My 7 Cairn / ITO House-rules

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Just a fun little post.

 

1) Pointcrawl Procedures

These are the same as from this post. Essentially, I set up a pointcrawl map with distances marked in days, and roll a 2d6 weather roll for each day. There's also a 1-in-6 chance of a random encounter (d6 table, prepped per region/area) and a 1-in-6 chance of a "small place" (d6 table, just places the characters might stumble upon).

This leaves most of the travel as fluff (describing the weather, landscape, etc.) with a little bit of travel involving dangerous weather, random encounters, or cool little spots (which get added to the map!).

Each of the d6 tables has 3 ordinary/safe results, 2 unordinary/threatening results, and 1 rare/magical/dangerous result.

 

2) Equipment Slots = STR

I know equipment/encumbrance slots aren't supposed to be tied to STR because they're also a measure of space, and not just weight, but I just really like the vibe of the buff knight carrying a bunch of stuff and the wiry thief sneaking about with little on their person. Adds a little flavor and niche protection to characters too, in the absence of a strict class system.

Standard rules apply for equipment slots for games that don't already have them. One item = one slot. Big/bulky items take two. Some number of coins or consumables take one (I prefer 50 coins, 3 consumables, but other games have other numbers).

 

3) Loadouts

Random equipment is fun! Especially when you get to dump a whole set of dice (d4-d12/20) and assign results. But I also really like loadouts (aka gear packages), because I feel like they add a lot of flavor to the beginning of the game, and help players thnk about their character roles. So if I'm starting a new game, I'm definitely prepping some loadouts before session zero.

 

4) Mostly Variable Pricing

It's easy to track, in my opinion. Using the 100 copper coins (cc) = 10 sc = 1 gc system, I have the following notes:

 

Food:

  • Groceries = 1 gc/person/week
  • Meals = 5 sc/person
  • Appetizers = 1 sc/person
  • Rations = 4 sc/ration or 10 sc for 3
  • Drinks = d6 sc/drink, or depending on quality and location

 

Gear:

  • Adventuring Gear = 2d6 sc
  • Cheap weapons = d3 gc
  • Basic weapons and armor = d6 gc
  • Expensive weapons and armor = 3d6 gc

 

5) Small Combat Stuff

There are a couple here.

5.1) Gang-up Rule -- If multiple attackers attack a single enemy, only the highest damage is applied at the end of the turn.

5.2) Sneak Attacks -- Double the damage dice if you're attacking from a hidden location. Attacking will reveal your location though.

5.3) Sunder -- Break a shield or armor piece to negate incoming damage.

 

6) Advancement Conditions

Inspired by this, this, and this by Dreaming Dragonslayer. 

Before the game, write down some conditions for advancement. Then, when the players accomplish one of those goals, advance!

In my games, an advancement is +d6 HP and +1 to an ability score. If the advancements are easier, or if you want slower HP progression, try a d3 HP bonus instead.

 

7) Wounds

Last for most controversial! I don't like giving people damage to ability scores :/

So, instead, when you drop to zero HP, take a wound, which fills up one inventory slot. Then, roll a d6. If you roll above your wound number, you survive with d3 HP. Else, you are dead/dying/incapacitated.

You get a +2 penalty to all saves/tests, per wound.

For resting, I use this setup:

  • Short rest (1 hour, a snack) -- heal d6 HP
  • Long rest (night of comfy rest, a warm meal) -- heal all HP
  • Full rest (week of comfy rest and warm meals) -- heal all HP and one wound 

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