HOUSE RULEz

This Iz How We ROLL!

Some Rules that we will be using during our campaign. Many are Old School
Rules that we have been using for a long time. Some are new and might need
some tweaking as we play. As always its about story, rulings not rules.

Initiative -
To Roll Initiative – Roll D20 adding in your Dexterity bonus or subtracting it's detriment. Add in any
other bonuses, class or skill related (i.e. Alertness +5).
If a 1is rolled, that player rolls with DISADVANTAGE on their next action, if a 20 is rolled, that
Character rolls with ADVANTAGE on their next Action! Everyone Rolls D20 regardless of method.
If you were performing a character skill when Initiative was called for, you roll with advantage.
Checking for traps, tracking, searching for secret doors, etc...
Character's May Always Delay & Go Anytime Afterwards In Said Round, Interrupting Another Action.
They May Also Delay & Become First Actor In Subsequent Rounds (Until Someone/Something Else
Also Delays Till The Following Round)
Groups Choice, PICK ONE;
Traditional
Once Every Encounter The Group Rolls Initiative & They Go In That Order.
...or...
FAST & FURIOUS...
The Party Chooses 3 players to roll initiative against the DM.
If all 3 beat the DM the characters go first in any order they desire.
If only 2 beat the DM then the 3 that rolled initiative get to go in any order before the DM.
If only 1 beats the DM then only that players goes first before the DM.
& obviously if all 3 roll poorly the DM goes first.
*This Rule Is Optional At The Moment. I've Used It With success In Tournament Play But Not In A
Long Campaign Environment. I might Make This An Earned Token Based Rule...

Tempting the Fates –

A player can decide to "Tempt The Fates" if they don't like the outcome of a roll. To Tempt The
Fates a players rolls X Fate Dice. In order to be successful they will need to roll more + than - or □.
They roll 3 Fate Die +plus 1 for every level. They can then re-roll 1 □ die for every even level
they've obtained. So at 4th level they could re-roll 2 die. At 8th they could re-roll 4 die. 12th could re-
roll 6 die, etc. They don't have to, but they can! And they can roll a □ as many times as they want up to
their level limit.
If a player chooses to use 'Inspiration' during this action they will be allowed to separately roll 3
extra die. These die can be swapped out with the original dice rolled on a 1 for 1 basis, BUT THEY
CANNOT BE REROLLED! In order to gain the Inspiration Boon for Tempting the Fates. The player
must provide a detailed description or story of the action. And then a majority vote from the whole
group (DM too) must be made.
If they roll more + they get to re-roll their outcome with Advantage. If they get □ nothing
changes as the Fates weren't listening. If the get more - , the Fates become angry with their arrogance &
something detrimental happens. This could be immediate & very bad. Or could be something that
afflicts the character far down the road and isn't very detrimental. The Fates are fickle that way. It all
depends on what the characters where attempting to accomplish when they Tempted the Fates...
INSPIRATION –
Inspiration is a rule used to reward you for playing your character in a way that's true to his or
her personality traits, ideal, bond, and flaw. By using inspiration, you can draw on your personality trait
of compassion for the downtrodden to give you an edge in negotiating with the Beggar Prince. Or
inspiration can let you call on your bond to the defense of your home village to push past the effect of a
spell that has been laid on you.
GAINING INSPIRATION
I will give you inspiration for a variety of reasons. Typically, I will award it when you play
out your personality traits, give in to the drawbacks presented by a flaw or bond, and otherwise portray
your character in a compelling way. GREAT ROLE PLAYING is always rewarded with Inspiration!
You either have inspiration or you don't—you can't stockpile multiple "inspirations" for later
use. So it might be best to use it when you can & hope to have it awarded to you again for good role
playing. INSPIRATION DOE'S NOT CARRY OVER FROM EACH SESSION! Use it or loose it!
USING INSPIRATION
If you have inspiration, you can expend it when you make an attack roll, saving throw, or ability
check. Spending your inspiration gives you Advantage on that roll. Additionally, if you have
inspiration, you can reward it to another player, you can give up your inspiration to give that
character inspiration.
ADVANTAGE & DISADVANTAGE –
Sometimes a special ability or spell tells you that you have advantage or disadvantage on an
ability check, a saving throw, or an attack roll. When that happens, you roll a second d20 when you
make the roll. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advantage, and use the lower roll if you have
disadvantage. For example, if you have disadvantage and roll a 17 and a 5, you use the 5. If you instead
have advantage and roll those numbers, you use the 17.

