Recommended Optional Rules

Recommended Optional Rules

Eyom is intended to be a setting for long-term freeform adventures and supports this by doing its best to provide all the needed information for a GM to truly simulate its world. While Eyom can, of course, be played using the base Pathfinder ruleset (or any RPG rule system) it was designed with the use of a number of Pathfinder's official Alternate Rules and a couple of homebrew rules in mind.

What follows is a list of those rules, and why they are appropriate for use in games set within Eyom. Feel free to use them all, partially, or not at all. This list is intended to help convey the setting's tone.

Core Concepts

Magic As Equipment - Eyom's lore has magic being fundamentally different from that of most settings, with much of it based on certain items. This ruleset was created to comply with the setting's lore.

Sufficiently Shooty Shootybangs - Let's face it, the base Pathfinder rules for firearms are horrible. These were created with realism and fun in mind to allow GMs to create firearms appropriate to any era of history from medieval to modern day, and to allow PCs access to a wide varriety of firearms with unique properties, realistic quirks, and of course, drawbacks.

Sufficiently Swooshy Sticks - You know how a scrawny chick swinging a sword cuts just as deeply into a target as Hulk Hogan? You know how every single longsword is exactly the same? Yeah, me either. Here's some more realistic rules for melee combat, and also a means of making melee weapons more unique and fun.

Sufficiently Safe Shirts - I redid melee tools and firearms. Somone asked when I'd do armor, so I did armor.

Mythic Adventurers - The blood of dead gods is soaked into the land of Eyom. Sometimes people can absorb a bit of that power and become more than mere mortals.

Exploration and Movement - Pathfinder's rule set for running a sandbox is a great framework for GMs who are not used to running open-world games.

Performance Combat - Duels are common in Eyom, as are punch-ups that end in a knockout. Here are rules for making such things a little more interesting.

Provision Points - Many of Eyom's races have racial powers that require food to function. This was meant to tie into these rules, which gamify survival and make it a fun experience. Especially useful for sandbox games. How much food does that goat the PCs took with them provide? Want that in milk per day or meat content? These rules have the answer either way.

Timeworn Technology - These rules should apply to all of Eyom's magic items. All of their magic uses at least some technological principles, and nothing is built to codes or standards which would fly in the modern world. While these rules are intended for technology, in Eyom they apply to every potion, charm, wand, rod, wonderous item, weapon, and suit of armor.

Vehicles - Eyom is big. Very big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the cornor shop, but that's just peanuts compared to Eyom. It's the size of Eurasia. Literally. I made its map using GIS software, which let me check. All of Eurasia fits in there. PCs will want to get around, and the railroad doesn't go everywhere. Here are some rules for vehicles.

Strongly Suggested

Critical Hits Alternative System - While double damage on a crit is nice, that is an abstracted game logic concept. Eyom has magical prosthetics, and this system provides a reason PCs and NPCs might need to purchase one. It is also more appropriate for a simulation-based game, and provides a more interesting and tactical approach to combat.

Occult Adventures - While psionic powers are not exactly in line with Eyom's lore, the idea of hidden cults, malicious ghosts haunting the dark corners of the world, and eldrich horrors creeping in toward civilization are. These rules are excellent for games in Eyom dealing with pushing back the encroaching darkness. Especially since there are no gods to do it for mortalkind...

Armor as Damage Reduction - Always handy for those who insist armor makes you harder to hurt, not harder to hit. This also helps balance firearm combat's deadliness with fun.

Enhanced Fear - Aberrations are one of the most common monster types in Eyom. Players may get a little bored of the base 3 fear effects. These are just a little bit more spice which can help keep players on their toes instead of on their phones.

Hero Points - A good way to reward players for roleplay is via giving them a few of these.

Intrigue - Excellent guidelines for gamifying elements of political and social-focused games, which Eyom is intended to fully support via describing the workings of each culture and nation.

Kingdom Building - If your PCs decide to try and found a nation, here's solid rules for running that.

Reputation and Fame - Eyom works best if each PC or party begins to become known to the people around them. These rules are an excellent means of telling just who has heard of the PCs, how they feel about that, and what they might do based on what they've heard. (Note: This system works fine on its own. There's little reason to use the Honor system in conjunction with this ruleset, but you can if you wish.)

Stamina Points - A system that greatly expands the toolbox of marshal classes, enabling them to do more in a round through feats and a point-based pool of stamina. If you think that it's reasonable that fighters should be able to brace against a combat maneuver to improve their defense, here are the rules for that. Highly recommended.

Taxation - The creator of D&D, Gary Gygax, has a speech about how important taxes can be for keeping adventurers out adventuring. More than that, Eyom is a living world. If the PCs want to found a town, it's going to be taxed. Money in, money out. These rules seriously up the realism and can result in PCs becoming motivated in ways they normaly would not. Great for player investment!

Downtime - Eyom was designed with sandboxes in mind. If the PCs want to start a bar, found a town, or forge their own guild, here are solid rules for doing just that.

Suggestions

Called Shots - Because there is no reason to disallow players from trying to cripple an opponent's arm, or preventing villains from trying to smash in a PCs kneecap. Unfortuantly, the Pizo made system isn't good...

Masked Personas - The Vigilante class has a home in Eyom. Still, there is no reason a costumed persona with some magical benefits ought to be limited exclusively to a single class.

Mass Combat - It is conceivable that PCs may need to fight an army with an army. If they do, here's how.

Mysteries and Investigations - Less rules and more guidelines, these are good for helping you construct a mystery for your PCs that can stand up to spells like Discern Lies.

Piecemeal Armor - Because armor found in the back of a cave might be mostly rusted away, but perhaps the one enchanted pauldron attached to the decaying relic can be put to use...

Sanity - Some form of sanity rules can make Eyom more interesting, and dealing with its many Abberations more threatening and serious. These ones work fine, but feel free to use others if you want more bite than flavor.

Social Conflicts - If your PCs need to be rolling dice to be engaged, and you want to run a plot with a lot of social conflicts, here's how you can keep them having fun. If your PCs are more in love with roleplay than roll play, you likely do not need these.

Wounds and Vigor - If you want a little more grit to your game, a little more risk to combat, these replacements for hit points are good at that.