 2, but totemists can match or exceed them. Also, unlike the duelist ability, this ability works with ranged weapons, but only to a range of 30 feet modified by abilities that increase sneak attack range. )

ACF - Canny defense - replaces improved flanking (there are several feats to improve flanking) - The swashbuckler adds their intelligence modifier to their Armor class as long as they are wearing light or no armor and are not wielding a shield, and are not encumbered.   Does not stack with the ability with the same name from the duelist PRC.

CW Samurai - Going to give it some damage buffs, the intimidate skill use that I placed should help them use fear better.  (the one where a DC 50 check lets intimidate work on the normally unfearable)

ACF Daisho rend - replaces Iaijutsu Master - When an opponent has been hit by both of your daisho weapons, you deal damage equal to twice the base off hand weapon, plus twice your str mod.  This is treated as the same type of damage as is dealt by your off hand daisho.  You may deal this extra damage every time you deal damage with both weapons in the same "event."

Alternate Daisho -Variable generally by race, but members of a different race serving in a predominantly different race, my use the prevailing alternate daisho of their realm.
Dwarves - Hand axe and Dwarven war axe

More to follow with this

[Jasuhn]

This should be my random other rules that I can't think of how to classify yet.

Magical Morality - In general the game world treats necromancy as per the playing with fire morality of the necromancy guide that I will have to find and link with minor modification.  Spells that create intelligent undead are only evil if used for making undead that pretty much cannot be good.  Making a mummy to just guard a tomb is not inherently evil.  It will stay put without constant supervision.  Creating a ghoul is evil because they will go out and seek prey and still leave your tomb unguarded.  Commanding them to stay by whatever means may work for a time, but when you die, they will be free to do their evil.
Charm and compulsion effects that make people ACT in a manner they would not do normally are in most places the magical equivalent of rape.  Very illegal.  This does not apply to effects that hold/stop/sleep a victim, nor to compulsions to obey standard laws or act normal, although one could still be found to be acting illegally if the compulsion forced someone to avoid being "noble." Summoning creatures from other planes and forcing them to your bidding is just as illegal as kidnapping (not summon monster, but planar binding).  Calling them, asking nicely, and letting them go when they refuse is annoying potentially, and stalkery/harrassing if repeated.  Monsters called by summon whatever spells are assumed to be answering your call and have all the same information that someone getting resurrected has about their summoner under normal circumstances.  Summoners and necromancers are responsible for the actions of creatures they call/create. Spells and effects that cause both damage and pain based effects are generally considered evil.  Evil is not specifically illegal.  It is frowned upon, however.  Using pain based effects is generally evil, unless it can be flatly shown it was done to bring a fight to a nonlethal end.

Taint, necrocarnum, and the lost - taint happens.  Usually as a result of magic, taint can happen to characters (PC or NPC generally), critical hits and 1s on saves may induce taint if the spell has a negative energy longer than one round effect, frost burn damage, an alignment (yes, any alignment), or an ongoing suffering causing effect This usually applies both to the caster and the victim.  Kills with such effects tend to release some amount of necrocarnum.  Anyone under the effects of a powerful emotion (raging, rage effect, frenzying, panicked or cowering, etc)who fails a save with a 1 or who dies suddenly (critical hit kill) may release necrocarnum that can turn someone into a lost.  Aligned spells tend to cause taint in victims of the opposite alignment, and in casters of other alignments.  People who die under extreme duress, even non violent duress tend to release necrocarnum.  This necrocarnum tends to be souls shedding their tortured energy, rather than being souls converted entirely to necrocarnum.  These tendencies do not generally apply to PCs, unless they want them to for story purposes.  Vile damage is REALLY likely to cause taint in both wielder and victim.  But more the victim.

Necrocarnum is 99.9% evil.  Some deaths, though rare, release a certain peace infused necrocarnum.  This is mostly flavor, one could never harness only the peace influenced necrocarnum, there isn't enough.  There are peace infused lost.  They usually just sit around at peace till they die of starvation.  They suffer no pain while under the effects of this form of being lost, so they do not suffer.  They also are utterly unaware of anything else as if affected by the microcosm power.  These are exceedingly rare.

Poison and disease ability damage - Kill if they drop any stat to 0.

Shadow elementals can be summoned by the appropriate summon monster spells as elementals of what ever size.  Summon nature's ally spells summon them only on the plane of shadows or for creatures native to such a plane.

Shadowmancers can use reserve feats treating their mysteries as spells even though they are technically SLAs and can only summon a shadow elemental with the summon elemental feat if they take it.

