D&D 5E Very Unique Houserules?

[TwoSix]

I've been trying to figure out a way to play D&D classless for a long time, but I just don't have the time to put in to make one that works.

Yea, sorry, I really can't give a ton of guidance. The way I'm handling the level up features is pretty aggressively improvisational. I've played and read enough 5e material that I feel comfortable eyeballing the power level of the features I give out, and we generally have discussion over group chat between sessions if anything needs to be hashed out..

 

[Clint_L]

There have been a lot of discussions about houserules in D&D recently. I'd like to hear about very unusual ones that you have for your table that make your table unlike other tables in a way that you enjoy.

My (first) contribution: Shadowfell Dread

When the PCs enter the Shadowfell I immediately pull out a Jenga tower and set it up right next to my DM screen. Then, while the PCs are in the Shadowfell, certain triggers will result in me instructing them to pull a piece from the Jenga tower. I do not tell them why the tower is there. I do not answer questions as to what happens if the tower falls directly. It just stands there.

There are some obvious things that cause a pull that they can spot and understand right away. For example, they have to pull from the tower if they roll a 1 on a d20. There are other things that are less obvious.

Some are story related. For example, if something malevolent watches them undetected I will have them pull from the tower. If they are in the Ravenloft domain of certain Dread Lords and they say the Dread Lord's name they have to pull from the tower. In one Dread Lord's Ravenloft domain there is a pull every 7 hours of game time because the Dread Lord is reliving a 7 hour period constantly. These are intended to provide hints to the group about the world around them that either advances the story or gives them reason to fear.

Some are truly arbitrary just to mess with their heads.

And if the tower falls? Bad things happen. If they're in a Ravenloft Domain there is a specific thing (or a table to roll on) that reveals the calamity. If they're in the Shadowfell I have a table of stuff I can roll on, but I usually have something in the game that I can draw upon that seems apprpriate. For example, in one session the PCs snuck past my version of the Headless Horseman. When the tower was knocked down, mid-combat, the Headless Horseman swooped down from the Sky on his Shadow Wyvern and joined the battle against the PCs with his Vorpal Scythe. In another the group was trying to travel across the Shadowfell to get to the Dread Domain that was reliving an event in the past so that they could learn what truly took place there in the real world (note: don't expect a traumatic supernatural forced reliing of an event to be historically accurate) when the tower fell. The Shadowfell twisted their path and sent them back to the start of their journey - or they thought it had. In truth the group had been split in two and surrounded by illusions as Shadowfell Doppelgangers replaced half the party in each group to try to lure them into disaster in a warped mindgame. And once it falls, we set the thing up again and start all over.

The goal of the tower is to create a more pronounced feeling of impending doom. With some groups it works great. With others - generally the ones that love chaos too much for their own good - it turns into a red button they kind of sorts want to see pushed just to see what will happen. It is worth a try with most groups, but will not be a success for every group.

Dread is totally my jam, so I also often incorporate a jenga tower ("the Tower of Dread") into my games. It works great for creating a sense of slowly rising stakes.

 

[Maxperson]

Yea, sorry, I really can't give a ton of guidance. The way I'm handling the level up features is pretty aggressively improvisational. I've played and read enough 5e material that I feel comfortable eyeballing the power level of the features I give out, and we generally have discussion over group chat between sessions if anything needs to be hashed out..

How do you handle hit points and spell levels?

 

[Raiztt]

I don't let players prevent other players from doing something they state that they want to do. I.e.:

PC 1: "I pull the giant ruby out of the demon statue's hands."
PC 2: "I think that's a bad idea and it's going to set off a trap, so I try and stop PC 1."
DM (ME): "You cannot, sorry."

I do this is for two main reasons. 1.) I want people to be able to play their characters and I don't want other people basically ruining or preventing them from playing their character fantasy. 2.) I don't want the action to just abruptly halt as two people fight over something.

 

[TwoSix]

How do you handle hit points and spell levels?

Everyone has a d8 for Hit Die as a baseline. They can take a feat to bump up to d10 and then d12 if they want to.

