D&D 5E Spells you house rule?

[Quickleaf]

I'm curious what, if any, spells you house rule? Reasoning and/or play experience is welcome!

I'm looking at implementing these changes for purely functional reasons (as they don't work well as written)...

• Jump is not subjected to speed limits.
• True Strike is a bonus action and grants advantage on ALL attacks you make next turn.

I'm looking at these changes to make travel interesting & curses/disease a longer-term threat....

• Leomund’s Tiny Hut doesn’t create a force field blocking creatures/attacks. It only offers protection from inclement weather, wind, and temperature.
• Lesser Restoration does not infallibly cure disease; instead, it grants a diseased creature one immediate and automatically successful saving throw against the disease.
• Remove Curse has 3 changes: (1) First, it requires a material component specific to the nature of the curse. (2) Second, it functions like detect magic in that every curse has an effective level. If the curse is 3rd level or less, it is removed automatically. For each curse of 4th level or higher on the target, make an ability check using your spellcasting ability. The DC equals 10 + the curse’s level. (3) Third, if you fail the check by 5 or more, something bad happens – the curse might jump to you, the curse might progressively worsen, the curse caster might become aware you attempted to lift the curse, etc.

And these changes are purely nostalgic because every time I've run the OSR versions of these two spells we enjoyed it...

• Fireball fills up the area of the spell, so if cast in a confined space it may create backdraft.
• Lightning Bolt bounces off of unyielding barriers up to the spell’s maximum range. It can be angled.

 

[SakanaSensei]

I’m not even really sure how I’d “fix” it, but I hate the play experience of Guidance. It’s either a constant game of “DM may I” or a shouting match of “Guidance!” After ever check is called for, and I hate it.

 

[Krachek]

A buff to fireball and lightning bolt, why not!

 

[DND_Reborn]

Wow... where to begin...?

Well...

1. light, dancing lights, and produce flame are all 1st level spells (and have been upgraded accordingly). (No cantrip portable light in my game, thank you!)
2. guidance is limited to once per creature per short or long rest.
3. eldritch blast increases in damage like other cantrips instead of getting more "beams"
4. magic stone can work on three pieces of ammunition, not just stones.
5. shillelagh grants a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls at 5th level, +2 at 11th, and +3 at 17th.
6. goodberry lasts 8 hours and each berry counts as a half-ration of food OR water.
7. Enlarge/Reduce increases weapon damage by a full weapon die, not d4.
8. Mage armor can be up cast, with each spell level higher granting +1 to the AC (so 5th level is AC 17).
9. After the first round, call lightning only requires a bonus action instead of an action.
10. Fly gives you a flying speed of 60 or twice your walking speed, whichever is greater.
11. Leomund's Tiny Hut protects you from the elements, etc. but is not a force dome.
12. Revivify brings you back to life but with six levels of exhaustion.
And more...

 

[DND_Reborn]

I’m not even really sure how I’d “fix” it, but I hate the play experience of Guidance. It’s either a constant game of “DM may I” or a shouting match of “Guidance!” After ever check is called for, and I hate it.

We make it usable once per creature per short or long rest. It helps a lot.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

The only spell I generally house rule in a major way is Goodberry. I make the berries poor nutrition that won't sustain you for more than a day or two on their own. I think as written it just completely eliminates provisioning as a part of travel at a level where the need for food still has interesting adventuring potential.

That's my only nerf. There's a few spells I'll occasionally bend the rules on in players favor for rule of cool reasons, and there are some spells that have been houseruled for a campaign because we made a mistake and decided to stay consistent, but that's about it.

 

[cbwjm]

I'm curious what, if any, spells you house rule? Reasoning and/or play experience is welcome!

I'm looking at implementing these changes for purely functional reasons (as they don't work well as written)...

• Jump is not subjected to speed limits.
• True Strike is a bonus action and grants advantage on ALL attacks you make next turn.

I'm looking at these changes to make travel interesting & curses/disease a longer-term threat....

• Leomund’s Tiny Hut doesn’t create a force field blocking creatures/attacks. It only offers protection from inclement weather, wind, and temperature.
• Lesser Restoration does not infallibly cure disease; instead, it grants a diseased creature one immediate and automatically successful saving throw against the disease.
• Remove Curse has 3 changes: (1) First, it requires a material component specific to the nature of the curse. (2) Second, it functions like detect magic in that every curse has an effective level. If the curse is 3rd level or less, it is removed automatically. For each curse of 4th level or higher on the target, make an ability check using your spellcasting ability. The DC equals 10 + the curse’s level. (3) Third, if you fail the check by 5 or more, something bad happens – the curse might jump to you, the curse might progressively worsen, the curse caster might become aware you attempted to lift the curse, etc.

