Homebrew Rules. Everyone has a few. What are some of yours?

[TaliesinNYC]

I have only a small handful. KIM we use 2nd edition AD&D.

Character generation: 4d6, drop lowest; repeat 5 more times; add in racial bonuses/penalties if any; arrange as desired

Birthsigns: all characters born on Andurin are born under one of twelve birthsigns. Choose a birthsign, roll 1d100. On a roll of 01 (which is harder than it sounds, statistically and in real life), you get a special power which may or may not have a constant penalty. The powers themselves are not considered game-breaking; some are equal parts help as much as hindrance. You'll find I'm a big fan of The Elder Scrolls series.

Here's an example for anyone who's curious:

Detect Enchantment: Whenever you use this power, you are able to detect the presence of magic within a certain radius. The exact distance is not known to the player or the character. The power does not enable you to identify which items are magical; it only allows you to ascertain the presence, type/school, and intensity of magic. It also gives you a sense of a general location as well. This power is constant, and requires concentration to maintain.

Rule of Four: Because my games occur online, we have a long-standing rule that says that no games may be held unless four players are present in the "room". Less than four people means that the amount of intra-party interaction is reduced drastically which can be not as interesting. Sometimes this rule gets waived, particularly if attendance has been in a slump for a while. If we only meet once a week and a game is tabled b/c not enough people showed up, that's a strong incentive to not flake out.

Within 100 xp: if a character is within 100 xp of the next level, the points are waived and the PC is granted the level automatically.

Combat pacing: because it's an online game (and also in an effort to simulate the chaotic/rapid-fire pacing of combat), if a player takes too long in coming up with an action, I reserve the right to skip that person if I don't see something within a reasonable amount of time (say about 2-3 minutes).

Spell descriptions: I allow caster PCs to vary their spell descriptions from the usual description given in the rulebook. A mage or a priest SHAPES the spell he or she is casting by his or her experiences, thoughts, words and/or actions. The successful caster injects a little bit of him- or herself into his or her magic with each spell cast. It follows that a caster should be able to influence the APPEARANCE of the spell itself.

Therefore, each caster PC or NPC is allowed to have a motif that appears whenever he or she casts a spell from a scroll or from memory. The motif can be auditory, visual, olfactory or gustatory. The motif may be the same or may contain slight variations.

The motif must be decided upon when the character is created. The motif is optional -- the player doesn't need to take it but using it adds a little more variety, especially when someone is describing what their character is doing. (BTW I'm considering adding the fighter equivalent (something along the lines of a signature weapon maneuver. Not something that would grant additional bonuses in combat but something that adds variety to the standard "I hit the orc with my sword")).

Names and naming conventions: Character names must be relatively believable and reflect the character's origin. I don't want to see an elf running around with the name "Farfig Newton". It disrupts the integrity of the setting. I have some guidelines for the more exotic PC races like Khajiit (catfolk) and Amandean (a human subculture, much like the Wheel of Time Atha'an Miere).

[ak47]

is the three nat 20 rule
its very rare to happen and when it does its like omg i have never had any kind of that luck before and is very good time of laughs stories and such when it does things to remember.
basically
role 1rst 20 on d20 crit
role 2nd 20 on d20 max crit damage that can happen
role 3rd 20 on d20 instant death of monster no save no nothing (reason for this is rolling 3 20's in a row is like supper rare i think odds are dont quot me is 1/5k chance)

i like its counter part also three nat 1 rule too
basically the same but in reverse towards the player also just as rare

these two rules are fun when they happen good or bad and make a good game story when they do to make it live for ever.