Quote Originally Posted by Necrosnoop110 View Post
So my group in which I DM, is switching over from 3E to 5E. Back in 3E game I had a list of houserules for ways to try and keep the martials from not being overshadowed by the casters (or at least my best attempt). I have been runing as a PC in another 5E campaign for years so I have a decent understanding of the rules set. As a DM, we are soon starting a new 5E campaign that will run from 1st to 20th character levels. What I was curious to know is does anyone have any simple houserules or fixes that could do the same for 5E in the later tiers of play?

One thought I had was requiring at least 4 levels of multiclassing by 20th level so as to limit the highest level of spells (maybe requiring 2 class levels taken before reaching 10th character level, and 2 after 10th). I am not interested in doing any extensive rewrites or "line-item" houserules I am just looking for a simple "patch" that will tone the casters down a bit after 10th level so the martials don't begin to feel worthless. Half my table only plays martials (they literally refuse to play casters) and I don't what them to become obsolete in the back half of the campaign.

Any suggestions?
Casters are a lot more forgiving in 5E - your table might want to try them. Gone are the days of assigning specific spells to specific spell slots.

Since most classes are casters (especially with subclasses), it's hard to give you a very simple patch on them. It's probably easier to buff the martials than nerf the casters. Here are buffs for the four non-caster classes half of your table will be limiting themselves to:

  • If you are a Barbarian who can't cast spells, while raging you gain the Mage Slayer feat's benefits.
  • If you are a Fighter who can't cast spells, you gain proficiency in Athletics and Acrobatics, or if you are already proficient, expertise; if you ever gain the ability to cast spells, you lose these benefits.
  • If you are a Monk who can't cast spells, you gain Jack of All Trades (half proficiency if not proficient) and Reliable Talent (rolls of less than 10 are 10) in Perception and Insight; if you ever gain the ability to cast spells, you lose these benefits.
  • If you are a Rogue who can't cast spells, you gain 1 luck point, which otherwise works like the Lucky feat. If you ever gain the ability to cast spells, you lose this luck point.