Intimidate check dc 50 can scare fear immunes. Threats to things one cares about can still scare someone who has no regard for their own life.  If the target is immune to fear for more than one reason, such as being a mindless paladin (no stupid pally jokes intended) the DC increases by 10 for each reason that the target is immune to fear.  Fear immune creatures still get their normal bonuses to resist fear and gain an additional +10 on their opposed checks.  This fear break is only for the intimidate skill, not for spells that cause fear.  Characters who are normally fear immune but are shaken lose their fear immunity until the shaken or other fear condition fades or is removed.  The "fear effect" is more flavored as desparation to protect something outside their self that makes them careless or an urge to go to the object or item  or person that was threatened.

Ancestral relic does not require any particular alignment.

Item creation - Does not require xp.  Items cost 75% of the normal market value to create and cause negative levels at the rate 1 negative level per thousand xp it would normally cost.  Items with spells that normally have higher xp costs have the extra cost unchanged.  Cannot be healed until one encounter or one week passes and then it can be healed.  Artificers never gain more than one negative level, and can heal it after one day even if they have no encounters.

Spell-like abilities can use metamagic feats as long as those feats apply no increase in spell level (or extra power point expenditure).

Almost any item can be made with any of the various spell sources backing it.  Reasonable spell substitution will be allowed.  Flavor wise the general effects all look different depending on the source.  Arcane effects look as normal,  divine effects tend to have more of a subtle look tinged with holy or unholy symbology visible, nature magic wielders items tend to look like the most natural form of the energy used or have nature motifs in the construction to include being made with natural animal parts, psionic effects tend to be green tinged (seems to be the flavor color for psionics), incarnum effects tend to be some kind of blue and look like they have spirits floating in them, truenamer effects tend to appear as floating runes that anyone can read, even though it is in a language no one but truenamers speak, shadowmancer made weapons look like illusions or shadows are dancing around them and have funky shadows, binder made items tend to have certain odd symbols marked on them and occasionally appear behind or around the item, often having minor effects looking like the effects of the appropriate vestage being summoned, dragon emulator (dragon fire adept, and dragon shaman, though perhaps others)made items tend to have breath weapon motifs and dragon imagery on them and often have images of dragon spirits floating around them, and martial adepts weapons tend to look like arcane weapons from swordsages, like divine weapons from crusaders, and warblades tend to make weapons that look symbolic of the discipline whose power was used in the construction.  Items that have multiple power sources from being enhanced by different power users tend to show signs of all influences and be really strange. Items made by that crazy NPC who was a level20 commoner minion as an end of his life last best weapon he was ever going to make tend to have a purple indistinct glow that reveals little of the power of the item with the glow getting far more pronounced and clear when the item is in use.
  
"Psychic" weapons - The enhancement from Expanded psionics can be put on an unenhanced weapon.  The other enhancements on the blade only work if the weapon at least has a +1 enhancement bonus active.  Such weapons cannot be given a normal enhancement bonus, and this ability will erase any previous enhancement bonus that the weapon had.  Such weapons do NOT pierce DR as epic if the combined active enhancement bonus and other abilities adds up to over a +10.

[Jasuhn]

I might need one more for all my class stuff, come to think of it.

Fighter feats:

Through the fire - Prereq - weapon commitment
When you make a successful save against a damage dealing spell, your weapon gains a charge of that spell.  The next target you hit with your weapon is subject to that spell, and, if they were the caster, will receive no benefit from resistance or immunity to the spell.  The save dc is either the base dc or 10 + half your level + your constitution modifier, whichever is greater.

Scatter the leaves - prereq - weapon commitment, whirlwind attack or the soulknife equivilent ability
When making an attack based on the prereq feat or ability, you may make bull rush attempts against any targets you hit.  Success knocks the target back 5 feet.

One with the blade - prereq - weapon commitment
The caster level for any weapons or armor or shield you are wearing is equal to either its  normal caster level or your character level, whichever is greater.  If a weapon casts a spell (like a dispelling weapon) it uses this modified caster level.

Executioner's blow - prereq- dungeon crasher class feature
Once per round per target, you may deal your bonus bull rush damage on any attack against a prone target.  you may also deal this damage once per round if you either make a jump check high enough to jump over an opponent (generally 5-7 foot vertical jump on a medium creature), or jump down from higher ground, landing within your weapon reach of the target.

More to follow

[Jasuhn]

Maybe two...
Should be all the reserves I need.  On with the house rules.

[Jasuhn]

This last one will be for my notes on important places and NPCs

[Jasuhn]

If anyone has any constructive criticism on the house rules I'm using, please feel free to comment.  I know I need to organize them better.  Still working on putting all my house rules up so this is a work in progress.  I have a little time before I get back stateside and will even have the chance to use this info page anyway.

