House Rules

Many of the upcoming 3rd Edition rules changes are going to be incorporated as house rules. These changes are listed below. All house rules are subject to modification as more information and clarifications on 3rd Edition are released. House rules may also be changed if found to be ungainly or unduly disruptive of the enjoyment of the story.

Standard address in the SCA is “My Lord”, “My Lady”, “Gentles”, or by title. As a roleplaying tool, please remember it when speaking in character. Any comment not prefaced by “Player to DM” is considered to be in character, and NPCs will react to your PC accordingly. Also, please use first person rather than third.

Character Generation
  • Characters are rolled using the 4d6, drop-the-lowest method. Assign them to the six abilities as you wish.
  • Characters begin play as humans. This is subject to change during play. Players desiring to play a non-human should indicate desired race during design. Characters will become as they behave – aspire to greatness. Alignment is not used, other than as a general guide. Characters begin as 0-level, with –1000 xp. Actions and behavior will determine class once the characters are ready to move to first level. To become a specific class or race, behave as one.
  • Class and level limits are removed. All races may multi-class. Experience points will be handled under 2nd Edition rules. Racial limits on becoming a class are likewise removed. Alignment restrictions will continue to be observed.
  • Classes may be dropped or added at any time. A character that drops a class does not lose the class; they simply do not advance any further in it. A character must have 1,000 xp reserved to buy 1st level in a new class. After that, the character advances in that class as usual. Each level in each class is counted as one character level, so a F/MU 5/4 is counted as a 9th level character. One additional class may be added without penalty; a 20% experience point penalty is assessed on all additional classes beyond the second.
  • Characters are citizens of the modern world, and are (regardless of background) members of the SCA. Characters may be of the same household if desired, but are assumed to be from the same region (the same Barony, at least). Characters are strongly discouraged from being members of the Horde. Characters will be able to buy mundane skills as well as period skills or SCA ranks as part of character creation. Mundane background and skills are at the player’s discretion. PCs are assumed to have good credit records and to be able to purchase whatever items they wish. PCs are not multimillionaires (unless the player is able to show good cause), nor are they assumed to have access to any type of military-grade hardware. Characters who wish to hold fighting ranks in the SCA should buy armor and weapon skills.
Combat
  • Combat occurs in 6-second rounds. Initiative will be handled as it is now under 2nd Edition. Weapon damage and ability modifiers will be handled under 2nd Edition rules. Each segment will take .6 seconds, so the casting time for a fireball spell is just under 2 seconds. It still takes 3 segments in combat, however.

Armor Class begins at 10 and goes up from there. To convert from 2nd Edition to 3rd, subtract your 2nd Edition AC from 20. This is your 3rd Edition AC. For example, a thief in leather without DEX modifiers has a 2nd Edition AC of 8. Subtracting 8 from 20 equals a 3rd Edition AC of 12. An 18 DEX drow fighter in +5 chain would have a 2nd Edition AC of –4. Subtracting –4 from 20 gives him a 3rd Edition AC of 24.

