Phawksin
2015-08-26, 03:27 PM
With the temporary hiatus of my weekly game I have found myself in need of some tabletop release, so I'm posting some of the homebrew we use to make our game run a little smoother for our purposes. Point of reference: we have a strong preference for the social and exploration pillars of DnD so some of these changes are character/RP focused and might be horrible for combat min/maxers. Regardless, here they are:
Rest and Healing: Drawing inspiration from the DMG rest and healing variants I use Short Rests as an overnight rest (8 hours for most races) while out in the wilderness. Over a short rest PC's can use any of their hit dice to regain HP as normal. Long Rests are a full 24 hour day back in a settlement (resting comfortably in your own home). Over a long rest PC's do not regain any hit points, but do regain all their spent hit dice and can spend them as on a short rest. The healing variant hasn't done much because we have a dedicated healer, but the time restrictions have provided a nice opportunity to actually interact with the community and use the Downtime rules to develop characters. Additionally, it means that getting stuck in a dungeon for more than a few days is incredibly dangerous. Overall I throw about the normal expected encounters at them before they decide to head back to town, and they usually stay out for three or four days (technically a bonus to the short-rest classes). I recognize that as they get higher level and have access to teleport and other spells that this won't work as well, but it is unlikely that the game will last that long (especially without a dedicated arcane caster).
Downtime: Drawing inspiration from the PHB downtime and factions I have designed 4 factions in their local community they can directly interact with. Each faction has a unique downtime activity that provides a small boon and increase in renown. At some thresholds of renown they unlock unique and powerful rewards, all detailed below. Additionally, as a money sink, I have tied a lifestyle modifier for the downtime activities.
Lifestyle Modifiers:
Wretched: 0 gold: -5 on downtime roll
Squalid: 1sp: -3 on downtime roll
Poor: 1ep: -1 on downtime roll
Modest: 1 gp: no modifier on downtime roll
Comfortable: 2 gp: +1 on downtime roll
Wealthy: 4 gp: +2 on downtime roll
Aristocratic: 10 gp: +3 on downtime roll.
Faction Downtime: Skill + lifestyle. DC 12=boon, DC 15=boon and renown, DC 20=boon, renown and 1 extra renown
Grand Expedition--Civic Duty: Religion, Survival or Animal Handling. Boon: gain inspiration
Harbingers--Occult Research: Investigation, Arcane or Medicine. Boon: gain story clue
Iron Wolves--Guard Duty: Athletics, Acrobatics or Stealth. Boon: 2d10 gold.
Hollow Men--Underworld Trading: Sleight of Hand, Intimidate or Insight. Boon: gain one common item (usually healing potions)
Factions Rewards: First reward comes at 10 renown, second at 25
Grand Expedition 1: Free cleric spell casting once per day (up to 6th level spells, usually divination)
Grand Expedition 2: Blessed item (usually a rare weapon specially designed for the character)
Harbingers 1: Access to Magic Item Crafting (with stupidly complex costs that I should have spent more time on)
Harbingers 2: Permanent blessing of a deity (setting specific mechanical boons, usually once per day features)
Iron Wolves 1: Cross Class training (like an extra fighting style or a single favored enemy or a once per day use of rage)
Iron Wolves 2: Follower (trained animal or low level companion)
Hollow Men 1: Fence access (buy, sell and trade random magic items)
Hollow Men 2: Extra ASI or feat
Other: A few other miscellaneous changes
Inspiration turns a failure into a success retroactively. Suddenly everyone is playing their backgrounds.
"Heavy" property doesn't exist. Small creatures gain no benefit from "reach" property.
Great Weapon Fighting (style) only applies to weapon damage. Savage Attacker (feat) applies to all damage.
New Weapon: Warblade. Martial, 2-handed, finesse. 2d4 slashing. (monks and rogues are not proficient with it)
When gaining hit points roll twice and take the higher.
Using a revive spell conjures an incorporeal undead with a CR equal to the level of the revived character.
That's about it. I hope you can draw some inspiration from some of this and happy gaming!
Rest and Healing: Drawing inspiration from the DMG rest and healing variants I use Short Rests as an overnight rest (8 hours for most races) while out in the wilderness. Over a short rest PC's can use any of their hit dice to regain HP as normal. Long Rests are a full 24 hour day back in a settlement (resting comfortably in your own home). Over a long rest PC's do not regain any hit points, but do regain all their spent hit dice and can spend them as on a short rest. The healing variant hasn't done much because we have a dedicated healer, but the time restrictions have provided a nice opportunity to actually interact with the community and use the Downtime rules to develop characters. Additionally, it means that getting stuck in a dungeon for more than a few days is incredibly dangerous. Overall I throw about the normal expected encounters at them before they decide to head back to town, and they usually stay out for three or four days (technically a bonus to the short-rest classes). I recognize that as they get higher level and have access to teleport and other spells that this won't work as well, but it is unlikely that the game will last that long (especially without a dedicated arcane caster).
Downtime: Drawing inspiration from the PHB downtime and factions I have designed 4 factions in their local community they can directly interact with. Each faction has a unique downtime activity that provides a small boon and increase in renown. At some thresholds of renown they unlock unique and powerful rewards, all detailed below. Additionally, as a money sink, I have tied a lifestyle modifier for the downtime activities.
Lifestyle Modifiers:
Wretched: 0 gold: -5 on downtime roll
Squalid: 1sp: -3 on downtime roll
Poor: 1ep: -1 on downtime roll
Modest: 1 gp: no modifier on downtime roll
Comfortable: 2 gp: +1 on downtime roll
Wealthy: 4 gp: +2 on downtime roll
Aristocratic: 10 gp: +3 on downtime roll.
Faction Downtime: Skill + lifestyle. DC 12=boon, DC 15=boon and renown, DC 20=boon, renown and 1 extra renown
Grand Expedition--Civic Duty: Religion, Survival or Animal Handling. Boon: gain inspiration
Harbingers--Occult Research: Investigation, Arcane or Medicine. Boon: gain story clue
Iron Wolves--Guard Duty: Athletics, Acrobatics or Stealth. Boon: 2d10 gold.
Hollow Men--Underworld Trading: Sleight of Hand, Intimidate or Insight. Boon: gain one common item (usually healing potions)
Factions Rewards: First reward comes at 10 renown, second at 25
Grand Expedition 1: Free cleric spell casting once per day (up to 6th level spells, usually divination)
Grand Expedition 2: Blessed item (usually a rare weapon specially designed for the character)
Harbingers 1: Access to Magic Item Crafting (with stupidly complex costs that I should have spent more time on)
Harbingers 2: Permanent blessing of a deity (setting specific mechanical boons, usually once per day features)
Iron Wolves 1: Cross Class training (like an extra fighting style or a single favored enemy or a once per day use of rage)
Iron Wolves 2: Follower (trained animal or low level companion)
Hollow Men 1: Fence access (buy, sell and trade random magic items)
Hollow Men 2: Extra ASI or feat
Other: A few other miscellaneous changes
Inspiration turns a failure into a success retroactively. Suddenly everyone is playing their backgrounds.
"Heavy" property doesn't exist. Small creatures gain no benefit from "reach" property.
Great Weapon Fighting (style) only applies to weapon damage. Savage Attacker (feat) applies to all damage.
New Weapon: Warblade. Martial, 2-handed, finesse. 2d4 slashing. (monks and rogues are not proficient with it)
When gaining hit points roll twice and take the higher.
Using a revive spell conjures an incorporeal undead with a CR equal to the level of the revived character.
That's about it. I hope you can draw some inspiration from some of this and happy gaming!