Starting CharactersStarting ability pointsPax Thumanus is a gritty setting where player characters must survive and prosper by their sheer ability alone. Thus, more heroic starting characters are necessary. All PCs start with 8 points to spread among abilities.Starting levelIn Pax Thumanus, the "average" person with some experience in a particular field is 3rd level not first. Therefore, PCs should start at 3rd level as well in a typical campaign, unless for story reasons, they should begin as neophytes.Combat RulesAttacks of OpportunityBecause of the tactical spirit of Pax Thumanus combat, I am reviving the Attack of Opportunity (AoO) rules that were left out of True 20. Attacks of Opportunity are particularly crucial with regard to the tactical advantages of reach weapons. However, I am restricting the usage of attacks of opportunity to maintain simplicity. The following actions lead to attacks of opportunity.
Keep in mind that attempts to sunder or disarm (with a weapon) no longer provoke attacks of opportunity. One attack of opportunity is allowed per round. I am also reviving the D20 feats Combat Reflexes, Mobility, and Improved Mobility. Using one-handed weapons with two handsAll medium-sized weapons can be wielded two-handed if the character has one hand free (i.e. he is not carrying a shield or attacking with two weapons). Using a one-handed weapon with two hands grants an extra +1 to damage.No piercing sundersPiercing weapons cannot be used to make sunder attempts.Parrying damageAny time you use a parry defense and your opponent's attack roll exactly equals your parry defense, the damage is applied to your weapon instead of to you. Note that this still will not allow piercing weapons to make sunder attempts, so if you are attacking with a piercing weapon you simply miss. If the defending character has both a shield and a weapon or is wielding two weapons, he can choose which one will take damage. This rule allows parrying to be slightly more effective than dodging in melee (because the attacker doesn't hit when he equals the target's defense), but at a greater risk of weapon damage.Changes to armorAll armor has a maximum dodge defense rating. If a character is wearing this armor, they can only apply up to the maximum toward their dodge defense, even if their Dex score would typically allow for more. Note that this does not apply to parrying.Also, the armor check penalty is no longer necessarily equivalent to the toughness bonus the armor imparts. See the equipment descriptions for details. The Commoner RoleI don't care for the ordinary and minion rules in the True20 rulebook. To simulate the abilities of the average joe, I use the Commoner role. The commoner gets three normal saves, the combat progression of the Adept role, and four starting skills. Commoners get one feat at first level, and one feat every two levels thereafter.
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