Rules we don't use? Druids and metal armor. I also don't allow artificers (they don't fit in my setting), or allow players to cast wish. I also don't use the Customize Your Origin rules from Tasha's.
Rules we do use? No encumbrance, flanking, drinking potions as a bonus action, and a modification to the Storm Sorcerer (Tempestuous magic does not require you to cast a spell). So far these adjustments have not broken anything and have enhanced our game.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
We normally play AL, but don't really care about the additional AL rules except the starting equipment and stat creation rules.
We played WDDH and did care about encumbrance (so they couldn't just pocket 100,000 coins)...but that's about the only time we've cared about that rule.
Rules we don't use? Druids and metal armor. I think that's it/
Rules we do use? No encumbrance, flanking, and a modification to the Storm Sorcerer (Tempestuous magic does not require you to cast a spell). So far these adjustments have not broken anything and have enhanced our game.
How many characters have strength as their main stat in your game?
On a Critical Hit the extra dice are automatically maxed (so a normal hit for 2d10 + mods would be 2d10 + 20 + mods on a crit)
On a Critical Miss the Player rolls on a homebrew failure table (results could be reroll the attack, a miss, or a misfire, depending on the type of attack)
Called Hits: you can target a specific area of a creature for a extra bonus on the hit (bonus is up to the DM, but could be extra damage, a debuff on the target, etc). AC is raised by 5 for the attack roll. You still hit if you meet or exceed normal AC but no bonus is given unless you meet the improved AC target
We use the "cleaving through mobs" alternate rule for groups of weaker creatures
Drinking a potion yourself is a bonus action. Feeding it to someone else is an action.
I do not use the rule that says you can identify a magic item if you take a nap with it under your pillow (i.e. concentrate on it during a rest). You have to cast Identify on it to fully ID it.. you may be able to learn something about it by experimentation (quaffing a potion of invisibility pretty well IDs it).
I do not allow Wish to be cast as a character spell. Wish exists as a magical force, but may only be enacted by a deity, or by a powerful artifact (e.g., Aladdin's lamp).
I do not allow 5e "Psionics" - anything marked Psionic is banned. Instead, I use Psionics from Matt Coleville's Strongholds and Followers book.
I do not allow anything having to do with Artificers or anything having to do with guns/gunpowder.
What we do use:
The various Tasha "versatility" rules, we use every level not every 4/ASI.
Personalizing spell FX - we were doing this already, before Tasha "said we could."
Romanization of many items - such as gladius rather than "short sword," lorica segmentata (banded armor) rather than "plate mail", and the like.
Latin is spoken by the patricians/senators and used legally, and is a different (but very frequently used) language from Common ("Common" is to "Latin" in my world as Italian would be to Latin in the real world).
All potions of a given type have a unique color/look and will always look the same. So, once you figure out that a potion of healing is bright green and bubbly, all bright green bubbly potions can be safely assumed to be potions of healing. This requires them to ID the potion just once. (And it is a record-keeping pain for me, LOL.)
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I give the party a 'magic pouch' which magically holds just enough things they accumulate during a day's worth of adventuring. This saves them having to divvy up loot in the middle of a dungeon - they do this either out of game or when resting.
Do Use: Flanking, Bonus Action to use a Health Potion (all other potions are an Action), handed out 'Rings of Returning' homebrew item early in the campaign which is used to summon characters that couldn't make the last session.
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#Open D&D
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
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Don't Use: A hand wielding an arcane focus can satisfy the Somatic component of a spell only if there is also a Material component
As Heathsmith mentioned, I recommend keeping the druid rule and just allowing them to commission or make non-metal equivalents. Not only does it preserve their flavor, but they get to walk around in badass Trollhide or Scorpion Carapace armor.
I give the party a 'magic pouch' which magically holds just enough things they accumulate during a day's worth of adventuring. This saves them having to divvy up loot in the middle of a dungeon - they do this either out of game or when resting.
