What silly house rules does your group use? For instance, in my group, if a character ever runs into someone who knows them from the past (pre-campaign) they have to do an Intelligence check to see if they remember their name. Similarly, whenever someone asks how attractive an NPC is, and it doesn't matter for plot reasons, the DM rolls a d10.
I've played a few games where the players have to roll 1d10 to determine the inch size of the male party members... members. If female character, a 1d4 to determine cup size. It never mattered for gameplay but it was used liberally for character shenanigans.
It's not really silly, but I made a house rule that my players couldn't create characters with chaotic or evil alignments. Now before you jump down my throat for "limiting my players" first off, it's my world, my rules. Second, it didn't line up with the starting point I planned for them, but I am not restricting them from becoming chaotic or evil eventually, which leads me to --> Third, I thought it would be more fun to watch them slowly gravitate towards those alignments in-game. Sure enough, a couple of them have started shifting without even realizing it. They get to find out in an alignment reveal I have planned in a few months.
i had a dm that had a rule that is you spoke out of character (not like goofing around but metagaming) you lost exp this really sucked for one of our players because he went as a scholar who had studied far and wide and knew a tone of area and creatures the dm kept deducting exp from him and we would constantly remind him his char would know that he is a studied man
We have a house rule among my friends of "exploding" dice. When a player rolls a nat 20, they roll the d20 again with an additional +20 modifier. If they roll a nat 1, they roll again but with a -20 modifier. This Cascades, so a player can roll two 20s and then a 4 to have a roll of 44 before their modifiers. It can also go horribly wrong if they get really negative. What ends up happening often though is a chain of 20s and 1s so that the entire table is on an emotional rollercoaster with this series of rolls. It's a ton of fun! (Throws bounded accuracy out the window of course, but it's worth for entertainment value)
i myself have a weird rule my players like it tho i have gotten rid of the inspiration rule (not the bards just the dms inspiration points) and made whats called hero points a player starts off whit one hero point witch allows him to auto succeed in an action but he has to describe it and it hast to be worth of hero status for instants if you are bet a 100 gold that you cant shoot the wings off a fly at 100 yards without killing the fly and you use your hero point auto success and a great topic starter you could use it to kill a piss on but i wouldnt recommend it i had one player attack a hydra get right in the middle of its back and whirlwind attack with a flaming sword took off all 6 heads and sealed them from regrowing that was heroic now i order to receive a hero point you have to do some thing amazing and pass every role for instants if you your fighing a orc captian on the edge of a clif and he throws a prisoner over edge and you run to edge tackle orc over edge then try to catch the prisoner and manage to throw a grapple hook and catch the edge without dying id give you a hero point but you would have to pass all rolls i know its a little wonky still working on it
Every time one of my players questions my authority as DM or purposefully needles me, a tree branch falls out of nowhere and hits them on the head for 1d4 damage as a reminder that I'm in charge.
It's not really silly, but I made a house rule that my players couldn't create characters with chaotic or evil alignments. Now before you jump down my throat for "limiting my players" first off, it's my world, my rules. Second, it didn't line up with the starting point I planned for them, but I am not restricting them from becoming chaotic or evil eventually, which leads me to --> Third, I thought it would be more fun to watch them slowly gravitate towards those alignments in-game. Sure enough, a couple of them have started shifting without even realizing it. They get to find out in an alignment reveal I have planned in a few months.
LOL. i do the same thing. But no one ever catches on to moving over to chaotic side. Its strange that everyone i play with stays the course to what the character is and never trys to budge their alignment. One day it will occur and i really hope they make it worth the wait. :)
The current main one I have is rolling for Fart. I started this myself when in a pathfinder campaign asked the then dm is I could roll to see how nasty a fart I could do as we were stuck in a small room and I wanted to annoy the fighter. One high roll later resulting in my dwarf bard getting thrown through the door by said fighter the rule stuck haha. If you roll a 1 you poo yourself, if you roll a 20 everyone within 5 feet needs to make a CON save not to vomit. Though if the player wants to do a silent but deadly fart they also need to make a stealth check...
Uttering a pun or dad joke results in the loss of your characters ability to communicate for 20 min. Using a cell phone during game play results in the loss of the offenders main weapon for a day (game time).
As DM I hide a bunch of (fake) weapons around the place so if players try to just get up and wander. I then yell fight and the player and myself must grab a weapon fight to the (fake) death. I don't do this every time just to keep them on their toes. Of course I'm the one who has hidden the weapons so if they haven't figured out the location of at least one near them then it is a satisfyingly one-sided battle. If they win then they get to do whatever it is they were planning on doing, but if win then they must sit down and I make something happen in-game. Whatever I want. It's come up pretty funny sometimes. Obviously I don't do this for like refilling snacks of going to the restroom, but most other reasons I will do it. If they get up for a REALLY ridiculous reason I have been know to just shoot them with a nerf gun.
There was a time when the player who I called the fight on didn't know where any weapons were, however was extremely prepared and knew taekwondo. I got my but kicked.
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Do not expect people to be smart, but do not allow them to be stupid. If there is one thing I have learned it is this.
We have Monty Python references banned at the table. Anyone who makes one is swiftly punished, either verbally or just stared down until they feel the size of a pea.
I award inspiration for a relevant Monty Python reference. (Sorry.)
