Topic: Review my house rules please and thank-you!

So basically porting a setting into LOTFP that I have been playing in/with since the early 90s.  There are a ton of rules here that have been stolen from all over the web.

Characters

The below is a basic overview of character creation.  It presumes that you have a basic understanding of terms  and basic rules used in traditional DnD.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask the referee.

*Ability Scores:
Roll 3d6 for each ability score (Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength, Wisdom), in order, and record them on your character sheet.  A player can decide to swap the position of one ability score that was rolled with another.  Each ability score has a modifier which is associated with it:
Ability Score Modifiers
3  –3
4–5 –2
6–7 –1
8–11 0
12-13 +1
14-15 +2
16-17 +3
18 +4

Explanation of Ability Scores
·      Charisma:
Charisma is the measure of a character’s aptitude for leadership and the respect that others bestow on the character’s authority. It is not a measure of the appeal of a character’s personality (the player must portray the character’s personality) nor a measure of the character’s beauty. Charisma modifiers affect a character’s Luck Score.
·      Constitution
Constitution is the measure of a character’s health, vitality, and toughness. Constitution modifiers affect a character’s Hit Points and fitness for certain physical activities such as traveling long distances.
·      Dexterity
Dexterity is the measure of a character’s agility and reflexes. Dexterity modifiers affect a character’s Armor Class, ability to hit and damage with ranged weapons, and ability to act first in combat.
·      Intelligence
Intelligence is the measure of a character’s knowledge prior to the start of play. Intelligence does not measure a character’s memory or ability to solve puzzles; it is the player’s wits that must be used in these situations. Intelligence modifiers affect the character’s ability to learn languages.
·      Strength
Strength is a measure of a character’s raw power. Strength modifiers affect a character’s ability to hit in mêlée combat, open stuck doors, or succeed in unarmed combat.
·      Wisdom
Wisdom is the measure of a character’s connection to the greater universe, and the strength of the character’s spirit. Wisdom does not affect the character’s ability to make good decisions or judge situations or characters; it is the player’s own judgment which must be used in these situations.

*Is The Character Suitable?
    If the total of all of the character’s ability score modifiers is less than zero, then the player may discard the character and begin the process again.

*Hit Points
    First-level player characters start with the maximum number of hit points possible, plus five additional hit points (modified by their constitution scores, as appropriate).  Hit points should be rolled normally after first level.  Only player characters and important non-player characters (namely, noteworthy allies and antagonists) should use this system for determining hit points. Player characters’ hit points represent only ‘superficial’ damage (i.e., exhaustion, light bruises, minor scrapes, and so forth.).  Because of this, all lost hit points may be recovered by sleeping without interruption for eight full hours.  Resting (not sleeping), or sleeping for less than eight hours, will enable a player character to recover one hit point per full hour of rest or sleep.  Cure Wounds spells and potions of Healing do not heal hit points, but only lost points of Constitution.  Once a player character’s hit points have been depleted, any further damage is done to the character’s constitution score. 
Damage to a character’s constitution score represents ‘serious’ damage.  Every time a character takes damage to his/her constitution, he/she must make a Luck Save or fall unconscious.  In addition, a character that has taken damage to his/her constitution suffers a -2 penalty to all actions (including attack rolls and saving throws).
     If a character’s constitution score is reduced to 0 or lower that character is dead.  Characters who have suffered damage to their constitution and have fallen unconscious regain consciousness after eight hours of rest.  If that character’s constitution is still reduced, he/she continues to have 0 hit points and suffers the -2 penalty to all actions until he/she can rest and recover.  Characters subsequently can recover one constitution point for every two days of complete rest (i.e., no travelling or adventuring).  The care of a doctor or other non-magical healer can improve the rate of healing to one constitution point per day of rest. 
      A character cannot recover any hit points until all constitution points have been recovered

*Record Attack bonus And Luck Save
In combat, the attacking character makes a d20 roll, and if the roll (after all modifiers are applied) is equal to or greater than the target’s Armor Class, the attack is a success. A natural 20 is always a hit (unless the enemy is only vulnerable to special weapon types which the attacker does not possess, but this is a rare situation), and a natural 1 is always a miss.  Many characters, including all Player Characters, get an Attack Bonus which they add to their to-hit roll. 

The Luck saving throw charts for Player Character levels is found within the individual class descriptions. This number is added to the characters Charisma score.   The Referee will inform the player when a saving throw needs to be made, and the number on the chart is the number that needs to be rolled (after all modifiers are applied), or higher, to successfully save. A natural 1 is always a successful save, and a natural 20 is always a failed save.

