D&D 5E What are your 5e houserules

[James Gasik]

Something a friend of mine pointed out was weapons juggling. Right now, to draw and change weapons quickly is a bit of a mess. You get one free "handle an object" each turn, but if you're a dual wielder or a sword + shield guy, or a someone who has to juggle a weapon, shield, and a focus, the RAW rules are obnoxious any time you don't start the combat with things readied in both hands, or need to change them out.

Switch hitters and anyone thinking to use thrown weapons has to deal with this issue as well. I'm not sure what the answer is, but it's being added to potential house rules for a patch.

 

[cbwjm]

I try different things during different games, but the two that are now in every game are:

Feat at 1st Level (But no Variant Human) - What it says on the tin. Everyone gets a free feat at 1st level. Leads to some fairly exotic racial choices, as opposed to half the party being variant humans, but that's fine with me. The important thing is the sheer joy on their faces.

Bonus Action Potions - Blatantly stolen from these forums. If you drink your own potion, it's a bonus action. Giving other people your potion is still a standard action. I enjoy handing out fun consumables.

I've noticed that the bonus action potion is everywhere and it has become a staple in my games. I didn't mention it in my opening post, probably because it's become so ingrained that I forgot it was a houserule.

 

[Horwath]

1. Potions, bonus action on self.

2. Extra feat at 1st level or 2 "half-feats" without ability bonuses.

3. Casting with weapons shields as normal. Somatic/material components only matter if you are bound, missing focus/component pouch, or trying to cast without someone noticing.

4. If proficient , a character with medicine can attempt a DC15 medicine for all characters to have 1 HD maxed during short rest. For every +5 above, one extra die is maxed.

5. GWM, SS are half feats with +1 str/dex. -5/+10 removed.

6. Most feats rebalanced, too long for this list.

7. You can draw a weapon as a part of attack. Storing is still object interaction.

8. Magic +X/+X weapons add +1d6 damage instead. Same for +X spell focuses.

9. +X armor adds +X damage reduction instead.

10. Buffed most melee non-finesse weapons by a die category or two.

11. Spellcasting that is not a bonus action provokes AoO and damage can interrupt the spell as per concentration rule. Same goes for readied attack at someones casting. Removed minimum of DC10. if attacks deal 1 damage, the DC is 0.

12. Can trade one armor proficiency from starting class for one skill proficiency.

13. Can trade racial +2 bonus for "bonus feat".

 

[Plaguescarred]

Houserule and Variant Rules for my courrent GREYHAWK campaign are the following:

Human Ethnicities: In this humano-centric setting, base or variant humans must also select an ethnic group between Backlunish, Flan, Oeridian, Rhennee, Suloise and Touv, which also grant a +1 to one ability score of your choice, and a new language associated with it.
New Languages: Baklunish, Flan, Oeridian, Rhopan, Suloise and Touv.
Slow Natural Healing: Characters don't regain hit points at the end of a long rest. Instead, a character can spend Hit Dice to heal at the end of a long rest, just as with a short rest.
Long Rest Variant: At the end of a long rest, a character regains all spent Hit Dice.
Healer’s Kit Dependency: A character can't spend any Hit Dice after finishing a rest until someone expends one use of a healer's kit to bandage and treat the character's wounds.
Stealth: When you hide, no need to make any Stealth check until someone can perceive you.
Death: Every time a character drops to 0 hit points, it gains a level of exhaustion. Deaths saving throws are rolled in private so the result is only known to the concerned player and DM.
Opposed Check: Opposed checks such as Dexterity (Stealth) or Charisma (Deception) check are made only when opposition is occuring. For exemple, if a player character attempt to disguises or hides, no check is actually made until another creature can spot it somehow and oppose check.
Falling: Falling damage is exponentially 10' = 1d6, 20' = 3d6, 30' = 6d6, 40' = 10d6, 50' = 15d6 etc

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I've a few:

• Short rest are 5 minutes, max 2 per long rest. Slow Natural Healing.
• Sleeping in harsh conditions might require a Con check to see if the character has benefited from a Long Rest.
• Healer's Kit dependency
• Vitality rules from UA
• Initiative is rolled each round on the player side: those who rolled over the monster's Dex score go before it, the others after.
• Weapon/armor proficiency based on Str score
• Weapons chart is modified.
• Critical hit replaced by exploding dice
• Targets in melee have 1/2 cover against ranged attacks.
• Shields are weapons, not armors, with a special property
• Classes can use their whole Attack allotment on AoO.
• No feats, no multiclass. Feats are often used to replace bad class features or as part of magic items.
• No concentration rules.
• Casting full action spells in melee provoke an AoO, spell is disrupted on a hit, but the slot is not lost.
• Sorcerers use spell points variant.
• Fighter's Indomitable is replaced by the UA Brutish Resilience (+1d6 on all saves). 13th level fighters gain extra attunement slots for weapons and armors. The 4th extra attacks is at 17th level and their capstone is replaced by the one from the artificer.
• Monk have 1d12 HD, 1d6 starting damage and can wear up to medium armors an shield. Unarmored Defense is similar to the Barbarian (not affected by shield). Stunning Fist is called in advance and affect the the next attack that hits on the monk's turn.
• 4 elements monks' disciplines cost 1 less Ki and you gain 2 disciplines each times you would gain 1.
• Druid's wild shape depending on archetypes. Land's is the UA Primeval Guardian Ranger instead of beast form. Same with their capstone.
• Rangers

Spoiler: ranger's changes

Favored Enemy
Beginning at 1st level, you have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy.

Choose 2 types of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two types of humanoid as one favored enemy. You gain the following benefits when dealing with your Favored Enemies:

• You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks to track and perceive the hidden work of your favored enemies, such as traps, ciphers or secret hideouts.
• As an action, you can observe one of your Favored Foe within 60 feet of you to know one of its following traits: their AC, their current Hit Point total or one of their resistance or vulnerability.
• You have advantage on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
• You have the ability to communicate in a limited manner with your favored enemy, even if you do not share a language. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return. You have advantage on all Charisma and Wisdom (Insight) checks you make to influence them.

You choose one additional favored enemy at 6th and 14th level.

At 9th level, you can spend a spell slot of 3rd level or more to mark a type of enemy that you can see within 100 feet of you as a Favored Foe for 1 hour.

Natural Explorer
You are particularly familiar with one type of natural environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions. Choose two types of favored terrain: arctic, caverns, seacoast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp or urban. When you make an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to the lore or exploration of your favored terrain, your proficiency bonus is doubled if you are using a skill that you're proficient in.

While traveling in your favored terrain, you gain the following benefits:

• Your group can't become lost except by supernatural means if you know the location of your destination and your current position. Furthermore, you always know which way is north.
• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling, making camp or sleeping you remain alert to danger. You are not unconscious while sleeping.
• You and your companions can move stealthily at a normal pace and Wisdom (Survival) and Wisdom (Perception) made to track or spot your group are made with disadvantage while traveling.
• When you forage, you automatically know if the food or water gathered is poisoned or diseased. Additionally, you gain 1d8+ your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1) temporary hit points and you recover one level of exhaustion after you complete a long rest.
• As long as you are in a favored terrain, you are always considered as carrying with you a Healer's Kit and any tool’s kit you are proficient with. You can also ignore the material components of spells unless they are consumed upon casting.
• When you finish a long rest in your favored terrain, you can switch one ranger’s spell you know for another from the ranger’s spell list. The spell must be of a level you can cast.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

You choose additional favored terrain types at 6th and 10th level. When you gain a level, you can change one of your choices of favored terrain.

Primeval Awareness
Beginning at 3rd level, you can use your action to focus your awareness on the region around you. For 1 minute, you can see and hear up to 1 mile away with no difficulty, able to discern even fine details as though looking at something no more than 100 feet away from you. Additionally you can sense through the wind’s whispers whether your favored enemies are present within 120 feet of you (or within up to 1 miles if you are in your favored terrain) if they are not behind total cover. You know the location and alignment of any being whose presence you sense (but not its identity). Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place, beast or plant that has been desecrated or enchanted by magic or is blighted by poison or diseases.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.

Land's Stride
Starting at 8th level, your walking speed increases by 5, and you gain a climbing speed and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed. Furthermore, moving through nonmagical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement. You can also pass through nonmagical plants without being slowed by them and without taking damage from them if they have thorns, spines, or a similar hazard.

