D&D 5E Fun & Engaging House Rules
GlassJaw
Hero
These are awesome.
At this point I am basically down to two house rules:
1. Stacking Inspiration. Each point lasts until you use it. Feel free to just hoard it for saving throws during boss fights, I don't care. This rule is fun because it gives people incentive to seek Inspiration when they already have some.
2. Ability Check "Wagers." I let players break all kinds of rules if they can succeed on an ability check (typically DC 15 but maybe more or less). It's a wager because if you fail, something really bad happens.
Examples: You can move twice your speed with a Dex check, but if you fail, you fall prone and use up your movement for the turn! You can concentrate on two spells at once with a Con check, but if you fail, you lose both spells and their spell slots are wasted! You can use a magic item you normally couldn't with a Cha check, but if you fail, it backfires! You can cast a spell with a modified area, range, duration, components, etc. with an Int check, but if you fail, the spell backfires! I'll even let players alter the setting if they want: That NPC will be a long-lost friend with a Cha check, but if you fail, he's a long-lost enemy! This town has a major temple of your deity with a Wis check, but if you fail, the town instead has a major temple of your deity's worst enemy!
This rule works well for me because instead of worrying about the difficulty of the check, I consider the consequences and make sure that the upside and the downside are roughly balanced. This puts the ball back in the player's court: they have to then decide how badly they want that upside. Are they willing to risk failure? Do they want to shop around for bonuses to make the task easier? Maybe spend some of that Inspiration that they've been hoarding?
1. Stacking Inspiration. Each point lasts until you use it. Feel free to just hoard it for saving throws during boss fights, I don't care. This rule is fun because it gives people incentive to seek Inspiration when they already have some.
2. Ability Check "Wagers." I let players break all kinds of rules if they can succeed on an ability check (typically DC 15 but maybe more or less). It's a wager because if you fail, something really bad happens.
Examples: You can move twice your speed with a Dex check, but if you fail, you fall prone and use up your movement for the turn! You can concentrate on two spells at once with a Con check, but if you fail, you lose both spells and their spell slots are wasted! You can use a magic item you normally couldn't with a Cha check, but if you fail, it backfires! You can cast a spell with a modified area, range, duration, components, etc. with an Int check, but if you fail, the spell backfires! I'll even let players alter the setting if they want: That NPC will be a long-lost friend with a Cha check, but if you fail, he's a long-lost enemy! This town has a major temple of your deity with a Wis check, but if you fail, the town instead has a major temple of your deity's worst enemy!
This rule works well for me because instead of worrying about the difficulty of the check, I consider the consequences and make sure that the upside and the downside are roughly balanced. This puts the ball back in the player's court: they have to then decide how badly they want that upside. Are they willing to risk failure? Do they want to shop around for bonuses to make the task easier? Maybe spend some of that Inspiration that they've been hoarding?
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
[MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION], that's a comprehensive list of house rules. I'd play with you, it looks like you've got a definitive feel you are going for that would be fun.
When you add them together it's a pretty big change from vanilla D&D. Have you tried any other "D&D-like" RPGs like 13th Age to see if they may better fit your style and your table?
I'm not saying this is any way derogatory - I love 5e as well as other systems. Just wondering if you've "shopped around" and found 5e to be the closest fit to what you want, or if it's just been the default because of how popular (for good reason) it is?
When you add them together it's a pretty big change from vanilla D&D. Have you tried any other "D&D-like" RPGs like 13th Age to see if they may better fit your style and your table?
I'm not saying this is any way derogatory - I love 5e as well as other systems. Just wondering if you've "shopped around" and found 5e to be the closest fit to what you want, or if it's just been the default because of how popular (for good reason) it is?
This is a great idea. I'm so going to borrow this! It reminds me of the Mortal Wounds table in Adventurer Conqueror King. If your character drops to 0 you go down, your condition isn't determined until someone attends to the wounds (of course, with penalties based on how long it takes for help to arrive).
