House Rules

[Marullus]

As we determine things we're going to tweak for the forums, they go here.

[Marullus]

Creative Actions
I'm going to adopt the "creative action" rules from this post.

Any creative action you want to do in combat, or which an enemy wants to do to you, will be described by the person acting. On a successful to-hit roll, and after the damage roll, the affected character can describe if he accepts the creative outcome (and no damage) or resists the creative outcome (and takes the damage).

This applies to any desired outcome that is not damage and is not otherwise covered in the rules.

For example:
* Shoving someone prone, grappling, etc. already have a ruleset that uses Athletics instead of the attack roll, and that's fine.
* Causing a condition until the end of your next turn (throwing sand in the eyes, concussing them in the head, etc) is a good example of a creative action.

[Marullus]

Variant: Encumberance
We will use the variant rules for encumberance. Each player should track their own inventory and carried wait on a thread in their private forum. (This also helps keep track of what you've got!)

Encumbered. If you carry weight in excess of 5 times your Strength score, you are encumbered, which means your speed drops by 10 feet.

Heavily Encumbered. If you carry weight in excess of 10 times your Strength score, up to your maximum carrying capacity, you are instead heavily encumbered, which means your speed drops by 20 feet and you have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws that use Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution.

Maximum Carrying Capacity. Your carrying capacity is your Strength score multiplied by 15. This is the weight (in pounds) that you can carry, which is high enough that most characters don’t usually have to worry about it.

Push, Drag, or Lift. You can push, drag, or lift a weight in pounds up to twice your carrying capacity (or 30 times your Strength score). While pushing or dragging weight in excess of your carrying capacity, your speed drops to 5 feet.

Size and Strength. Larger creatures can bear more weight, whereas Tiny creatures can carry less. For each size category above Medium, double the creature’s carrying capacity and the amount it can push, drag, or lift. For a Tiny creature, halve these weights.

[Marullus]

I am stealing this excellent work from dmw71, modified to my own needs here. This also gives a good mechanics summary for those newer to 5e.

Posting Rules

• Posting Rate
  Expect for this game to update once per week. Back-and-forth dialog between characters more frequently and within those beats is encouraged (this is an opportunity to bring in your personality, beliefs, bonds, and flaws as well).
• Meaningful Posts
  I make every effort to leave the group with a decision to make or another situation at the end of each of my updates. Please attempt to make sure your updates reflect a specific action (or preference of action) for your character to take that addresses that decision or situation, and is not just some vague statement that does not advance the action in some way.
• Missing Posts
  In order to keep up a consistent pace of play, any player not posting for their character before the DM submits their update stands to have their actions NPC'd. Players can (and should) provide default actions for their characters, but the DM will always attempt to play the character intelligently and in a logical manner.
• Excessive Absences
  Any player consistently or frequently failing to meet the expected posting deadline risks being removed from the game. The DM will attempt to contact the "missing" player before issuing any official warnings or taking other, more drastic measures.

Die Rolls

• Die Roller
  All rolls must be made in the Unseen Servant Die Roller and linked to Campaign ID: 1000.
• Missing Rolls
  Any required rolls not provided by the player will be produced by the DM (If you think a roll might be needed, make it).
• Unused Rolls
  Unused rolls do not carry over from one round to the next.

Inspiration

• Timing
  A player can invoke their Inspiration at any time and is not required to declare its use prior to making a roll. i.e. you can roll, declare your are spending it, and re-roll in a single post about your intended action.
• Nomination
  I will be awarding Inspiration liberally, but also recognize that I can be forgetful. Characters can tag the personality trait, ideal, bond, or flaw they're invoking in a spoiler at the bottom of your post to flag it. I will award it if your use of it substantively impacted the choices and gameplay in the scene.
  
  I will also be receptive to nominations. Please use the Kudos thread to give praise when you feel a fellow player has done something worthy of being rewarded.
  
  It's worth sharing that Inspiration is something that should be awarded when players take actions that make the game more exciting, amusing, or memorable. It should be rewarded for excellent roleplaying, or for when a character displays extreme heroism.
  
  It is not something to be abused.
• DM Disadvantage
  Additionally, players can use their character's Inspiration to give the DM Disadvantage on any roll (or Advantage on any Death Saving Throw).

(Redacted)

Rations and Resting

• Rations
  While not a house rule per se, I am pointing these rules out because they're often neglected -- and they're something I plan to at least loosely track of in this game:
  
  • Food (Rations = 1 full day's worth.)
    A character needs two one pounds of food per day and can make food last longer by subsisting on half rations. Eating half a one pound of food in a day counts as half a day without food.
    
    (Edit: the equipment list specifies that a day's food weighs two pounds, not one. I will use that here.)
    
    A character can go without food for a number of days equal to 3 + his or her Constitution modifier (minimum 1). At the end of each day beyond that limit, a character automatically suffers one level of exhaustion.
    
    A normal day of eating resets the count of days without food to zero.
  • Water (Note: A waterskin holds 4 pints. One gallon = 8 pints.)
    A character needs one gallon of water per day, or two gallons per day if the weather is hot. A character who drinks only half that much water must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of the day. A character with access to even less water automatically suffers one level of exhaustion at the end of the day.
    
