D&D 5E (2024) Help me Houserule 5e Equipment & Items


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An aside, these are built per class rather than per location?
Yes, the classes in DCC are much more traditional so the sort of things that each is likely to get up to when they have nights to themselves is a lot more on-point by class.
The thief+halfling's is actually called the "Larceny Table," the Elf+Wizard's is the "Arcane Studies Table," the Cleric's "Contemplation." Any of them could ofc go out boozing/partying/carousing, so that's what the general table is for.
 

I apologize to anyone following along that this project isn't going to move more quickly - I'm pretty busy, and I'm still mostly collecting thoughts, in spite of having thought about it for years.

So this one is obvious, but I'm going to put my thoughts down here.

Here's a pretty obvious observation: This is the price of spells, according to 5.24 PHB:


SpellServiceScribe
L03015
L15025
L2200100
L3300150
L420001000
L520001500
L62000010000
L72000012500
L82000015000
L9100K50000

It seems pretty obvious to me that they rounded off the price of "Spellcasting Services" to save space, right? Otherwise, "Service" (the price of having a spell cast) should always equate to twice the cost of Scribing a Scroll (with Calligraphy Tools).
I got a bit advanced with my spellcasting services. I haven't actually implemented this yet, though. (It's unlikely in my homebrew PCs would ever be able to get a hold of services for 6th circle or higher without it being some part of a larger quest).

1760261276984.png


1760261296479.png
 

I got a bit advanced with my spellcasting services. I haven't actually implemented this yet, though. (It's unlikely in my homebrew PCs would ever be able to get a hold of services for 6th circle or higher without it being some part of a larger quest).

That's great stuff. Ultimately, I would prefer to keep things simple, but I'm not sure how possible it will be to get the kind of thing that I want to see without it being a bit... involved.

It's why it's taken me so long to get to this - I would rather "Houserule" as little things as possible, and every time I try to start this project, I find that there are branches that reach into other rules that would need to also be houseruled (or at least double-checked for compatibility).

For example, as has been mentioned by others above in this thread, if we want anything meaningful out of camp supplies, it makes sense to limit/ban/change many spells (and some class features) to achieve that. If we do anything to weapons & armor, we need to think about feats & class features.
 


What do you all think of items such as:

  • Fire/Acid/Poison Arrows that do +1d4 typed damage.
  • Medium (also possibly Heavy) Armor "pads" that get rid of Disadvantage on Steath.
  • Shield "straps" that make it a Bonus Action to Don/Doff your shield.
  • Mundane items that mimic the effect of spells, such as Grease Bottles, or "chloroform"-like bottles that make Sleep-gas.

I'm thinking QoL items and that sort of thing.
 

There is a list of advanced poisons in the 2014 DMG, I think there’s even prices.

The damage for alchemical fire in the PHB is insulting, and there certainly should be options that are better, and I’m not against such items scaling, though it might be better to do the scaling via a feat, or possibly subclass.

A handful of starting items that mimic first or possibly 2nd circle spells would be fine - scaling is where the issue often is at; keeping it viable yet at the same time appealing to verisimilitude without encouraging PCs to just buy the top-of-the-line goods as soon as they can.
 

There is a list of advanced poisons in the 2014 DMG, I think there’s even prices.
There is. I can't quite articulate why I don't like them much - it might be that they are just too darn expensive to bother with for much of the games that I play. They are also more complicated than I would like for what I see as little gain, though I may have to "suck it up" as this project progresses. I feel like it will probably be impossible to keep the simplicity that I'd like while attaining anything worthwhile.

The damage for alchemical fire in the PHB is insulting, and there certainly should be options that are better, and I’m not against such items scaling, though it might be better to do the scaling via a feat, or possibly subclass.
Maybe, but I feel like a feat or subclass should just make them more attainable, enhanced, or cheaper, and a non-Alchemist PC ought to be able to buy them off of an NPC Alchemist and still have them be useful - including being competitive for their action economy. If you're going to blow cash on your action, you ought to get some "bang for your buck".

I'm personally not against those things scaling without necessarily getting more expensive (within reason), because I don't see a problem with it - most other Actions scale by level simply because you get better at the task, why would you not get better at, say, throwing an Alchemists' Fire so that you do 2d4 instead of 1d4, or whatever, without having to buy a bigger flask? (Maybe you should ALSO be able to buy a bigger flask at various tiers to keep up with scaling).

OTOH, I don't want to wind up with it all being a "MOAR DAMAGE" - race, either.

A handful of starting items that mimic first or possibly 2nd circle spells would be fine - scaling is where the issue often is at; keeping it viable yet at the same time appealing to verisimilitude without encouraging PCs to just buy the top-of-the-line goods as soon as they can.
Yeah, that'll be the trick.
 

I like this idea a lot, considering how much time I spend online or in stores trying to decide between umpteen brands and types of toothpaste or a hundred other things. There's s big difference between a crappy backpack and one that might last you a lifetime.
 

There is. I can't quite articulate why I don't like them much - it might be that they are just too darn expensive to bother with for much of the games that I play. They are also more complicated than I would like for what I see as little gain, though I may have to "suck it up" as this project progresses. I feel like it will probably be impossible to keep the simplicity that I'd like while attaining anything worthwhile.
I have used the Medicine skill to create poisons, as well as antidotes for them − this in addition to the Poisoner toolset. The poison damage type is no problem. Other poison symptoms can compare spells, to determine how difficult they are to make, and what levels they are appropriate in for balance. Saves against poison are fairly reasonable, and help ensure balance.
 

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