House Rules Addendum
Now that the PCs have leveled & classed, some minor revisions of the magic system and a few new combat options are in order.
Magic
Spellcasters will no linger be required to roll against Spellcraft; this mechanic is being moved to the DC system. Just as fighters get better at hitting in melee, spellcasters get better at casting spells as they increase in level. The DC of a spell is the spell’s level +10. The spellcaster’s roll is a d20, modified by level and Intelligence bonus (Wisdom in the case of clerics). The casting bonus is equal to the ‘to hit’ bonus given for an equivalent Strength. As an example,
A 1st level mage (12 INT) attempts to cast magic missile. The spell’s DC is 11. The mage gets +1 for level, and has no INT bonus. The mage succeeds on a roll of 10 or better. The same mage, at 6th level, would only need to roll 5 or better. Spellcasters do not have to roll to cast a spell if it is two or more spell levels below the highest level spell they can currently cast. A 5th level mage no longer needs to roll to cast 1st level spells, as he or she can now cast 3rd level spells.
A spellcaster may gain a bonus to their DC by declaring a ‘ground & center’ casting. The spellcaster sacrifices speed for focus, gaining +1 on their DC and adding +1 to their rolled initiative. A spellcaster may add up to +5 in this manner, but if their modified initiative exceeds 10, the spell goes off the following round (subtract 10 to determine what phase the spell is cast) and is considered their action for both rounds. A spellcaster may also declare a ‘fast draw’ casting by reversing this mechanic, penalizing their DC by –1 while improving their initiative by –1, also up to –5.
Modified results less than 0 are treated as being 0 and are resolved before other actions if declared prior to the intended modified initiative phase. A spellcaster moving on 7 cannot decide on 6 that they are doing a ‘fast draw’ for –2 so the spell will go off on 5! Opponents who are holding their fire from a previous round or who are traveling ‘cocked & locked’ fire before a modified –2 or later initiative fires. A modified –3 or better initiative (declared before the round starts) allows the spellcaster to act before held fire and non-surprise pre-emptive attacks such as an archer who is nocked and drawn.
Clerical healing is being modified to conform to the known 3rd Edition mechanic. Healing spells as such are removed completely. Spell levels are now converted directly into healing. One spell level provides 1d8 hit points. Once the total number of spell levels to be used for healing is declared and the result rolled, the casting cleric adds their level to the result. The mechanic does allow a cleric to decide how many spell levels will be used at any given time. Clerics are allowed to use a single level at a time to maximize the hit point add from the cleric’s level. Clerics must still make their DC roll as described above for the casting attempt to succeed.
Healing
Natural healing is now handled under the 3rd Edition mechanic. Instead of recovering only one hit point per day, characters now recover their level in hit points per day. This rate doubles if the character is getting complete rest under care of a qualified healer (first aid or herbalism NWPs or modern medical training). Constitution-based hit point modifiers are applied to the daily recovery rate. In no event does the recovery rate drop below 1/day.
Combat
Characters feeling particularly Hollywood may attempt to attack using one firearm in each hand. This is governed in a manner similar to using two melee weapons. Only handguns or machine pistols may be used in this manner. While it is possible to use autoloading rifles and shotguns this way, the weight and recoil of these weapons make sustaining controlled fire a practical impossibility for anyone of normal human strength and mass. If you really want to try it, it’s a –2 penalty for each die of potential damage the weapon has for that firing, in addition to any other modifiers. Thus, one burst with an autofire shotgun has a potential of 9 dice of damage, resulting in a –18 modifier before any other factors are considered.
Both weapons suffer a –2 modifier for the first three attacks in the round. The weapon in the off-hand suffers an additional –2 unless the character is ambidextrous. Using a weapon on autofire one-handed causes a –3 penalty on that weapon only. Each additional attack in the round (including the three end-of-round attacks) suffers a cumulative –2 penalty. It is not possible to use aimed fire when using two weapons.
If a coupon is used for a critical hit, it applies only to attacks directed at a single target. If the character is attempting to hit separate targets, the coupon can affect only one unless the weapon is an explosive, area-effect weapon such as a missile launcher or RPG.
A character using a weapon may modify their initiative just as spellcasters do by declaring an attack ‘aimed’ or ‘fast draw’. Both missile and melee attacks may be so modified.
Firearms may be used in target positions that exchange armor class for ‘to hit’ bonuses. Target shooting may be combined with aimed attacks to produce either a wild spray of covering fire that allows a character to dive to safety with an initiative and AC bonus or a methodical, highly accurate attack such as a heroic ‘last stand’ which leaves the character completely exposed while they inflict as many casualties on the enemy as possible before being killed themselves.
Choosing to ‘duck & cover’ benefits the character’s armor class while ‘stand and deliver’ benefits his or her to hit rolls. Specific positions such as kneeling, prone, or hanging off a saddle and shooting under the neck of a galloping horse are subsumed by these two options. The mechanic stays the same; the rest is special effects.