I'll post mine one at a time, since I have several. The format is always the same: title, suggested rule in italics, explanation below.
Additional Save Proficiencies
At 10th level, players choose a save their characters become proficient in. They select another at level 15. Otherwise, a level 19 or 20 caster imposes a DC 18 spell saving throw. A level 20 target of such a spell who has a relevant ability bonus of, say, +1 and is not proficient in the relevant save will fail that save 80% of the time. This is problematic due to the existence of save-or-suck spells like Charm Person or Feeblemind. The Resilient feat fixes this, if feats are used, by allowing folks to gain proficiency in the important saves (Dex, Con and Wis), but at the significant cost of one ability score increase and other customization. All classes have one good saving throw, and this fix gives them a second one at level 10. It's debatable whether a third one (the second italicized sentence above) is necessary, but given the availability of save-or-suck spells at high level, it probably is.
Unarmed Attacks do 1d4 damage, unless a feature upgrades it. (ie, you don't add stat bonus, instead of doing a flat amount of damage)
Handaxes are Finesse weapons.
Daggers can be hidden easily, and fly further than handaxes. Hiding them uses 5ft of movement, and is done with Advantage. Upgrade range by 10ft. Also, an offhand dagger can be thrown, with both range numbers halved, as a bonus action after you attack with your main hand. I'm not sure if the last part is a houserule, now that I think of it.
No Armors give Disadvantage on Stealth.
Most Heavy Armors are greatly reduced in wieght. Plate weighs 35lbs, and is the heaviest armor. Scale Armor weighs the same, as does Splint, and Chain weighs 20lbs. Also Studded Leather is replaced with Brigandine, but that is cosmetic.
Maneuvers. All characters have access to the Disarm and Trip Actions. They share effects with the similarly named fighter features, except that they do not do damage to the target, and trip allows either a str save or a dex save, target’s choice. Save DC is 8+attack stat mod+prof bonus.
Disarm: When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, try to disarm it with a bonus action, forcing it to drop one item of your choice that it's holding. The target must make a Strength or Dexterity saving throw (it’s choice), On a failed save, it drops the object you choose, The object lands at its feet. If you target the creature's shield (if it weilds one), the shield is only dropped if it is held, rather than strapped to the arm. If it is strapped to the arm, it is moved down or aside, and the target loses it's bonus to AC until the start of their next turn.
Trip: When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can use a bonus action to attempt to knock the target down, if the target is Large or smaller, it must make a Strength or Dexterity saving throw (it’s choice), On a failed save, you knock the target prone. If you are Large, you can use this against a creature of size Huge or smaller.
also, add:
Push: As Trip, but you knock the target back 5ft.
I also reworked a lot of the downtime rules, make magic item crafting, buying, and selling much friendlier, etc, added new Spells like Shadow Walk, and a bunch more summoning spells based on the phb ones and the That Old Black Magic UA spells. I've tinkered with an expanded weapon list, with more properties, but im not happy with it yet.
One of my favorites is letting the players choose how they execute the killing blow, giving more of a story-based element to combat. I'll often allow the characters to simply kill enemies that are unaware (depending on the enemy) of them so that the game feels more realistic. There is nothing more annoying than sneaking up on a cultist, then rolling minimum damage, even though your character could simply just slit their throat and kill them. These kinds of things I like to call "Contextual Combat", wherein certain game rules are modified or discarded entirely depending on the situation the players find themselves in.
This reminds me of one I forgot to mention.
For Assassin Rogues: Their Surprise benefits work as long as the enemy is unaware of them before the Assassin's turn starts. Doesn't matter what initiative says, first round of combat, a Hidden Assassin get's to use their cool thing.
Also, I run Stealth differently, but it's hard to describe. I basically just ignore the PHB and run it the same as I did in 4e.
Other skill things: Arcana allows you to interfere/interact with enchantments and other placed magic effects, including many magic items. Need to hack a portal? Arcana. Need to turn off the magic trap before it explodes in fiery death? Arcana. Need to figure out what the hell ritual those necromancer gits were trying to do before you ganked them? Arcana, and Investigate. Researching anything arcane, or studying extraplanar creatures like Fiends, or Elementals, can be done with Arcana, Investigate.
