Homebrew Aerth

SETTING EXPECTATIONS

CAMPAIGN UNIVERSE

The campaign universe uses the D&D 3.5E ruleset (primarily the core books and SRD), with some homebrew sprinkled in to address things that go against the DM's sensibilities (based on decades of play starting with 1E).

Grittiness, verisimilitude, "realism", and occasional creepiness, are the aspirational goals. As is a healthy mix of story development, combat, moral dilemmas, and goal achievement, plus a heavy dose of role-playing. This is a continual work-in-progress that will last a lifetime.

The inspiration and some content sources used for Aerth are:

• The world of Greyhawk, especially the pantheon and mages who provided many of the spells.
• Previous versions of D&D, which provide content and context for much of play style, part old school, part crunch.
• Lord of the Rings, Conan, H.P. Lovecraft and Game of Thrones. Minor magic items being prevalent, but powerful items not being commonplace.
• Materials from Paizo Pathfinder 1E, Raging Swan Press, Alderac Entertainment Group, Necromancer Games, Malhavoc Press, Mongoose Publishing, Kobold Press, White Wolf Publishing, Fantasy Netbook Community Council, Fat Goblin Games, Bastion Press, Green Ronin Publishing, Troll Lord Games, and many, many more, have found their way into the campaign universe. Not all publishers are still standing, having succumbed to the ravages of time, but a deep gratitude is felt for helping present a milieu that I can feel proud of using for our collaborative storytelling and endless adventures.

PLAYABLE RACES

Available player races are the standard ones listed in the SRD Races section, with sub-race options from those listed in the Monsters section, as listed below in order from most to least common (the exception being a drow half-elf from the Forgotten Realms Campaign book).

• Humans
• Dwarves: Hill and Mountain
• Elves: High, Wood, Gray, Wild
• Gnomes: Rock and Forest
• Half-elves: Any elf listed above, and Drow (dusky skin, silver or white hair, and human eye colors, substitute low-light for 60-foot darkvision)
• Half-orcs
• Halflings: Lightfoot, Tallfellow and Deep (a.k.a. Stout)

PLAYABLE CLASSES

Available player classes are the standard ones listed in the SRD Classes section.

EXPANDED EQUIPMENT

Weapons and armor listed below are from numerous official sources and 3rd party supplements add to the items available in the setting.

WEAPON DESCRIPTIONS

Table: Weapons

Weapons found on Table: Weapons that have special options for the wielder (“you”) are described below.

Arrows: An arrow used as a melee weapon is treated as a light improvised weapon (–4 penalty on attack rolls) and deals damage as a dagger of its size (critical multiplier x2). Arrows come in a leather quiver that holds 20 arrows. An arrow that hits its target is destroyed; one that misses has a 50% chance of being destroyed or lost.

Bolts: A crossbow bolt used as a melee weapon is treated as a light improvised weapon (–4 penalty on attack rolls) and deals damage as a dagger of its size (crit x2). Bolts come in a wooden case that holds 10 bolts (or 5, for a repeating crossbow). A bolt that hits its target is destroyed; one that misses has a 50% chance of being destroyed or lost.

Bullets, Prodd: Bullets come in a leather pouch that holds 10 bullets (these are the same used with a sling). A bullet that hits its target is destroyed; one that misses has a 50% chance of being destroyed or lost.

Cutlass: Popular with many sailors, the cutlass is a short, heavy, slightly curved blade useful for both stabbing and slashing. Its heavy basket hilt gives the wielder a +2 circumstance bonus on any checks to resist being disarmed.

Hook: A hook is a prosthetic appendage securely attached in place of a missing hand. A character using a hook cannot be disarmed. To attach a hook, a character must first be missing a hand (either right or left). Note that anyone with a hook suffers a -2 penalty on all skill checks requiring the use of hands. Note that attacks made with hook grafts count as natural attacks.

Knife: You get a +2 bonus on Sleight of Hand checks made to conceal a knife on your body (see the Sleight of Hand skill).

Maul: The maul is simply a two-handed warhammer of enormous size. Dwarves favor it.

Prodd: The prodd resembles a light crossbow but is designed to fire the same lead bullets used in slings. It deals less damage than a regular crossbow, but ammunition is cheap and rocks may be used in a pinch. You draw a prodd back by pulling a lever. Loading a prodd is a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity. Normally, operating a prodd requires two hands. You can shoot, but not load, a prodd with one hand, incurring a -2 penalty on attack rolls. When shooting with a prodd in each hand, you take a penalty on attack rolls as if attacking with two light weapons.

This penalty is cumulative with the penalty for one-handed firing. You can fire ordinary stones with a prod, but the stones are not as dense or as round as bullets. Thus, such an attack deals damage as if the weapon were designed for a creature one size category smaller than you (for instance, 1d3 instead of 1d4, or 1d2 instead of 1d3). Due to the velocity of the shot, there is no penalty to attack rolls when using rocks in this manner.

Truncheon: A truncheon is essentially a heavier version of the sap—a one-handed martial weapon that deals nonlethal damage. As with a sap, a rogue wielding a truncheon can deal extra nonlethal damage with a sneak attack, but only if she is proficient in its use.

Table: Armor and Shields

ARMOR DESCRIPTIONS

Any special benefits or accessories to the types of armor found on Table: Armor and Shields are described below.

Armored Robe: This nonmagical robe is designed to provide arcane spellcasters slight protection against harm without interfering too much in their spellcasting. It is essentially an ordinary wizard’s robe with leather strips sewn within the lining of the fabric. The arms of the robe are unarmored, leaving the arms of the wearer free for somatic gestures.

Bone: Bone armor is a cloth or leather coat reinforced with strips of bone, often cut from animals used for food. Druids can wear bone armor without losing access to their spells and class features. The armor covers the torso but leaves the limbs free for better mobility.

Brigandine: Brigandine armor consists of a coat of leather plates, each plate consisting of leather with a strip of steel inside it. I is essentially a light form of splint mail.

Hauberk: A hauberk is a one-piece set of chain armor. It is similar to a chain shirt, except that it hangs lower, to just below the knee. Most hauberks have a hood attached that protects the wearer’s head. A hauberk is cheaper and easier to manufacture than regular chainmail.

Lamellar: Similar to splint and brigandine armor, lamellar lies between the two in protective value. It consists of small, overlapping plates of metal sewn together or stitched to a backing of leather or cloth.

Leather Scale: Leather scale armor is just like the scale mail described in Chapter 7 of the Player’s Handbook, except that the scales are made of cured leather instead of metal.

Ring Mail: Ring armor is composed of tough leather, heavily reinforced with hundreds of small metal rings. Ring armor is the precursor to chainmail and is commonly found in cultures that haven't discovered how to create that type of armor. It is a cheap and effective protection, popular among town guards.

Wood: Wood armor is a cloth or leather coat reinforced with strips of wood. Druids can wear wood armor without losing access to their spells and class features. The armor covers the torso but leaves the limbs free for better mobility.