Agathok Rules

This article goes over all the homebrew rules used in the World of Agathok that differ from the core rules found in the 2024 version of D&D 5e. This article contains only core rules, and not homebrew player options or spells. Do note that some of these rules might change over time, as evident from previously recorded streams found on YouTube.

Glossary

RAW

• Abbreviation for "rules as written"; often used to refer to base 5e rules.

Metagaming

• Using knowledge available to you as a person to make or influence decisions in-game, where your character may not have any reason to know such a thing.

Critical Hit Range

• The number you need to roll a Critical Hit when attacking a target.
• The default is 20. If a feature says "your Critical Hit Range is increased by 1", that means 19-20. If you have two such features, it's 18-20. And so on.

Hard Casting

• "Hard Casting" is referring to casting a spell specifically by expending a Spell Slot or, in the case of Cantrips, when it is cast by the caster (and not one of the ways listed below).
• Ancestral traits, magic scrolls, and similar things that allow casting a spell without expending a Spell Slot, is not "Hard Casting".

Table Rules

The following list of rules are not necessary to Agathok, but are table rules that Gabe uses.

Advantage & Disadvantage

• A reminder that RAW, if a creature has Advantage and Disadvantage (regardless of how many instances of each), the creature has neither.
• If in the rare scenario a creature has two or more instances of Advantage than they do Disadvantage (and vice versa), the GM can give that creature a bonus (or penalty) to the roll equal to the difference.
  • For example, if a creature with four instances of Advantage and one instance of Disadvantage makes an Attack Roll, the GM can give that creature a bonus to the Attack Roll equal to +3.

Repeated Ability Checks

• Unless an Ability Check is involved with a spell or condition, or unless it costs an item or resource to attempt, once you make an Ability Check, you cannot repeat it until you at least finish a Short or Long Rest.
• In some cases, your GM may allow you to repeat an Ability Check, in which case the DC for the check will be increased by 5 for each subsequent attempt (assuming you failed the check if the DC increases to 30, you cannot repeat the check any further. The DC for a repeated Ability Check returns back to normal after you finish a Short or Long Rest. Certain exceptions may arise during play, and are as per your GMs discretion.

Dice Rolling (MapTool)

• To speed up combat and certain actions, all dice required for an action is rolled simultaneously. For example, when using a weapon, both the Attack Roll and Damage Roll are rolled together.
• In the event of a tie when rolling with Advantage or Disadvantage, take the final roll, unless your GM says otherwise.
• In the event of an accidental roll or extra roll, unless otherwise stated/accepted by the GM, the roll is ignored; and the character then make the correct roll.

New Skills

Martial (Wisdom)

Represents one’s knowledge and understanding of combat tactics, martial skills, and the capabilities (and lack thereof) of an enemy. Outside of combat, Martial can be used to gauge a creature’s relative power in relation to one’s own. In combat, Martial is often used for Tactics checks to determine what a creature can do in battle, such as identifying a dragon’s breath attack, an enemy’s weakness, or morale.

Mercantile (Intelligence)

Represents one’s knowledge of commerce, trade, and value of objects. Mercantile can be used in identifying the value of a piece of treasure, artifact or mundane object. It can also be used in place of a Persuasion, Deception or Insight check when bartering, or identifying a person’s wealth.

Linguistics (Intelligence)

Used when working with languages of any type, both in their spoken and written forms. Linguistics can be used to decipher hidden messages, translate between two or more mediums, and to understand antiquated writings and runes–both magical and mundane. Furthermore, Linguistics can also be used in place of the Investigation skill to detect forgeries.

New Checks

Tactics

As an Action or Bonus Action, a character can make a Tactics Check to scan an enemy or aspect of battle for information. This usually involves learning the traits and abilities that a creature might have, but can also include other notable information as determined by the GM.
To make a Tactics Check, you make a Wisdom (Martial) check against a target you can see. Depending on the target, your GM might allow you to alternatively use Intelligence (Arcana) or Intelligence (Investigation) for the check. The list below details the information you can gain based on the result of the check; you choose one piece of information and then make the Tactics Check. If you meet or exceed the DC, your GM tells you the information you seek, unless they say otherwise. Most creatures have a Tactics DC of 10 + their Proficiency Bonus, the main exception of this usually being Bosses. If this check was taken as a Bonus Action, the DC is increased by 2.