And these changes are purely nostalgic because every time I've run the OSR versions of these two spells we enjoyed it...

• Fireball fills up the area of the spell, so if cast in a confined space it may create backdraft.
• Lightning Bolt bounces off of unyielding barriers up to the spell’s maximum range. It can be angled.

I like the restoration idea, do you also extend it to the conditions it cures? Main reason I like it is that I was considering converting a 4e adventure, but lesser restoration kind of messed it up since the town in the adventure has a cleric that could probably cure the demonic disease spreading through the region, whereas in 4e it required a ritual with limited supplies.

I also do the Leomund's tiny hut change, though no one has ever had the spell so it has never come up. Your jump change is also a good one.

 

[cbwjm]

The only spell I generally house rule in a major way is Goodberry. I make the berries poor nutrition that won't sustain you for more than a day or two on their own. I think as written it just completely eliminates provisioning as a part of travel at a level where the need for food still has interesting adventuring potential.

That's my only nerf. There's a few spells I'll occasionally bend the rules on in players favor for rule of cool reasons, and there are some spells that have been houseruled for a campaign because we made a mistake and decided to stay consistent, but that's about it.

I saw a change to good berry where it consumed the material component which helped reign it in a bit.

 

[Shiroiken]

I'd houseruled Healing Spirit before the errata. I've added the -4 penalty from Raise Dead to Revivify, since that spell is just too good IMO. I haven't bothered with anything else.

 

[Quickleaf]

I like the restoration idea, do you also extend it to the conditions it cures? Main reason I like it is that I was considering converting a 4e adventure, but lesser restoration kind of messed it up since the town in the adventure has a cleric that could probably cure the demonic disease spreading through the region, whereas in 4e it required a ritual with limited supplies.

I've played with the other ones, but not the change to lesser restoration yet. For the other conditions, no, not the same change. Just for diseases.

I want diseases & curses working as longer-term hazards.

Whereas conditions are more short term. I'm also doing poisons a bit uniquely, but that's another story.

 

[Quickleaf]

I'd houseruled Healing Spirit before the errata. I've added the -4 penalty from Raise Dead to Revivify, since that spell is just too good IMO. I haven't bothered with anything else.

Where is Healing Spirit errata'd?

Couldn't find it in here: https://media.wizards.com/2021/dnd/downloads/PH-Errata.pdf

 

[Quickleaf]

The only spell I generally house rule in a major way is Goodberry. I make the berries poor nutrition that won't sustain you for more than a day or two on their own. I think as written it just completely eliminates provisioning as a part of travel at a level where the need for food still has interesting adventuring potential.

I like your approach. I've been contemplating this change to Goodberry:

Goodberry creates “faerie food” which can only sustain a creature for up to three days in the Material Plane. Each day beyond the first that a creature relies on a goodberry for sustenance during a week, it must succeed a Constitution saving throw (equal to the spellcaster’s spell save DC) or be unable to gain nourishment from normal mortal food for an equal amount of time.

 

[Musing Mage]

The only spell I (currently) houserule is Witch Bolt.

The inititial strike is btb, but I treat the subsequent damage as escalating. Each round a caster sustains the witch bolt increases the damage by d8, starting with 1d12 and going up to a maximum # of dice equal to the original output of the spell.

 

[jgsugden]

Unless a spell were truly broken, I would not house rule a spell. I see no truly broken 5E spells from WotC, so I do not house rule any of them. Even if I did find one, I might look at approaches that fix it without changing the spell itself, but by changing the environment in which the spell is used.

I do, however, introduce alternate versions of spells that have different mechanics, but the same goals. Why? For the same reason we have Honda, Toyota, Ford, and all the other car brands: People want to put their own tweaks on a good idea, whether for their own benefit, for pride or to profit from it. Accordingly, I have a lot of different takes on a counterspell spell. One is an aura that counters all spells cast in it (using the mechanics for counterspell). One doesn't counter the spell, but lets the reacting mage change the target of the spell to another legal target. Another captures the magic of the spell being cast and let's the reactionary caster hold onto it and recast it themself at a later point in time (unless they lose concentration before they cast it). I even have two second level versions of a counterspell: One that reduces the range and radius/area of spells (forcing the caster to reselect the target/area), and another that gives the target of a spell advantage on saving throws against the spell, the caster disadvantage on attack rolls, etc...

Some of the spells with alternate versions have alternate introduced versions that are the same level as the original, but stronger. Others are more situationally stronger, but generally weaker. It is a mix - but having that wide breadth of magics makes my world a lot less 'cookie cutter' and feel more magical.