  • THAC0 is no longer used. Hits are determined by adding all combat bonuses to a 1d20 roll. If the roll plus the bonuses is equal or greater than the AC of the defender, that attack hits. Combat bonus is determined by subtracting 2nd Edition base THAC0 (from the to-hit table) from 21. A 5th-level mage with a THAC0 of 19 would have a combat bonus of +2. A 5th-level fighter with a THAC0 of 16 would have a combat bonus of +5. Any additional bonuses or penalties for ability, skill, or weapon enchantment are also added.
  • A natural roll of 20 is always a success, and a natural roll of one is always a failure, unless the roll required to succeed is 1 or better. In that case, a roll of 1 will be followed by a saving throw vs. death. If the save is made, the event was a success. A roll of 20 that would not normally succeed after modifiers are applied cannot cause a critical hit unless the character can roll another, consecutive natural 20. Otherwise, a critical hit occurs on a natural roll of 18, 19, or 20 that, after modifiers are applied, exceeds the AC of the target by 5.
Magic
  • Mages regain all spell slots after studying for one hour, regardless of how many spells or spell levels they need to recover. The mage must be rested to recover spells, as before. Spellbooks are not technically required, but improvising spells can have negative consequences.
  • Spellcasting is a new art, and there are no spellbooks or scrolls to be found. In order to cast a spell, the mage must make a successful spellcraft roll. If the roll fails, the spell is not cast, but the energy is expended. There is also a 1% chance per level of the spell that a misfire or wild surge occurs. Casting a spell without spellcraft proficiency raises the chance of a misfire to 10% per level of the spell. On the good side, spells may be cast on the fly; memorization has not been invented yet. A mage has their standard number of available spell slots per day, plus any bonus slots for high intelligence. Any canonical spell may be cast, subject to level limitations. Attempting a higher-level spell than what can be currently cast results in a 10% per level differential (level you want to cast minus level you can cast) chance of feedback. Feedback may take the form of any of the following:
  • Wild surge
  • Spellfire explosion. This is an eruption of raw magical energy, usually centered on the caster.
  • Contraction of a magical disease. Chronic incandescence, conjuritis, blackrot, and multimorphism are examples.
  • Spellburn. This is similar to a spellfire explosion, except that the spell energy is contained in the body of the caster. Until the energy dissipates (usually through the eyes and mouth) physical contact with the afflicted mage may cause the Spellburn to “leap” to the assisting individual, who is similarly affected.
  • Mages may uses modern firearms without penalty, and may likewise wear most modern body armor. Casting while in period armor is still prohibited. Any modern armor heavier or more extensive than a tactical vest, boots, armored briefs, gloves, and riot helmet may not be worn. Prohibited armor includes bomb disposal armor, HAZMAT/Biohazard hard suits, and all military-grade combat armor.
  • Familiars are not an option initially. Once available, a familiar may be summoned at any time by a mage. A familiar may supply a mage with one spell level per level of the mage per day with which to cast any known spell. A 5th-level mage can draw 5 spell levels per day from their familiar.
  • Mages gain extra spells per day for high INT, using the clerical bonus spell table. Also, basic spells such as read magic, write magic, detect magic, and cantrip may be cast at will, without using a spell slot. A successful spellcraft roll is still required. Mages have a 10% chance per level of being unaffected by a hostile cantrip spell.
  • Although clerical magic is referred to as “spell casting”, this is a misnomer. Clerics do not cast spells; they perform miracles through divine grace. Clerics also roll a Spellcraft check to cast a spell, but there is no danger of feedback – the spell simply fails. Clerics may cast any canonical clerical spell, subject to level and available spell slot limitations. Clerics receive their normal number of spells per the PHB, plus bonus spells for high WIS.
  • The specific faith the character professes does have bearing on what types of miracles may be performed. This is known as Religious Magical Specificity. For example, a Wiccan priestess or a Hindu Brahmin may not resurrect someone, but a Christian or Muslim priest may. All may perform a raise dead, but the Christian and the Moslem may not perform augury, contact other plane, reincarnation or speak with dead because of eschatological strictures against divination, transmigration of souls, or necromancy. The Wiccan and the Hindu may perform all of these spells. A Wiccan may ward off demons, but only a Christian may command them, and then only to depart, never to appear or to afflict. And only Jews may create a golem. The guiding principle is this: if a religion teaches a thing is wrong, a member of that faith may not do that thing.

There is no information on which deities, if any, are granting these miracles. But they are coming from somewhere.

Firearms
  • Single-shot and double-barreled breech loading firearms may fire once per round. Double barrels may discharge both barrels in a single round. Only one barrel may be reloaded and fired in subsequent rounds, however, unless a full round is spent reloading, in which case both barrels will be usable in the following round. Bolt-action rifles may fire 3 times per round; once on the rolled initiative, once five segments later, and once after the end of the round in initiative order.
  • Autoloaders and full-auto firearms may fire up to six times per round (six bursts on autofire). Three shots may be taken on the character’s initiative, and the remaining three shots at the end of the round in initiative order. Damage is in d6s, plus or minus modifiers. Natural 6s are counted and that die is rolled again and added to the damage total. Successive sixes are also added and rerolled. Each burst is counted as three shots, with all dice added and rerolled as appropriate. For simplicity’s sake, only one ‘to-hit’ roll is required with burst fire. It takes a full round to replace a spent magazine. Reloading a magazine requires 1d10+10 rounds, plus 1 round for every 10 rounds the magazine holds. A 30-round clip may take as long as 50 rounds to reload or as little as 15 rounds – still a long time in a firefight.
  • Autofire is considered to empty the entire magazine in a single round. The rounds are divided into three-round bursts and attack rolls are made normally against the first available target (friend or foe) in the target area. Bursts that miss the first target roll to hit the second available target, and so on. The target area is defined as a path from the firing character to the target, and extending up to 50 yards past the target, up to 600 yards. The target area extends to either side of this path. At distances of 50 yards or less, the target area is one yard on each side of the path. From 50 yards to 200 yards, the area extends 3 yards on each side. Targets in this area take half damage, and may save for one-quarter. Beyond that, damage is one-quarter, save to negate. Autofire to-hit rolls also have the following modifiers:
  • Target under soft cover (full/partial): +6/+3 to target AC. Soft cover is considered to be such things as wooden tables, car doors, or furniture.
  • Target under hard cover (full/partial): +10/+5 to target AC. Targets under full hard cover also take half damage, and may save vs. breath weapon to negate. Hard cover is defined as stone, concrete, an armored car door or bank vault door, or earthen embankment at least 3’ thick.
  • Firing character not proficient with automatic weapons: -4.
  • Assault rifle, braced or on bipod: +2
  • Heavy support weapon (M60, minigun, etc), carried or not properly braced: -2
  • Each successive burst after the first three in a single round: -2, cumulative.
  • Laser sights or tracer ammo: +3
  • Automatic fire is wasteful of ammo and should be used only in emergencies.
  • Shotguns are rarely able to hit multiple targets unless they have a very open choke and are using smaller gauge shot (birdshot). At a distance that allows the shot to spread out enough to hit several targets, the shot has lost a considerable amount of its momentum; in many cases, birdshot will bounce off of a duck’s wing feathers at less than 100 yards. Heavy gauge buckshot does not expand as much as birdshot, and still packs a lethal punch at 200 yards. Most of the lethality associated with shotguns comes from shock of widespread, simultaneous physical trauma. The individual wounds are not that severe, but several dozen of them at once cripple the body’s ability to isolate damaged areas and cope with trauma-induced shock. At ranges up to 50 yards, shotguns affect only a single target. Between 50 and 100 yards, one additional target may be attacked if that target is in melee range of the first target. A successful attack does 2d6 to that target, adding & rerolling all natural sixes. Beyond 100 yards, any target that is within melee range of the first target may also be attacked, with a successful attack doing 1d6 damage.
  • Modern body armor is +6 versus period hand and projectile weapons. Siege equipment affects modern armor normally; there is no such thing as boulder-proof armor.

