D&D 5E What are you going to keep from previous editions/other d20 games?

I am really liking the way 5E is shaping up and enjoyed running it (via the Starter Set) but I know that a new edition is not going to be able to cover all the bases. As such, I have a suspicion I am going to be retaining a thing or two from Pathfinder until an equivalent, better 5 E version of tat appears (if ever). On the top of that list for me is the Haunt mechanic. I really like the way it is built and have used it for a wide variety of interactive environmental scenarios (not just unquiet spirits). Haunts will definitely see use early on in my 5 E games.

What for you is a must keep from your favorite previous edition, retro clone or parallel game?

Probably action points - I love the cinema of them.

A lot will depend on what is in the DMG - action point options for PCs and monsters may be there. After the DMG drops I guess I will have to make a decision on whether my ideal game would be to port elements of 5e into 4e chassis or vice versa.

If this isn't an option in the DMG, I'm seriously considering bringing back gp=xp. It's one of my favorite old school rules. Edit: of course recalculating the xp tables prevents me from really exploring this too deeply at the moment.

I kind of miss the 4e rule where failed death saves accumulate.

We talked about reintroducing facing. It would probably be more trouble than its worth, but some of us miss that kind of gritty combat.

Chainmail bikinis

Probably the negative Hit Points, from 3.x or Pathfinder. It just makes more sense, based on my understanding of Hit Points. More importantly, it's way easier to treat numbers as a continuum than to put in some point-singularity at 0.

Skill challenges.

I have always used extended complex skill tests in games, but 4e gave them a name and I will keep using them in 5e.

Haunts from Pathfinder are great, but are basically just flavourful skill challenges.

I am thinking about adding some house rules after I run my first campaign, one of them would be a generic weapon and armor list mostly adapted from the latest version of Gamma World.

Another one would be possibly using the alternate short rest mechanic that is supposed to be in the DMG, I like my short rests short, ie 5 minutes or so, but as is right now that would unbalance too many classes.

Edit: Wanted to add this, it is not an older game but I just got the Book of Loot for 13th Age and it has some of the best magic items I have ever seen so I plan to use some of them depending on how the magic items in the DMG are.

What would I keep for sure? Lots!

- resurrection survival % roll
- system shock % roll
- our in-house non-cyclic initiative system
- undead-turning matrix for clerics
- roll-under-stat for all sorts of things e.g. perception, dexterity checks, etc.
- our in-house fumble system
- all your items need to save if you fail a save vs. area damage, and things can get messy if they fail
- rebounding lightning bolts
- expand-to-fill-volume fireballs
- saving throws vary based on what you're saving against (spell, wand, breath, etc.)
- illusionists and necromancers as their own classes
- bards the way I've redesigned them
- barbarian is a race, not a class
- war cleric as its own class
- spells have casting times, can be very easily interrupted, and risk a WMS on interruption
- area spells need aiming or targeting rolls (e.g. did that fireball really go right where you wanted it?)
- spells each have their own specific ranges and area-of-effects
- 1e Cavalier-like percentile increments on stats for all classes, instead of stat auto-boosts at pre-set levels
- very slow level advancement
- etc.

What would I keep maybe? Some things...

- body point/fatigue point system (depends what the WP/VP system in the DMG looks like, I might jump to that)
- damage spells do flat d6/level (have to see what monster hit point numbers look like first)
- lots of rulings I've made over the years regarding various spells, if the spell write-ups don't have better ideas
- etc.

Lanefan

Good grief [MENTION=29398]Lanefan[/MENTION], I have a few house rules/modules but your "shopping list" of items could fill up an entire 5e DMG on its own
Plus you missed writing something between your name

Well... first, I need to play the game with the rules as written. I don't want to go making changes until I've seen how things play out as-is first.

That said, I'm toying with two things:

- Replacing the point-buy costs with the 3e costs (including allowing a buy up to 18). Then giving players a choice: roll (with the 3e reroll clause), 28-point buy, or a standard array of 16/15/13/12/10/8.

- In my most recent SWSE campaign we ended up house-ruling Force Points - instead of getting X per level and them adding +1d6, you instead got 3 per session (assuming 3-hour sessions) and they, effectively, gave Inspiration. My suspicion is that Inspiration is likely to be something we regularly forget about, so I'm inclined to think this mechanic will suit us better.

IOW, Lanefan intends to play 1e, possibly with a few 5e-inspired house rules.