What are some of the variant rules for Homebrew rules that you use.

[Sir cryosin]

So I'm thinking about my next campaign and I would like to use some variant rules. I would like to use the spell points rules and alternative short and long rest rules. I was reading another thread about skill checks. And thought about different skill checks rules depending on the situation in the nature of the skill check. So this all got me thinking about what other rules all of y'all use in y'all games.

[DragonSorcererX]

So I'm thinking about my next campaign and I would like to use some variant rules. I would like to use the spell points rules and alternative short and long rest rules. I was reading another thread about skill checks. And thought about different skill checks rules depending on the situation in the nature of the skill check. So this all got me thinking about what other rules all of y'all use in y'all games.

Disclaimer: I know that I have no credibility because of my retardation on the forums, but, now I'm being serious (because I took my ADHD medicine).

I use the Heroic Rest Variant, the Spell Points and the Healing Surges and it is awesome, you can increase the hack n' slash and turn your game into a mix of D&D with a Steven Seagal movie!

[TheTeaMustFlow]

Most of the games I've played in have used the spell points variant, and it's generally improved things, particularly for Sorcerers. They've also used flanking quite often, which is... mixed, as it significantly increases the benefit of numerical superiority, as well as making combat generally faster and more deadly.

[pwykersotz]

This isn't comprehensive, but here's a few I use:


Players get 1/2 your Hit Die + roll the other half each level (1d6 would become 3+1d3)
HP represents your ability to turn a hit into a near miss (scrapes and bruises only) and death saves are replaced with the Fate damage track with Mild, Moderate, and Severe injuries. A couple pages of custom rules apply here.
Regarding the previous one, now targeted attacks are possible, you can incapacitate an enemy's limb or somesuch.
Custom crafting rules (magic crafting not yet implemented) based around the phrase "Quick, Cheap, or Quality, you can't have more than two."
Dungeon World based skill checks. Skills use 2d6+Proficiency to have a better bell curve. Failure is 9 or less. Success with consequences is 10-12. Complete success is 13+.
A few spell changes, such as Remove Curse and Forcecage among others for thematic reasons.
The Lucky feat is banned.
Side Initiative is used. All players roll initiative, the monsters roll as one. First players who beat the monsters go, then the monsters, then all the players, then back and forth.

That's the lion's share of my game hacking. I don't currently use the spell point variant, though I could be convinced to do so.

[Armok]

In no particular order...

A bit of a retooling of exhaustion. When a PC drops to 0 and is brought back through healing or successful death saves, they gain one level of exhaustion to represent the strain of being at deaths door. More things grant exhaustion as well, the biggest of which I feel is the undead's Life Drain. This makes undead encounters at my table feel way more dangerous.

I use a critical hit deck when a PC crits, but never for monster attacks. Nor do I do much special for critfails beyond an automatic miss. I allow for critical success on skill checks, and critical on initiative with ties broken by dex mod.

The spell animate objects can create a ton of tiny objects to attack, but they must use a single attack roll. This spell was downright broken during the last leg of my Curse of Strahd campaign, and I'm hoping to reign it in slightly.

Situations where multiple characters roll the same perception, history, arcana or nature check must be handled in the following fashion. First, declare that you wish to search the wall or whatever the heck it is that you want to do. Other characters may join in, but only before a roll is made and only if it is reasonable that you can join. (Ie: if you're in the middle of checking room A and others are checking room B, you don't get to run over and also do that.) Once the dice hit the table the result is determined and unless a very, very good reason is presented why you would doubt the results of your check, no further attempts are permissible. In the case of knowledge skills, only proficient characters or those that present a convincing reason why they should make a roll can do so.

All options in the PHB are fine at my table. Anything in an official supplement is probably fine, but clear it with me first. Third party content is handled on a per-case basis, but as long as it's not too crazy I can probably write it into my setting.

On character death, your new character will be at the average level of the party, with the minimum EXP to be there. Because of setting reasons, any dead character can only be brought back through things like raise dead for half a year in-game time. After that only a wish or divine intervention can recall the soul. After a year even a wish gets dicey.

The PCs haven't learned this one yet but at seventh level their name and prowess begins to get them titles, possible land, and followers.

Leveling up is not automatic, and takes an investment of time and gold. Levels 1-5 need 20 GP and 10 days, 6-10 need 30 GP and 20 days. This represents the cost needed to recompense another powerful character skilled in your path to train you. After tenth level, you are enough of a master of your chosen path that you no longer need external aid to train yourself to new heights, but the time required still scales up. That said there are powerful NPCs who might be entreated to teach you things, the benefits of such are to be determined on a case by case basis.