Nature: Also gives info about supernatural stuff that is part of the wilds, Primal Spirits (basically land spirits), identifying/finding rare herbs and the like. Can be used to make deals with/offerings to Primal Spirits, like the wilderness/druidic version of religion (see below). Also crafting healing potions and the like can use this instead of Arcana or an Herbalism kit. Nature and Investigate are the skills you'd use to study a natural or wilderness creature before fighting it, to learn it's strengths, weaknesses, habits, etc.
Religion: Perform Rites, including things like Last Rites, as a ritual that takes at least 10 minutes, but is better done as a 1 hour or longer ritual, which has a chance to prevent the body coming back as undead. Can also make holy water, holy symbols, etc. Has a dark side, in that it can be used to recall lore about supernatural evil, like fiends, and is the main skill involved in calling, binding, and dealing with, such beings, along with Diplomacy, and Arcana. Arcana only overlaps here with extraplanar beings, though, while Religion can be used to bind, excorcise, etc undead and evil spirits. Investigating or studying such creatures is a matter of Religion and Investigate.
Survival can be used in place of Investigate for some things, like identifying a creature by it's spoor or tracks, or generally studying wild beasts, and can be used in place of an Herbalist Kit to make healing salves and the like.
Animal Handling is also the skill for treating injury or sickness in animals, and even something like a Dragon, should that come up.
Added Skills: First, all classes that only get 2 skills instead get 3.
Second, add the following skills;
Riddle: This skill is the skill of speaking in, solving, or otherwise interacting with cryptic, obfuscated, or foreign speach or writing. Deciphering old text in a language related to one you know, or using a key(usually a small book that aids in translation of a given language), or in a strange dialect of a language you know. Also, speaking cryptically so that one person understands your meaning, but listeners do not, and likewise interpreting such language when you are the outside listener, as well as, encrypting, and decyphering encrypted, text. Lastly, actual literal riddle games.
Lore: This is the catch all knowledge skill, in a sense, but also your knowledge of stories, both in general and of specific stories, as well as your understanding of narratives and archetypes, your knowledge of myths and folklore, superstitions, etc. This is also an additional research skill, along with Investigate and the other Knowledge skills. You might also use this skill to remember or research a weakness, strength, ability, etc of a legendary creature, or find the true name of an ancient dragon, etc.
If it isn't obvious, my games feature a decent amount of investigation, research, etc. They aren't plot roadblocks, usually, but more of a "do the research and the next thing will be easier, because you'll be armed with information." sort of thing.
For each odd positive Int bonus increment (1, 3, 5 etc) you gain proficiency in a new skill, tool, or language at the corresponding level. For each such even increment (2, 4, 6 etc) you gain proficiency in a new tool or language at the corresponding level.
Otherwise, Intelligence is not valuable enough as an ability score.
I could see maybe half of that. As it is, that looks way too powerful. That makes Int a must have stat for most characters, in any game that isn't a pure hack n slash.
I could see maybe half of that. As it is, that looks way too powerful. That makes Int a must have stat for most characters, in any game that isn't a pure hack n slash.
Agree. Personally, I'd be happy to see the pendulum swing that way a bit. Int has very few applications if you're not a wizard, and this gives it some real draw. But I'd be fine with just the odd increments too.
At character creation, PCs get a number of tokens equal to their Charisma SCORE. Subject to the DM's consent, and only if it is plausible, once per level they can trade in a token to declare that their character was somehow acquainted with an NPC they just met during the game.
This helps integrate PCs into the setting a bit more.
At character creation, PCs get a number of tokens equal to their Charisma SCORE. Subject to the DM's consent, and only if it is plausible, once per level they can trade in a token to declare that their character was somehow acquainted with an NPC they just met during the game.
This helps integrate PCs into the setting a bit more.
I'm develping a similar thing in my own system, where PCs can declare that they have a contact relevant to the current challenge or area, and there are rules in place for what info the PC can decide and what the DM decides. I hadn't thought to include the ability to declare they know a recently introduced NPC. An interesting idea.
Have you looked at the Dresden Files RPG? Apparently it has a robust set of rules for this sort of thing.