Magic depends on the source of the magic. The main magic focused character made a soul contract with a fire imp, and spent some upgrades to make their connection stronger. So now she can cast firebolt, using Con as her attack stat and doing Con mod additional damage to it. She also has 2 2nd level slots that recharge on a short rest, like warlock pact magic, that can be used to cast either burning hands or Aganazzer's scorcher; if she deepens that connection further, she'll get a 3rd level fire spell and those 2nd level spell slots would bump to 3rd. Basically, characters can't bump up magic past the level an equivalent level full caster would be capable of, unless they find something weird and special in-game.

Additionally, a lot of the characters also have access to a randomly gained 3rd level spell they acquired by getting stoned on an ancient elven herbal drug, but that only recharges once per day. Its progression isn't tied to any other magic they have since the source is different, they can only make it stronger by investigating the ability in game and spending a feat to strengthen it.

Probably the closest equivalent would be gaining spell-like abilities back in 3e; the magic they gain doesn't stack unless they're deepening and strengthening the source of the magic.

 

[bedir than]

Every human, halfling and goliath start with an animal companion

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

My flanking rule: If you're flanking, add a 1d3 to the roll. If you hit, AND the 1d3 rolled a 3, the hit is a crit.

My current 5e game doesn't have classes. In addition to race and background, every character starts with 2 feats, and proficiency in 2 skill and 2 saves (the saves are the character's highest and lowest stat). Besides that, they get 1 feat every level, which they can spend on a list of normal and homebrewed feats I give them OR negotiate for a special power that fits their character that's around the power level of a feat.

This sounds interesting, but how do you handle hit points?

Never mind, I should have kept reading

 

[bloodtide]

Divine Favor- All gods watch over any divine magic of their own used. If it furthers the gods ethos, they will add a boon...if it goes against their ethos they will add a bane. This works GREAT for teaching a player about a god during game play. A smart and clever player will figure out quick enough what their god likes, does not like, and does not care about. It's a nice reward for good players, and a hard smack down for bad players.

Magic Item Creation- anyone can do a creation ritual, but you will need mundane items, rare items(monster pats mostly) and the exotic part (the full belly laugh of a blue dragon). Once discovered a ritual is only good for a short time. This not only makes everything treasure...but keeps the party together to make magic items. Good, smart, clever players will combine their efforts to make items. Lone Wolves, bad players and jerks are mostly out of luck.

To use (most) conjure, call, polymorph or creation type magic (my game has a lot of such spells) you need a bit of the substance or creature as a material component...generally a handfull. Good, smart, clever players have little problem here...but it sure smacks down bad players or jerks.

For polymorph...it's possible to loose ones self in the new form and become the creature. This is another thing that good players can use for role play...and bad players get no access.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

Divine Favor- All gods watch over any divine magic of their own used. If it furthers the gods ethos, they will add a boon...if it goes against their ethos they will add a bane. This works GREAT for teaching a player about a god during game play. A smart and clever player will figure out quick enough what their god likes, does not like, and does not care about. It's a nice reward for good players, and a hard smack down for bad players.

Magic Item Creation- anyone can do a creation ritual, but you will need mundane items, rare items(monster pats mostly) and the exotic part (the full belly laugh of a blue dragon). Once discovered a ritual is only good for a short time. This not only makes everything treasure...but keeps the party together to make magic items. Good, smart, clever players will combine their efforts to make items. Lone Wolves, bad players and jerks are mostly out of luck.

To use (most) conjure, call, polymorph or creation type magic (my game has a lot of such spells) you need a bit of the substance or creature as a material component...generally a handfull. Good, smart, clever players have little problem here...but it sure smacks down bad players or jerks.

For polymorph...it's possible to loose ones self in the new form and become the creature. This is another thing that good players can use for role play...and bad players get no access.

Interesting tools for a good DM, terrifying weapons in the hands of a bad one.

 

[Clint_L]

Interesting tools for a good DM, terrifying weapons in the hands of a bad one.

Yeah, those rules could be very easily abused to let the DM impose their view of how characters should be played.

I like the idea about needing a bit of a creature in order to polymorph into it - this could lead to some interesting game play and could also be a nice gold sink.