Initial Skills

Characters begin generation with 40 points to spend on skills and resources native to the modern world. Characters are also able to buy standard weapon & non-weapon proficiencies appropriate to their desired class. Any class may buy the SCA version of a given weapon proficiency, which halves the non-proficiency penalty. This reflects the fact that the basic use of the weapon is learned, but not the use of the weapon in mortal combat. SCA combat bestows ¼ the experience of actual combat and characters may not specialize. Similarly, bowhunting proficiency conveys the ability to use a bow as a tool, but not as a weapon. Live Steel weapon skills indicate that the character has studied the weapon’s proper use in actual combat. Martial arts and military training are the most common sources of this skill, though it may be acquired through SCA combat and serious study with a qualified instructor.

Some items are available which confer leveled, classed status. These indicate devoted study of the subject and are clearly indicated. Some skills also have prerequisites. If a character desires to take a skill that confers a class, the character must first meet the minimum stat requirement for that class.

Each also has a Difficulty Class number. This is the number that must be exceeded on a modified d20 in order to successfully use the skill. No roll is required for everyday use. Rolls are only required if an attempt is made to do something exceptional, such as Robin-Hood an arrow, regain control of a skidding car, or disarm an opponent. A high score in the indicated characteristic confers a bonus to the roll. Refer to the Wisdom table in the PHB. The ability score bonus is equal to the number of bonus first level cleric spells that would be granted to the equivalent Wisdom score. For example, a Dexterity of 18 confers a +4 bonus to DEX-based skills. Penalties also apply for low scores.

Title /

Description

/ DC / Cost
Adv. Education I / The character has a Bachelors equivalent. This may not be an actual degree, but is useful knowledge and experience. The character must specify what subject this knowledge pertains to. This is a catchall for all forms of higher education, from plumbing to aerospace engineering. Higher levels must be in the same general area of knowledge but need not be from the same specific subject. / 12/INT / 5
Adv. Education II / As Advanced Education I, but at Masters level.
Prerequisite: Advanced Education I / 10/INT / 8
Adv. Education III / As Advanced Education I, but at Doctorate level.
Prerequisite: Advanced Education I & II / 8/INT / 10
Adv. Education IV / As Advanced Education I, but at Mad Scientist level.
Prerequisite: Advanced Education I, II, & III / 6/INT / 20
Archery, Hunting or Target / Character is skilled at hunting large and small game with a bow. This does not allow proficient use in combat. / 10/WIS / 2
Archery, Live Steel / Character is fully proficient with the specified weapon. Class limitations do apply. / 9/DEX / 5
Archery, SCA / The character has normal ROF in combat and only suffers ½ the normal non-proficiency penalty. Character must specify type of bow used. / 11/DEX / 2
Armor, Police/Riot / The character has a Tactical vest and riot gear (weapon harness, riot shield, boots, gas mask, and helmet). This is AC 15 and is effective against modern firearms. Active duty, sworn police officers only. / 10
Armor, SCA / The character has a suit of armor that is legal for SCA combat. Base AC is 15. Additional points of AC may be purchased for 2 character points each, to a maximum of +5 AC (10 CP). / 5 to 15
Armor, Tactical / The character has a full Tac suit, consisting of a reinforced vest (full torso and abdomen), night vision goggles, gas mask, ballistic cloth ‘ninja’ suit, ear bud radio, and steel-reinforced boots. The character also has a 50% chance to have 1d6 grenades (stun, tear gas, smoke, or vomit gas). The suit is AC 20 and is effective against modern firearms. Active duty, sworn police officers only. / 25