This page is for those with a working knowledge of 1st-edition Pathfinder rules who may be interested in what modifications and restrictions we make at our table. This list is probably not exhaustive, but here’s what we can pull together for those who may be interested.
Character Creation
Ability Scores: We use the point buy system from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook with a 20-point allotment for this game.
Race/Ancestry: We stick to races available in the Core Rulebook and Advanced Race Guide.
Classes: Any class/archetype published by Paizo.
Feats: No third-party feats, only ones published by Paizo.
Spells: The general rule is no third-party spells, but we’re open to dialogue on specifics if they come up.
Mounts/Animal Companions/etc: Animal companions and familiars are acceptable, but no mounts for this campaign.
Experience & Character Development
Earning Experience: We use story-based leveling and don’t track experience points.
Leveling-up: PCs level up after a full night’s rest. They immediately gain the amount of hit points that their new level grants them. They immediately have their new skill points and class abilities when they wake, but have to prepare spells however they’d normally have to do so.
Rules Mechanics
Skill Checks: We don’t use the Appraise skill in our games. We try, as a general rule, to avoid skill check pile-on. We’re not a huge fan of secret checks and avoid them except in the case of, say, some Occult Skill Unlocks (where information could unintentionally be given out if the players knew the result rolled).
Knowledge Skills: Given the memory issues in this campaign, we had plenty of discussion about how we might have to be a little more flexible and story-driven with our understanding of what these skills can accomplish for characters with no memory.
Conditions: We decided to slightly homebrew a few conditions into something resembling the way they are tackled in Starfinder, because we find them less cumbersome that way. Here’s our alterations:
Entangled: You are ensnared. Being entangled impedes movement, but does not entirely prevent it unless the bonds are anchored to an immobile object or tethered by an opposing force. You move at half speed, cannot run or charge, and take a –2 penalty to your Armor Class, attack rolls, Reflex saving throws, initiative checks, and Dexterity-based skill and ability checks. If you attempt to cast a spell, you must make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) or lose the spell.
Exhausted: You move at half speed, cannot run or charge, and take a –3 penalty to Armor Class, attack rolls, melee damage rolls, Reflex saving throws, initiative checks, and Strength- and Dexterity-based skill and ability checks. After 1 hour of complete rest, you become fatigued.
Fatigued: You can neither run nor charge and take a –1 penalty to Armor Class, attack rolls, melee damage rolls, Reflex saving throws, initiative checks, and Strength- and Dexterity-based skill and ability checks. Doing anything that would normally cause fatigue causes you to become exhausted. After 8 hours of complete rest, you are no longer fatigued.
Grappled: You are restrained. You cannot move and take a –2 penalty to Armor Class & CMD, attack rolls and Combat Maneuver checks (except those made to grapple or escape a grapple), Reflex saves, initiative checks, and Dexterity-based skill and ability checks. In addition, you can take no action that requires two hands to perform. If you attempt to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability, you must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler’s CMB + spell level), or lose the spell. You cannot make attacks of opportunity. You cannot use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling you, even if a special ability would normally allow you to do so. If you become invisible, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on your CMD to avoid being grappled, but receive no other benefit.
Optional Rules
Action Points: We use the old 3.5-edition Eberron Action Point system. Here’s how it works, in a nutshell: When you gain a level, you lose any unspent Action Points and gain a new total equal to 5 + half your level (rounded down). You can spend an Action Point whenever you roll a d20 to make an attack roll, skill check, ability check, or a saving throw. You don’t have to decide until after you make the roll, but you do need to decide before you learn if you succeeded or failed. If you spend an Action Point, roll a d6 and add it to your d20 result (and that number goes up at higher levels: starting at 8th level you roll 2d6 and keep the highest roll, and at 15th level you roll 3d6). You can only spend one Action Point per round.
Also, starting in Act II, we add in a few more uses of Action Points:
Activate Class Ability: A character can spend 1 Action Point to gain another use of a class ability that has a limited number of uses per day, or to act as a point in a class-specific pool (for example, a point from a Ninja’s ki pool or an Arcanist’s arcane reservoir).
Boost Defense: A character can spend 1 Action Point as a free action when fighting defensively. This gives them double the normal benefits for fighting defensively for the entire round (+4 dodge bonus to AC; +6 if they have 3 or more ranks in Acrobatics.)
Extra attack: During any round in which a character takes a full attack action, they may spend 1 Action Point to make an extra attack at their highest base attack bonus. Action points may be used in this way with both melee and ranged attacks.
Spell/Extract Boost: A character can spend 1 Action Point as a free action to increase the effective caster level of one of their spells by 2. They must decide whether or not to spend an Action Point in this manner before casting the spell.
Spell/Extract Recall: Spellcasters who prepare their spells in advance can spend 1 action point to recall any spell just cast. The spell can be cast again later with no effect on other prepared spells. This use of an action point is a free action and can only be done in the same round that the spell is cast. Spontaneous spellcasters such as sorcerers and bards can spend 1 Action Point to cast a spell without using one of their daily spell slots. This use of an Action Point is a free action and can only be done as the spell is being cast.
Stabilize: Any time a character is dying, they can spend 1 action point to become stable at their current hit point total.
Afflictions: For diseases and poisons, we agreed to use the ruleset from Pathfinder Unchained.
Skill Unlocks: We agreed that the Skill Unlocks system from Pathfinder Unchained would be available to the characters if any choose to take advantage of it.
Occult Skill Unlocks: We’re using this system from the Occult Adventures book, with some modifications. We’re not going to be using either the Dowsing or Read Auras unlocks. We’ve changed the skill for Psychometry to Perception (since we don’t use Appraise). And we have changed the unlock attached to Knowledge: Arcana into something different.
Sanity Points: We agreed to use the Sanity Points system from the Horror Adventures book, but with some adjustments to make things a little less brutal. Here are our modifications:
Sanity Edge: Equal to 3/4 of the sanity score instead of 1/2.
Number of Madnesses: A character can only be affected by a maximum of one madness at a time under our rules. If a PC is suffering from an active lesser madness, sanity damage that would cause them to take another lesser madness has no effect (but it can move them closer to a greater madness, as normal). If they have a dormant lesser madness and take sanity damage that would cause them to develop another lesser madness, their current madness becomes active. If they are suffering from a lesser madness (active or dormant) and take sanity damage that would cause them to develop a greater madness, their lesser madness is replaced by the new greater madness.
Sanity Damage Reduction: Every day of complete rest (instead of every week) allows a character to reduce their sanity damage by an amount equal to their Charisma modifier (min. 1).
Madness Recovery: An afflicted character can attempt a Will save against a madness’s current DC after seven consecutive days without taking sanity damage sufficient to gain a new madness (instead of after seven days of uninterrupted rest). On a successful save, the madness is cured (instead of initiating the DC-reduction method from the book). On a failure, the character may attempt a new save every day until cured, or until taking sanity damage sufficient to gain a new madness.
Save DCs, etc: We adjusted the save DCs and mechanical effects of a handful of madnesses.