9 Optional Rules You Missed in the Dungeon Master's Guide

Tags Dungeon Master Tips author-DeAngelo-Murillo

One of the coolest parts about Dungeons & Dragons is how every table has their own rules. As a group, you may have spent countless hours embarking on unforgettable adventures, obtaining powerful relics, and exploring the backstories of your favorite characters. But, when it comes to starting your next adventure—whether it's a one-shot or a long-term campaign—you may want to switch up the game's core mechanics to introduce exciting new interpretations of D&D to your table.

There are a number of optional rules found in the Dungeon Master's Guide that are an excellent first step when searching for ways to switch up your D&D game. From varied healing mechanics to methods for dealing with massive damage, these optional rules can turn a high-fantasy system into a gritty, low-magic adventure. Or, you could embellish the "heroic" aspect of heroic fantasy and turn your game into an action-packed anime-style epic! In this article, we'll cover some of these options and provide insight into how they can be used to diversify your D&D game!

A Note On Optional Rules

Before modifying your campaign with these optional rules, it is best to discuss any ideas with your table. At its core, D&D is a collaborative experience, so make certain everyone approves of changes, big or small, that might impact their gameplay.

Healing

A cleric pouring a potion of healing into an adventurer's mouth

To begin, healing is integral to D&D since encountering powerful enemies sometimes results in terrible wounds. There are plenty of spells, potions, and class features that provide players with a way to bring their wounded party members back to fighting shape. Even slightly adjusting this core mechanic can dramatically alter the difficulty and tone of your adventures.

Here are a few alternative healing options from the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Healer's Kit Dependency

The only way characters can heal during a short rest is with a healer's kit, which will allow them to spend Hit Dice. Otherwise, they cannot naturally recover health, which will increase the significance of every point of damage the characters take. Players will have to be more cautious with their decisions in order to survive their next dungeon crawl.

Healing Surges

This optional rule allows characters to spend up to half of their Hit Dice in the middle of combat to heal. This provides a feeling similar to a superhero or anime hero epically recovering from a big blow. The added healing allows characters to engage in more deadly encounters. Instead of waiting until 20th level, a group of prepared characters could potentially go head-to-head with the strongest enemies the Monster Manual has to offer. Alternatively, you can have multi-staged boss battles that offer unique combat scenarios and create unforgettable plot points.

This optional rule is also handy in taking some pressure off the party cleric, who may want to do more than cast cure wounds.

Slow Natural Healing

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Slow Natural Healing takes away the character's ability to fully heal at the end of a long rest. Instead, they are forced to heal with their Hit Dice or any other method available to them. This will require serious resource management, which will add tension to sessions.

Rest Variants

A group of students resting after an exam

Like healing, the short and long rest mechanics are tools players use to prepare for future encounters. Seasoned adventurers tend to plan when and where they can rest during a difficult adventure. This allows them to manage their resources and ensures they're ready to engage with their next terrifying foe. Implementing the rest variants from the Dungeon Master's Guide can turn the average moderately difficult campaign into a low-risk setting or even a setting where death might come from the next combat encounter.

Epic Heroism

This optional rule switches a short rest to 5 minutes and a long rest to 1 hour. This will alleviate wounds and restore spell slots far more quickly than an average campaign. Using this optional rule, Dungeon Masters can send wave after wave of enemies against the heroes, providing players the unique experience of being legendary warriors.

Gritty Realism

On the other hand, the Gritty Realism variant switches a short rest to 8 hours and a long rest to 7 days. This will increase the difficulty of a campaign since the players will have to seriously consider how to best spend their resources. This is a great option for groups who enjoy low magic settings.

Initiative

Adventurers battling atop of moving chariot

In combat, initiative determines the order in which the characters and enemies can act. A high initiative for your party means being able to deal damage or cast spells before enemies can even land a hit and vice versa. This can have serious implications for whichever side doesn't go first.

Speed Factor

In order to add some realism to your sessions, the optional Speed Factor rule offers various modifiers that you can apply to your character's initiative rolls (which happen each round rather than at the beginning of combat). These modifiers take into consideration several factors, such as weapon type as well as creature size. While this may take more time to determine, it can allow DMs to break from the predictable style of the typical initiative mechanics, which can be prone to metagaming. This initiative style is best for strategic, war-style games, where combat can take an entire session.

Speed Factor Initiative Modifiers

Factor Initiative Modifier
Spellcasting Subtract the spell's level
Melee, heavy weapon -2
Melee, light or finesse weapon +2
Melee, two-handed weapon -2
Ranged, loading weapon -5
Creature Size Initiative Modifier
Tiny +5
Small +2
Medium +0
Large -2
Huge -5
Gargantuan -8

Damage

A wizard casts a blast of fire at their foe

The danger of encountering powerful villains who wield powerful magic makes for memorable moments in D&D. To make every battle feel even more dangerous, the damage variant rules from the Dungeon Master's Guide can really up the ante. These options introduce the concept of long-lasting injuries and potentially lethal effects that might occur when a creature takes a tremendous amount of damage in a single hit.