*Determine Skills/Abilities

For skills that are “x in 6”, allocating a point increases the chance by one. For example, Architecture begins at 1 in 6.  Characters allocating a point to this skill increases his chance to 2 in 6.  A character may choose to also spend a pip to learn a new language, one pip is barely passable, 2 pips is conversant, 3 pips is fluent.
Sneak Attacks are merely attacks made by surprise. A character can multiply the damage done by a Sneak Attack by allocating points to this skill. Assume that the damage multiplier is × 1 for all characters, but for every point allocated to the skill, the damage multiplier is increased by one. If a character has any points in Sneak Attack, then he also gets a +2 bonus to hit above any other bonuses he already has when performing a Sneak Attack.
When use of an ability is attempted, the player must roll d6 and if the result is equal to, or less than the ability, the action is successful. In some cases the Referee will make the roll if the character would not immediately know if he was successful. For example, the character will easily be able to tell if he has successfully picked a lock or not, so the player can make that roll. On the other hand, the character would not know, after searching for traps, if he has failed to find a trap or if there simply is not one present. In this case, the Referee will make that roll.
If a skill has a rating of 6 in 6, the roll to succeed is made with two dice, and only if both dice come up 6 does the attempt fail.
           A character must be unencumbered to use any of the class abilities involving movement or suffer a one point skill penalty per level of encumbrance. They must have specific tools to use Search for finding traps or to use Tinker for opening locks or other such activities.

*Determine Starting Possessions
All characters begin their adventuring careers with money and equipment with which to start their adventuring career. Players will roll for how much money their character begins with, and then buy equipment with that money. All equipment is assumed to have been acquired before play starts.
Every character begins with 3d6 x10 sp. If a character strts above first level, then they begins with 180 sp plus 3d6 x10 sp for every level greater than one. For example, a fourth level character would begin with 180+(9d6x10sp). The basic unit of money is the Silver Piece.   A number of other coins are also used with the following conversion rates:
1 Guilder (g) = 50 Silver Pieces (sp) = 500 Copper Pieces (cp)

Buy Equipment
The Referee will inform the players if there are any restrictions, changes, or additions to the equipment tables before characters are created. Costs are given for both City and Rural areas (for these purposes a City is a settlement with a population of at least 1,000 people and Rural is any place at least one full day’s travel or more from a City). Since their equipment is considered to have been gathered during their travels prior to the start of play, new characters may use the less expensive prices when buying equipment.  All costs are considered to be for average situations, and a Referee can freely decide that some (or all) prices are more or less expensive based on location, culture, economic or political upheaval, strong guilds, etc.  All characters are assumed to begin play with a decent set of traveling clothes appropriate for the weather conditions in the starting area of play at no cost.  These items do not have to be paid for.


Adventurers!
"Better freedom and a chilly road than a warm hearth and servitude."
-Fritz Leiber


Adventurers begin with a +1 attack, 15 hp, 4 skill points, and luck score of 5.   As the character advances they may choose at each level to either advance martially with a +1 to attack and 1d10 hp or +2 skill points and 1d8 hp.  Every odd level their luck score increases with a +1.  First level is gained at 2,000 xp, each level after at double the xp.  2nd is 4000, 3rd is 8000 etc.

The available skills (and their default starting values) are:
¶ Alchemy(1/6)
¶ Architecture(1/6)
¶ Animal Handling(1/6)
¶ Bushcraft(1/6)
¶ Climb(1/6)
¶ Language
¶ Occult(1/6)
¶ Sailing(1/6)
¶ Search(1/6)
¶ Sleight of Hand(1/6)
¶ Sneak Attack
¶ Stealth(1/6)
¶ Tinker(1/6)

Half-Giants

Originally created and breed as builders and engineers for the Frost Giant kingdoms, Half-Giants have long outlived their creators.  Some historians claim that it was the half-giants abandoning the Frost Giants and joining the human slave rebellion that finally shifted the war against the Frost Giants.  Averaging 6 and a half feet tall with a build like a mountain, all Half-Giants are male.  In their home city of Milk Haven far past the Northern Glacier you will find women married to the Half-Giants.  All their male offspring will be Half-Giants and all the girl children will be regular humans.  Half-Giants have two loves, the sea and building giant towers to gaze out across the sea.  They claim that the sea sings to them in words that only they can hear.

Half-Giants  begin with a +1 attack, 17 hp, 2 skill points, and luck score of 6.  They gain d12 hp per level.  Every odd level their luck score and to hit score increases with a +1.  Half-Giants begin with a 2/6 Architecture, 2/6 Sailing and 2/6 Tinker, gaining another point every 4th level.    First level is gained at 2,200 xp, each level after at double the xp.  2nd is 4400, 3rd is 8800 etc.


•   Great Burden:  It takes five additional items for a Half-Giant to reach his first encumbrance point.
•   Muscle bound:  Half-Giants may add +1 to their strength checks including to hit and damage.
•   Smell the Sea:  Half-Giants always know in which direction the sea lies.

