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, and 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 FEATS

Feats listed below are from numerous official sources and 3rd party supplements add to those available in the SRD Feats section.

AGILE ATHLETE [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: Climb 1 rank, Jump 1 rank.

Benefit: When making a Climb or Jump check, you use your Dexterity modifier for the check.

Normal: Without this feat, you use your Strength modifier for Climb and Jump checks.

CHOSEN WEAPON SPECIALIZATION [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: Weapon Focus with deity's chosen weapon, 6th-level cleric, druid, or paladin.

Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls when wielding your deity's chosen weapon.

Special: Should the deity have multiple chosen weapons, the cleric, druid, or paladin may only choose one.

DEADLY AIM [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: Dex 13, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: On your action, before making attack rolls for a round, you may choose to subtract a number from all ranged attack rolls and add the same number to all ranged damage rolls. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. The penalty on attacks and bonus on damage apply until your next turn. You must choose to use this feat before making an attack roll and its effects last until your next turn. The bonus damage does not apply to touch attacks or effects that do not deal hit point damage.

Special: A fighter may select Deadly Aim as one of his fighter bonus feats.

DEFENSIVE ARCHERY [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: Point Blank Shot.

Benefit: You gain a +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against attacks of opportunity provoked when you make a ranged attack.

Special: A fighter may select Defensive Archery as one of their fighter bonus feats.

FERVENT [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: Con 13, Toughness.

Benefit: You are not considered dead until your current hit point total falls a number of points below zero equal to your Constitution score. A character with a Constitution of 16, for instance, is not considered dead until his hit points fall to -16, not -10.

Normal: A character is considered dead upon reaching -10 hit points.

FLEET [GENERAL]

Benefit: While you are wearing light or no armor, your base speed increases by 5 feet. You lose the benefits of this feat if you carry a medium or heavy load.

Special: You can take this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

GREATER SHIELD FOCUS [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: Shield Focus, Shield Proficiency, 8th level fighter.

Benefit: Increase the AC bonus granted by any shield you are using by 1. This bonus stacks with the bonus granted by Shield Focus.

Special: A fighter may select Greater Shield Focus as one of his fighter bonus feats.

SHIELD FOCUS [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: Shield Proficiency, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: Increase the AC bonus granted by any shield you are using by 1.

Special: A fighter may select Shield Focus as one of his fighter bonus feats.

SIGNATURE SPELL [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: Spell Mastery.

Benefit: Choose one spell that you have mastered with the Spell Mastery feat as your signature spell. You may now convert prepared arcane spells of that spell's level or higher into your signature spell, just as a good cleric can spontaneously cast prepared spells as cure spells.

Special: You can gain Signature Spell multiple times. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a different mastered spell.

SPELL CASTING PRODIGY [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: 1st-level spell caster.

Benefit: For the purpose of determining bonus spells, treat the ability score that controls your spellcasting (Charisma for bards and sorcerers, Wisdom for divine spellcasters, or Intelligence for wizards) as 2 points higher than its actual value.

Special: You can gain Spellcasting Prodigy multiple times. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a different spellcasting ability score. You can take this feat even if you don't have any levels in a spellcasting class yet. You may select this feat only as a 1st-level character.

UNSEAT [GENERAL]

Prerequisite: Str 13, Ride 1 rank, Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: When charging an opponent while mounted and wielding a lance, resolve the attack as normal. If it hits, you may immediately make a free bull rush attempt in addition to the normal damage. If successful, the target is knocked off his horse and lands prone in a space adjacent to his mount that is directly away from you.

Special: A fighter may select Unseat as one of his fighter bonus feats.

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.