• Creature Type and Category.
• List of Traits, if any.
• Current Morale (i.e. “high” = ready to fight, “low” = itching to flee; can also indicate influenceability).
• DC +2: Further insight on an attack or ability that has been seen.
• DC +4: It’s expected next action and/or movement, if any (can change).
• DC +6: A random undiscovered Resistance, Immunity, or Vulnerability (prioritizing useful ones), and if it has more afterwards.

Faith

A Faith Check is used when interacting directly with deities. It can be called to determine if the words of a character reach a deity, and to determine if a deity takes action in response to a character’s words or actions. Faith is a unique check in the sense that unlike other rolls like Ability Checks or Saving Throws, it does not benefit from an Ability Score but rather from several variables, such as Piety and Class. To make a Faith Check, you roll a d20 and add the appropriate modifiers, as per the GMs discretion.
Speak with Patron. If you worship a deity and choose to call out to them, add 1/4 of your Piety to the roll, and if you're a Cleric or Paladin, add your Proficiency Bonus. Alternatively, if you are a Warlock and want to call out to your patron, you add twice your Proficiency Bonus to the roll instead, and do not add any Piety.

Calling out to your deity (or patron) takes 1 minute and once you do so (regardless of outcome), you can't do so again until you finish a Long Rest. Rolling a 1 is a Critical Fail unless you are in an appropriately devoted place, and rolling a 20 is a Critical Success unless you are in a place devoid of worship. Succeeding in speaking with your deity (or patron) results in gaining a level of Exhaustion immediately afterwards.

Combat Adjustments

Flanking

• While you and an Ally are on opposite sides or corners of an enemy, you and your Ally are considered to be Flanking that enemy. A line drawn between the center of your space and the center of your Ally's space must pass through opposite sides or opposite corners of the enemy's space.
• While Flanking a creature, you have a +2 bonus on Attack Rolls against it.
• Every creature can Flank.
• A creature cannot provide Flanking if it cannot see the enemy, it has the Incapacitated condition, it is wielding a Ranged weapon, or if it is under an effect that would prevent it from attacking that enemy (e.g. Charmed).

Free Object Interactions

During combat when time is short, interactions with objects are limited: one free object interaction per turn. Any additional interactions require the Utilize action. Though what you can explicitly do with this interaction is ultimately determined by your GM, the following are some examples:

• Draw and/or stow a weapon in the same turn.
• Open a door or simple container.
• Pick up a weapon or object from the ground or an open container.
• Hand an object to another creature.
• Retrieve an item from an active Bandolier.

Initiative

If a creature rolls a Nat 20 on their Initiative, their Initiative score is increased by 5.

Jumping

Once per Round, you can jump a number of feet determined by your Strength (no action required). The amount of feet you cover is calculated in the ways below (based on the type of jump you're doing). A running jump requires you to move at least 10 feet on foot before the jump.

• Running Long Jump: Strength
• Standing Long Jump: Strength / 2
• Running High Jump: 3 + Strength
• Standing High Jump: (3 + Strength) / 2

Regardless of how you jump, each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of movement. You cannot jump unless you have enough movement to do so. If you land in Difficult Terrain, you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to land on your feet; otherwise, you land Prone. Furthermore, the amount of feet you can jump is always rounded down, to the nearest 5 feet. Alternatively, while making a running jump, you can make a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check; on a success, the amount of feet you can jump is instead rounded up, to the nearest 5 feet.
Examples of Jump Distance

Strength Score	Running Long Jump	Standing Long Jump	Running High Jump	Standing High Jump
10	10 ft.	5 ft.	10 ft.	5 ft.
12	10 ft.	5 ft.	15 ft.	5 ft.
15	15 ft.	5 ft.	15 ft.	5 ft.
20	20 ft.	10 ft.	20 ft.	10 ft.

