D&D 5E Capricious Home Rules and DM Pet Peeves

[Ilbranteloth]

Personally, I have a lot more trust for the "goblin campaign" DM or the "Gritty, low-magic" DM than the "no studded leather" DM. I can get behind DMs who have a broad vision for their game and want to try something different. I'm much more wary of the DM who feels the need to change picayune details for reasons of "fidelity" or "realism". That's a warning sign, for me, that our playstyles might differ too much to be glossed over.

And really, that's the answer. Find a group that fits your play style. I can come up with all sorts of ideas for monster-based campaigns, or other settings, etc. It's just I like what I do more. So I just stick with what I do, and will happily host anybody who would like to join me.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

Since I'm indirectly mentioned, I should point out that 'no studded leather', isn't intended to throw out an option. It's intended to make the options that exist more something I can get behind. So, 'studded leather' doesn't exist, but 'ring armor' that serves much the same function does. There is a handy handout with the available armors and a description of each. Since only like 2 of my 6 players have prior experience, no one is going like, "Where is the studded leather?"

Now, if you want real peeves, not only is "studded leather" gone, but so are all the introduced 'half-armors' that even though they didn't cover the whole body that mysteriously had superior properties to every other armor in the game. I'm looking at you "chain shirt" and "breastplate". Those sort of things don't belong in D&D. Save your partial armor for systems that support called shots. If you want "partial armor", get a different game system than D&D where called shots make sense (this is me winking at the camera), or else expect me to employ the Gygaxian solution of if a PC tries to wear partial armor, expect X% of attacks against you completely bypass armor (that is me being serious).

Interestingly, I have also run "goblin only" "team bad guy" campaigns, albeit goblin only in that case meaning you could be a goblin, hobgoblin, gnoll, bugbear, or kobold.

I've got partial armor, called shots, and expect people to actually use them.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

I've fallen out with RAW 5E for a number of reasons - but I am planning to have a go with AIME... currently running some 1E though and enjoying that a lot more.

If I was to go back to running 5E, these would be my houserules:

- no multiclassing unless the story called for it, and even then just one switch and you can NEVER go back

- Dwarfs and Halflings are not arcane casters

- (the opposite of most here) alignment rules to be enforced akin to 1E

- fantasy racism exists and is rife

- the party is a team - you must all agree beforehand to play similar alignments and stick to them.

- All loot is party treasure. You may steal from a fellow party member but it is pointless, because you'll be stealing from party treasure to put it back into party treasure.

- nothing from UA, if it's not in an official hardback 5E publication it does not exist

I need hit points to be a more precious commodity. I'm toying with more gritty healing - for recovery of class abilities/spells then the standard 1hr/24hr applies, for recovery of Hit Dice/Hitpoints then 1 day/7 days. Also the following changes - a fighter's second wind recovers HD during a short rest, not hit points during a combat. If you are down to 0hp during a fight you will remain unconscious for the duration of the fight, no miraculously bouncing back up at 1hp in the middle of combat.

Magic items will have to be Identified before attunement/use is possible.

Poison effects will be much more lethal and long lasting. Fail the save and you will likely be incapacitated for days. Make the save and (depending on the creature), you may still be out of action for a few hours.

I agree in part with dwarves and halflings. It's possible, but has restrictions and disadvantages.

Fantasy racism, yes.

Agree with the team, and identifying magic items.

For the poison and hit points, I use a different system that addresses both. Poison, disease, ability damage, life drain, and injuries all use the exhaustion track, combined with the death saving throw mechanic. In most cases you make one save daily, and you can get better or worse depending on your saves. So the effects last for at least 3 days, usually longer, and completely separates the major effects from hit points.

I do heal fully at the end of a long rest, but your Hit Dice are spent automatically outside of combat. You roll your hit dice at the beginning of the day, and top off your hit points following each combat. It's basically a pool that represents what you can handle for a full day, which is more than you can handle in a dingle encounter. It works really well. Magical healing and a bard's song of rest, along with the Healer feat heals points first.