Apart from that it's generally RAW, with the exception you can ask the DM for character tweaks and he'll allow it if he thinks it's not too unbalanced. (for example all my characters damage spells are permanently fire damage rather than their normal damage type. e.g. shocking grasp, word of radiance, witch bolt, spiritual weapon)
All Sorcerers operate on the spell point system, and the sorcerer points they get are folded into that. This was originally to compensate for the lack of spells known, but with Tashas making it so Sorcs can change out a spell every long rest, we're toying with the idea of going back to spell slots.
Rolling a 1 on a saving throw is a fail, rolling a 20 on a saving throw is a success. This gets rid of the cheese of classes that have a +10 to CON and can't lose concentration until taking 20 points of damage or more in a single instance.
Variant encumbrance, because it just makes sense.
Rules that we don't use:
Attacking from an hidden place doesn't automatically give away your position(within reason), the party who is attacked gets to make a free perception check to see if they can't discern the location of the attack. The person being attacked gets bonuses to perception to the more attacks that are made from the same location.
Normal resurrection rules. The Matt Mercer rules for this are honestly very legit. I've shamelessly stolen them.
Carrying capacity is 10 pounds per Str point, not 15, and even then, it is a joke what players can carry.
Jumping, Grappling, Falling Rules totally rewritten, making them far more realistic. No more Mr. Barbarian leaps 15 feet in the air and with a single hand gets not one, but two, attempts to Grapple and pull a Young Red Dragon from the air. Mr. Barbarian is far more likely to go for a ride, dangling from a claw of an irate Dragon.
HP recovery more difficult.
Like Bio, Attunement is not "fondle something for an hour and now you know everything". In fact, Identify may not give up all the secrets of more powerful items.
Small Creatures' carrying capacity is 1/2 of that of a Medium Creature, and Tiny is 1/2 of that of a Small Creature. Still is wrong as my 8 Str Halfling can still lug around 40 pounds, which is his body weight
50% of the time if a creature is restrained the creature can not Attack with a weapon nor perform somatic functions for a spell, nor reach for material components. (An Arcane Focus in hand, even if Restrained, functions normally.) Every turn this 50% sub-condition is re-rolled.
Counterspell and Dispel Magic has been reworked to make it slightly more difficult. See below.
Flying Mounts don't carry as much: Carrying Capacity =75% of a Land Mount.
Players roll for weather on a daily basis. I have made various charts for different climates and seasons. Players have a blast as they always blame the roller when bad weather happens, and bad weather DOES impact visibility, and travel.
Counter/Dispel House Rules:
The calculation for the DC of the spell to be Countered or Dispelled is now 15 + (Spell Slot Level the targeted spell was cast at - Spell Slot Level CounterSpell/Dispel Magic is cast at), instead of the traditional 10 + spell slot level targeted spell was cast at. The traditional rule of matching the spell-slot level of the target spell was cast to automatically be successful remains unchanged, except for "permanent spells" as described below. An attempt to Dispel Magic on a "permanent magical effect" (eg. Glyph of Warding, Hallow, Teleportation Circle with a year's worth of casting) has an additional +5 added to the DC. Bottom line, it will be slightly tougher to Dispel or Counter Magic, but upcasting Dispell Magic or Counterspell against a spell has a significant impact. In some cases, depending on the situation, a player may be able to suppress or weaken a "permanent effect", up to the DM Fiat.
No multiclass or Feats until 9th level. Players are way too overpowered as it is. Opinion, but whatever...
Detect Evil and Good - ALSO includes standard good and evil (alignment) results. Old school.
I hate all things Warlock. I won't prevent a player from playing one, but they better have an epic level, long, and detailed backstory or the class will not be allowed in my games. See #4 below.
Players have to play GOOD alignments. My campaign world is about good vs evil and the players are on the side of good. Nuff said!