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
What silly house rules does your group use? For instance, in my group, if a character ever runs into someone who knows them from the past (pre-campaign) they have to do an Intelligence check to see if they remember their name. Similarly, whenever someone asks how attractive an NPC is, and it doesn't matter for plot reasons, the DM rolls a d10.
I've played a few games where the players have to roll 1d10 to determine the inch size of the male party members... members. If female character, a 1d4 to determine cup size. It never mattered for gameplay but it was used liberally for character shenanigans.
It's not really silly, but I made a house rule that my players couldn't create characters with chaotic or evil alignments. Now before you jump down my throat for "limiting my players" first off, it's my world, my rules. Second, it didn't line up with the starting point I planned for them, but I am not restricting them from becoming chaotic or evil eventually, which leads me to --> Third, I thought it would be more fun to watch them slowly gravitate towards those alignments in-game. Sure enough, a couple of them have started shifting without even realizing it. They get to find out in an alignment reveal I have planned in a few months.
i had a dm that had a rule that is you spoke out of character (not like goofing around but metagaming) you lost exp this really sucked for one of our players because he went as a scholar who had studied far and wide and knew a tone of area and creatures the dm kept deducting exp from him and we would constantly remind him his char would know that he is a studied man
We have a house rule among my friends of "exploding" dice. When a player rolls a nat 20, they roll the d20 again with an additional +20 modifier. If they roll a nat 1, they roll again but with a -20 modifier. This Cascades, so a player can roll two 20s and then a 4 to have a roll of 44 before their modifiers. It can also go horribly wrong if they get really negative. What ends up happening often though is a chain of 20s and 1s so that the entire table is on an emotional rollercoaster with this series of rolls. It's a ton of fun! (Throws bounded accuracy out the window of course, but it's worth for entertainment value)
Jazz Jungle Japes is Best Jungle Japes
i myself have a weird rule my players like it tho i have gotten rid of the inspiration rule (not the bards just the dms inspiration points) and made whats called hero points a player starts off whit one hero point witch allows him to auto succeed in an action but he has to describe it and it hast to be worth of hero status for instants if you are bet a 100 gold that you cant shoot the wings off a fly at 100 yards without killing the fly and you use your hero point auto success and a great topic starter you could use it to kill a piss on but i wouldnt recommend it i had one player attack a hydra get right in the middle of its back and whirlwind attack with a flaming sword took off all 6 heads and sealed them from regrowing that was heroic now i order to receive a hero point you have to do some thing amazing and pass every role for instants if you your fighing a orc captian on the edge of a clif and he throws a prisoner over edge and you run to edge tackle orc over edge then try to catch the prisoner and manage to throw a grapple hook and catch the edge without dying id give you a hero point but you would have to pass all rolls i know its a little wonky still working on it
Every time one of my players questions my authority as DM or purposefully needles me, a tree branch falls out of nowhere and hits them on the head for 1d4 damage as a reminder that I'm in charge.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
I've had the Dorito of Death. If a player drops food on the gamemap, it becomes a hard encounter.
Yay! Roll for damage!
If a player kills an opponent and follows with an apropos one-liner then I award inspiration. Bad example: Cold damage, "You need to chill out!"
The current main one I have is rolling for Fart. I started this myself when in a pathfinder campaign asked the then dm is I could roll to see how nasty a fart I could do as we were stuck in a small room and I wanted to annoy the fighter. One high roll later resulting in my dwarf bard getting thrown through the door by said fighter the rule stuck haha. If you roll a 1 you poo yourself, if you roll a 20 everyone within 5 feet needs to make a CON save not to vomit. Though if the player wants to do a silent but deadly fart they also need to make a stealth check...
"Toss a coin to your [Insert class here]"
I usually have a dodgy potion dealer that sells health potions with a twist.
Basically when a play takes this point, they heal as they should, then they role on the wild magic table for an effect.
It's fun =)
If you love a character, you give them pain, ruin their lives, make them suffer. Maybe even throw in a heroic death.
Uttering a pun or dad joke results in the loss of your characters ability to communicate for 20 min. Using a cell phone during game play results in the loss of the offenders main weapon for a day (game time).
Now u don't....
All farts are in character, works great for dramatic moments
"Roll for kink."
My homebrews - Naturalcrit
If the die falls off the table onto the floor, he has to roll it again but at a penalty.
Current Character~ Anastael Lasselom, Druid of the Moon Lvl 3
Dimitris of Waterdeep, Champion Fighter Lvl 3
As DM I hide a bunch of (fake) weapons around the place so if players try to just get up and wander. I then yell fight and the player and myself must grab a weapon fight to the (fake) death. I don't do this every time just to keep them on their toes. Of course I'm the one who has hidden the weapons so if they haven't figured out the location of at least one near them then it is a satisfyingly one-sided battle. If they win then they get to do whatever it is they were planning on doing, but if win then they must sit down and I make something happen in-game. Whatever I want. It's come up pretty funny sometimes. Obviously I don't do this for like refilling snacks of going to the restroom, but most other reasons I will do it. If they get up for a REALLY ridiculous reason I have been know to just shoot them with a nerf gun.
There was a time when the player who I called the fight on didn't know where any weapons were, however was extremely prepared and knew taekwondo. I got my but kicked.
Do not expect people to be smart, but do not allow them to be stupid. If there is one thing I have learned it is this.
A lot of lore can be disseminated that way. Plus, failed rolls could be a chance for hilarity.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
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