Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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If you've ever felt that speed in D&D 5e is useless after the first turn — this HOMEBREW mechanic fixes that. It adds a scaling damage bonus for movement, with an automatic shockwave at high speeds. Simple, balanced, and works for any class. Let me know what you think!
SPEED BURST (🏃💨) Nepherim_Nex
If you move in a straight line for at least 25 feet on your turn, your next attack gains a damage bonus equal to +4 for every full 25 feet of that movement.
Examples:
25 ft → +4, 50 ft → +8, 75 ft → +12, 100 ft → +16, 125 ft → +20.
The attack roll is not affected by long‑range penalties, because the attack is always made within normal reach or point‑blank.
Saving Throw: The target may make a Constitution or Dexterity saving throw (its choice) to reduce the bonus damage.
Difficulty Class (DC):
· Run‑up 25–50 ft: DC 13
· Run‑up 51–75 ft: DC 15
· Run‑up 76–125 ft or more: DC 17
Success: The bonus damage is divided by 4 (rounded down).
Failure: The bonus damage is applied in full.
Limitation: This bonus applies to only one attack per turn – the attack that immediately follows the run‑up.
Additional Rules:
1. Teleportation does not add to the run‑up distance for calculating the bonus (the bonus is counted only after the teleport).
2. Speed Burst works only with melee attacks or weapon attacks with a range of 5-10 feet.
3. Speed Burst does not work with spells, except for Booming Blade if it is made as a weapon attack.
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SHOCKWAVE (🤜🌊) – added effect to Speed Burst
When your run‑up reaches 100 feet or more, the attack generates a shockwave in a 10‑foot radius centred on the target. All creatures in that radius are automatically pushed 10 feet away and take 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
Progression (beyond 100 ft):
· Radius increases by 5 ft for every additional 25 ft of run‑up.
· Push distance increases by 5 ft for every additional 50 ft of run‑up.
· Damage increases by 1d6 for every additional 100 ft of run‑up.
Exceptions to the Push (for the falling damage only):
· Large creatures: make a Strength saving throw (DC 15). On a success, they are not pushed and take half of the shockwave’s falling damage.
· Huge creatures: make a Strength saving throw (DC 17). On a success, they are not pushed and take half of the shockwave’s falling damage.
· Gargantuan or larger creatures: automatically ignore the push and take one‑quarter of the shockwave’s falling damage.
· Creatures immune to forced movement: automatically ignore the push and take half of the shockwave’s falling damage.
📌 IMPORTANT NOTE (before commenting)
"If you have any questions about the mechanic, feel free to ask — I'll reply in the comments. Also, how would you use this at your table? Would you combine it with other feats or class features?"
Why this mechanic is not just "another way to deal damage", but a logical addition to D&D 5e.
· The core rule is simple: “Run 25 feet → get +4 damage.” That’s it. No harder than “Hit with a greatsword → roll 2d6.”
· The shockwave (100+ ft) is an automatic bonus, not an extra choice. The player doesn’t have to calculate anything — the effect just happens.
· Speed in D&D 5e is useless after the first turn. You run up to an enemy, then you just stand there. This mechanic gives speed ongoing value throughout combat.
· The Charger feat is widely considered one of the weakest feats in 5e. Replacing it with a logical, scalable mechanic is an upgrade to the game, not a loss.
· The shockwave is rare: 100+ feet of straight movement in a typical battle is uncommon, so it doesn’t affect balance in most fights.
· The risk remains: loss of positioning on a miss, limitation to one attack per turn. (Bc for 100 feet movement you will always use action and bonus action)
This isn’t “another way to deal damage.” It’s a way to make speed matter — without complicating the game or breaking its balance.
Yep i mixed up the sections and don't know how to delete this so think that is section of Homebrew rules
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/phb-2024/feats#Charger
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” — Voltaire
Charger it was always have been a useless and rare useable feat
This seems overly complicated and time-consuming for such a niche scenario.
Most of the list its just simple +4 bonus dmg for 25 feet movement its still usefull for any classes and many situations and even +8 bonus dmg for 50 feet movement still usefull
The most complicated part begins only when you reaching 100 ft this can do only a speedster, my mechanic just give a reward for players who make build with fast movement not just dex
You could just reward people who put point into speed with larger battle maps and an actual reason to be fast, like a time limit. This just makes the Charger feat worthless and is just more damage for no good reason, you don’t become fast to do more damage, it’s to go fast.
It’s overcomplicated because it adds more charts and random mechanics like divide by 4, DCs for different distances and exceptions everywhere. Genuinely, it doesn’t fix any issue and is probably better in the homebrew forum.
I understand the concern, but I think you're overestimating the complexity and underestimating the problem this solves.
The core rule is simple: +4 damage per 25 feet of straight movement. That’s it. The DC and shockwave are secondary effects that only trigger at 100+ feet — and even then, they’re automatic.
Compared to spells like Fireball or Haste, this is far simpler. The real issue is that speed in D&D 5e is useless after the first turn. You run up to an enemy and then you just stand there. This gives speed a mechanical payoff beyond just "being first".
As for the Charger feat — it’s widely considered one of the weakest feats in 5e. Replacing it with a scalable, intuitive mechanic isn't a loss; it's an upgrade.
It’s homebrew, yes. But it’s homebrew that fixes an actual flaw in the game design. And at the table, it plays smoothly — try it before judging.
And yeah i was mixed up the sections😅, don't how to delete this so decided to keep it
In my experience, the times where a character is moving 25' (or more) in a straight line after the first round, is exceedingly rare. I'd much rather only need 10' of movement to activate extra damage (in addition to the fact that a d8 has a 50% chance of doing more damage than your automatic 4). Also, the charger feat isn't "an actual flaw in the game design" just because it's not your cup of tea.
