BookTenTiger
He / Him
I've been really interested lately in mechanics that reward players (and characters) for making bad, risky, or narratively interesting choices.
A lot of DMs work hard to try and get characters to use up their resources, avoid taking rests, and push themselves to the limit, because it creates a great story. Fighting the BBEG on 25% power is usually a lot more interesting, nail-biting, and memorable than fighting the BBEG right after a long rest.
However, 5e provides characters with so many ways to be safe. From Rope Trick to Instant Fortress to the Outlander Background and Favored Terrain, D&D rewards players who use the rules to get rested, detour around random encounters, and avoid using resources.
So what can we do to encourage players to take risks? What mechanics can we use to counteract or flip the mechanics already embedded in 5e?
Rewarding Not Resting
D&D 5e encourages characters to try to rest after every fight. Other than narrative reasons, there are very few mechanical benefits to going on without a Short or Long Rest.
So what are some mechanics we could put in place that would encourage characters to not rest? Are there mechanics that could reward going on without resting, rather than punish?
I like the idea of something like momentum dice. After each conflict, each character gets a d4 they can roll to add onto an Ability Check, Saving Throw, Attack Roll, or Armor Class. They must roll all their Momentum Dice at once. When a character takes a Short Rest or Long Rest, they lose all Momentum Dice.
Rewarding Breaking Weapons and Armor
Weapons and armor shattering are always so cool in fantasy media. But in the game itself, it kind of stinks to have your longsword break. Having armor and weapons break regularly (such as on a critical fumble) can also take away from the fearsomeness of unique item-busting enemies like Rust Monsters.
So what are some mechanics we can use to reward characters for breaking their armor and weapons?
What if breaking a weapon deals maximum weapon damage? This could encourage characters to shatter their weapon (or spell focus) when they score a critical hit, or when they think their foe is nearly defeated.
Level Up has a rule that a character can break a shield to turn a critical hit into a normal hit. This is a great idea, too!
What if players could break armor to reduce damage from weapon and elemental attacks? The AC of the armor would be reduced by 1, and the character would gain Damage Reduction equal to their Proficiency Bonus. Armor reduced to AC 10 is destroyed.
Rewarding Lingering Injuries
Jamie Lannister loses a hand (and so does Luke Skywalker... and Finn in Adventure Time...), and it's cool. It changes the character, changes the story.
One time I played a game in which a trap almost cut off my character's feet, and I didn't like it. I didn't like having the image of my character changed by the DM.
But are there mechanics we could use to encourage characters to take on lingering injuries?
We could use something like wound dice. When a character takes damage, they can decide to take no damage and instead take on a d6 Wound Die. The die is rolled, and if the player rolls a 1 their character takes on a Lingering Wound, and they lose the Wound Die. If a 2 - 6 is rolled, the character avoids a Lingering Injury but keeps the Wound Die. The next time the character chooses to take on a Wound Die instead of damage, they add a second d6 and roll both. Again if a 1 is rolled, they take on a Lingering Injury. Otherwise, they hold onto both Wound Dice and the battle continues...
Or, we could use Injuries Instead of Unconscious. When a character is reduced to 0 Hit Points, they can choose to take on a Lingering Injury, heal a number of Hit Dice equal to their Proficiency Bonus, and keep on fighting.
Rewarding Random Encounters
Random encounters can be fun, but D&D also provides a lot of ways to avoid them. Other than Experience Points or a hope for treasure, are there other mechanics we can use that reward characters for stumbling into dangerous situations?
What about some kind of reward counter? The DM and the players could work together to create a list of rewards: magic items, valuable alliances, property, titles, mounts, treasure, etc. Each time there's a random encounter, there's a 10% chance for the encounter to contain one of the rewards. The chance increases by 10% each time a random encounter doesn't have a reward from the table.
Now of course, a strong narrative will usually drive players to have their characters take on risks and live dangerously. But what are some other mechanical rewards we can give players for pushing through the safety net of D&D 5e?