Not Dresden Files, but I'm a big fan of Fate, which is a later version of the same system. However, I'm not sure the similarity carried over. Fate has a Contacts skill, but I'm not sure that's similar, since it involves a roll and it doesn't really apply to NPCs just met, at least not usually. However, characters have aspects and for a fate point (a pool of points that renews every session), they can make plausible declarations about any game detail. Is that what you mean?
Actually, I'm pretty much lifting the concept of fate points and refresh directly from Fate for the 5E Legend of Zelda campaign I'm working on. Players will start with 1 refresh and every time their class gives an Ability Score Increase, they also increase their refresh by 1. At any time during the game they can lower their refresh (to a minimum of 1) to gain a feat. They can still choose to take a feat instead of increasing their ability scores at the levels appropriate to their class, and they'll still gain the increase in refresh. Might need to tweak it, but this will give them a choice between having more uses of "inspiration" or more feats which can let them do things they couldn't before.
Should be obvious but I'll say it just to be clear, this will be replacing the current rules for Inspiration which I find to be a little too loose for my tastes on when you get it. In effect their personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws will become their Aspects and getting compelled on those and accepting will earn them Hero Points. They'll be able to use Hero Points the same way as Inspiration, as well as to refuse a compel and declare a story detail that fits their background (for example a soldier would be able to declare that the town the group is heading to is the home of someone they served alongside in the army).
Not Dresden Files, but I'm a big fan of Fate, which is a later version of the same system. However, I'm not sure the similarity carried over. Fate has a Contacts skill, but I'm not sure that's similar, since it involves a roll and it doesn't really apply to NPCs just met, at least not usually. However, characters have aspects and for a fate point (a pool of points that renews every session), they can make plausible declarations about any game detail. Is that what you mean?
I've never played Fate, so I can't really say.
Anyway, my point was simply that the system has something similar, from what I've heard. What you describe is pretty clearly similar, so...sure?
I like to use the rules for flanking, but I think that advantage is too large of a bonus for it, considering there are entire feats dedicated to granting advantage in specific circumstances (and usually with a drawback). Instead, I give +2 for flanking, and an additional +1 for each other "flank" such as someone on the third side. Max bonus becomes +4, which I feel is fair.
Continuing to post my houserules, this winds up the ability score section, and is my least favorite houserule suggestion. It's awkward and inelegant, but it's what I have.
Dexterity: Rebalancing Benefits
Add 1.5 times the Str bonus (rounded down) to damage for melee weapon attacks when wielding the weapon with two hands.
Str bonus applies to intimidation and some other social checks (somewhat overlaps with another fix).
Half the Str bonus, rounded up, is an additional bonus HP per level.
Half the Str bonus, rounded down, applies as an AC bonus for heavy armor.
Str bonus can apply to AC instead of Dex (except at high levels for Barbarian).
Either the Wis or Int bonus can apply to initiative instead of Dex.
Otherwise, Dexterity is the most valuable ability score in the game, particularly for martial characters. Spell casting can incentivize Wis, Int, and Cha; and Con affects Con saves against a great many spells and effects (poison and disease, usually), concentration checks (important for casters) and hit points (important for martial characters, and generally everyone). But the system seems to significantly incentivize Dex martial characters over Str ones.
By the book Str benefits:
Bonus to hit with melee weapons
Bonus to damage with melee and thrown weapons
Str save against a few spells and effects (forced movement, usually)
Nazim, for the following points I don't quite agree that Dexterity is the key ability.
Bonus to Vehicles (Land) proficiency checks
Bonus to Vehicles (Water) proficiency checks
Bonus to Instrument proficiency checks
I would say that for vehicles, other abilities would be needed depending on the task. Especially for waterborne vehicles, where you generally need a crew to keep things ship shape. As for instrument based ability checks I'd actually make them Charisma based to match Performance.
Intimidation checks aren't all Charisma -- it is my discretion as DM, and based on what you are doing you will roll a the check for that. For example, if you try to intimidate someone by threatening them by throwing a dagger at a bullseye on a dartboard, you will have a DEX check instead, if you somehow wield magic/cast a spell it will be either INT or WIS (i.e. cast Thaumaturgy and make flames around you flicker creating an intimidating atmosphere), If you smash the bar in half, it will be your strength, if you try just through talking or body posture (like making a straight threat, or a threatening gesture), it will be Charisma.
