Variant Rules: Inspiration, Gritty Realism, and Healer's Kit Dependency at level 1.

[AstralFire]

Hey again.

My player-turned-GM is throwing a lot of balance questions at me since this is her first time and I've got a fair hand of experience, but I'm brand new to the system, so I don't feel comfortable fielding them without input. She wants to use the Gritty Realism and Healer's Kit Dependency rules in the DMG (page 266).

My thoughts on this were that the Healer's Kit Dependency could be a little bit annoying, but seems absolutely fine. Gritty Realism, on the other hand, feels like a brutal choice for a level 1 party with casters in it, to me -- at least without something to offset it like Hero Points, starting above first, or a bonus feat at first level or something.

What's everyone's opinion on this? Thanks.

EDIT: She just threw in Inspiration rules on 240. I have no idea on this. Reminds me of hero points as well as FATE aspects a little, but it feels like it favors martial over casting to me, since there's no way to improve Save DCs for blasters, and it encourages a more high offense style of play as it can't affect armor class either. Thoughts on that?

EDIT 2: I would like to add another question here, since it's related: we're throwing around the idea of everyone having a bonus feat at level 1. Are there any really unforeseen consequences that might come of this?

[Auramis]

Healer's Kit Dependency seems entirely reasonable, imo. I prefer a bit more realism with my campaigns, so magically regaining HP doesn't sit well with me, so I actually really like that rule.

Gritty realism, on the other hand... I said I like realism, so I do like this rule, but I can definitely see why this would be really rough on some people. If you're in a campaign where you're fighting a lot, NEVER use this rule. If your campaign is roleplay heavy, it could work.

Inspiration is honestly harmless, imo. It does favor melee since they require more checks, but spellcasting has a minor edge over melee the later the game goes on (as far as I can tell, at least), so it shouldn't be too bad. I could take it or leave it, though. That said, it does fit that the heroes would have luck on their side in the form of fate giving you an edge, don't you think?

[AstralFire]

My only real objection to the Healer's Kit Dependency is that it really just becomes a 0.5 GP per person per rest tax. The price should become entirely negligible before long, so it's extra book-keeping for a slight increase in verisimilitude.

I passed on your thoughts. They seem to mostly align with mine, so that's good to know. Thanks. :)

[ad_hoc]

My thoughts on this were that the Healer's Kit Dependency could be a little bit annoying, but seems absolutely fine. Gritty Realism, on the other hand, feels like a brutal choice for a level 1 party with casters in it, to me -- at least without something to offset it like Hero Points, starting above first, or a bonus feat at first level or something.

I use gritty realism.

It's really just a narrative tool for us.

We don't like having 6-8 encounters per day. We don't do random encounters unless it would be exciting to do so.

We don't like a lot of combat so we mostly just have combats that advance the story.

Using gritty realism allows us to keep things challenging. Spellcasters get cantrips, let them use them. Save their few big spells for key moments. It's more exciting that way.

And if they are really wiped out and want to spend 7 days resting then the plot moves along without them. It's a lot easier to enforce in game time constraints on this bigger scale.

So just think of it as a narrative pacing tool. You only have to have 6-8 encounters per game week rather than per day.

[AstralFire]

I would like to add another question here, since it's related: we're throwing around the idea of everyone having a bonus feat at level 1. Are there any really unforeseen consequences that might come of this?

[Daishain]

I would like to add another question here, since it's related: we're throwing around the idea of everyone having a bonus feat at level 1. Are there any really unforeseen consequences that might come of this?
Variant humans get slightly undervalued by that action. However, since they are normally the top choice for nearly all builds, that isn't too bad.

Feats are pretty powerful in this edition, so game balance may need slight adjusting, just as with any other freebies.

Other than that, not really.