CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
Ooooo...that's a nice one. My wife has been contemplating a lower-magic, gritty campaign and I think that might fit the bill. Would you mind giving us some specifics?
D&D 5E Your Favorite 5e Houserule
overgeeked
B/X Known World
I’m still working on how I want to do it for 5E, but it’s found in a few OSR games like DCC. In 5E you already have spells that have attacks or saves, so the chance of failure is there. For the rest I’m torn between something like roll under your own spell save DC or make a “spell attack” against a DC modified by spell level. Probably DC10-15 as the base. Not exactly sure on the numbers. When you can cast higher level spells your bonus should be high enough to make it tough but possible. Say 17th-level wizard with +11 (+5 INT and +6 prof) vs a DC15 +9 (9th-level spell) for DC24. Seems about right. Lower level spells become easier as you level while your highest level spells remain “difficult”. Or something like that. Like I said, still noodling. Maybe a bonus or advantage when you cast spells as rituals.
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el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
Mannahnin
Scion of Murgen (He/Him)
Why not?Makes sense to me.
Must just be a difference in how we perceive the world. In my experience, that's not a thing. Either people remember a fact, or if they need to jog their memory, they need to check a book or other source, or change their context and have it jogged for them. Knowing something is not a discrete action a person can take within a minute.
The other way to do Guidance if you want it's existence in the game but not used to the same repetitive extent that it could be is for the DM to just create a short house ruled list of those skills each domain is able to affect. Basically say that certain gods will guide certain activities that they care about, but not all.
So a Knowledge domain deity would allow Guidance for Investigation, History, and Religion, (for example)
A War domain deity would allow Guidance for Athletics, Insight, and Intimidation
A Trickery domain deity for Deception, Sleight of Hand and Stealth
A Life domain deity for Medicine, Perception, and Persuasion
A Nature domain deity for Animal Handling, Nature and Survival
So on and so forth. It definitely condenses the amount of times the cantrip is useful, but it also makes a bit more sense as to why certain deities are guiding certain activities. Like why would the deity of a Tempest storm cleric guide someone on a Performance check? That doesn't make much sense thematically, so instead only allow it for Acrobatics, Intimidation and Nature.
Just an idea.
So a Knowledge domain deity would allow Guidance for Investigation, History, and Religion, (for example)
A War domain deity would allow Guidance for Athletics, Insight, and Intimidation
A Trickery domain deity for Deception, Sleight of Hand and Stealth
A Life domain deity for Medicine, Perception, and Persuasion
A Nature domain deity for Animal Handling, Nature and Survival
So on and so forth. It definitely condenses the amount of times the cantrip is useful, but it also makes a bit more sense as to why certain deities are guiding certain activities. Like why would the deity of a Tempest storm cleric guide someone on a Performance check? That doesn't make much sense thematically, so instead only allow it for Acrobatics, Intimidation and Nature.
Just an idea.
TiwazTyrsfist
Adventurer
My favorite 5e house rule is my favorite house rule for any D&D or D&D-Adjacent RPG, it's the worlds most common house rule, and it's not even a rule so much as ignoring a rule that's ponderous, annoying, and makes the game less fun.
I call it "En-what-brance?" and it's where you don't track the weight you're carrying. At all. Eff that noise. Oh you're wearing plate, carrying a coil of rope, and your strength is only 16? Congratulation your speed is 5' and you take a -7 to all actions! FUN! [Note: don't quote correct rules at me it's called hyperbole and you need to learn rhetoric]
Also closely related is "I'll track ammo when hell freezes over and I will come across the table at you if you mention it again Greg so help me."
I call it "En-what-brance?" and it's where you don't track the weight you're carrying. At all. Eff that noise. Oh you're wearing plate, carrying a coil of rope, and your strength is only 16? Congratulation your speed is 5' and you take a -7 to all actions! FUN! [Note: don't quote correct rules at me it's called hyperbole and you need to learn rhetoric]
Also closely related is "I'll track ammo when hell freezes over and I will come across the table at you if you mention it again Greg so help me."
overgeeked
B/X Known World
Yeah, we never use encumbrance either. We don’t track ammo, but we do take a few gold off the communal tally to cover ammo. Just as a nod to verisimilitude. Though I am liking the gear use dice ideas I’ve been seeing. Like in Alien and Forbidden Lands and a few other similar ideas floating around.
el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
Yeah, we keep track of ammo in my games because players prefer it to my option of limitless ammo until the DM determines in a dramatic moment that you're out!
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