Nazim, for the following points I don't quite agree that Dexterity is the key ability.
Bonus to Vehicles (Land) proficiency checks
Bonus to Vehicles (Water) proficiency checks
Bonus to Instrument proficiency checks
I would say that for vehicles, other abilities would be needed depending on the task. Especially for waterborne vehicles, where you generally need a crew to keep things ship shape. As for instrument based ability checks I'd actually make them Charisma based to match Performance.
I agree that it shouldn't. However, they're listed as such in the book, so I listed them to make the point that Dex is just a better stat to work off of, for martial characters, than Str.
I'll post mine one at a time, since I have several. The format is always the same: title, suggested rule in italics, explanation below.
Additional Save Proficiencies
At 10th level, players choose a save their characters become proficient in. They select another at level 15.
Otherwise, a level 19 or 20 caster imposes a DC 18 spell saving throw. A level 20 target of such a spell who has a relevant ability bonus of, say, +1 and is not proficient in the relevant save will fail that save 80% of the time. This is problematic due to the existence of save-or-suck spells like Charm Person or Feeblemind. The Resilient feat fixes this, if feats are used, by allowing folks to gain proficiency in the important saves (Dex, Con and Wis), but at the significant cost of one ability score increase and other customization.
All classes have one good saving throw, and this fix gives them a second one at level 10. It's debatable whether a third one (the second italicized sentence above) is necessary, but given the availability of save-or-suck spells at high level, it probably is.
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
Ohh, that's the one I was referring to.
ORTRTA, ORTFT, ORTBTA, AITDBT.
Mine:
Unarmed Attacks do 1d4 damage, unless a feature upgrades it. (ie, you don't add stat bonus, instead of doing a flat amount of damage)
Handaxes are Finesse weapons.
Daggers can be hidden easily, and fly further than handaxes. Hiding them uses 5ft of movement, and is done with Advantage. Upgrade range by 10ft. Also, an offhand dagger can be thrown, with both range numbers halved, as a bonus action after you attack with your main hand. I'm not sure if the last part is a houserule, now that I think of it.
No Armors give Disadvantage on Stealth.
Most Heavy Armors are greatly reduced in wieght. Plate weighs 35lbs, and is the heaviest armor. Scale Armor weighs the same, as does Splint, and Chain weighs 20lbs. Also Studded Leather is replaced with Brigandine, but that is cosmetic.
Maneuvers. All characters have access to the Disarm and Trip Actions. They share effects with the similarly named fighter features, except that they do not do damage to the target, and trip allows either a str save or a dex save, target’s choice. Save DC is 8+attack stat mod+prof bonus.
Disarm: When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, try to disarm it with a bonus action, forcing it to drop one item of your choice that it's holding. The target must make a Strength or Dexterity saving throw (it’s choice), On a failed save, it drops the object you choose, The object lands at its feet. If you target the creature's shield (if it weilds one), the shield is only dropped if it is held, rather than strapped to the arm. If it is strapped to the arm, it is moved down or aside, and the target loses it's bonus to AC until the start of their next turn.
Trip: When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can use a bonus action to attempt to knock the target down, if the target is Large or smaller, it must make a Strength or Dexterity saving throw (it’s choice), On a failed save, you knock the target prone. If you are Large, you can use this against a creature of size Huge or smaller.
also, add:
Push: As Trip, but you knock the target back 5ft.
I also reworked a lot of the downtime rules, make magic item crafting, buying, and selling much friendlier, etc, added new Spells like Shadow Walk, and a bunch more summoning spells based on the phb ones and the That Old Black Magic UA spells. I've tinkered with an expanded weapon list, with more properties, but im not happy with it yet.
We do bones, motherf***ker!
We do bones, motherf***ker!
Intelligence: Additional Proficiencies
For each odd positive Int bonus increment (1, 3, 5 etc) you gain proficiency in a new skill, tool, or language at the corresponding level. For each such even increment (2, 4, 6 etc) you gain proficiency in a new tool or language at the corresponding level.