Mounting/Climbing an Unwilling Creature

• Mount a Creature. To jump onto another, unwilling creature, you do so by Grappling. This otherwise follows the standard rules for Grappling.
• Mount a Gargantuan Creature. Alternatively, if you are small enough, a suitably large creature can be treated as terrain for the purpose of jumping onto its back or clinging to a limb. After taking the necessary steps to get onto the larger creature, you can attempt to Grapple it (typically through an Unarmed Strike). If you succeed, you successfully moves into the larger creature's space and clings to its body; otherwise on a failure, you drop to a nearby unoccupied space and depending on the elevation, take fall damage if appropriate.
• Clinging to a Gargantuan Creature. While in a larger creature's space, you moves with the target and have Advantage on attack rolls against it. You can move within the larger creature's space, treating the space as Difficult Terrain. The larger creature's ability to attack you depends on size and location, and is left to the GMs discretion. The larger creature can dislodge you by taking the Escape a Grapple action; the GM might decide that a single one of these actions is enough to try and shake off multiple creatures clinging onto it.

Opportunity Attacks

• Cannot be done to an Ally.
• Standing up from Prone provokes an Opportunity Attack, but this attack cannot cause the creature to regain the Prone condition in any way.

Retrieving, Stowing, and Using Items from Storage

• Basic Out of Storage. Retrieving or stowing an item in your storage (i.e. your bag) takes an Action. This includes adventuring gear, potions, scrolls, and weapons.
• Recently Stolen Items. Stowing an item not belonging to you (GMs discretion) takes an Action and Bonus Action.
• Potions and Gear. Items like potions and certain adventuring gear that require the Utilize action to use, can be used as part of the same Action you take to retrieve it out of storage. Using an aforementioned item that is already in your hands (i.e. not in storage), can instead be used as a Bonus Action.
• Spell Scrolls. Using a spell scroll to cast a spell is done so through normal rules. This is seperate from the Action it takes to retrieve the scroll from storage.
• Weapons. You can draw and/or stow a weapon as part of the same object interaction.
• Bandolier Exceptions. Retrieving or stowing an item from an active Bandolier has certain rule additions/replacements.

Throwing an Object

Throwing a weapon or Improvised Weapon uses RAW. Otherwise throwing an object without the intent to hit a creature, with GMs discretion, can be done so out to a range of up to 60 feet. Heavier or lighter objects might affect this.

Combat Actions

Bypass

As an Action or Bonus Action, you try to move through a Hostile creature's space, whether that is by forcing your way through or by ducking and weaving past them. Make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by the Hostile creature's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (their choice). If you win the contest, you can move through the Hostile creature's space once this turn. If you took this action as a Bonus Action, you have a -3 to the roll.

Dip

As a Bonus Action, you dip your weapon in an appropriate surface or coat the weapon with a poison or flask of oil in your hand, using the following rules. If you dip arrows or bolts, you can dip up to five at a time; each piece of ammunition you dip deals 1d4 damage separately. These rules are all subject to your GMs discretion.

• Surface. Until the start of your next turn, your weapon deals an additional 1d4 damage of a Damage Type determined by the surface, unless told otherwise.
• Coating. Until a specified time or until 3 attacks are made with the dipped weapon, you deal an additional amount of damage with the weapon, the damage and type determined by the item used.

Disarm

As an Action, you attempt to knock a weapon or other item from a target's grasp. Make an Attack Roll with a weapon or a Strength (Athletics) check, contested by the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If you win the contest, the target drops the item. The target has Advantage on their roll if they are holding the item with two or more hands. You have Advantage on your roll if your Size is larger than the target, or Disadvantage if your Size is smaller.

Shove Aside

If you try to Shove a target when making an Unarmed Strike, you can choose to push the target to the side—to a space within 5 feet—rather than away. Doing so gives the target Advantage on their saving throw.