I use this as well. Makes dropping to zero not something that a causal healing word can easily overcome.
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Quickleaf
Legend
Thanks, I do have a pretty clear DMing style. It may look like extensive house ruling, but in actuality it's mostly tweaks done behind the DM screen that players are none the wiser about.
So they actually are "soft" or "invisible" changes (for the most part) that end up giving a certain feel to the game...though I'm hard-pressed to pin down that feel to a concise sentence.
I get why you ask about 13th Age – minion groups and all – but I didn't care much for that system as it retained the abstracted powers of 4th edition that I noticed contributed to my players' hyper-focus on mechanics at the cost of description & role-playing.
I've tried and enjoyed several other systems including all editions of D&D, True20, Pathfinder, 13th Age, Dungeon World, Beyond the Wall, and several other OSR games. And I've found elements I appreciate in all of them. For instance...
- True20's power system is fantastic at modeling magic in fantasy literature.
- Pathfinder lets you customize your PC to the Nth degree, creating just the character you want. But there's way too many fiddly modifiers and abilities with uses/day to track, and the system suffers from spellcaster dominance much like 3e/3.5e.
- 13th Age brilliantly incorporates the Icons into each character's background, and has several cool innovations or adaptations from others games like "minion groups" and "one unique thing." However, it retains artifacts of 4e that abstract key play elements, creating a narrative dissonance.
- Dungeon World is great at incorporating degrees of success/failure into checks, and making those meaningful in the narrative. However, there is bit of a learning curve and lots of unnecessary lingo that Dungeon World uniquely uses.
- Beyond the Wall has brilliantly streamlined yet evocative character classes, highly useful playbooks, and magic that feels more magical and folkloric than most D&D clones. But it retains many OSR quirks that feel nonsensical to many newer gamers such as saves vs. poison, death, spells, etc.
5e comes pretty darn close to perfection for me, probably because my fondest memories are of games I played in or ran during the AD&D era, as 5e harkens strongly back to AD&D. I recall making many changes behind the scenes of my 4e games, and my AD&D games certainly had tons of house-ruling (which was the norm at the time), so it's not unique to 5e for me to be implementing house rules.
GlassJaw
Hero
These sound really cool. Mind sharing specifics on how you've implemented these?
Quickleaf
Legend
Sure! I also like several of [MENTION=5889]Stalker0[/MENTION]'s – I realized I always assumed death saves don't reset until a short rest, when RAW has them resetting automatically when you are "stable."
Simplified encumbrance... this one is fast and loose, but the closest I've found online are ANSWULF'S SIMPLIFIED ENCUMBRANCE RULES FOR 5E which uses old English "stones" as unit of measurement. Instead, what I was doing in our face-to-face game (before it went into hiatus) was creating a visual "equipment grid" for each PC based on the Strength (or rarely racial traits) where each grid roughly = 1 stone (14 lbs). I would put a grey silhouette of a humanoid in the background of the grid as well as a rough size comparison reference. Then players could just sketch in stuff using simple/common sense guidelines. Eventually, I intended to add magic item slots too. However...one of the challenges of this approach was for fighter-types who up their Strength as they level up, requiring the addition of more grids/stones to their equipment tracking sheet.
Elite monsters... involve a bunch of changes so I'll put it in spoilers:
[SBLOCK=Elites]Elites are a cut above other monsters in terms of their ability to withstand punishment and effectively fulfill their combat role. Generally, they draw from monsters of CR 2 or higher and have Multiattack; an orc war chief named Black Feathers would be a good example. A Legendary Monster could make sense as an elite, depending on its CR and how the DM uses it. Narratively, elites are often named or foreshadowed monsters who don’t necessarily have extensive backstory; they are encountered either leading standard monsters or minions, in small groups of 2-3, or rarely alone when the environment or circumstance would still make a single elite a challenge. Ideally, a single elite is a good challenge for two PCs.
