House Rules & Homebrew

Here I have decided to start recording our House Rules and Home Brew by Game. So we can export and Import them across othergames easily, I guess. Never used to write this shit down, so it may be incomplete.

The Foot Prints Mechanic

A mechanic used so far in The Exceptionals and Cyberpunk RED games.

An investigation mechanic, when investigating players have time working against them, as usual, and now also have a limited action and investigation economy.

  1. The team is issued by the GM a number of “Foot Steps.”

  2. Each action they take costs one or more “Foot Steps.” This can include reading a document, looking at something enough to require a check, flicking on a light switch, searching a computer.

  3. Whenever a member of the team transitions between two areas that could be closed off (eg; to another room separated by a door, even if the door is open) it costs 1 “Foot Step.” If multiple members of the team transition from one area they have in common to another area also in common at the same time, it still only costs 1 “Foot Step.” This means that if multiple members of a party are in the same room, and all move to another room together (From Room A to Room B) And none are going to a different room than the others, then the cost is 1 “Foot Step,” If they are moving to different rooms, the cost is applied separately.

  4. There is no difference as far as “Foot Steps” are concerned between a quick task and a long task.

  5. Having remaining “Foot Steps” does not mean the team cannot deplete their time. If the Police are five minutes away, they are five minutes away, “Foot Steps” can only suspend the narrative time flow for so much.

  6. When they run out of foot steps, a scene is triggered that concludes the investigation, this may include combat or destruction of the area.

Trick or Treat

The Hallowe’en special mechanic for any game. This turns every crit into a trick or treat situation. Rules specified for a d20 system, and more specifically for Mutants And Masterminds.

  1. Affects natural 20s and Natural 1s rolled. Could be adapted in a d10 system to affect natural 10 and 1 rolls.

  2. For the duration of the Trick or Treat Mechanic Hero points or other re-roll mechanics are suspended for rolls of 20 and 1 (10 and 1 for d10 systems) , specifically spending a hero point to re-roll may not be done on Trick or Treat rolls.

  3. On Natural 20 rolls a person at the table must say “Trick or Treat!” To the person that says that, a hero point is rewarded, to be kept in a special pile “Treats” This does not need to be the person who rolled the result. (in d10 systems Hero points or Luck is not awarded here)

  4. On a Natural 1 roll a person at the table must say “Trick or Treat!” This does not need to be the person who rolled.

  5. No matter who said “Trick or Treat!” 2d6 must be rolled, this can be done by the GM, or by whoever said “Trick or Treat!” or whoever rolled the original dice, this decision is made by the person who said “Trick or Treat!”

  6. The table (2d6 result)
    2 - No matter what the original roll was, it is now treated as a natural 1. No additional “Trick or Treat!” call is allowed on this result. (in Cyberpunk RED the 1’s follow-up roll is the same as the one rolled for the natural 10, oops!)

    3 - The person who called “Trick or Treat!” loses 1 Hero Point (if they have none, nothing happens).

    4 - The character of the person who called “Trick or Treat!” loses one Standard action on their next combat turn—whenever that turn occurs, even weeks later. (In Cyberpunk RED you lose either your action or your move for a turn, your choice)

    5 - The person who called “Trick or Treat!” suffers –4 on their next roll (–2 in d10 systems).

    6 - If the caller is NOT the original roller, the original roller gains 1 Hero Point. Otherwise, no effect.

    7 - The person who called “Trick or Treat!” gains 1 extra Hero Point.

    8 - 1 Hero Point is added to “The Candy Bag”.

    9 - The person who called “Trick or Treat!” receives 10 +1 bonuses. They may use these on themselves or give them to anyone at the table. Each time this result is rolled, the number of +1s awarded drops by 2 (10 → 8 → 6 → etc.).

    10 - The person who called “Trick or Treat!” recovers 1d6 damage and permanently removes one existing condition from their character (narrate however you like—“I was never hurt!” is fine). (You can suffer this condition again, but the currant instance is removed)

    11 - Everyone at the table, including the GM, receives 1 Hero Point.

    12 - Both the original roller and the person who called “Trick or Treat!” each receive one “Natural 20 Pass.” Redeem it later to replace any single roll with a natural 20 (Trick or Treat mechanic is suspended for that pass).

  7. Quick Reference Notes

    • Natural 20 Pass: Single-use token; declare before rolling (then do not roll)

    • All Hero Points awarded by Trick or Treat mechanic are to be kept separate from regular Hero Points.

    • Candy Bag: Physical bowl or note sheet—tracks only points from 8 results.

    • +1 Stack (9): Track the current pool size on a scrap of paper; resets only at session end.

    • Future Action Loss (4): Mark it on the character sheet with the date; it must burn the next combat turn after it’s earned.

    • In Cyberpunk Red Hero use LUCK points in place of Hero points, gained LUCK points are noted separately and CAN allow you to go above your MAXIMUM LUCK but do not RAISE your maximum luck. Any luck over your maximum is lost at the end of the game session.

  8. Candy Bag.

    • If there are any Hero Points in anyones “Treats” Pile at the end of the night, those points are added to their normal reserve of hero points.

    • At the end of the night, all Hero points in the Candy Bag go to the player who rolled the most failed checks that session.

      • In Cyberpunk RED any LUCK points in the Candy Bag are converted into LUCK tokens and may be retained by the player who rolled the most failed checks that night. This can allow them to exceed their maximum luck and is accounted separately, and must be spent before normal LUCK. These Tokens are kept until spent.

  9. Over Eating - At the end of the night the number of Treat Hero points (Or luck) spent is added up and converted into a penalty on a roll. That roll will differ depending on system, in M&M it is Fortitude. Roll a DC 15 Fortitude check, apply the penalty. If you fail, your character will have a minor Stomach Upset next session, which will add a -2 penalty on all checks for the session call it “Tummy Upset” this effect cannot be removed by any in game effect. Shoulda listened to your Mom.

    • In Cyberpunk RED the check is Restist Torture/Drugs DV 13 and the penalty is -1 next session.