Alara'Keelan: Alternate Rules

The Alara'Keelan campaign uses alternate rulings on several of the 4th edition mechanics.

Skills
The skill system as a whole has received major overhauls, making it more similar to a 3rd Edition system.

Skill Points
Instead of 4th Edition's skill training system, which has characters advancing automatically with level, Alara'Keelan has characters gain skill points with each level which they may assign as they choose. Skill points are used as a bonus to skill checks in place of the trained skill bonus and level bonus. Skill points may be assigned relatively freely - any character may improve any skill, as appropriate to their nature. This basic system is a radical change from the standard 4th Edition model. In particular, many effects related to trained skills must be adjusted to work with the new system.
 * Trained Skills and Level Bonus: No character gains trained skills, and the level bonus to skills is eliminated.
 * Starting Skill Points: At 1st level, each character is given a number of skill points to divide among their skills. The precise number is determined primarily by class: skill points at first level equal: ([number of trained skills] + 1) * 5.
 * e.g., a fighter (who starts with 3 trained skills) would start with 20 skill points, (3+1)*5. A rogue (who starts with 6 trained skills) would begin with 35 skill points, (6+1)*5.
 * Gaining Skill Points: At each subsequent level, characters gain additional skill points equal to the number of trained skills they gain at first level plus 1.
 * e.g., a fighter would gain 4 skill points each level, while a rogue would gain 7.
 * Maximum Rank: Skills cannot be made too strong at any point in advancement. At 1st level, the "max rank", or maximum number of points that may be assigned to each skill, is 5 points. This max rank increases by 1 point at every even level.
 * A 1st-level character, no matter how many skill points he receives, can only place 5 points into any one skill. At 2nd level, he may place points in his skills and bring any of them up to 6 points. At 3rd level, the cap is still 6, but skill points are still received and may be distributed among skills below 6 points. At 4th level, max ranks increases to 7, and skill points may be used to bring any skill up to 7 points.
 * Bards: Bards gain an additional 5 skill points at 1st level, and 1 additional skill point at each level thereafter. (Effectively placing bards at 6 starting trained skills instead of 5.)
 * Racial Trained Skills: Some races, such as humans and eladrin, gain a free trained skill at 1st level. This is replaced thus: "You gain an additional 5 skill points at 1st level, and 1 additional skill point at each subsequent level."
 * Skill Training: The Skill Training feat now provides 5 additional skill points when it is gained, and 1 additional skill point at each level thereafter.
 * Multiclassing: Multiclass feats which grant skill training provide a one-time bonus of 5 skill points.
 * Retraining Skills: Skills may still be retrained under this system while leveling. As your retraining option each level, you may move up to 5 skill points between skills as you choose.
 * Skill Requirements: For any paths, feats, abilities, or items which require skill training, you count as "trained" if you have at least (max rank - 4) ranks in the appropriate skill. If you cease to have the appropriate ranks (for example, by leveling and not increasing your ranks in that skill), the normal penalties for ceasing to qualify for an ability apply.

Class features that relate to trained skills are ruled on a case-by-case basis. Currently ruled features are:
 * Grey Guard: The Gray Guard Vigilance feature now reads: "You are always treated as having max ranks in Perception and Streetwise. If you already had ranks in these skills, you may assign them elsewhere. In addition, enemies marked by you cannot benefit from concealment or total concealment against your attacks."
 * Thuranni Shadow Killer: The Thuranni Silence feature now reads: "Any ally within 3 squares of you gains bonus ranks in Stealth equal to one-half your ranks in Stealth (rounded up). These bonus ranks provide each ally a maximum total number of ranks in Stealth equal to your ranks in Stealth, or ranks equal to (5 + 1/2 your level - 2), whichever is lower." Thus, an 11th level Thuranni Shadow Killer with maximum Stealth (10 ranks) would provide allies within 3 squares 5 bonus ranks in Stealth, but only if that did not bring an ally over 8 ranks. An ally with 4 ranks in Stealth would be brought to 8 ranks.

Passive Skill Use
To better reflect the attentiveness of a character engaged in other activities, the basis for passive skills has been reduced to 5 instead of 10. That is, a character's passive Perception and passive Insight scores are now equal to 5 + their modifiers.

Feats

 * The White Lotus feats (Dragon #373) no longer require the Arcane power source.

Rituals
One of the most expansive and enjoyable system overhauls in the Alara'Keelan campaign is a massive revision to the governing rules for rituals. In basic 4th Edition D&amp;D, rituals tend to see minimal use due to their high cost (making them too expensive to use regularly) and long casting times (which limit creative tactical functions). While magic in earlier editions tended to become overpowering, these rules attempt to strike a balance between the incredible utility of 3.5E spells and the improved balance of 4E rituals.