Hit Points: Instead of calculating an elite’s HP using the average of each hit die, use 75% of the maximum die value. For example, take a CR 4 orc warchief (93 hp, 11d8+44 hit dice) from the MM. Instead of calculating its HP assuming a result of 4.5 for each hit die, calculate it as 6 for each hit die. Thus its HP increases to 110.
Saving Throws: Any saving throws to which the monster doesn’t already apply its proficiency bonus gain half its proficiency bonus. For example, our orc war chief already is proficient in Strength, Constitution, and Wisdom saves, so those stay the same. However, it adds +1 (half of its proficiency bonus) to Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma saves.
Improved Criticals: When the elite monster scores a critical hit it deals an extra die of damage if it’s CR 1-4, two extra damage dice if CR 5-10, three extra damage dice if CR 11-16, and four extra damage dice if CR 17+.
Enduring: The elite monster gain the “Enduring” trait:
- If the elite would be immobilized or restrained, the elite instead has its speed reduced by half and must repeat the saving throw at the start of its next turn; if it succeeds its speed remains half for as long as the spell or effect dictates it would be immobilized/restrained, whereas if it fails it becomes immobilized or restrained as normal.
- If the elite would be stunned or dominated, the elite instead grants advantage to all attacks made against it and suffers vulnerability against the next attack to hit it before the start of its next turn, and the elite must repeat the saving throw at the start of its next turn; if it succeeds it continues to grant advantage for as long as the spell or effect dictates it would be stunned or dominated, whereas if it fails it becomes stunned or dominated as normal.
Boosting # of Uses (Optional): If the monster has a recharge ability or an ability usable a number of times per day, the DM may wish to increase this by one step. For example, an orc warchief can use Battle Leader 1/day. For Black Feathers, I could increase that to 2/day, but since I’m anticipating using him in a more guerilla warfare format where he attacks and withdraws, I’m going to make Battle Leader usable once per short or long rest.
XP Value: Because it can stave off crippling effects better, has more hit points, and potentially deadly critical hits, an elite monster is worth about 125% of the XP of the baseline monster. For example our orc warchief (usually worth 1,100 XP) would be valued at 1,375 XP. [/SBLOCK]
My trap system is a big topic, and traps probably merit a thread of their own. My ideas came about from play experiences DMing some trap-filled dungeons including Tomb of Horrors, Dragon Mountain, a couple Dungeon magazine dungeons, a homebrew dungeon, and an adventure/dungeon I'm writing for publication called Krak al-Mazhar: Citadel of the Shadow in the Flame; The Angry GM's article Traps Suck (particularly his articulation of the "click rule"); and the UA on traps as well as this thread discussing that UA.
That link has a lot of my design thinking (scattered over a couple posts), but I'll post my initial take on trap triggers in spoilers...
[SBLOCK=Trap Triggers & Rethinking Traps]Mechanical Triggers
False Floor, Lever, Pressure Plate, Spring Mechanism, Tripwire
False Floor
A false floor is a brittle or fragile section of floor, typically designed to conceal some variety of pit trap. It gives way when a certain amount of weight is placed on it (usually ~50 lbs).
Trap Examples: pit trap, spiked pit trap, gelatinous cub pit trap, acid pit trap, etc.
Notice: Most of the time, a false floor is undetectable. Wisdom (Perception) checks can detect signs of weathering where monsters skirt the false floor or periodically replace it, but will not identify the false floor itself. The exception to this is that a dwarf will automatically recognize the change in stonework used for a false floor built into stone.
Saving Throw: When a character triggers a false floor, they must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw as it crumbles away beneath them. On a failed save, the character falls into whatever trap awaits below the floor. On a successful save, the character can use a Reaction to grip the edge of what is now a hole, though this requires two free hands (i.e. dropping anything they were holding, which falls down the hole).
Disarm: Interpretting the signs of a false floor and skirting around it is the best defense, as is flying or levitating. Alternately, a false floor can be triggered with a sufficiently heavy object or a long plank can be laid across it allowing safe passage.