If multiple situations affect a roll and each one grants advantage or imposes disadvantage on it,
you don't roll more than one additional d20. lf two favorable situations grant advantage, for example,
you still roll only one additional d20.

If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to
have neither of them, and you roll one d20. This is true even if multiple circumstances impose
disadvantage and only one grants advantage or vice versa. In such a situation, you have neither
advantage nor disadvantage.

When you have advantage or disadvantage and something in the game, such as the halfling's
Lucky trait, lets you recoil the d20. you can reroll only one of the dice. You choose which one. For
example, if a halfling has advantage on an ability check and rolls a 1 and a 13. the halfling could use
the Lucky trait to reroll the I.

You usually gain advantage or disadvantage through the use of special abilities, actions, or
spells. Inspiration (see chapter 4) can also give a character advantage on checks related to the
character's personality, ideals. or bonds. The DM can also decide that circumstances influence a roll in
one direction or the other and grant advantage or impose disadvantage as a result.
ACTION POINTS –
Action points give characters the means to affect game play in
significant ways, by improving important rolls or unlocking special abilities.
Each character is limited to one action point per session, and once an action
point is spent, it is gone for good.
Action points give players some control over poor die rolls.
Although this has little effect in an average encounter, it makes it a little
more likely that characters will survive extremely challenging encounters
and less likely that a single character will fall to what would otherwise be a
balanced foe because of bad luck. An action point lets even careful players
expose their characters to more risks, heightening the game’s tension and
opening the door to even more heroic action. It also makes it less likely that
an entire adventuring group will fall victim to one powerful effect, such as
circle of death or cloudkill.
Action points also make it more likely that the use of a character’s
most potent abilities will be successful. For example, although its overall
effect on an encounter might be minimal, few things frustrate a paladin
more than missing with a smite attack—an event that becomes less likely
when using action points.
That said, action points can also lead characters to routinely get in over their heads (relying on action points
to save themselves), and this is as fine as long as the characters have an action point to spend—but if they do not,
encounters that would otherwise be merely challenging can become incredibly deadly. So spend them wisely!
Acquiring Action Points
A beginning (1st-level) character starts each game with 1 action point. Every Character Gets 1 Action Point At the
Beginning Of Each Session, Though It Is Lost At The End Of The Session If Not used!
NPCs and Action Points
Most NPCs don’t have action points, due to the added complexity this would create. In the case of important villains
or other significant characters, however, they just might have one in reserve, how else does your long hated foe and
rival escape that trap you set for them living to thwart you at a later date?
Using Action Points
You can spend only 1 action point at a time, you can use it for yourself or any other character! You can spend it to
reroll a bad die, or make an automatic hit or save. Avoid a fumble, literally anything creative you can dream up
provided it's not a game breaking mechanic or request! An Action Point Is An AUTOMATIC Successful Roll, It
Doesn't Add Any Numerical value To Rolls!
You can spend the Action Point anytime, before or after a roll!
Anger Tokens
Faster, Cooler & Killer Fights! This simple rule will add a lot of fun flavor to combat without breaking the
game. Because it really sucks when you miss! When you miss an attack, you get an Anger Token.
On Your Turn You Can Spend A Token To:
- Add +1 to an attack roll
- Add +1 to damage
- Add +1 To Most Any Roll*
- Reroll your attack at a disadvantage, a new miss is treated as
Dire Consequences** & requires a roll on Dire Consequences
Table.
NO TOKENS/ACTION POINTS/INSPIRATION Etc.
MAY BE USED ON THE REROLL,
It's Up To The Fates!
You can spend as many tokens as you want in a round, stacking bonuses. These tokens can be spent before or
after a roll. Leftover tokens disappear at the end of the encounter. You can hoard, spend, barter or trade Tokens with
anyone involved in the encounter.
The DM also collects tokens, which are shared as a pool by all the opponents in the same fight. Why should
you get all the fun?
THERE ARE ONLY 50 TOKENS AVALIBLE! IF THEY RUN OUT - THEY ARE GONE!
YOU DO NOT COLLECT A TOKEN ON A FUMBLE. A Natural 1 for melee or a 1 or 2 for ranged
combat, nor can you spend a Token to avoid a Fumble.
*You can add a +1 Token to nearly any roll as a bonus at the DM's discretion. Tokens may not be spent to avoid a
Fumble or create a Critical. No Tokens May Be Used When Re-rolling An Attack.
**Dire Consequences =
(You May Spend Tokens To Lessen The Effect!)
6. Lose your weapon. Thrown d10 feet +plus Strength Bonus d8 Direction.
5. Lose Your Footing. Move or Standard Action Next Round To Stand
4. Injure An Ally. Roll Full Damage to Closest Ally.
3. Damage Your Armor. Armor decreased by 1d6. Rolled with Disadvantage
(meaning you roll 2d6) until repaired.
Doubles Xplode! Making your armor even less effective. Any Magical +pluses
count as 1 Step after armor completely fails & might be lost irregardless of
repair.
2. Break Your Weapon. If Magical all +1's equal d6 Points of Magical Damage
to anyone/anything within 3 (Or 30'). NO SAVES!
1.Break a limb. Permanent -1 To Ability of Choice. Suffer from broken limb
until mended.
Combat Attrition

