D&D (2024) 2024 House Rules / Fixes

[Minigiant]

My first game would be by the book to fully grasp them but then.

1. Dungeon Delver, Linguist, and Martial Adept are edited background feats.
2. Beastmaster's Mark, Stalker's Mark, and Trapper's Mark added to Favored Enemy and Rangers spell list.
3. Falchion, Greatbow, Heavy Flail, Heavy pick, Sap, and War axe added to weapons.
4. +1 weapons and armor can be created with an additional 1000gp of materials and the corresponding tool Proficiency.
5. Short Rests are 15 minutes if you do absolutely nothing.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I’d add that topple can only be attempted once per turn.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

when you cast Raise dead the next day, your previous target instantly dies, hahaha.

Nope.
This is wrong.
Next time get your facts straight.
How can you have so much "constructive" criticism of the game if you don't understand the rules?

Raise dead is "instantaneous" as every heal or damage spell.

Dispell magic does not kill resurrected PCs.

 

[Horwath]

Nope.
This is wrong.
Next time get your facts straight.
How can you have so much conatructive criticism of the game if you don't understand the rules?

Raise dead is "instantaneous" as every heal or damage spell.

Dispell magic does not kill resurrected PCs.

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

I use Inspiration in almost every game session. I hand it out consistently for good roleplaying or clever strategies. So the fact that they have watered that down and nerfed that practice by automatically giving it to humans every day (and via the Musician feat) really pisses me off. So my table rule will be that those are not features. That means I’m nerfing both humans and the Musician feat and no player will pick those options. Unless someone can think of an equal trade for a different ability that isn’t Inspiration?

 

[Pauln6]

Could the shield issue be resolved by confirming that when equip a shield without using your action, you gain the shield bonus to AC from the start of your next turn?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Hi all,

I suspect that I will not adopt the 2024 revised rules in full as a DM until sometime next year when all three core books have been published. (The DM for the group I play in, however, intends to start a 2024 rules-only game in about a month.)

Nevertheless, the temptation to start using the new rules ASAP is increasingly tempting. As such, I am having a bit of fun thinking about the house rules / fixes I would make were I to start running a 2024 game with just the PHB. I suspect some of these will be addressed by errata / sage advice soon, while others may be resolved by content from the DMG.

In no particular order:

• Shields: (Un)equipping a shield will require a bonus action.
  I dislike 2024's rule that (un)equipping a shield doesn't require any action at all, but I don't feel the need to stick with 2014's rule that it requires an action. So a bonus action feels like a reasonable compromise and should hopefully nip in the bud any shield + weapon juggling shenanigans. An alternative could be that (un)equipping a shield uses up your one free object interaction for the round.
  
  
• Grappling / Shoving: I'm tempted to switch these back to being opposed ability checks, as I like those. I am hoping the rules for ability contests have been moved to the DMG (as an optional rule, I guess).
  
  
• Exhaustion: The cumulative penalty applies to casters' spell save DCs as well.
  
  
• Moving through allies: This will still cost extra movement as per the 2014 rules.
  
  
• Stunned condition: You can't move while stunned.
  
  
• Conjure Minor Elementals: I am leaning towards reducing the scaling damage to +1d8 dmg per level, but I could also see making it be a 1/turn thing. Haven't settled on either fix yet.
  
  
• Spirit Guardians: A target can only be damaged by this spell once per round.
  I hate that WotC buffed this spell instead of nerfing it. Hopefully this will stop any silliness with clerics running around then being picked up and carried by their allies in order to deal damage more than once per round.
  
  
• Ranger: Oh boy! WotC somehow managed to make this class both better and worse at the same time, didn't they? I'm not a big fan of making rangers so dependent on hunter's mark, but I'm not entirely sure what to do instead. I'm tempted to make it so rangers don't have to concentrate on hunter's mark. That would mean I'd need to come up with a replacement for Relentless Hunter at level 13. Maybe just a free feat? Foe Slayer also needs beefing up, but I'm not sure what to do with that one. I reckon someone at WotC really hates rangers.
  
  
• Weapons: Muskets and pistols will not be available as standard equipment in my games!
  I'm not a fan of the slow drift toward making default D&D more of a Renaissance/Enlightenment game than a medieval one. I might allow guns as experimental prototypes and/or rare and/or magic items, but I don't want my players being able to buy them from any weapon seller and use them right from level 1.