Injuries

Usually, a character in D&D can be reduced to 1 hit point and be just as effective as if they were at full health. If your group is looking to add more realism to their campaign, this rule variant provides a list of injuries that can be obtained in the following ways:

  • When a creature takes a critical hit.
  • When a creature drops to 0 hit points but isn't killed outright.
  • When a creature fails a death saving throw by 5 or more.

Once you have determined that a character has sustained an injury, the player can roll a 1d20 to see what kind of injury they receive and what the mechanical effect is.

Lingering Injuries

d20 Injury
1 Lose an Eye. You have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight and on ranged attack rolls. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost eye. If you have no eyes left after sustaining this injury, you're blinded.
2 Lose an Arm or a Hand. You can no longer hold anything with two hands, and you can hold only a single object at a time. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage.
3 Lose a Foot or Leg. Your speed on foot is halved, and you must use a cane or crutch to move unless you have a peg leg or other prosthesis. You fall prone after using the Dash action. You have disadvantage on Dexterity checks made to balance. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage.
4 Limp. Your speed on foot is reduced by 5 feet. You must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw after using the Dash action. If you fail the save, you fall prone. Magical healing removes the limp.
5–7 Internal Injury. Whenever you attempt an action in combat, you must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, you lose your action and can't use reactions until the start of your next turn. The injury heals if you receive magical healing or if you spend ten days doing nothing but resting.
8–10 Broken Ribs. This has the same effect as Internal Injury above, except that the save DC is 10.
11–13 Horrible Scar. You are disfigured to the extent that the wound can't be easily concealed. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.
14–16 Festering Wound. Your hit point maximum is reduced by 1 every 24 hours the wound persists. If your hit point maximum drops to 0, you die. The wound heals if you receive magical healing. Alternatively, someone can tend to the wound and make a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check once every 24 hours. After ten successes, the wound heals.
17–20 Minor Scar. The scar doesn't have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.

Massive Damage

To make combat play out faster and more dangerous, this rule variant introduces the concept that when a character takes a great deal of damage, they suffer a devastating shock to their system. This triggers when a creature takes damage from a single source equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum. If they do not succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, they must determine the System Shock effect.

Although this might seem harsh, it could be beneficial to groups who wish to experience the threat of a one-hit kill. That said, it certainly works better for groups planning on starting at a higher level, as 1st-level characters would be susceptible to succumbing to these effects.

System Shock

d10 Effect
1 The creature drops to 0 hit points.
2–3 The creature drops to 0 hit points but is stable.
4–5 The creature is stunned until the end of its next turn.
6–7 The creature can't take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.
8–10 The creature can't take reactions until the end of its next turn.

Plot Points

A book salesman trying to sell a red-bound book

Even with an Oscar-worthy heartfelt speech, convincing a villain to turn away from the path of evil can be difficult, especially when you rolled low on your Persuasion check. This is where Plot Points shine as they offer players the power to influence the sessions in major and minor ways.

Using Plot Points

Each player starts with 1 plot point that they can then spend on one of the following options that will impact the story. This provides them additional agency to steer the campaign in a direction they would enjoy.

It is always beneficial to confirm with your group if the way you intend to use your plot point is acceptable. That way, it isn't used to undermine others at the table.

Option 1: What a Twist!

With this option, the player can summon a reasonable physical object or element that can assist the group in moving forward, such as a merchant selling the exact item the group needs or a distinct marking on a floor leading to a trap door.

Option 2: The Plot Thickens

This builds on our first option. When a player spends a plot point for an effect, the player to their right adds a complication. Perhaps you spend a plot point to have your bitter rival appear at the same tavern. The player to your right may determine that the rival is best friends with the tavern owner, and is therefore in a position of power.

Option 3: The Gods Must Be Crazy

This wild card of an option allows for swapping the Dungeon Master with another person. This will create sessions filled with unexpected results to the benefit or dismay of the group.

Time to Spice Things Up

Although we covered quite a few optional rules, the Dungeon Master's Guide offers many more rules variants. Be sure to crack open your own books or look them up on D&D Beyond to see what other aspects you'd like to add to your campaign!

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DeAngelo Murillo (That_DeAngelo) is a fourth-generation Mexican-American who helps bring more representation to the geeky community through storytelling, journalism, interviewing creatives, and more on his Twitch channel. In his free time, he enjoys harassing his peers into participating in TTRPG charity events with him and also dies quite often in video games.

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