Rule: Whenever you fall unconscious, you also gain one point of Exhaustion, in addition to the normal effects.

Implementing this rule has really had a positive impact on 5E games I've DMed. I’m not a fan
of the fact that a Character can drop to 0 hp ten times a day, but after a goodberry they are up and ready
for action in an instant. This rule adds an extra penalty for hitting 0 hit points. It uses the Exhaustion
mechanic, which are otherwise barely touched by most dungeon masters. The only way to recover
exhaustion is to eat, so rations become important again!

This starts to put a heavy weight on PCs who have sustained debilitating injuries in combat,
which may impact their willingness and effectiveness for future combats before resting. Characters
now worry about hitting 0 hp, even with some heals to get them back into the action, and this has made
combat feel more thrilling and dangerous for my players.

Exhaustion
Some Special Abilities and environmental hazards, such as starvation and the long-term effects of
freezing or scorching temperatures, can lead to a Special condition called exhaustion. Exhaustion is
measured in six levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of exhaustion, as specified in
the effect’s description.

Exhaustion Effects
Level Effect
1 Disadvantage on Ability Checks

2 Speed Halved

3 Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Saving Throws

4 Hit Point Maximum Halved

5 Speed Reduced to 0

6 Death

If an already exhausted creature suffers another effect that causes exhaustion, its current level of
exhaustion increases by the amount specified in the effect’s description.

A creature suffers the effect of its current level of exhaustion as well as all lower levels. For
example, a creature suffering level 2 exhaustion has its speed halved and has disadvantage on Ability
Checks.

An effect that removes exhaustion reduces its level as specified in the effect’s description, with
all exhaustion effects ending if a creature’s exhaustion level is reduced below 1.

Finishing a Short Rest reduces a creature’s exhaustion level by 1, provided that the creature has
also ingested some food and drink. Finishing a Long Rest and eating a meal removes the Exhaustion
Condition!
Deadly World
Rule: All death saving throws are DC:15 instead of DC:10

This rule makes hitting 0 hp far less forgiving without magical/medical means at the ready. Under the
standard rules, when a character falls unconscious there is roughly a 55% chance that the character can pull
through. However, when you up the DC to 15 (succeeding on a 15-20 is a 30% success chance) a character
has a much greater chance of bleeding out without medical or clerical assistance!

Death Saving Throws (Official Rule)

Whenever you start your turn with 0 hit points, you must make a special saving throw, called a
death saving throw, to determine whether you creep closer to death or hang onto life. Unlike other
saving throws, this one isn’t tied to any ability score. You are in the hands of fate now, aided only by
spells and features that improve your chances of succeeding on a saving throw.
Chances of succeeding on a saving throw. Roll a d20. If the roll is 10 (15 in our Campaign) or
higher, you succeed. Otherwise, you fail. A success or failure has no effect by itself. On your third
success, you become stable (see below). On your third failure, you die. The successes and failures don’t
need to be consecutive; keep track of both until you collect three of a kind. The number of both is reset
to zero when you regain any hit points or become stable.
Rolling 1 or 20. When you make a death saving throw and roll a 1 on the d20, it counts as two
failures. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you regain 1 hit point.
Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while you have 0 hit points, you suffer a death
saving throw failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage
equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.

ROUND DOWN! Always...

There’s one more general rule you need to know at the outset. Whenever you divide, add or have to
mathematically figure out a number in the game, you round down if you end up with a fraction, even if the
fraction is one-half or greater. ALWAYS ROUND DOWN!