Ritual Standardization &amp; Ritual Tiers
Most rituals now have standardized casting costs and casting times. Some rituals, roughly one-quarter of those presently released, still have longer casting times and more expensive component costs. The rest, however, are determined by a relatively simple formula which can be easily calculated on the spot. Partially as a consequence of this standardization, rituals are now organized into five-level-wide "tiers". Thus, rituals of levels 1-5 are a tier, as are levels 6-10, 11-15, and so on. Standardization was intended largely to reduce the cost and time of rituals. All rituals standardized in this way (marked on the tables below) now use the alternatives below in place of their listed time and cost. Note that while many rituals are both time-standardized and cost-standardized, some have one but not the other.
 * Casting Time: All time-standardized rituals have a casting time of 5 rounds (or 30 seconds).
 * Component Cost: All cost-standardized rituals have a cost equal to (level * tier cost). Each tier of rituals has a cost associated with it, which is the primary factor in the casting cost of a ritual. These costs are shown on the table to the right. As examples of how this works, consider Sending (1) and Linked Portal (8), two common cost-standardized rituals. Casting Sending under these rules would cost 5 gp (1 * 5), while Linked Portal would cost 80 gp (8 * 10).

Free Rituals
Several classes (bards, clerics, druids, and wizards) receive Ritual Casting as a feature at 1st level. These classes may now cast two cost-standardized rituals of any tier below their own for free each day. Thus, while a level 1 wizard could not cast free rituals at all, being in the lowest tier, a level 14 wizard could cast two free rituals of level 10 or lower every day.

Buying and Learning Rituals
The market price of a cost-standardized ritual is five times its casting cost. Thus, hiring a spellcaster to cast Sending would cost 25 gp (1 * 5 * 5). The market price of a non-cost-standardized ritual is five times its (adjusted) casting cost.

Learning a new ritual still costs the market price of that ritual in most cases; however, this cost represents the cost paid to acquire the ritual formula and practice it, not special materials used for scribing that ritual into a book. In line with this thematic change, if a character manages to acquire a ritual formula, it may be copied into their own ritual book for only twice the casting cost. For example, while learning Sending would normally cost its market value of 25 gp, borrowing a friendly NPC's ritual book would let a character learn Sending for only 10 gp. To offset this, a character may only cast a ritual from their own ritual book or from a ritual scroll. Any rituals one wishes to cast must be copied into one's own book or scribed into a scroll.

List of Rituals
This list serves several functions. First, it is a complete (as of August 2009) list of all rituals, making it valuable to anyone trying to find a new tool for their game. Second, it matches each ritual with newly-adjusted costs and casting times. Finally, it shows which rituals are associated with which skills, making it simple to find the appropriate rituals for your character and ignore the rest.

Stat Bonuses
The rules for monster creation in the 4th edition Dungeon Master's Guide create an imbalance in the average percentage chance a PC can be hit, and that the PC will hit a creature. To compensate for this, as well as to allow for more powerful, varied characters, stat bonuses have been altered as follows.

Racial Stat Bonus
Every playable race in 4th edition has a +2 to two different stats at character creation. One +2 bonus may now be assigned to any ability, regardless of race. The other bonus must still be assigned to an ability that the race previously had that bonus in. Both bonuses must be applied to different stats.

Stat Increases from Leveling
Players now gain +2 to two stats and +1 to two every four levels. At each tier (11th and 21st), they now gain +2 to three and +1 to three.

Alternate Combat Rules
The disarm, grapple and pin combat moves were changed in 4th edition, with grapple and pin being radically simplified, and disarm being phased out entirely. These rules aim to return the usefulness of grappling an opponent found in 3.5, as well as to re-introduce disarming into 4th edition.

Disarm

 * Use: Standard Action
 * Target: Any creature wielding a weapon within your melee reach.
 * Attack: You make a Strength vs. Reflex/Fortitude (defender chooses) attack verses the target, and specify the weapon you wish to disarm the target of. If you or your opponents are proficient with your or its weapon, add the weapon's proficiency bonus to the attack or defense. Wielding a weapon as a two-handed weapon gives you a +2 to this check or defense. If the defender is using an off-hand weapon, and the attacker is attempting to disarm that weapon, the attacker gets a +2 to their attack. If the targeted weapon is not a melee weapon, the attacker gets a further +2.
 * Hit: The target drops whatever weapon you attempted to disarm in one of the squares it is occupying (attacker decides). If you are unarmed, you can wield the weapon instead. Picking up a weapon is a standard action.
 * Miss: The target gets a free attack of opportunity against you.
 * Special: If you have taken the Improved Disarm feat (see below), the target does not get a free attack on a miss. Some weapons (such as the spiked chain) give a bonus to disarm attempts (DM discretion).
 * Notes: Monster damage in 4th edition is calculated assuming that the creature has some form of weapon avalible (whether it be wielded or natural). If a creature that uses a weapon is disarmed, and has no natural weapons it can use, change its damage dice to a total of 1d4. If a monster uses a stat other than strength for its attacks, apply a lower modifier to its damage and attack bonus as appropriate (DM's discretion).