In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against plants that are magically created or manipulated to impede movement, such those created by the entangle spell.

Hide in Plain Sight
Starting at 10th level, when you are in the wilderness or in any of your favored terrains, you can use your action to become invisible and gain +10 to Initiative rolls until you move or take an action or a reaction. You must have access to fresh mud, dirt, plants, soot, and other naturally occurring materials with which to create your camouflage.

Foe Slayer
At 20th level, you no longer need to roll for damage when you hit one of your favored enemies; you deal automatically the maximum damage.

• Rogues can sneak attack with any weapon they are proficient with if it lacks the heavy property.
• Paladins lose the smite feature.
• Berserker's fury works like the Evoker's Overchannel.
• Wizards gain the Flash of Genius and extra attunement slots from the Artificers. They gain only 2 spells +1 from their favored school (if any) when they gain a new spell level, not every level.
• All capstones (monk, arcane archer, battlemaster, bard etc) that give you 1 use of a feature when you are out of use are replaced by 1 use at the start of your turn if you have none remaining.
• Darkvision is reserved for creatures with sunlight sensitivity. Other races have low-light vision.
• Sunlight Sensitivity gives the Poisoned status to a creatures exposed to sunlight, so no sunshade or sunglasses for Drows.
• Dual-wielding and Martial Arts do not requires Bonus Action.
• Magic resistances can come with immunity to spells under a certain level.
• Unyielding: some monsters can only be defeated under special circumstances or with a special weapons property.
• New Conditions: Diseased (disadvantage on healing received), Dazed (can only move OR take one action, Disadvantage on Mental saves and checks), Weakened (Half-damage, Disadvantage on Physical saves and checks).

I may forget somes, but that's most of it.

 

[aco175]

We now use the healing potion bonus action and you roll the dice, but use your action and you gain full healing of the dice.

We use flanking- do not need to derail thread on this.

Roll HP each level, but gain minimum of half rounded down, so a rogue would gain 4 if they roll 1-4 instead of 5.

I used to grant extra attunement slots at 8 and 12th level, but think I will just abandon them all together.

We have not use the big feats like PAM and GRM, but like some of the options I see above.

Rogues can gain sneak attack damage on first round of combat if they act before monster. I think this was a carryover and not in 5e.

 

[jayoungr]

My main house rule concerns the very popular shatter spell. If you cast it on an area that includes a wall of a structure, it causes the wall to crumble and chunks to fall off, making all squares adjacent to the wall into difficult terrain.

Bless: Provides a +2 instead of a d4.

Oooh, I'd hate this! I love rolling extra dice.

 

[el-remmen]

Rolling initiative for the monsters and just start going with them. If a player rolled better and knows what they're doing, they're welcome to interrupt me anytime. Doesn't break the narration, keeps combat flowing, and no one is is bored waiting for their "turn".

I am not sure I am following this. Can you elaborate?

 

[billd91]

PCs roll 2 dice for hit points and take the better of the two.
Everyone has a point of inspiration at the start of the session.

For initial character generation, I've used a number of different options. The two primary ones are:
Roll 2 sets of 6 stats on 4d6droplow, pick the array you prefer, arrange as desired.
Roll 1 set of 6 stats on 4d6droplow, everyone reports their arrays together. Players can pick any array anybody rolled up, arrange as desired.

 

[Li Shenron]

Probably a few of these threads around, but I'm curious what houserules people have for 5e.

With house rules meaning actual overrides on what the books say, I have no house rules in place in 5e. I found that, between the "rule 0" (which grants a DM decision on whether a check should be rolled in the first place) and some openness of the text in various places, I have enough leeway to control unwanted excesses without really using house rules.

If you mean "non-rules house rules" instead, I have had three in place for years, which I think I can apply to any RPG ruleset or edition:

- if a PC technically dies, I'll let the player decide if it's ok or not, and we'll discuss together if a penalty (and what kind) can be applied instead of death

- it is not allowed to describe extreme forms of violence in detail at the table, even if you play evil PCs

- no PvP of any kind, including attacking, stealing or betraying the party (if two players want to roleplay infighting, it is resolved narratively and still requires approval by the whole group)