These next ones aren't so much issues with the 2024 rules that I want to fix, but I am also considering:

• Short Rests: I might reduce the duration of a short rest to 15 or 20 minutes.
  I've long felt one hour is too long, as it can mess with in-game pacing too much, but conversely, 4e's 5-minute short rests are too short. 15–20 minutes feels like a nice compromise – quick but still long enough that players might feel it's not worth the risk if they're in a hurry.
  
  
• Being Knocked Unconscious: Unconsciousness lasts 1d4 minutes.
  As someone who suffers from vasovagal syncope, I find that these rules just don't do it for me. I know it's cinematic movie logic, where the heroes knock the guards out and they stay out for the rest of the scene, but in reality, anyone who is knocked out and stays unconscious for more than a few moments is likely going to suffer brain damage. I also don't like the 2024 rule that someone who is knocked unconscious automatically starts taking a short rest. I feel like a short rest should be something you consciously choose to do. Being unconscious due to injury shouldn't count. If you want to keep someone unconscious for longer, use some kind of poison (e.g. chloroform).

That's all I've got for now. I will add to this list as I continue to work my way through the 2024 PHB rules. I will also remove anything that is resolved by official errata, Crawford's sage advice, and/or additional/optional rules in the 2024 DMG.

Shields: Bonus action sounds good. Until D&D differentiates between different shield types, requiring a full action just to open your hand and drop something you were holding seems wrong. I'd be very tempted to give shields a Mastery property as well.

Exhaustion: Agreed. DCs set by the stats of an exhausted user are reduced just as their rolls are.

Conjure Minor Elementals: Damage increases by 1d8 for every two levels above the base it is upcast.

Ranger: Once per round, when designating a target for an attack or spell, the Ranger may cast Hunter's Mark on that target as part of the Attack or Magic action. Hunter's Mark does not require Concentration, but a character may only have one Hunter's Mark spell up at any one time. If a character casts Hunter's Mark while they currently have the spell active, they may choose to either have the active Hunter's Mark spell end, and the new spell affect a new target, or to change the duration of their currently active Hunter's Mark spell to that of the new Hunter's Mark spell. If choosing to change the duration of the spell, range, cover and line of sight restrictions to the current target are waived.
Relentless: When the current target of their Hunter's Mark spell is defeated, the Ranger may choose to end the spell rather than transfer it to a new target. If they do so, they gain Heroic Inspiration provided the target was a valid opponent, threat, or objective to the Ranger.

Weapons: Undecided. They fit fine into say, a Forgotten Realms game, but are more out of place in Eberron. I will consider more when we adopt D&D 2024.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Most isolated specific rules for class features or spells and such I will worry about only when they come up-- no need for me to pre-emptively make rulings when I have not idea yet how the new versions will work in play. My own personal house rules are ones that I used in 5E14 and have no reason not to probably use them again. They are:

- Skills are not designated for specific ability scores. I will assign ability checks and then proficient skills can apply when needed.

- Short rests are 10 minutes.

- Will possibly still use my amended Exhaustion chart rather than the 5E24 one. May or may not decide to continue using the Exhaustion chart at 0 HP rather than the 3 Death Saves. Will want to read the rules fully first and see how many other things are now connected to both the 3 Death Saves and/or Exhaustion rules and whether it becomes more trouble than its worth to house rule it.

- Will run Stealth, Perception, and Investigation as I usually do, regardless of what the book ends up saying. Will probably not use the various skill-based "Actions" as designated by the books either, I'll most likely just call for checks as I see fit. Those rules I'm sure are useful for new DMs who might not have learned yet when to call for checks, but I've run enough games to be comfortable making my own calls.

 

[Epic Meepo]

[*]Spirit Guardians: A target can only be damaged by this spell once per round.
I hate that WotC buffed this spell instead of nerfing it. Hopefully this will stop any silliness with clerics running around then being picked up and carried by their allies in order to deal damage more than once per round.

I'm considering changing spells like Spirit Guardians to be area spells instead of emanation spells. The spell's area is stationary by default, but you can move it up to 30 feet as a bonus action.

 

[Remathilis]

Players can edit individual background elements.
Players can select any language, standard or rare.

Until I get the full books, that seems good enough for now.