The available skills (and their default starting values) are:
¶ Alchemy(1/6)
¶ Architecture(2/6)
¶ Animal Handling(1/6)
¶ Bushcraft(1/6)
¶ Climb(1/6)
¶ Language
¶ Occult(1/6)
¶ Sailing(2/6)
¶ Search(1/6)
¶ Sleight of Hand(1/6)
¶ Sneak Attack
¶ Stealth(1/6)
¶ Tinker(2/6)


Hulderfolk

There are some people who are just a little bit different, a little off, a little queer.  Mostly it's just people who are predisposed to have their heads in the clouds.  But sometimes its something else, sometimes its a touch of the Fae.  Hulderfolk are the later, some have fairy blood, some are changelings,  some were just born in the wrong place or the wrong time.
Hulderfolk begin with a +1 attack, 13 hp, 2 skill points, and luck score of 5.  They gain d8 hp per level.  Every odd level their luck score increases with a +1.  Hulderfolk begin with a 3/6 Bushcraft and gain another point every 3rd level.  First level is gained at 2,000 xp, each level after at double the xp.  2nd is 4000, 3rd is 8000 etc.

•   Metal aversion:  There is an aversion between Hulderfolk and metal,  -4 to hit and damage for using metal weapons and -4 to AC for wearing metal armour.  When wearing any metal armour they are automatically severely encumbered.  This aversion works both ways, metal seams to have an aversion to the Hulderfolk who gain a +1 to ac vs metal weapons at level 3 and another +1 for every third level after.
•    Free passage:  When in a natural environment Hulderfolk are unhindered by non-magical plants and terrain.  They may always move at full rate.  While in a natural environment Hulderfolk can not be tracked nor followed by scent.
•   Spirit Binding:  Hulderfolks weapons of stone, wood, bone, and glass are bound with earth spirits and are as strong as metal and may effect creatures who can only be hit by magical weapons.  Their weapons gain a +1 to hit and damage at level 3 and another at every third level after.

The available skills (and their default starting values) are:
¶ Alchemy(1/6)
¶ Architecture(1/6)
¶ Animal Handling(1/6)
¶ Bushcraft(3/6)
¶ Climb(1/6)
¶ Language
¶ Occult(1/6)
¶ Sailing(1/6)
¶ Search(1/6)
¶ Sleight of Hand(1/6)
¶ Sneak Attack
¶ Stealth(1/6)
¶ Tinker(1/6)


Vös

Too tall, too skinny, something awkward yet graceful about their movements.  There is just something off about the Vös.  Fully clothed they appear to be normal humans who have just been stretched out a little bit, and perhaps have missed a few too many meals.  Undress them however and their boney skeletal system shows itself to be alien in its composition.  Too many joints, sometimes in the wrong places.  Cut them open and you will find muscles that attach to all the wrong places and thin hollow bones.  For all their strange insides the Vös still register as human to all magics and for all effects.
Vös begin with a +1 attack, 13 hp, 2 skill points, and luck score of 5.  They gain d8 hp per level.  Every odd level their luck score increases with a +1.  Vös begin with a 3/6 Tinker and 3/6 Slight of Hand gaining another point every 3rd level.  First level is gained at 2,000 xp, each level after at double the xp.  2nd is 4000, 3rd is 8000 etc.

•   Strange Blood:  Vös register as all humanoid and spirit types for magical effects, good or bad.
•   Strange Physiology:  Vös have too many joints, and they all seem to bend in the both directions.  Even their ribs have joints in them, 3 knuckle like joints per rib.  They can collapse their rib cage to fit in cracks and crevasses 4 inches wide or holes 6 inches across.  Their unusual muscle and skeletal system allows them to use dexterity instead whenever a strength check is called for.  They may use their dexterity to calculate to hit and damage bonuses.   
•   Born Wrestler:  A Vös may decide during combat to attempt to throw a melee combatant he is engaged with.  An opposed strength check is rolled and if successful the Vös throws his enemy 1d6 feet in whatever direction he chooses doing 1 point of damage for every foot thrown.  If against a charging adversary  the distance and damage are doubled.

The available skills (and their default starting values) are:
¶ Alchemy(1/6)
¶ Architecture(1/6)
¶ Animal Handling(1/6)
¶ Bushcraft(3/6)
¶ Climb(1/6)
¶ Language
¶ Occult(1/6)
¶ Sailing(1/6)
¶ Search(1/6)
¶ Sleight of Hand(3/6)
¶ Sneak Attack
¶ Stealth(1/6)
¶ Tinker(3/6)

Re: Review my house rules please and thank-you!

No offense intended but it seems like you are being way to easy on the players. It does not seem to be in the spirit of the game. Just run it "rules as written" and let the chips fall where they may. If a bunch of 1st level PCs buy the farm then so be it. Life sucks.

In other words, mercy is highly overrated.