All experience thresholds for leveling are doubled, but I grant bonus exp for everything from treasure to RP to solving problems in creative and hilarious ways.

[DragonSorcererX]

I don't currently use the spell point variant, though I could be convinced to do so.

Well, I use spell points because they make more sense than Vancian Magic for me, and people say that it is more bookkepping to use them but it isn't, in your character sheet, in the SLOTS TOTAL area for each level you put how much each spell level costs in spell points, and in the SLOTS EXPENDED area for the first level spells you put how many Spell Points you have, very easy.

[tkuremento]

I just looked at the spell point variant and I love it. However, is there any reason it doesn't include the warlock? They could have added like a paragraph to explain how theirs works. Even when they max out at 4 slots of 5th level that'd be like 28 points, right? And the 6th+ thing doesn't even apply, and is basically how they function anyway given their Arcanum.

[Specter]

What I use when DMing:

- Dropping to 0hp gives one level of exhaustion. Mostly to make people stop ignoring the condition.
- When you're at 0hp and take damage, you must make a DC10 CON save or die immediately. Another one to make death more imminent.
- Being below half hp reduces your speed by 5 feet. This one is just to add a bit more realism to wounds without being too annoying.

These are usually it.

[Saiga]

I just looked at the spell point variant and I love it. However, is there any reason it doesn't include the warlock? They could have added like a paragraph to explain how theirs works. Even when they max out at 4 slots of 5th level that'd be like 28 points, right? And the 6th+ thing doesn't even apply, and is basically how they function anyway given their Arcanum.

They don't really need it the way their spells work. It's actually simpler with slots because they can only cast spells at one level, and have one type of slot.

[X3r4ph]

I am playing this: https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Shadow_Adept_(5e_Archetype) at the moment. It comes off as fairly well balanced and gives a much better Shadow Sorcerer feel.

Also, Bearbarian has been banned and GWM SS has been nerfed to 1/turn.

[tkuremento]

They don't really need it the way their spells work. It's actually simpler with slots because they can only cast spells at one level, and have one type of slot.

I guess but it sort of feels wrong at the same time. It feels like it gets the warlock way less spell casting than others since they could cast so many spells of a lower level and a warlock would be capped at 4 regardless because of slots and not points :|

[Oramac]

So I'm thinking about my next campaign and I would like to use...the spell points rules.

Do it. I highly recommend the Spell Points variant. It just feels like what spell casting should have been from the beginning.

[Biggstick]

Some Character creation rules that I've put together and Players seem to really like. Things I'd like to emphasize within the document include: starting at level 2, harder multiclassing requirements, 34 point buy, restrictions on languages, standard racial stat adjustments, extra starting gold, and an emphasis on the importance of carry capacity.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ylIHidVXs98Qk7pR6ykILsjrVDyOy_-pDBUt4QZayvw/edit?usp=sharing

Death Saves are made by the DM behind the screen. Players don't get to know if they've made the save or not. Don't tell your players, but never critically fail the Death Saves for a Player. You can critically succeed, but never critically fail. This puts a sense of urgency when you fall to 0 hp, as the other players now don't know if they can wait one more round before saving their ally.

Performance checks. If you have Performance proficiency and are performing with an instrument you're proficient with as well, you have advantage on the check. This nicely deals with players who have proficiency in both things but don't really receive any sort of benefit from having both.

I'm working on one where PC's are able to swap around the casting stat of classes while still maintaining the essence of the class. Examples include: Intelligent Paladins, Wise Warlocks, Charismatic Clerics, Intelligent Druids/Bards, etc. I don't quite have it ironed out yet, but something like that might be interesting.

[N810]

feats
inspiration
flanking
all levels of exhaustion recover on long rest
free action to draw or swap weapons
No encumbrance, within reason
Multiclasing
UA allowed
oh and once a level we earn a random one use fate card (used to change the outcome of the story).

[Squiddish]

Feats
Multiclassing
Critical hits roll on a table unless they are granted automatically by spells or status conditions
If a spell knocks someone back, but doesn't say "up to X feet" then it can knock people through things.
All UAs except for theurge, favored soul, swashbuckler, and storm sorc are allowed.
UA optional rules aren't used.
No encumbrance, within reason (If you have to check, the answer is probably no).