Also, you can't just stabilize a creature. Applying a healing kit allows them to add their Constitution bonus to their death save, but they still need to make it through 3 death saves, and they suffer a level of exhaustion for each failed save which is recovered normally. Lesser or greater restoration doesn't cure disease, neutralize poison, or heal injuries, although it can help. I'm happy to share the rules, but they are sort of interconnected - healing, magical healing, injuries and such, etc. Also some combat stuff - injuries can come from critical hits, falling, traps, etc.

 

[Celebrim]

I've got partial armor, called shots, and expect people to actually use them.

If you have called shots, then I'm ok with partial armor. I personally just don't think they have a place in D&D because they bypass both the AC and hit point mechanics, but if you got rules you are happy with, more power to you.

 

[MechaPilot]

No D&D alignments (though I will allow the Palladium ones). Also, tell me what your character's motivations and goals are: that's stuff I can actually use. If you want to have a defined code of conduct you live by, then write one up.

No tracking food or ammo unless it's really important to do so. I hate tracking that fiddly crap, and I'm a tax accountant. I deem it to be immaterial according my GADMP (Generally Accepted Dungeon-Mastering Principles).

No Hobbits (by any name). If you want to play a little person then play one. Let your inner Dinklage run wild. You don't need a race to do that.

No real-world monotheistic religions exist in game. I don't need real-world religious issues coming up at the table, and I don't want to have to justify departing from the real-world versions of those religions for the sake of the story, or of setting continuity.

No sex "on-screen." If you want your character to visit a brothel. Great. Have at it. Just don't expect me to roleplay or otherwise describe it any more than simply saying "you have a good time and spend X gold in the process."

No +X weapons or armor. If you want a magic item I will make it do magical stuff in lieu of granting number porn to your AC or attack rolls.

No evil characters unless you can prove your maturity to me beforehand. And no, there isn't a specific thing you can do to prove it. It's based on my evaluation of how you've acted over time. Evil characters can be great, when they're not chaotic stupid. If you can't come up with convincing reason why your evil character would be working with a group of non-evil characters, then you can't play it.

No multiclassing without explaining it. How did your character become a fighter/paladin/rogue/wizard? If it doesn't seem plausible, you can't play it.

 

[cbwjm]

Palladium alignments are the best thing about that system. I've been tempted to port them into dnd myself.

 

[MechaPilot]

Well, in fairness, I think the actual saying is that opinions are like money; everyone has it, but the only money that matters is mine. Pretty sure that's it. Close enough.

My grandmother, when she was getting old enough to lose her politeness filter, once said, "opinions are like bungholes: just because everyone has one doesn't mean you should air yours out in public." I think I like that version of the saying the best.

 

[MechaPilot]

Palladium alignments are the best thing about that system. I've been tempted to port them into dnd myself.

They work quite well. I have allowed the Palladium alignments to be used throughout 3e, 4e, and 5e, and they work just fine. Almost entirely because they have defined sets of axioms about how the character behaves.

 

[cbwjm]

They work quite well. I have allowed the Palladium alignments to be used throughout 3e, 4e, and 5e, and they work just fine. Almost entirely because they have defined sets of axioms about how the character behaves.

That's exactly why I like them. At the very least I would like that in dnd, the descriptions of the alignments don't say much dnd and I think that having some good definitions of what a character will or will not do helps immensely. No more chaotic neutrals running around saying they can do what they like.

 

[ccs]

4) "Chainmail": It's just 'mail'. And it's plate armor, not "plate mail". And 'studded leather' got thrown right off the table, darn it. Right now the bet is on how long I can go before I finally change the 'longsword' entry to 'arming sword', and convert 'bastard sword' to 'longsword'.

Once upon a time I didn't know any of this stuff.
Then I learned it.
And eventually I realized that, as far as D&D is concerned, I just don't care.

Thus studded leather, assorted varieties of mail, & longswords (wich look just like arming swords!) all happily exist. Right along side fire breathing dragons, Brontosaus, Norse gods, & any # of other things that don't exist or are mis-named here in the real world.