Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[kreider204]

Now that SWD is out, I have almost no house rules left - the new and/or clarified rules managed to replace them (e.g. Push!).

Furthermore, of the few house rules that I do still have, about half are just interpretations or applications of SWD rules (e.g., to throw an opponent, use the Push rules and describe it a bit differently).

Then a couple are rules jacked (and in some cases, slightly modified) from other sources (e.g., the knockback rules from the Supers Companion).

As a result, I'm left with only a couple of real house rules:

- I let characters use either Throwing or Agility to lob items such as grenades or oil flasks; the Throwing skill is only required for precision thrown weapons such as knives, darts, etc.

- A bennie can be spent to reduce the MAP by 2.

And that's it. That's pretty damn amazing - I'm really picky about rules, and have a tendency to house rule the crap out of most games that I play. That I only feel the need for two true house rules definitely says something about the quality of the SW rule set.

How about you? What house rules do you still use now that SWD is out?
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"It only takes an extra second to be courteous."
- Constable Benton Fraser

[Pariah74]

I still house rule running is a d4+2. Just don't like the idea of somebody using an action to move only an extra 1" if they roll a 1 on a d6.

We tweaked the optional rule about getting a benny when you draw a Joker, to getting a benny when you draw a 2.

I think that's about it, tho.
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"Games give you a chance to excel, and if you're playing in good company you don't even mind if you lose because you had the enjoyment of the company during the course of the game. "
~Gygax

[Thunderforge]

I still keep my houserule that you can buy new skills during advancement the same way you do during character creation. That is, you can jump from untrained to d4 with one skill point, rather than a whole advance. My players like it better that way too.
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[77IM]

I've got about a dozen house rules still (that's about half as many as I had under SWEX!). The ones that have the most actual effect are:

• What Thunderforge just said.
  
• You can spend bennies to reroll anything (damage, running, tables, etc.). Sure, why not? It's easier than remembering what you can and can't benny.
  
• Shaken foes don't count towards gang-up bonus.
  
• In an opposed roll, the person acting wins ties. In the core, a tie on an opposed roll means there is no clear winner -- which, in effect, usually winds up being a sort of win for the defender.
  
• Throwing is eliminated. Thrown weapons are a function of Fighting; thrown objects (like grenades) use Agility.
  
• We are tentatively testing Benny Action Surge, and it seems to be going well.

The other house rules I have are mostly new options or clarifications of situations not described in the core rules (like underwater combat, blocking spaces, and using Tricks or Tests of Wills against multiple foes).

-- 77IM
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Stuff I made: Arcane Abilities · Talent Edge · Savage Fading Suns · Savage Wuxia!

[operations]

[Lord Karick]

[Jordan Peacock]

Here are my current house rules (that I can remember). I'm leaving out a few things I only use for certain settings.


Open Ground Full Run:
In a plainly open area as determined arbitrarily by the GM, without dead bodies, debris, undergrowth, etc., to potentially trip over, you automatically "roll" your maximum on the Running Die (i.e., d6 = 6, d10 = 10).


Benny Crit Fail Penalty:
It costs 2 Bennies to reroll a Critical Fail.


Benny Crit Fail Compensation:
On the other hand, if you roll a Critical Fail and you keep it, you get a compensatory Benny if there is any actual consequence to the Critical Failure. (E.g., you don't get one if it was just a Critical Failure on some inconsequential Notice check to pick up on some clue that someone else discovered anyway).


Joker Run:
The +2 bonus from a Joker applies to your Running Die when running.


Shaken Assist:
A character can spend an action to attempt to help another character out of Shaken status, using an appropriate skill. Any bonuses or penalties the recipient would normally get to his own recovery roll apply to this (e.g., Wound penalties, or a bonus due to Combat Reflexes or a Leadership Edge). The assisting character might need to be adjacent, depending on the skill used. Success removes Shaken status.

It's the GM's call as to what constitutes an "appropriate" skill. For example, an adjacent medic might assist a character Shaken by physical trauma with a Healing check. Or, a character Shaken due to fear or psychology might "snap out of it" if someone uses Intimidate to get him back in line, or Persuasion to reassure him.


Horseshoes & Hand Grenades:
Thrown area-effect weapons (such as grenades) grant a +2 bonus to Throwing. This bonus does not apply to more precise throwing, such as aiming with a throwing knife, hatchet, etc.