    If the character already has one or more levels of exhaustion, the character takes two levels in either case.
• Resting
  In order to gain full benefits from taking a Long Rest, a day of rations must be consumed. The DM will determine what happens when a Long Rest is taken when rations are not available.

Character Advancement

• Hit Points
  All characters get max hit points at first level.
  
  All hit point rolls made for levels beyond 1st will be made with Advantage.
• New Features
  Any other benefit or new feature gained by advancing a level will only go into effect after a Long Rest has been successfully completed.

Flanking

I will not be allowing advantage for flanking (an optional DMG rule). Because positioning is likely to be abstracted in a theater-of-the-mind style here, focusing on our story more than map-and-miniature mechanics, flanking is just too difficult to arbitrate.

Critical Hits and Misses

• Critical Hit
  When you score a critical hit, roll for damage normally and add any modifiers. Then add the maximum damage possible for the weapon or spell used.
  
  For example, a critical hit with a long sword:
  
  • Critical Hit (Old): (Range: 2-16 + modifiers)
    • [1d8 + modifiers] + [1d8]
  • Improved Critical Hit (New): (Range: 9-16 + modifiers)
    • [1d8 + modifiers] + [8]
  
  Note: The improved critical hit mechanic above applies only to player characters and "significant" monsters. Most "normal" monsters will continue to follow the normal 'Critical Hit' rules which has the potential to produce significantly less damage.
• Critical Misses
  • Melee
    On a roll of a natural 1, the target of the missed attack -- player character or monster -- can use their 'Reaction' (if available) to make an 'Opportunity Attack'
  • Ranged Attack
    A natural 1 on a ranged attack is just a bad miss.
  
  In all cases, logic will dictate the situation.

Expended Missiles

• Damage Dealt
  Any projectile that deals damage will be considered broken and cannot be recovered.
• Missed
  Projectiles that do not deal damage can be recovered if searched for.

It will be the player's responsibility to count and track the number of fired projectiles and missed projectiles recovered, and this must be included in an OOC note in their post(s) as well as their private forum inventory. (If I'm forced to audit your missiles for honesty, I will likely round down or divide in half as I do so.

Potions

• Use an Object
  Drinking or administering a potion requires the 'Use an Object' action.
• Potions of Healing
  Rolls made to determine the hit points receovered from a potion of healing will be made with Advantage.

Death Saving Throws

• Players Roll
  The Player will make all Death Saving Throws and post them each turn they're unconscious in the public thread... no need to keep private.
• Exhaustion
  Any character that is revived after attempting a Death Saving Throws will add a level of Exhaustion.

"I know a guy..." (source, source)
When facing a difficult problem, a character can declare "I know a guy..." and invent a helpful NPC which the PCs can visit for aid in their current situation.

To establish these NPCs, the player must work with the DM to provide a quick summary of their character's history and relationship with this newly created NPC. No elaborate backstory is required. Something as simple as:

• "A childhood friend -- Bob -- grew up to be a blacksmith."

When the character or party attempts to interact with this NPC, the player whose character created the NPC will make a Charisma check to determine how the NPC reacts.

• A character can have an active pool of useful NPCs created in this manner equal to their Intelligence or Charisma modifier (minimum one).
• A player can replace an existing NPC they've created with a new NPC if they've reached their limit, but the NPC being replaced will forever view the character that spurned them with animosity.
• These NPCs should be listed under your Allies (or Enemies) section on your character sheets:
  Allies.png

These NPCs could be:

• A parent.
• A friend.
• A mentor.
• Your old partner-in-crime.
• A classmate who was studying to master the Evocation school of spells.
• Someone you served with in the military when you were a soldier.
• Etc...

A great place to come up with ideas for these NPCs can come from your character's Personal Characteristics (Personality Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws) selected from your Background.

Personal Characteristics.png

These NPCs can be created in advance (privately (directly in your character sheet) or publicly (in the Session Zero topic)), or on-the-fly as the need strikes.

[Marullus]

Magic Item creation
Magic item creation will follow Xanathar's Guide to Everything (p. 128-130) rather than the Dungeon Master's Guide.

• The main element is the acquisition of a wonderous component through adventuring. Player creativity as we develop a shared narrative is encouraged. (i.e. if you speculate and describe why a particular thing might be suitably wonderous and weave a story around it, I am likely to agree, but no more than once per major encounter.) I will tell you the CR rating that is appropriate to your story and the context of the adventure and you can use it per the "Magic Item Ingredients" table on page 129.
• It will also require a tool skill in the relevant crafting area for the item to be created (Smith's Tools, Herbalism Kit, etc.). The Arcana skill is not sufficient. Houserule: In addition, crafting of magic items will be restricted to the Dvergr race and to Runewalker, Seidr, and other classes that explicitly work with rune magic.
• It will require time and materials per the "Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost" table on page 129. Materials is not necessarily gold (which I don't intend to give in large quantities) but narrative positioning through the story and roleplay that you have permission to use the appropriate value of raw materials from a legitimate source.
• You can use the dndbeyond.com magic item list for inspiration regarding what is possible at the Common and Uncommon rarity levels (the campaign is unlikely to get you CRs at the Rare level, after all).

