All is fair

One thing I have always disliked about games is that they treat player characters and monsters as separate entities, often with different set of rules. This makes it harder for players to play as monsters and it makes it harder for game masters to keep track of all the rules, unique abilities, traits, feats, skills and whatnot. What it does do successfully is streamline the introduction of disposable enemies.

Roll for unnecessary heroism

Combat in 3.5 was never spectacular. I assume that this must be the reason behind the 4th edition flamboyance.  My idea was to allow the characters a roll for for unnecessary heroism instead of their usual roll for improbable events. This had the advantage of not risking to kill or inconvenience the rest of the group, while providing a more spectacular way of fighting back with enhanced prowess. In essence it was giving up power but gaining control.

Bolthor's Axe

Bolthor's Axe started out as an average dwarven battleaxe wielded by Bolthor, the dwarven fighter. That changed during a fight against some generic evil monsters or other, when one ( or more) improbable events were called on a critical miss with said axe. The axe flew out of Bolthor's hands and landed several feet away breaking an unidentified half buried item. This in turn caused the apparition of an upset spirit which promptly dissappeard in a flash of blinding light. The perfect obvious recipe for a cursed item if I ever saw one. That didn't stop Bolthor from picking it right up though.

The curse, and related magical effects were:

Magic items and dice rolls

To keep things interesting, I decided to allow any and all magic effects to happen regardless of the item being identified or not. However I didn't want to just give away the magical nature of items for free.

Roll for improbable event

While probably not the first homebrew mechanic used in the campaign, it was certainly the one with the greatest impact.

Middle Earth was home to a great number of improbable events scaling from large to small which shaped the destinies of both the characters and the world ( is that there a ring of power I just stumbled upon in the dark?). Dungeons and dragons 3.5 sadly does not come fully equipped to handle that, except by dungeon master interference. That is sometimes hard to balance and keep impartial.

The solution?

Low Magic - weapons

This may be what started it, or it may be what intensified it, but ever since 'The Tolkien Campaign' I've had a fondness for low fantasy/ low magic settings. The reason for lowering the amount of magic present was due to the dwindling presence of elves, dwarves and assorted fantasy entities. While 3.5 scales well with the reduction of magic elements, there was still a considerable gap left in terms of gear. Without magic gear, the reward pool is greatly reduced, and players do love their rewards.

Character restrictions

The events of the campaign were unfolding rather late in Middle Earth's history, when elves and dwarves  weren't as numerous as they once were, and magic was all but gone. This had to be reflected in the player characters themselves. A full group of elves would have been highly unusual. The easiest way to do this