A lot of DMs work hard to try and get characters to use up their resources, avoid taking rests, and push themselves to the limit, because it creates a great story. Fighting the BBEG on 25% power is usually a lot more interesting, nail-biting, and memorable than fighting the BBEG right after a long rest.
However, 5e provides characters with so many ways to be safe. From Rope Trick to Instant Fortress to the Outlander Background and Favored Terrain, D&D rewards players who use the rules to get rested, detour around random encounters, and avoid using resources.
So what can we do to encourage players to take risks? What mechanics can we use to counteract or flip the mechanics already embedded in 5e?
Rewarding Not Resting
D&D 5e encourages characters to try to rest after every fight. Other than narrative reasons, there are very few mechanical benefits to going on without a Short or Long Rest.
So what are some mechanics we could put in place that would encourage characters to not rest? Are there mechanics that could reward going on without resting, rather than punish?
I like the idea of something like momentum dice. After each conflict, each character gets a d4 they can roll to add onto an Ability Check, Saving Throw, Attack Roll, or Armor Class. They must roll all their Momentum Dice at once. When a character takes a Short Rest or Long Rest, they lose all Momentum Dice.
Rewarding Breaking Weapons and Armor
Weapons and armor shattering are always so cool in fantasy media. But in the game itself, it kind of stinks to have your longsword break. Having armor and weapons break regularly (such as on a critical fumble) can also take away from the fearsomeness of unique item-busting enemies like Rust Monsters.
So what are some mechanics we can use to reward characters for breaking their armor and weapons?
What if breaking a weapon deals maximum weapon damage? This could encourage characters to shatter their weapon (or spell focus) when they score a critical hit, or when they think their foe is nearly defeated.
Level Up has a rule that a character can break a shield to turn a critical hit into a normal hit. This is a great idea, too!
What if players could break armor to reduce damage from weapon and elemental attacks? The AC of the armor would be reduced by 1, and the character would gain Damage Reduction equal to their Proficiency Bonus. Armor reduced to AC 10 is destroyed.
Rewarding Lingering Injuries
Jamie Lannister loses a hand (and so does Luke Skywalker... and Finn in Adventure Time...), and it's cool. It changes the character, changes the story.
One time I played a game in which a trap almost cut off my character's feet, and I didn't like it. I didn't like having the image of my character changed by the DM.
But are there mechanics we could use to encourage characters to take on lingering injuries?
We could use something like wound dice. When a character takes damage, they can decide to take no damage and instead take on a d6 Wound Die. The die is rolled, and if the player rolls a 1 their character takes on a Lingering Wound, and they lose the Wound Die. If a 2 - 6 is rolled, the character avoids a Lingering Injury but keeps the Wound Die. The next time the character chooses to take on a Wound Die instead of damage, they add a second d6 and roll both. Again if a 1 is rolled, they take on a Lingering Injury. Otherwise, they hold onto both Wound Dice and the battle continues...
Or, we could use Injuries Instead of Unconscious. When a character is reduced to 0 Hit Points, they can choose to take on a Lingering Injury, heal a number of Hit Dice equal to their Proficiency Bonus, and keep on fighting.
Rewarding Random Encounters
Random encounters can be fun, but D&D also provides a lot of ways to avoid them. Other than Experience Points or a hope for treasure, are there other mechanics we can use that reward characters for stumbling into dangerous situations?
What about some kind of reward counter? The DM and the players could work together to create a list of rewards: magic items, valuable alliances, property, titles, mounts, treasure, etc. Each time there's a random encounter, there's a 10% chance for the encounter to contain one of the rewards. The chance increases by 10% each time a random encounter doesn't have a reward from the table.
Now of course, a strong narrative will usually drive players to have their characters take on risks and live dangerously. But what are some other mechanical rewards we can give players for pushing through the safety net of D&D 5e?