[RobbyPants]

Regargind XP costs:
You might consider getting rid of XP costs entirely.  This, of course, would involve modification of spells that use them.  The reason being, if you use the DMG guidelines for handing out XP for parties of different leveled PCs, the XP cost actually becomes a net gain in XP.  That, and if the XP cost isn't enough to make a level difference, then it's not really a cost at all.  It doesn't matter if you have 15,000 XP or 20,999; you're still level 6 and you're still just as strong.


I'm curious why you want non-Con scores reduced to 0 to kill a PC.  I've always liked the idea of reduing someone's Str or Dex to the point of paralysis.


I like the skill feats making the skills in question class skills.  That's an idea I've also adopted.

A note on 3.0 - any feat not reprinted from 3.0 needs pre-approval for use.  Specifically I'm thinking knockdown, though late level I probably won't care.  Spells do not, though I may check for an updated version or enforce an updated version if one exists.  3.0 spells may become unavailable for future use on an individual basis if deemed "broken" after seeing them in action.  In the event it is a spell known for you, like a sorcerer has, you can replace it.  If it's in a book, it MAY be replacable for free, but probably only for a similar type of spell that lacks the brokenness.

Just a word of warning on this: some 3.0 stuff that wasn't reprinted is still too powerful, as it's based off of powerful 3.0 mechanics.  A good example would be the Quicker than the Eye feat (Song and the Silience), which is almost as good as 3.0 Haste.  It looks like the closest "reprint" of this is Flick of the Wrist.

[Jasuhn]

Thanks for the feedback.  Sorry for the delay in response, getting ready to finally getting back stateside:)
The xp costs are being subbed for temporary negative levels.  These do mess with combat power so it makes it so there is a cost to using such spells.  With xp costs, there's no obvious immediate cost, just in most games means it takes a little longer to level, but when I tend to hand out levels rather than xp, there's not even that cost.

I like paralysis by poison and the like, but if poison and such are supposed to be evil then they should kill.  It is silly that most of the time being poisoned has little chance of directly being fatal.  And people should be dying of diseases, not wallowing "paralysed".  Other means of stat dropping aren't fatal, though.  And, as a fairly generous DM, if you want to poison people without killing them, I would allow your character to play by the "default" rules.  Just know that the ninja behind the door may not share your sensibilities:)  There are also poisons that have paralysis as a result of a failed save, as I recall, though poisons are something I'd usually have to look up.

I recall that 3.0 had some OP stuff.  Thanks for that example. That's why I said that any 3.0 stuff needs to be run by me first.

[RobbyPants]

Thanks for the feedback.  Sorry for the delay in response, getting ready to finally getting back stateside:)
The xp costs are being subbed for temporary negative levels.  These do mess with combat power so it makes it so there is a cost to using such spells.

I'm curious: how are you handling the negative level aspect?

I like paralysis by poison and the like, but if poison and such are supposed to be evil then they should kill.

Ahh, that's your motivation.  Personally, I've never seen poisons as "evil", and I like the idea of someone trying to take someone down in a non-fatal way.  Of course, this is all matters of personal preference at this point, so the house-rule is understandable.

I think part of the reason 3E poisons work the way they do is because the designers didn't want to hand out low-level save-or-dies to people in exchange for money.  I'm not saying it's a good design, but I think that's why you often get so little bang for your buck.

I recall that 3.0 had some OP stuff.  Thanks for that example. That's why I said that any 3.0 stuff needs to be run by me first.

That's part of it.  The other things is you need to understand the rationale behind a lot of 3.0 design and 3.5 design to figure out which parts don't play well with each other.  Having stuff run by you first is pretty much vital.

[veekie]

RE: Poisons
Always felt the 3.5 implementation was fairly dull, barring a few exceptions, ability damage alone, and on a standard 2 save sequence, hardly touches what you could do in a supernatural setting with poison. The disease rules work better for most I think.

[RobbyPants]

Yeah, I've always liked the idea of adding in an additional third save for some poisons after an hour.  It would be cool for ingested poisons in an intrigue setting.

Yeah, regardless, I imagine many houserules could be an improvement and also fairly easy to implement.

[veekie]

Well, also, for stuff like demon venom and all, a spiritual corruption is sometimes more appropriate than just another dose of stat damage. A gradual polymorphing poison/curse, for example, or an engineered poison/curse that say...transforms the victim's blood into drugs.

[Jasuhn]

Wow, it's taken me a while to get back here.  Negative levels you can save against daily, or just lose the level.  Player's choice.  But by default, NPCs lose levels, and players just wait till they make their saves.  Or they can die eventually.  But I don't usually throw that many at the party:)  Part of that balancing encounters thing.  Lol