D&D (2024) 2024 House Rules / Fixes

[Horwath]

They moved away from the term 'proficiency' for anything that did not apply your proficiency bonus.

AC really could have been base 8+prof bonus

then armor more simple:
Light:
+1 AC, full dex, min STR 10
+2 AC, full dex, min STR 12, stealth penalty

Medium,
+3 AC, max dex +2, min STR 12
+4 AC, max dex +2, min STR 14, stealth penalty

Heavy,
+6 AC, max dex +0, min STR 14
+7 AC, max dex +0, minx STR 16, stealth penalty

shields;
buckler: +1 AC, min STR 10, light armor proficiency
shield: +2 AC, min STR 12, medium armor proficiency
tower shield, +3 AC, min STR 16, -5ft move, stealth and acrobatics penalty, heavy armor proficiency.

 

[Doc_Klueless]

As always, I have one house rule that I have used with 5e and (luckily) my group has adopted when one of them runs the game:

Non-proficient Saving Throws gain proficiency bonus/2 rounded down. That way all the Saving Throws grow in power as the character progresses just like ye olden days.

 

[pnewman]

If dropping a shield is no action than every caster should buy a shield, hold it on everyone else's turn to get the +2 AC, then (if they are not proficient with Shields or they need both hands on their turn) drop it as a free action so it does not interfere with their casting and then, as their object interaction, pick it back up at the end of their turn (at least unless equipping a shield still takes an action).

This is what my Wizard did every turn in 2013 during the 5.0 alpha playtest of "Caves of Chaos" for stores. I told my DM that this was a mistake and that he needed to report it. I guess WOTC no longer remembers.

 

[pukunui]

If dropping a shield is no action than every caster should buy a shield, hold it on everyone else's turn to get the +2 AC, then (if they are not proficient with Shields or they need both hands on their turn) drop it as a free action so it does not interfere with their casting and then, as their object interaction, pick it back up at the end of their turn (at least unless equipping a shield still takes an action).

This is what my Wizard did every turn in 2013 during the 5.0 alpha playtest of "Caves of Chaos" for stores. I told my DM that this was a mistake and that he needed to report it. I guess WOTC no longer remembers.

You don’t get the +2 AC bonus if you aren’t trained in using a shield.

 

[Pauln6]

If dropping a shield is no action than every caster should buy a shield, hold it on everyone else's turn to get the +2 AC, then (if they are not proficient with Shields or they need both hands on their turn) drop it as a free action so it does not interfere with their casting and then, as their object interaction, pick it back up at the end of their turn (at least unless equipping a shield still takes an action).

This is what my Wizard did every turn in 2013 during the 5.0 alpha playtest of "Caves of Chaos" for stores. I told my DM that this was a mistake and that he needed to report it. I guess WOTC no longer remembers.

You can only draw, stow, or drop one weapon per attack so it stands to reason that dropping your shield would count as an object interaction as well.

One other option is when you equip a shield as your object interaction, the AC bonus takes effect from the start of your next turn so everyone gets a round of attacks on you with no AC bonus.

 

[Horwath]

You can only draw, stow, or drop one weapon per attack so it stands to reason that dropping your shield would count as an object interaction as well.

One other option is when you equip a shield as your object interaction, the AC bonus takes effect from the start of your next turn so everyone gets a round of attacks on you with no AC bonus.

with everyone now being proficiency with simple weapons, everyone should be proficient with shields.
it's not really complicated, hold a board infront of you and try to block something.

if someone wants to be fancy with the shields there are feats, style, maneuvers and other options.

 

[Pauln6]

with everyone now being proficiency with simple weapons, everyone should be proficient with shields.
it's not really complicated, hold a board infront of you and try to block something.

if someone wants to be fancy with the shields there are feats, style, maneuvers and other options.

If you are going to throw away every legacy class distinction, why even bother playing Dungeons and Dragons? Fighters can read, let them read spell scrolls. ;-p

 

[pukunui]

with everyone now being proficiency with simple weapons, everyone should be proficient with shields.

If I were to make it so everyone is automatically proficient with a shield, then I'd be inclined to get rid of the shield spell and things like bracers of defence.

 

[Horwath]

If you are going to throw away every legacy class distinction, why even bother playing Dungeons and Dragons? Fighters can read, let them read spell scrolls. ;-p

think about shield as not armor by itself but a part of a weapons set:

1. 2Handed melee
2. 1Handed melee+shield
3. Dual wield
4. Ranged
5. Technically 1Handed+free hand, but that is more of a necessity not a style. You really need free hand for something(to carry something, grappling, climbing)

and every weapon set has a fighting style or two and a feat or two to make it better and more efficient than basic use.

 

[pukunui]

There's already been some errata made to the 2024 rules in DDB! Hopefully WotC will publish a list of errata for physical book-owners soon.

The most pertinent one to my list of house rules / fixes is that the heading for Shields in the Armor table now reads:

Shield (Utilize Action to Don or Doff)


I wonder if it would still be worth changing it to a bonus action, though.

(Also, the Goliath's Powerful Build feature got changed from applying to saving throws to ability checks, but I realize I forgot to include that in my list in the OP anyway, so no matter!)