House Rules

A non-exhaustive list of house rules used in the campaign.

Character Creation

• To keep things simple we only use races/classes/spells/etc. from the PHB and no other books (but see Feats added, further below).
• First exception; backgrounds from any of the official books can be used. This website seems to have most (the homebrews are not allowed). I also found a list of 1200 trinkets, most of these should be just fine. Also note that the traits/flaw/ideal/bonds tables should used more for inspiration than just rolling randomly on them, or you get characters that make little sense.
• Second exception; if you have a very specific character idea I might be willing to make a small change in a race/class ability if we can work this out, but it won't be something that will make your character more powerful than before, more likely the opposite. See examples here.
• Standard ability score array; 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.
• We use the Variant Human Traits (page 31); humans get +1 to two ability scores, proficiency in one skill of your choice, one feat of your choice.
• Players get to choose one extra skill proficiency more than normal and there are a number of new skills, see below.
• Languages; next to the ones in the PHB, there's also Dark Speech (used by followers of evil gods, etc.) and Ancient (precursor to Common).
• Dragonborn, Drow, Tieflings, and Sorcerers are not available due to story reasons, but if you really, really want to, talk to the DM.
• Please, no Chaotic Neutral murder-hobos with no living family or friends.
• Flaws make for interesting characters; try and distribute your ability scores in more interesting ways, pick some (less useful) skills that reflect your career before you became an adventurer, etc. Also worth thinking about is certain phobias (spiders, tight spaces, etc.), character flaws (overbearing, afraid of commitment, etc.), and other things that make your character more rounded without making them unplayable.
• A fun way to start a campaign in a city; the players write rumors about their characters (true, mostly true, false) and then distribute rumors to others.

During Play

• Hit Points; on level up you get the fixed value shown in your class entry, which is the average result of the die roll (rounded up).
• Fate Points; these can be spent to re-roll a die but also to change something in a scene ("the bouncer is an old friend of mine", "there's a chandelier on this ceiling and it comes off easily"). Players start with three Fate Points and gain one every time they level.
• Custom Magic Item; every character will find a custom magic item that increases in power as they level.
• Training is required for gaining feats, and ability increases. You will need to find a trainer/teacher or something similar.
• Potions use the same identify rules as regular items.
• Scrolls; spells in spellbooks can be used as scrolls, following all regular rules. The spell will disappear from the spellbook after use.
• Healer’s Kit (PHB p151) also heals hp equal to Medicine check / 10 (rounded down). We'll assume every character always carries one.
• Initiative; both sides roll just one d20 for initiative, adding the best modifier from among their group. The winning side then selects one of their characters to act first, then the other side selects one of their characters to act. This continues until one side has used all it's characters and then the remaining side uses its remaining characters. For the next round of combat Initiative is rolled again.
• Flanking (DMG p251); this rule is only used when using miniatures and with one change; you only get advantage when not flanked yourself.
• Feats added; in addition to the PHB feats, some from other books can be selected, see Feats Allowed.
• Feats removed; Great Weapon Master, Sharpshooter.
• Spellcasting; minor changes, see House Rules - Spellcasting.
• Vancian Spell Names is just for flavor but definitely under-used.

Also worth keeping in mind; success doesn't always make for the most interesting or memorable adventures. Finding the thingy and returning it to the duke is pretty straightforward but not finding it, getting chased and ending up somewhere new, or finding it and then selling it and getting the duke angry with you, can be much more interesting and lead to things neither the players nor the DM was expecting. Bad decisions can lead to great stories!

New Skills

A few skills have been added to the game, they cannot be used if you do not have proficiency with them.

Architecture and Engineering (Int)

Understanding of building skills and the ability to identify weak spots. Theoretical knowledge of any kind of devices that use physics to operate (a hinge, a crossbow, etc.). To actual build/repair/disable one you might need the proper tool skill instead, but having this skill as well will give advantage and maybe other benefits.

Arts, Literary (Wis)

The ability to write gud. Also used for knowledge of works of world fiction and oral tradition.

Arts, Performing (Cha)

Already exists as the Performance skill but included here for completion’s sake.

Arts, Visual (Wis)

The game has Painter's Supplies but not Sculptor’s Tools or tools for other forms of visual arts so this skill is basically a broader replacement for Painter's Supplies.

Bureaucracy (Int)

You know how red tape works in any large organization, not just government. You know the best person to talk to when you have a specific problem. You know who can be pressured to make someone else do what you need. And you know who to bribe.

Etiquette, Lower Class (Cha)

You know how to behave not just among criminals but also unskilled laborers, etc.

Etiquette, Middle Class (Cha)

Shop owners, artisans, and independent farmers are all part of this group.

Etiquette, Upper Class (Cha)

This covers the nobility and nouveau riche, such as wealthy merchants.

Geography (Int)

Cartographer's Tools are a thing that exists but this is a broader replacement that also covers basic knowledge about climate, politics, trade, etc. This means you know useful information about countries or areas without ever having been there.

Local Knowledge (Wis)

You know where to find the right people in a certain area, you know all the shortcuts, where what markets are held, where the floating dice games probably are at this hour, etc. Some kind of investment of in-game time or something similar should be needed to make this work for a new area you have traveled to. Depending on the campaign an area is usually a city but it could be something larger or smaller.

Warfare (Int)

This covers strategy, tactics, etc. You can tell the enemy’s left flank is weak, you know the best place for an ambush, etc.