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Husband, Father, Veteran, Gamer, DM, Player, and Friend | Author of the "World of Eirador" | http://world-guild.com "The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." ~Gary Gygax
My DM has a few rules for her campaign beyond the usual stuff like having critical fail fumbles or just general complicated rules that aren't always run 100% as written.
1. No teleportation Magic. She allows misty step and other short range stuff, but she doesn't want us just skipping travel and blipping anywhere we want to be. Teleportation still exists within the world, but it takes a heavy investment to use.
2. Only Warlocks can have Eldritch Blast. If you take a feat or something that lets you learn cantrips from other classes, EB is off the table.
3. Any summon-type magic needs to be double checked before adding it to your character sheet. So far the players have just not really bothered with those types of spells, so I'm not sure exactly what restrictions she would put on it.
No multiclass or Feats until 9th level. Players are way too overpowered as it is. Opinion, but whatever...
Detect Evil and Good - ALSO includes standard good and evil (alignment) results. Old school.
I hate all things Warlock. I won't prevent a player from playing one, but they better have an epic level, long, and detailed backstory or the class will not be allowed in my games. See #4 below.
Players have to play GOOD alignments. My campaign world is about good vs evil and the players are on the side of good. Nuff said!
The one thing about a Warlock is that they can actually be good. They don't have to like their Patron. Mine made a deal under duress with an entity from the Shadowfell, in order to save the warlock's mother's soul being trapped in the Shadowfell. My guy hates his Patron, and is a Good char.
No multiclass or Feats until 9th level. Players are way too overpowered as it is. Opinion, but whatever...
Detect Evil and Good - ALSO includes standard good and evil (alignment) results. Old school.
I hate all things Warlock. I won't prevent a player from playing one, but they better have an epic level, long, and detailed backstory or the class will not be allowed in my games. See #4 below.
Players have to play GOOD alignments. My campaign world is about good vs evil and the players are on the side of good. Nuff said!
The one thing about a Warlock is that they can actually be good. They don't have to like their Patron. Mine made a deal under duress with an entity from the Shadowfell, in order to save the warlock's mother's soul being trapped in the Shadowfell. My guy hates his Patron, and is a Good char.
So, what rules make your table unique?
Rules we don't use
Rules we do use
Rules we don't use? Druids and metal armor. I also don't allow artificers (they don't fit in my setting), or allow players to cast wish. I also don't use the Customize Your Origin rules from Tasha's.
Rules we do use? No encumbrance, flanking, drinking potions as a bonus action, and a modification to the Storm Sorcerer (Tempestuous magic does not require you to cast a spell). So far these adjustments have not broken anything and have enhanced our game.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
we do use the no metal armor for druids rule, but also that there's plenty of non-metal equivalents. ...allows a bit more creativity. There's a ton in here btw - https://www.dmsguild.com/product/321143/Armor-and-Weapons-Foehammers-Book-of-Secrets
We normally play AL, but don't really care about the additional AL rules except the starting equipment and stat creation rules.
We played WDDH and did care about encumbrance (so they couldn't just pocket 100,000 coins)...but that's about the only time we've cared about that rule.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
you must be talking about this guy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcbR1J_4ICg&t=0m50s
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
How many characters have strength as their main stat in your game?
Altrazin Aghanes - Wizard/Fighter
Varpulis Windhowl - Fighter
Skolson Demjon - Cleric/Fighter
Rules we don't use: Can't think of any
Rules we do:
What we don't use:
What we do use:
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I give the party a 'magic pouch' which magically holds just enough things they accumulate during a day's worth of adventuring. This saves them having to divvy up loot in the middle of a dungeon - they do this either out of game or when resting.
Don't Use : Encumberment, Electrum
Do Use: Flanking, Bonus Action to use a Health Potion (all other potions are an Action), handed out 'Rings of Returning' homebrew item early in the campaign which is used to summon characters that couldn't make the last session.