Look Out, Sir!
In the event that Agility rolls are called for to dive for cover from a grenade, leap to safety from a collapsing bridge, etc., a character who scores a raise can drag a nearby ally (who failed) to safety as well. In the event that our hero only scored a mere success (not a raise), he has the option of sacrificing his success and throwing an ally to safety instead.


Negative Bonuses:
If for some reason you wish to, you can apply a raise or meta-game bonus as a PENALTY to your own roll. E.g., you could SUBTRACT your +1d6 damage for scoring a raise to hit from the damage dealt, or you could apply your bonus from drawing the Joker as a PENALTY to your rolls this round.

(This could be applicable if you just caught a buddy in the blast radius of an area effect attack, you're being mind-controlled into attacking your allies, you just dealt more damage than you really wanted to with your vehicle in a collision, etc.)
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[77IM]

@Lord Karick, sure, they're pretty basic and stolen from various people (credit for these here come from Clint, Wiggy, savagepedia, and conversations on this very forum):

Blocking Spaces
A non-Shaken character blocks the space they are standing in. If you want to move through someone else's space, you need to do some sort of stunt or maneuver (such as Push to move them out of the way, or Called Shot to the Legs and then hop over them, or an Agility trick).
Called Shot to the Legs (-2)
Works like Disarm, but the enemy makes an Agility roll (instead of Strength). Failure means the character falls prone.
Sneak Attack
You can hide from a target during combat only if you are completely obscured from them (due to total cover or concealment, or distracting them with a Trick or Test of Wills, or because they are blind). This requires a Stealth vs. Notice roll as usual. If you get a raise, you may get "The Drop" on the target if you wish. Attacking reveals your position, though.
Test of Wills
You can Taunt or Intimidate a whole group of Extras at once. If they have different Attributes, they use the best of them, and they roll a Wild Die (similar to a group roll out of combat). On a success, you get the +2 bonus against each of them on your next action against any of them.
Trick
You can trick multiple targets at once as a single action at a -2 penalty. You need to do the same trick to all of them, and each rolls to resist separately.
Underwater Combat
If you are in the water, use the lower of Swimming or Fighting to make a melee attack (Aquatic creatures ignore this restriction). Most ranged attacks and area attacks are impeded by water and many do not even function; it's up to the GM.
Facing
For the most part, facing does not matter -- assume all characters can turn to face any direction at any time. If you specifically want to attack someone in the back, just call it an Agility Trick. If a character is unable to turn around for some reason (such as being attacked from two sides simultaneously), they are at -2 to Parry and Notice against foes directly behind them.

-- 77IM
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Stuff I made: Arcane Abilities · Talent Edge · Savage Fading Suns · Savage Wuxia!

[Savage Mommy]

[Pariah74]

Fleet Footed is d6+4, sometimes d8+2. I go back and forth depending on the setting and how I feel.
For lame I just do the d4 without the +2.
_________________
"Games give you a chance to excel, and if you're playing in good company you don't even mind if you lose because you had the enjoyment of the company during the course of the game. "
~Gygax

[Crumbs]

I only have one house rule: players roll a d6 at the end of a session for any unspent bennies and on a 6 they get 1xp. In deadlands any legend chip that is unspent can be exchanged automatically for 1xp if players choose.

[Vinzent]

[TTM]

The only one I can think of is regarding Elan; the +2 bonus only applies to re-rolls, so if you spend a benny to soak, the initial roll does not receive the bonus.

Thus far noone has taken the edge (even in stock form) so I haven't been able to implement or test it.

[Virgobrown72]

[amerigoV]

[Lord Inar]

2d4 for running (2d6 w/Fleet-footed)

I also allow a successful Agility roll to draw and use the weapon without penalty. Fail the roll and you do neither.

Berserk. Succeed on your roll and you have the choice of going berserk or not.
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Lord Inar
Sherwood and Gaslight
Rocky Mountain Savages
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[GranFalloon]

Does it count as a House Rule if I had to go back to the SWEX rules for chases? With SWD it's far too easy to be unable to act at all. Fail your roll? You can't do anything. Succeed, but you have lower initiative than the two enemies? Yeah, you still can't do anything. I know that there's not much difference between unable to act and failing your action from a mechanical standpoint, but my players HATE it.