<em>Following are variant rules for the Dance of Ruin game. These are intended to make combat more interesting by allowing states of consciousness, so players aren't forced to make every battle one to the death. Also, this should add a bit more color to the combats.</em><br/><br/><strong>Massive Damage:</strong>The massive damage threshold is Con x 3, with a Fort save (DC 15) to avoid death.<br/><br/><strong>Unconsciousness:</strong>If you take damage equal to your Con score, you must make a Fort save (DC 15) or be knocked out. Each round there is a 10% chance of waking up.<br/><br/><strong>Stun:</strong>If you take damage equal to 1/2 your Con score, rounded up, you must make a Fort save (DC 15) or be stunned. Stunned means you are badly shaken, with the following effects: can only take partial, non combat movement actions; lose any dext.-based AC bonuses; are +2 to be hit; cannot cast spells. You remain stunned until you make your Fort save.<br/><br/><strong>Combat Effects:</strong>This isn't really a variant, since you can more or less already do this under the rules, but I want to make it easier for characters to create combat effects so I'm expanding the concept a bit. When you attack, in addition to dealing damage, you can try to gain an additional, in-game effect. For instance, you might state, "I swing my staff at his ankles, trying to sweep his legs out from under him," or, "I thrust my sword, trying to impale him, followed by a kick to his chest to knock him back off the ledge." Going for a combat effect will incur a penalty of -2 to -4 on your attack, depending on the complexity of what you are asking and the skill of your opponent. If the roll fails, then you miss and nothing happens. If you succeed, you score damage and the effect. Keep in mind that if what you are asking for is too wild, and it succeeds, I will probably tone it down or ignore it.<br/><br/><strong>Critical Hits and Fumbles:</strong>I will be using the Paizo Critical Hit and Fumble decks, so watch out!<br/><br/><br/><em>Some other game notes:</em><br/><br/><strong>Victory Conditions:</strong>The winner is the last person standing, but this doesn't necessarily mean you have to kill everyone. Your opponents have to be defeated, but this can mean: they are dead; they are unconscious; they are somehow bound or incapacitated. Also, an opponent can surrender. You do not necessarily have to accept a surrender, or you can humiliate them for their surrender.<br/><br/><strong>Scoring:</strong>A surviving fighter receives a score. Make it to 100 points, and Kiraxis will either set you free, or allow you to continue in the game as a willing participant getting paid massive amounts of money. However, if you stay, all the rules still apply during combats. Victory will grant you 25 points. An additional 0-25 points will be awarded for how badly you humiliate your opponent(s). Kiraxis' clients are viewing the battle on scrying mirrors, and they are a sadistic bunch that love sexual and violent humiliations. Depending on how favorable their reactions are to what you do will determine how many points you receive. After every 30 points you earn, Kiraxis will grant you a magical item that you can keep and take with you to future combats.<br/><br/><strong>Fairness: </strong>Keep in mind that you have been abducted to fight at the whim of an insane wizard for his wealthy clients' sadistic pleasure. Fairness, in this scenario, is not an equation. You may find yourself facing one opponent, or it may be a free-for-all between 5 combatants. An opponent may be tougher than you, or may even have resources given to him by Kiraxis that you lack. Also, the battlefield is completely up to the wizard and may favor one opponent over another, at his whim. Please don't get upset if everything seems stacked against you. The point of the game is to have fun in a combat environment, in which odds are you are likely going to die anyway.