[Specter]

All UAs except for theurge, favored soul, swashbuckler, and storm sorc are allowed.


Not sure if you know, but Swashbuckler and Storm Sorcerer are now official, published material.

[JackPhoenix]

Not sure if you know, but Swashbuckler and Storm Sorcerer are now official, published material.

Sounds to me like that's the reason why their UA versions aren't allowed.

[Joe the Rat]

I'm pretty close to book, though we did do a few things to update the setting.

Tweaked character creation: It's a 4d6 drop method, but you assign as you go, and can swap two scores at the end. We like surprises.
Few races, many types: 5 elves, 5 dwarves, 5ish halflings, 2 gnomes, normal & variant humans.

Class weirdness:

World-specific barbarian totem (The Sproog, an incredibly dumb and stubborn creature. Think two-headed donkey. its levels give you resistance to psychic damage, enchantments, persuasion attempts, and moving.)
Race restrictions on classes (Eldritch Knight requires Mist Elf / Half Mist Elf or Damn Good Explanation; Artificer (formerly the unused Tinkerer) is a Gnome class; Elementalists are limited to Elves (air, water) and Dwarves (earth, fire), Monks must have ties to the Land of Hidden Mountains.
Elementalists (Int-casting Sorcerers adapted from Draconic Bloodline)
Monk: Battle-Master mimicking Kensai Tradition (maneuvers, 2ki for a "superiority die", size scales by monk unarmed die)
0-cost "stance" maneuvers - usable one at a time, must have a superiority die/ki left ("Flurry of throws" - draw thrown weapons as part of attack, bonus action throw, cancelled if you move. Prone fighting ("Centipede Stance") removes disadvantage to attack/advantage to attackers for being within 5' while prone).


Rules (tweaks, rulings, clarifications):

The Dread d30: Whenever someone suggests something random, plausible, or really stupid, I will roll a d30. On a 1 or 30, something happens to the detriment (1) or benefit (30) of the player or players.
Example: The Rogue propositions a tree and (30) it actually was a Dryad tree. She gives them a magic token to improve their survival checks. If it was a 1, it might have been a dryad that takes offense, or it might be a sleeping Treant, or a Tree Roper.
Passive Skills. I use a lot of "hidden" checks - Perception and Insight being the big ones. I'll roll using the player's passive score as the DC - turning the "find this clue" DC -10 into the modifier. Proficiency in skills lets you take the passive score rather than roll in "non-stressful" situations.
Sliding DC: Some checks can result in partial success for a near miss, blowing well past can get you better results.
1 on an Int Check: If you missed the DC, make up something stupid. That's what you believe to be the answer to that question.
Scroll scribing (WIP) - 3rd level of a casting class required. I'm starting with reverse wizard spell scribing (1 hr/100gp per spell level, 8hrs a day limit, must expend spell slot(s) in process), and adjusting time and costs to be somewhere near geometric. (as opposed to the exponential-by-rarity magic item creation rules).
Spell tiles - double cost of spell scrolls, but anyone can use them. Additional tool proficiency required (pottery, glassblowing, woodcarving, mason, leatherworking, etc. depending on the form).
Cooler Animate Dead (covered in the fun with necromancy topic): +1 spell slot level for non-humanoid skellies/zombies, +1 spell slot level for each size category over medium (and counts double per size category over medium for control purposes).
Athame: Combination dagger and spellcasting focus.
Wooden Rod and Staff foci are valid targets for shillelagh. A Staff Focus can be used as quarterstaff.

[Corsair14]

In my campaign, we have a post combat catch your breath thing where you recover d6 hit points for spending 15 minutes. This doesn't count against the short rest dice.

We use flanking.

I ban monks from my campaign world as they make no sense to me outside of an Asian setting. Monks in real life were scholars and inventors and rarely left the monastery. Drow similarly do not exist. Paladins are replaced with Solamnic knights in my world, if I am not running DL then I have no issue with them.

I have numerous monstrous PC races but then I play in my version of Dragonlance so it makes sense(and not a single PC takes advantage of them). I might have to ban variant Humans just to make other races seem more enticing.

If PCs die I give them a god call equal to 1%. Knights and clerics get a +1% per level. If they make the role then they get to talk with their god and plead their case on why they should be allowed to live. If they role play well, typically I will allow them to come back with some hitches, I might change their race or class and add in some obligations.