 

[Oofta]

I’m not even really sure how I’d “fix” it, but I hate the play experience of Guidance. It’s either a constant game of “DM may I” or a shouting match of “Guidance!” After ever check is called for, and I hate it.

I just run it that they have to cast guidance before I call for a check. If the person doing the check declares what they're doing without asking for guidance it doesn't happen. No "Can I spot the enemy in the alley" followed by "Guidance!". If the person asks for guidance before they look that's fine.

 

[Oofta]

I modify a few spells, for both balance reasons and world/thematic reasons. I loosely base my cosmology on Norse mythology so to get from different realms (planes in D&D terms) you have to travel Yggdrasil, the world tree.

Travel between planes is not as simple as casting a spell, you need to find a gateway/path first. So plane shift can open the gate, but that's it. It takes powerful rituals to create a gate, it's not simple. Any extra-planar creature must come through a gate unless they are just temporarily summoned or are very low level (i.e. familiars).

Similarly banishment doesn't permanently send an extra-planar creature back to it's home plane unless you are near a gate to their realm; they can be put in a pocket dimension like every other creature.

Another aspect of Norse mythology is that even gods can die. Revivify works as normal, but when someone dies they travel through Nifleheim* (the shadowfell) to get to their final destination. If you want to raise dead you have to go into Nifleheim to retrieve the soul. Once they've passed on to their final destination it's pretty much impossible to get them back, so no resurrection. People that refuse to move on to their final resting place slowly have their humanity "evaporate" and become ghosts and other undead.

Other than that? I pretty much ban long distance teleport because it's boring. Teleportation Circle works, but you don't automatically learn anything, the sigil sequence for the circles is a closely guarded secret. On the other hand I made teleportation circle a ritual.

*like I said, my cosmology is loosely based on Norse mythology. On the other hand I had made Nifleheim a shadow world long before 4E made it official.

 

[Arilyn]

I haven't bothered changing very many. I have altered the cantrip, Friends. I've changed it so the target never realizes they have had a spell cast on them. It's only advantage to the roll. The caster isn't doing anything they couldn't have done without the spell. I mean buying someone a beer could get you an advantage.

 

[el-remmen]

Here is the page I have them listed on the wiki: House Ruled Spells - Ghosts of Saltmarsh

But quickie examples:

• Conjure Animals: maximum number of conjured animals is four beasts of 1/2 CR or lower (8 are just too many to worry about in combat though I might allow an exception for non-combat uses (like a swarm of rats to scare a crowd)
• Conjure Fey: Banned for flavor reasons
• Conjure Minor Elementals: See Conjure Animals
• Fireball - Makes 33,000 cubic feet of fire.
• Crusader's Mantle - Renamed "Hero's Mantle" because Crusading is historically gross.
• Goodberry - Up to ten berries (1d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier) appear in your hand and have the by the book effect, except they do not provide satisfaction for the sensation of hunger or thirst.
• Leomund's Tiny Hut -
  • The material component is a piece of bread and some salt, which is consumed in the casting, along with a small fist-sized model of a house worth at least 200 gps (which is not consumed).
  • The hut is opaque from the inside, but can be made transparent by the caster by spending an action, and concentrating for up to 10 minutes.
  • The hut must be cast on a reasonable flat and clear area that can hold it.
• Lightning Bolt - They bounce.

 

[ad_hoc]

I’m not even really sure how I’d “fix” it, but I hate the play experience of Guidance. It’s either a constant game of “DM may I” or a shouting match of “Guidance!” After ever check is called for, and I hate it.

Ask each player to say what they're doing and then resolve their actions in turn. The character can either cast Guidance on themselves or cast it on someone they're helping.

If you're in a situation where the rest of the characters are just standing around because nothing is going on an ability check probably isn't worth calling for.

 

[jmartkdr2]

The only spell I generally house rule in a major way is Goodberry. I make the berries poor nutrition that won't sustain you for more than a day or two on their own. I think as written it just completely eliminates provisioning as a part of travel at a level where the need for food still has interesting adventuring potential.

That's my only nerf. There's a few spells I'll occasionally bend the rules on in players favor for rule of cool reasons, and there are some spells that have been houseruled for a campaign because we made a mistake and decided to stay consistent, but that's about it.

This reminds me of Exalted's answer to magical food: all food produced by magic is empty calories. You're getting carbs and fat and some proteins, but no vitamins or minerals (and probably only one type of protein.)

So if you try to live on goodberries, you'll get scurvy and pellagra and so on.