1. 25 feet is the standard speed for most races. Even in dungeons, there are hallways and straight lines where you can run 25 feet. It’s not rare — it’s literally one turn of movement.
2. 10 feet is too short. It allows characters to run back and forth and spam the bonus. My mechanic rewards actual movement, not "wiggling" in place.
3. The Charger feat is widely considered one of the weakest feats in 5e. It requires your action to Dash, gives only +5 damage, and doesn’t scale. This isn’t just "my opinion" — it’s a common observation in the community. My mechanic doesn’t kill Charger — it offers an alternative that works for any class, at any level, and makes speed matter in a meaningful way.
The con save does reduce the damage, but it doesn't cancel it. At 25 feet, the bonus becomes 1 instead of 4 — that's minimal, but it's guaranteed damage, not random (unlike a d8, which can roll a 1).
The real strength of this mechanic is scaling. At 50 feet, it's +8 (or 2 after a save), at 75 feet it's +12 (or 3). A d8 stays a d8 forever.
Plus, there's the shockwave at 100+ feet, which adds area control and extra damage. That gives the mechanic value beyond just damage — it becomes a tactical tool as well."
I’d recommend trying it at your table. It’s simpler than it looks, and it gives speed a real, ongoing value in combat."
I reject your premise. If movement is useless after the first round, your DM is building boring encounters.
Moreover, this doesn’t fix the issue you are saying needs fixing. People who stay in one spot do so because of not wanting to draw opportunity attacks. It’s that that they need an incentive to move more, they need a removal of the dis-incentive to move. As it stands, this just gives everyone a round 1 bonus, after which they are still pretty much stuck next to their enemy.
2024 gives players who move 10ft in a straight line an additional 1d8 to damage or move a target 10ft in addition to the better dash. This is pretty solid as a feat.
Setting the Shockwave DC by standard numbers rather than a PC's stats seems confusing. Also why do the enemies take a quarter damage on successful saves instead of half like other saves?
Also, saying "speed is only useful on the first combat" is a table by table thing. Some tables utilize the environment as an active part of combat with traps, weather conditions, enemies positioning themselves, flying monsters flying around (dragon lair action pounce, e.g.), or even enemies disengaging to flank weakened party members. It's cool that some tables do not, but is is common for speed to be useful during combat. The monk and rogue class features support moving around the field.
I started playing when 1st edition was out. I have never seen anyone move 125 feet in one turn for anything. Back when we did paper maps, standard grids were 30x30 squares. 150 feet. Unless the enemy is in the corner and youre in the opposite corner, 125 feet of movement will put you off the map, off the table, and on the floor.
As for opportunity attack, you want to remove a core feature like that to justify an overpowered homebrew feat?
All of this just because someone wants to play Juggernaut.
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” — Voltaire
Good thing I never brought up anyone moving 125’ 🤷♂️ (Side note, I also started playing in 1e. I currently have a monk with the speedy feat, just last week, I ended up running 150’ in a round. So I technically did go 125, I just didn’t stop there. It’s almost like this edition 50 years later operates under a completely different set of rules that makes our graph paper experience from the 80’s irrelevant to the issue today.)
Second, I never said I wanted to remove OAs. I guess I might have given the impression that I thought removing OAs was a good idea, but really I was saying that is the actual way to increase people moving in combat. A tiny damage incentive won’t do the trick.
(Second side note a little off topic but relevant here. PF2e actually doesn’t give OAs to everyone. Fighters get them as a class feature, and everyone else needs to take a feat if they want to do it. Of course, it’s a different game with different assumptions built in, but the couple times I did play it, I noticed that there was a lot more movement in fights. It was one of the few things I enjoyed about pathfinder.)
Why is this in the rules forum instead of homebrew?
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback — I really appreciate it.
1. About the 2024 Charger feat — you're right, the updated version is better. But my mechanic is not meant to replace it. It’s a baseline combat rule available to everyone, not a feat. The idea is to give speed a universal, scalable use in combat, without requiring a feat tax.
2. The Shockwave DC — I used fixed DCs (13, 15, 17) instead of scaling them off a PC's stats to keep the mechanic simple and universal. This way it works the same for any class and avoids creating another "must-max" stat. It’s similar to how some traps or environmental effects work — fixed numbers that make sense for the tier of play.
3. Quarter damage on a successful save — because the shockwave is automatic and affects all creatures in an area without requiring an attack roll. It’s not a spell or a targeted effect — it’s a byproduct of extreme speed. The quarter damage is a compromise between fairness and realism. It still rewards the player for achieving high speed, but gives enemies a chance to mitigate the impact.
4. About speed being useful in combat — you're absolutely right. It depends on the table. But in many games, after the first turn, speed becomes situational at best. The goal of this mechanic isn't to replace environmental challenges or mobility — it's to give speed a mechanical payoff that works in any fight, regardless of terrain or enemy behavior. Monks and rogues already use speed for positioning — this adds one more layer to that choice.
Thanks again for the constructive take — it helps a lot!
Others comments before was really too sceptical
1. This really just benefits the monsters, they're the with faster speeds most of the times, see dragons, centaurs and tigers.
2. Its still something you need to max out in order to use effectively, now with speed buffs and dashes instead of dexterity.
3. No other mechanic specifies a division by 4, it’s always half, weaker conditions or nothing at all. Realism implies that creating an explosion by slamming yourself into another person could happen in real life. Terrain definitely impacts it though, rough terrain, water and cover impact moving in a line.
4. Always after the first round, I see the party smashed into the enemy forces, how exactly would one continue with the damage buffs? That would require the, taking AOO from the enemy they are already in contact in. I’m not really sure how much monks position to have it be consistent.