#Open D&D
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
Don't Use: A hand wielding an arcane focus can satisfy the Somatic component of a spell only if there is also a Material component
As Heathsmith mentioned, I recommend keeping the druid rule and just allowing them to commission or make non-metal equivalents. Not only does it preserve their flavor, but they get to walk around in badass Trollhide or Scorpion Carapace armor.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Bag of (Just Enough) Holding
Do use: Variant encumbrance
Apart from that it's generally RAW, with the exception you can ask the DM for character tweaks and he'll allow it if he thinks it's not too unbalanced. (for example all my characters damage spells are permanently fire damage rather than their normal damage type. e.g. shocking grasp, word of radiance, witch bolt, spiritual weapon)
Rules that we use:
All Sorcerers operate on the spell point system, and the sorcerer points they get are folded into that. This was originally to compensate for the lack of spells known, but with Tashas making it so Sorcs can change out a spell every long rest, we're toying with the idea of going back to spell slots.
Rolling a 1 on a saving throw is a fail, rolling a 20 on a saving throw is a success. This gets rid of the cheese of classes that have a +10 to CON and can't lose concentration until taking 20 points of damage or more in a single instance.
Variant encumbrance, because it just makes sense.
Rules that we don't use:
Attacking from an hidden place doesn't automatically give away your position(within reason), the party who is attacked gets to make a free perception check to see if they can't discern the location of the attack. The person being attacked gets bonuses to perception to the more attacks that are made from the same location.
Normal resurrection rules. The Matt Mercer rules for this are honestly very legit. I've shamelessly stolen them.
20D6 isn't max fall damage.
Exactly - when they find an actual bag of holding, the Magic Pouch gets retired.
Counter/Dispel House Rules:
The calculation for the DC of the spell to be Countered or Dispelled is now 15 + (Spell Slot Level the targeted spell was cast at - Spell Slot Level CounterSpell/Dispel Magic is cast at), instead of the traditional 10 + spell slot level targeted spell was cast at.
The traditional rule of matching the spell-slot level of the target spell was cast to automatically be successful remains unchanged, except for "permanent spells" as described below.
An attempt to Dispel Magic on a "permanent magical effect" (eg. Glyph of Warding, Hallow, Teleportation Circle with a year's worth of casting) has an additional +5 added to the DC.
Bottom line, it will be slightly tougher to Dispel or Counter Magic, but upcasting Dispell Magic or Counterspell against a spell has a significant impact. In some cases, depending on the situation, a player may be able to suppress or weaken a "permanent effect", up to the DM Fiat.
Rules we don't use
Rules we do use
Feel free to check out my hombrew: Magic Items, Spells, Monsters, Species, Feats, Subclassses, and Backgrounds. More detail in my Homebrew Compendium.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or ways to improve my homebrew, tell me, I'm always looking to improve!
Map commission Here.
Husband, Father, Veteran, Gamer, DM, Player, and Friend | Author of the "World of Eirador" | http://world-guild.com
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." ~Gary Gygax
My DM has a few rules for her campaign beyond the usual stuff like having critical fail fumbles or just general complicated rules that aren't always run 100% as written.
1. No teleportation Magic. She allows misty step and other short range stuff, but she doesn't want us just skipping travel and blipping anywhere we want to be. Teleportation still exists within the world, but it takes a heavy investment to use.
2. Only Warlocks can have Eldritch Blast. If you take a feat or something that lets you learn cantrips from other classes, EB is off the table.
3. Any summon-type magic needs to be double checked before adding it to your character sheet. So far the players have just not really bothered with those types of spells, so I'm not sure exactly what restrictions she would put on it.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
The one thing about a Warlock is that they can actually be good. They don't have to like their Patron. Mine made a deal under duress with an entity from the Shadowfell, in order to save the warlock's mother's soul being trapped in the Shadowfell. My guy hates his Patron, and is a Good char.
And patrons can be good.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)