Encounter Design: False floors can be dangerous when used with particularly threatening pit trap, but their real danger comes from their ability to split the party. Additionally the threat posed by a false floor is magnified when encountered with monsters that Shove or otherwise inflict forced movement (e.g. minotaurs) or spells and effects that inflict forced movement (e.g. gust of wind). False floors are a great way to use a trap to tell a story, opening up a heretofor unexplored area of a dungeon.
Lever
A lever is a trigger that is deliberately pulled by monsters (or unwitting characters) to activate a trap. This includes winches, pulley systems, or any other mechanism that requires an action be taken to activate.
Trap Examples: falling gate, false doorknob, scything blades
Notice: Generally, a lever’s presence will be obvious, requiring no check to notice. However, sometimes a lever will be placed in a recessed alcove that is designed so it’s not visible until either in bright light or within 30 feet of a character with darkvision. Other times a lever will be disguised as something else, such as a doorknob, rung of a ladder, or even a book on a shelf.
Disarm: A lever can be switched off as an action. It can also be jammed with a piece of equipment such as a crowbar or dagger preventing it from being pulled. While thieves’ tools aren’t much help with disarming a lever, they can be used – given at least 5 minutes – to swap the on and off positions of the lever.
Encounter Design: A lever is usually placed in a place that’s hard for character to reach, but easy for monsters. Getting within 30 feet of the lever (mage hand range) should usually be a challenge. Sometimes, however, a disguised lever will be placed in plain view.
Pressure Plate
A pressure plate is a section of floor masked to look indistinguishable from the rest of the floor, that when a certain amount of weight is placed onto it (often about 50 pounds), and then removed from it, triggers a trap.
Trap Examples: falling gate, poison darts, rolling sphere
Notice: A well-designed pressure plate is usually not noticed until it is triggered, when a character feels it drop about an inch beneath them with a soft “click” sound. Causing structural damage, however, such as knocking over a pillar with a thunderwave spell or a ring of blasting, will cause a pressure plate to vibrate. Additionally, a character with tremorsense can detect the presence of a pressure plate with a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check, due to subtle fluctuations of the plate in response to creatures moving across the floor.
Disarm: The easiest way to handle a pressure plate is to find a suitably heavy object to weigh it down, thereby freeing a creature to step off of the plate safely. However, tearing out nearby flagstones – requiring at least 5 minutes – allows a character using thieves’ tools (or ball bearings) to prop up the plate so that it cannot be depressed anymore.
Encounter Design: A pressure plate presents a dilemma for characters to resolve, and thus it’s best placed in an area that will either feature some other external pressures (e.g. monsters or another trap) or in an area that the characters will repeatedly pass through (e.g. a “junction room” in a dungeon). Small humanoids may design pressure plates which have a weight threshold allowing Small creatures to pass over without triggering.
Spring Mechanism
A spring mechanism involves a tightly coiled spring, typically tiny and well hidden, that triggers when a trapped object is opened or physically manipulated.
Trap Examples: bear trap, bladed puzzle box, poison needle
Notice: In most cases, a spring mechanism is unnoticeable to the eye. Only a thorough examination of a trapped object – requiring at least 5 minutes and bright light – allows a character to make an Intelligence (Investigation) check to notice the glint of the spring mechanism inside the object.
Disarm: Simply avoiding the trapped object is the best defense, while thieves’ tools are the ideal way to disarm a spring mechanism. Lacking thieves’ tools, a character can attempt to break the object with an attack (referring to the damaging objects rule in the DMG), though if an attack deals insufficient damage to destroy the object then the spring mechanism triggers.
Encounter Design: One of the most iconic traps of D&D is the poison needle hidden in the lock of a treasure chest. Because traps with a spring mechanism are hard to detect, it’s best to either foreshadow them or include a brief window in which the effects can be countered by a well-prepared party (e.g. a poison with an onset time that doesn’t take effect instantly).
