Search results

D&D 3E, Pathfinder, and D&D 5E in some way tried to come up with the idea of earning notoriety in your campaign (called Fame/Infamy) and using it spend on benefits (called Prestige/Disrepute). I'm putting up some proposed rules for review as I haven't play tested them. They're based off a...

I've post this before, sniped from ages and years ago from some unknown source. It's 20+ different ways you can make the goal of combat vary.

Oh, I'm probably not far behind. I started with an old red box, 1E briefly but then found there was this 2E thing, then 3E, then Pathfinder, then 5E, then moved states and met some folks, now friends, who'd never rolled a d20. They're okay with the idea "make the game your own" and my house-rule...

Not endorsing a play style, adding to the conversation to morph 5E to look like 1E. And yeah, for different folks different strokes. What entertains one group of players might not entertain another. I've had conversations with my current D&D group, not a one of whom played AD&D, as to what...

Late to the discussion, but genuine thoughts having had a similar feeling when I was running Pathfinder/3.5 and 5E was on the horizon. I wanted a system that sparked creativity, "outside the box" thinking when gaming, versus "optimal builds" and "charge in and hack away with console buttons A...

Necroed my own thread after scouring D&D Beyond for errata, DMs with advanced math skills, and other systems. Edited the initial pages for v 1.1. Some house rules simply weren't needed, and others needed tweaked. Grappling and moving rules + Treatmonk's number crunching with some worrisome...

This and scouring experiences of other DMs. Some things I can see coming. Attached our sheet. It takes the variant rule for encumbrance and divides it by slots. You can be strong, which helps with some things, but you only have 2 hands, one back. Backpacks only have so much space even if the...

With reach weapons, I was trying to come up with a mechanic that reconciled the advantage of longer weapons when you're trying to close ranks. It's just insanely difficult to safely close ranks with a short weapon vs. long weapon. Flanking, tried the 5E "advantage" optional rule for flanking...

SPELLS [big review here, Emanations worried me, but upon closer reading, pretty much all clarify the foe only saves 1x per round against the spell, meaning they can only be impacted by it once. I adopted Treatmonk's math on Minor Elementals, the most worrisome of all, appreciate...

EQUIPMENT / WEAPONS / SURVIVAL Food requirement (common sense). Medium creatures and higher double food required (e.g. 2 pounds for Medium, 8 for Large). Shields (errata). Require Utilize action to don/doff. Special Materials (separate handout, crafting or purchase). Some...

Resting, “Safe Havens.” (A5E inspired). Exhaustion, Ability Score loss, and Undead drain are not removed unless the Long Rest is at a “Safe Haven,” which is a place to get a meal and full night’s sleep without reasonable risk of attack, or harm from the elements, such as an Inn, but not an...

COMBAT / EXPLORING [Grapple needs a major rules clarification or overhaul...I really like how Treatmonk resolved dragging things through Spike Growth, etc. I totally disagree with Crawford's old Twitter interpretation that you can Grapple and move stuff in excess of your Strength. Makes...

I went over the wisdom of some other DMs, reread my rules, and revised a 2024 House/Errata Ruleset from the previous post, updating rather than starting new posts. PDF, not edits, includes the April 16, 2025 errata release. CHARACTER CREATION [this largely stays the same, errata added for...

Disclaimer: I'm biased because I'm helping out on the project. That said... I lean to Bryce Lynch's "Ten Foot Pole" criteria for adventures and MEGO ("my eyes glazed over") flavor text. There's a 2005 WOTC article (archived in criteria comments, Dave Noonan & Jesse Decker) that discusses going...

I can't really give any logical answer because 1000 gaming groups might have 1000 different reasons to do stuff. But OD&D might have encouraged folks to seek out all the rumors and kill every last monster in them: OD&D: As characters meet monsters in mortal combat and defeat them, and when they...

Going with the "downfall of someone who could have been better" because of hamartia (a fatal flaw that leads to the hero's eventual downfall), then I think I've got a player masterfully roleplaying it out in the Dragon Age setting (a morally ambiguous, gritty world) in the most complex of ways...

Whatever this guy is reading....

So 5E (and the battlemap) seem to solve range issues if using ships with guns or siege engines. You can't afford to try and maneuver your caster into range as you'll likely suffer too much damage in the process. I do like the cultural idea. Open flames, especially below decks, are taboo on...