From Xanathars:

Item Tier	CR	Time
Common	1-3	2 days*
Uncommon	4-8	1 workweek*

* Times reduced for campaign playability.

The purpose and crux of this system is storytelling. Elements developed as stories within the narrative of the game can be turned into lasting items that also have uniqueness and stories of their own. The narrative link between the essence of where/how/from what the ingredient was acquired, the nature of the item to be created, and the wonderous use it provides to a user must all be clearly woven for the purpose of story-first.

Healing Potions
There are separate rules in Xanathar's Guide for healing potions, which are made more like non-magical items and without the above requirements.

Brewing Potions of Healing.
Potions of healing fall into a special category for item crafting, separate from other magic items. A character who has proficiency with the herbalism kit can create these potions. The times and costs for doing so a resummarized on the Potion of
Healing Creation table.

Code: Select all

POTION O F HEALING CREATION 
[u]Type Time Cost[/u] 
Healing 1 day 25 gp 
Greater healing 1 workweek 100 gp 
Superior healing 3 workweeks 1,000 gp 
Supreme healing 4 workweeks 10,000 gp

We are treating these as non-magical remedies (tonics, ungents, salves, etc) which can be prepared in advanced and self-applied without a Healer.

Like other magic items we are using half the time and you can use materials equal to the cost:

Healing (2d4 + 2) - brew in a Long Rest
Greater Healing (4d4 + 4) - 3 days
Superior Healing (8d4 + 8) - 1 Week

I will also allow a skill check with the Herbalism Kit (with advantage if you also have Medicine). With higher success allowing more than one Potion from the batch.

[Marullus]

Shields are Cool
Two-weapon fighting allows you to use a bonus action to attack with an off-hand action if both weapons are light. No attribute bonus is added to damage for the off-hand weapon.

I am adding a house rule for this particular setting: If you are wielding a shield, you can use it as an off-hand weapon for a Shield Bash attack, doing 1d4 damage with your bonus action, and your primary weapon doesn't have to be Light for this. (Attribute bonus damage still doesn't apply.) Everyone has this option and should include it in their Bonus Action list on their character sheet if they carry a shield.

The two-weapon fighting style available to Fighters, Rangers, and Paladins adds your Strength bonus to the damage roll of the off-hand attack, which will include the Shield Bash option.

The Shield Master and Dual Wielder feats still work as written, adding additional benefits above this. If you like this style, check them out.

[Enoch]

Regarding shields: I just noticed that although Seidr have a shield on their starting equipment, shields are not listed as a proficiency for them. Very strange, considering you can't cast spells if wearing armor or shields you're not proficient in, and spellcasting is all a seidr does. Oversight, or just a trap on the starting equipment list?

[Marullus]

House Rule: Seidrs are proficient in shields.

[Marullus]

I'm learning that there are at least three copies of the Svilland book out there. I'm using the Revised Edition, but the one on DriveThruRPG is apparently the original edition. A lot is the same, but the Revised Edition has totally different art, 26 additional pages, and a number of edits that look like they're from playtesting. As I come across discrepancies, I'll rule on them here to keep things easy.

Mithal: Charge feature. The original version had this feature for the Mithal race, but it was removed (and not replaced) in the Revised Edition. I see it on a few character sheets since we have a lot of Mithals.

Charge. When you Ready an attack, you can add your proficiency bonus to your damage for that attack.

Discussion: This is a strange thing, and I see why it was struck. There is no normal Charge action in 5e. There are special abilities for monsters that use a charge, and there is a Charger Feat which is actually far more potent. The Ready action is not a charge, but instead is a held move with a trigger condition, which doesn't have the same flavor. This ability would make the Mithal ambushers, not chargers.
Ruling: I could see the "Charge" being flavor that made people choose this race, and I think it is in fact fitting. I'll re-write it to have the desired effect and all Mithal characters can add it to their sheets. New version:

House Rule:
Charge. When you move at least 15 feet towards an opponent in a straight line, you can add your proficiency bonus to your damage for that attack.

[Rex]

Mine has the dwarves with Str or Con +2 and Chr +1. Yours has Con +2 and the +1 dependent on clan. No clans listed at all in mine. I used yours.

[Marullus]

Lights on the Ground
If you set down your light source (with an Action or Free Object Interaction) so that it doesn't go out, it continues illuminating at half the radius. So, Torches illuminate 10' instead of 20' and lanterns illuminate 15' instead of 30'. If you drop/toss your torch or candle, it goes out. If you toss a lantern, I'll do a roll for if you break it.

Divine Interventions
If you use a spell that applies a die roll on top of another PC's die rolls - Bless, Curse, Bane, etc. - then the Caster will roll it and post it when they cast the spell. Every time it is applicable, it will use the same result. Example: If a cleric casts Bless and rolls a 3 on the 1d4, everyone who benefits from bless until he loses concentration adds the same +3 to their rolls. (This helps simplify life in a PbP setting.) Odin is equally happy and helpful to everyone being aided by his beneficence.