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Lifted House Rules

Overview

This file is a practical bundle of adopted and candidate house rules for an OSE-facing campaign. The emphasis is on making combat sharper, preserving expedition tempo, and softening dead-end failure states without removing risk.

Major Rules Included

  • Ascending AC and base attack bonus progression.
  • Cleave and alternate cleave action for fighters.
  • Reserve languages until first contact.
  • Rapid first aid / dying grace window.
  • Shield sacrifice before damage.
  • Duel stance mini-game: parry, push, and feint.
  • Faster search repetition with turn costs.
  • Removed mandatory every-fifth-turn rest in dungeons.
  • Short-rest style wound binding and faster safe recovery.
  • Loyalty checks shifted from automatic cadence to fiction-driven triggers.

Design Direction

Taken together, these rules favor continued motion, stronger martial identity, and more interesting recovery states than pure death-at-zero. They are best understood as table-facing refinements rather than a replacement rules chassis.

See Also