Tripwire
A tripwire is typically a thin piece of filament, such as fishing line or a giant spider’s spinneret, stretched across a passage holding a trap in tension. A creature moving into the tripwire while moving at a normal or fast pace triggers the trap.
Trap Examples: crossbow trap, falling net, spiderweb
Notice: A Wisdom (Perception) check allows a character moving cautiously to notice a tripwire. However, a character moving quickly (such as in the heat of combat) automatically triggers a tripwire they are unaware of.
Saving Throw: When a character triggers a tripwire when not moving quickly or in combat, they must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the tripwire is broken and the trap is triggered. On a successful save, the character’s foot presses into the tripwire but they’re able to stop themselves before breaking it entirely; the character can use an action to Disengage safely from the tripwire, and when disengaging in this way their speed is reduced to 5 feet until the end of their turn.
Disarm: Flying or levitating often avoids a tripwire altogether, as most tripwires are placed low to the ground. Taking an action to attack a tripwire can trigger the trap at a safe distance. An Intelligence (Investigation) check may be necessary to deduce where a tripwire leads to; once that area is located then thieves’ tools can be used to safely end the tension on the tripwire without triggering the trap.
Encounter Design: Because tripwires can be noticed by observant characters, they are best placed where the characters’ guards will be down or external pressure is a factor (in the form of monsters, other traps, or a time limit). As a “minimum investment” trap trigger, tripwires can be set up in dungeons where new occupants have moved in or otherwise have little time to prepare their defenses.
Magical Triggers
Inscription, ?, ?...
Inscription
A magical inscription, like the glyph of warding spell, is a form of abjuration wherein runes are inscribed with glowing light that then fade to become invisible over time. A spoken password chosen by the creator of the inscription, allows a creature to safely bypass its magic.
Trap Examples: any use of glyph of warding, fire-breathing statues, sphere of annihilation
Notice: A magical inscription is almost invisible to the senses, though an Intelligence (Arcana or Investigation) check made as part of a thorough search – typically requiring at least 5 minutes – will discover barely perceptible glowing runes. If this check is made in pitch darkness it has advantage. Detect magic will always detect a magical inscription as abjuration magic.
Disarm: Because an inscription is born of the magical word, it can be disarmed with the right password. The password chosen by the creator of the inscription must be thematically linked to the warded area/object or the effect of the spell; for example, an inscription that triggers a spell dealing cold damage might require choosing a password related to “fire” or “heat.” The details are left up to the DM and his or her campaign world. Dispel magic cast at the appropriate level will also disarm the inscription. Finally, certain rare magical items may allow a character to subtly rewrite an inscription they are aware of with a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check and at least 5 minutes – on a success, the character can subtly change the password or the triggered trap at the DM’s discretion. Thieves’ tools can’t disarm a magical inscription.
Encounter Design: It’s worthwhile to think of unique ways that characters can become aware of this trigger without detect magic and overcome it without dispel magic. Consider which creatures in the dungeon know the password. Additionally, when a character is initially entering an area warded by a magical inscription, the DM should give subtle clues about the presence of magic, such as an unnatural pressure in the air or a faint change in environmental conditions mirroring the type of trap about to be triggered; if the PC proceeds forward regardless, then the trap triggers.
Variations: An inscription may be reversed, its glowing writing appearing backwards to detect magic; such a reversed inscription doesn’t trigger initially when crossed, instead becoming active a round after creatures have entered the warded area. Now, it will trigger if any creature tries to leave the warded area without speaking the password. A reversed inscription will give away subtle clues as a creature is about to cross its threshold both before and after becoming active.
Age of Inscription.....PC Level.....Spell Level.....Notice/Disarm DC
0-10 years....................1st-4th........1st-2nd..........DC 15
11-100 years................5th-10th......3rd-5th..........DC 18
101-1,000 years...........11th-16th.....6th-8th..........DC 21
1,001+ years...............17th-20th.....9th................DC 24
[/SBLOCK]
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