Otherwise, Intelligence is not valuable enough as an ability score.
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
I could see maybe half of that. As it is, that looks way too powerful. That makes Int a must have stat for most characters, in any game that isn't a pure hack n slash.
We do bones, motherf***ker!
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
More ability score house rules.
Charisma: Previously Acquainted NPCs
At character creation, PCs get a number of tokens equal to their Charisma SCORE. Subject to the DM's consent, and only if it is plausible, once per level they can trade in a token to declare that their character was somehow acquainted with an NPC they just met during the game.
This helps integrate PCs into the setting a bit more.
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
We do bones, motherf***ker!
Not Dresden Files, but I'm a big fan of Fate, which is a later version of the same system. However, I'm not sure the similarity carried over. Fate has a Contacts skill, but I'm not sure that's similar, since it involves a roll and it doesn't really apply to NPCs just met, at least not usually. However, characters have aspects and for a fate point (a pool of points that renews every session), they can make plausible declarations about any game detail. Is that what you mean?
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
Actually, I'm pretty much lifting the concept of fate points and refresh directly from Fate for the 5E Legend of Zelda campaign I'm working on. Players will start with 1 refresh and every time their class gives an Ability Score Increase, they also increase their refresh by 1. At any time during the game they can lower their refresh (to a minimum of 1) to gain a feat. They can still choose to take a feat instead of increasing their ability scores at the levels appropriate to their class, and they'll still gain the increase in refresh. Might need to tweak it, but this will give them a choice between having more uses of "inspiration" or more feats which can let them do things they couldn't before.
Should be obvious but I'll say it just to be clear, this will be replacing the current rules for Inspiration which I find to be a little too loose for my tastes on when you get it. In effect their personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws will become their Aspects and getting compelled on those and accepting will earn them Hero Points. They'll be able to use Hero Points the same way as Inspiration, as well as to refuse a compel and declare a story detail that fits their background (for example a soldier would be able to declare that the town the group is heading to is the home of someone they served alongside in the army).
We do bones, motherf***ker!
I like to use the rules for flanking, but I think that advantage is too large of a bonus for it, considering there are entire feats dedicated to granting advantage in specific circumstances (and usually with a drawback). Instead, I give +2 for flanking, and an additional +1 for each other "flank" such as someone on the third side. Max bonus becomes +4, which I feel is fair.
Continuing to post my houserules, this winds up the ability score section, and is my least favorite houserule suggestion. It's awkward and inelegant, but it's what I have.
Dexterity: Rebalancing Benefits
Str bonus applies to intimidation and some other social checks (somewhat overlaps with another fix).
Str bonus can apply to AC instead of Dex (except at high levels for Barbarian).Otherwise, Dexterity is the most valuable ability score in the game, particularly for martial characters. Spell casting can incentivize Wis, Int, and Cha; and Con affects Con saves against a great many spells and effects (poison and disease, usually), concentration checks (important for casters) and hit points (important for martial characters, and generally everyone). But the system seems to significantly incentivize Dex martial characters over Str ones.
By the book Str benefits:
By the book Dex benefits:
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
I always run with wisdom for initiative
why?
it takes away some of the overpowered nature of Dex
i allow strength to be used for intimidation
it makes sense? wisdom is suppose to the your wits and determination and thinking on your feet has nothing to do with how many backflips you can make
rules i need to find include
new healing on rests. it makes no sense to be beaten to and inch of your life and the next day you carry on like nothing happened
poison rules, both for PC's and NPC's
critical effects or more dmg if you pass target AC by x
also need a magic item crafting system with material components etc instad of just time and gold
Nazim, for the following points I don't quite agree that Dexterity is the key ability.
I would say that for vehicles, other abilities would be needed depending on the task. Especially for waterborne vehicles, where you generally need a crew to keep things ship shape. As for instrument based ability checks I'd actually make them Charisma based to match Performance.
Zoulrage, you can use the Vitality rules found in this UA: http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA5_VariantRules.pdf
look interesting, would maybe use that but it seems like alot more book keeping
How do you get a one-armed goblin out of a tree?
Wave!
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.