Here are the house rules I'm planning for my upcoming campaign, Monster Town!
Note that several of the house rules I posted a year ago are still in effect, secretly. Most notably, I decided that the "Breaking the Rules" rule and the "Critical Results" rule both fall within existing DM's Discretion and thus don't need to be stated as rules. I'm still going to use the "Equipment Quality" rule but decided that it's not important enough to be stated in a document; I'll explain it if someone asks.
PARTY LEVEL
Every PC will get the same amount of XP and be the same level (the “party level”) all the time.
INSPIRATION
You can earn inspiration multiple times, and it stacks. But, you can only spend one at a time.
DOWNTIME
You can bank downtime days. When you complete a downtime activity, spend the number of days required from your bank.
INJURIES
When you fail your third death saving throw, instead of dying, you can choose to become unconscious. If you do so, you gain a random lingering injury (DMG p. 272), or a lingering injury decided by the DM. If you take further damage while unconscious, you die.
This rule applies to NPCs as well. If you want to be sure someone is dead, you must finish them off. It’s often better to allow your enemies to live, in order to avoid retaliation.
MONSTER PCS
For humanoids, just use the racial traits from Volo’s Guide to Monsters. For more exotic monsters, try Monstrous Races from the DM’s Guild. Or, you can play a monster straight from the Monster Manual, using these guidelines.
As a rule of thumb, a monster stat block is equivalent to a PC of a level equal to 1.5 × CR, rounded up. However, this can vary on a case-by-case basis, especially for monsters with immunities, spellcasting, or larger sizes.
Calculate your proficiency bonus and hit dice based on your level equivalent. You can swap your skill proficiencies for other skills.
To advance, use the multiclassing rules. If you aren’t already proficient in at least two saving throws, you can gain proficiency in one or both of your class saving throws, such that you are proficient in two saving throws.
These rules are experimental; if a monster PC proves un-balanced, we’ll adjust it.
Every PC will get the same amount of XP and be the same level (the “party level”) all the time.
INSPIRATION
You can earn inspiration multiple times, and it stacks. But, you can only spend one at a time.
DOWNTIME
You can bank downtime days. When you complete a downtime activity, spend the number of days required from your bank.
INJURIES
When you fail your third death saving throw, instead of dying, you can choose to become unconscious. If you do so, you gain a random lingering injury (DMG p. 272), or a lingering injury decided by the DM. If you take further damage while unconscious, you die.
This rule applies to NPCs as well. If you want to be sure someone is dead, you must finish them off. It’s often better to allow your enemies to live, in order to avoid retaliation.
MONSTER PCS
For humanoids, just use the racial traits from Volo’s Guide to Monsters. For more exotic monsters, try Monstrous Races from the DM’s Guild. Or, you can play a monster straight from the Monster Manual, using these guidelines.
As a rule of thumb, a monster stat block is equivalent to a PC of a level equal to 1.5 × CR, rounded up. However, this can vary on a case-by-case basis, especially for monsters with immunities, spellcasting, or larger sizes.
Calculate your proficiency bonus and hit dice based on your level equivalent. You can swap your skill proficiencies for other skills.
To advance, use the multiclassing rules. If you aren’t already proficient in at least two saving throws, you can gain proficiency in one or both of your class saving throws, such that you are proficient in two saving throws.
These rules are experimental; if a monster PC proves un-balanced, we’ll adjust it.
Note that several of the house rules I posted a year ago are still in effect, secretly. Most notably, I decided that the "Breaking the Rules" rule and the "Critical Results" rule both fall within existing DM's Discretion and thus don't need to be stated as rules. I'm still going to use the "Equipment Quality" rule but decided that it's not important enough to be stated in a document; I'll explain it if someone asks.
