D&D 5E What variant rules should I add to my new campaign?

[TaranTheWanderer]

If I were to try a rule like this in my games, I would not have the sacrifice negate the damage, I would just have it negate the crit and make the damage normal. After all, there is a good chance the character will take damage from a staff or other weapon exploding in his face as it blocks that critical strike. Or take damage in the way of a broken arm when that shield is crushed when blocking a critical hit. I think I would also only allow held items like weapons and shields to be used this way since it would be harder to justify a set of armor being destroyed by a single hit.

That’s what I meant. It negated the crit but not the regular damage. I should have been more clear and said a player could sacrifice a piece of equipment to downgrade a crit to a regular hit.

 

[S'mon]

Re facing & flanking, I think the best approach is just to say that the 5th+ attackers have advantage, since defender can't cover all lines of attack at once. That's basically how we did it in 1e.

 

[CubicsRube]

I've not run the variant myself, but have played in side initiative. Just planning your moves with other players makes the game seem much more thematic.

I've personally found that that simple change can create a lot more tactical play if you encourage the players to discuss tactics between or even during combat.