Grapple

 * Use: Standard Action
 * Target: An appropriately sized creature within your melee reach (don't count extra reach granted by a weapon). You may only attempt to grapple creatures between one size smaller and one size bigger than you.
 * Attack: Make a Strength attack against the target's Reflex/Fortitude defense (defender chooses). Do not add any weapon modifiers. You must have at least one hand free to grapple.
 * Hit: You immediately move into the target's square (without taking the normal penalties), the target is immobilized until released and is considered grappled (see below).
 * Miss: The target gets a free attack of opportunity against you.
 * Effects of a Grapple: Neither grappler threatens while grappling. You take a -2 penalty to attacks when attacking anyone else besides the person you are grappling with. You may now use the special grapple actions.


 * 1) You may use your standard action as normal. If you take any actions that provoke (I.E. ranged attacks), you immediately end the grapple. You may only use weapons you can wield with one hand while in a grapple.
 * 2) You may move yourself and your target with a successful strength vs. fortitude attack. Success allows you to move yourself and your target up to half your move speed.
 * 3) You may silence your target each round as a free action. Make a Strength vs. Reflex -2 attack to determine success.


 * Sustain: You may sustain the grapple as a minor action. You may end the grapple with a free action. If you do, the defender immediately shifts 1 out of your square.
 * Defender's Actions In a Grapple: While grappled, the defender cannot move. It can not make ranged attacks, or other actions that would provoke. It can otherwise take its standard action as the attacker can (see above). To escape a grapple, it must make a Strength or Escape Artist check vs. the grappler's Fortitude or Reflex defense (grappler chooses), modified by grappling feats as appropriate. If the defender succeeeds, it immediately shift 1 square and is no longer grappled.
 * Other Effects That End a Grapple: If you (the attacker) are dazed or stunned, the grapple ends, and the defender immediately shifts 1 out of your square. If you are unconscious, you fall prone and continue to share the square with the defender. If you move away, or are moved away by forced movement, to where the defender is beyond your reach, the grapple ends. If your target becomes insubstantial, phases or teleports, the grapple ends.
 * Special: If you have Improved Grapple, you do not provoke on a miss.

Pin

 * Use: Standard action.
 * Target: A creature that you are currently grappling.
 * Attack: Make a Strength attack against the target's Fortitude or Reflex defense (defender chooses). Do not add weapon modifiers.
 * Hit: The target is restrained. If the target is using a shield, they no longer gain shield bonuses to defense. The defender may continue to make escape checks as if it were grappled, but a successful escape check now ends the pin and returns to a grapple.
 * Sustain: You may sustain the pin as a minor action. You may end the pin and return to a grapple with a free action.
 * Extra Control: A pin grants you much greater control over your target. You gain a +2 versus escape attempts. You may prevent the target from speaking with a free action, and without needing to attack. You may also, as a standard action, make a secondary grapple attack vs. Reflex to grab a small item or one-handed weapon from them (DM's discretion on appropriate item sizes). If it is a secured item, you take a penalty to the check (DM's discretion).
 * Effects That End a Pin: Any effect that would automatically end a grapple (despite your target being restrained) will also end a pin.

New Feats
Disarm, Improved (Heroic)
 * Prerequisites: STR 12, DEX 12.
 * Benefits: If you miss on a disarm attempt, your target does not get an attack of opportunity. When making a disarm attempt, you may use Dexterity instead of Strength.

Disarm, Greater (Paragon)
 * Prerequisits: Improved Disarm, STR 14, DEX 14
 * Benefits: You gain a +2 bonus when making a defending against a disarm attempt. If you succeed on a disarm attempt, you may place the disarmed weapon a number of squares from your target equal to the modifier of the ability applied to your check.

Grapple, Improved (Heroic)
 * Prerequisits: STR 12
 * Benefits: If you miss on a grapple attempt, your target does not get an attack of opportunity.You may use Dexterity instead of Strength when making a grapple/pin attack or a secondary grapple attack.

Grapple, Greater (Paragon)
 * Prerequisits: STR 14, DEX 12
 * Benefits: You gain a +2 bonus when making, defending or escaping from a grapple.

The Anyways Sign
If you see the Anyways sign, it's an imperative that you get thee head in the game! Failing to do so will result in a Falling Rocks vs. Your Fragile Character attack.