Damage & Healing

Dropping to 0 Hit Points

When a creature drops to 0 Hit Points, it either dies outright or falls Unconscious and starts Dying. A creature that starts Dying this way gains a number of failed Death Saves equal to their number of Wounds. A Dying creature makes Death Saving Throws as normal.

Gaining & Losing Wounds

When a creature that was Dying stops Dying and regains at least 1 Hit Point, they gain 1 Wound. A creature loses all Wounds if they are healed by a Healer's Kit and rest for 10 minutes, or if they have full Hit Points and rest for 10 minutes.

Massive Damage

If a creature takes damage that reduces its Hit Points to 0 and the total damage dealt was equal to or greater than its Hit Point maximum, that creature must immediately make a DC 25 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature gains a Lingering Injury as determined by the GM, who will either choose or roll randomly for one from the table of Lingering Injuries.
A creature can only gain up to two Lingering Injuries in a single combat encounter. This rule replaces the Instant Death rule of the same name.

Exploration

Falling

• Damage Reduction. Unlike RAW, creatures with Resistance or Immunity to Bludgeoning damage reduce the damage they take from a fall by: 1/4 if they have Resistance, or half if they have Immunity. A creature that willingly falls or makes a High Jump, ignores a number of feet from their fall equal to their Strength score.
• Falling Onto Another Creature. If a falling creature falls into the space of a second creature and neither of them are Tiny, the second creature must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, both creatures take half of the total Bludgeoning damage, and the second creature falls Prone unless it is two or more Sizes larger than the falling creature. On a success, the falling creature falls as normal and lands on an empty space adjacent to the second creature.
• Rate of Falling. If a creature falls from a great height, they descend 500 feet every round they are falling, until the fall ends. This includes the round/turn they start falling.

Rolling for Hit Points (past Level 1)

When rolling for Hit Points on a level up, you roll as usual but if you roll below the average, you take the average amount.

• 1d12 (min. 7)
• 1d10 (min. 6)
• 1d8 (min. 5)
• 1d6 (min. 4)

Inspiration Points

• Basic. Instead of Heroic Inspiration, each player character has a pool of Inspiration Points, up to a maximum of 4. Inspiration Points can be gained from finishing a Long Rest or from Twitch chat.
• Using Them. You can spend an Inspiration Point whenever you roll a D20 to give yourself a 1d4 bonus to the roll. You can decide to do so immediately after the roll, but before the result is declared. You can use multiple Inspiration Points this way on one roll.
• Giving to an Ally. If you are conscious and deemed capable by the GM, you can give one of your Inspiration Points to an Ally. You can only give an Inspiration Point this way once each round.

Corruption

Corruption is gained through a handful of ways related to meddling or otherwise being near sources of Oblivion. If you ever gain 11 or more Corruption, you either instantly die or are permanently driven insane (at which point they become an NPC controlled by the GM). Dying this way prevents you from being brought back to life until you are brought below 11 Corruption.

Corruption can be cured naturally by resting away from any source of Oblivion, at a rate of 2 Corruption per week of rest. Otherwise, a Lesser Restoration spell can cure 1 Corruption, and Greater Restoration can cure 1d4 Corruption.

Resting

Short Rest

Same as RAW, except the Benefits of the Rest includes the following.

• Light Activity. You can spend the hour doing a light activity such as: Standing Watch or Attuning to a Magic Item.

Long Rest

A Long Rest is an extended period of downtime at least 9 hours, that is available to any creature. During it, you sleep for at least 7 hours and perform no more than 2 hours of light activity. While asleep, you have the Unconscious condition.
To start a Long Rest, you must have at least 1 Hit Point and either: (a) set up camp as a Party which takes 30 minutes to do, or (b) rest at a Comfortable Place, which is determined by your GM but is usually a place like an inn or guest room. After finishing a Long Rest, you gain the following benefits, and must wait at least 16 hours before starting another one.

• Regain all HP. You regain all lost Hit Points and if your Hit Point maximum was reduced, it returns to normal.
• Regain Hit Dice. You regain an amount of spent Hit Point Dice up to half the maximum amount you have.
• Ability Scores Restored. If any of your Ability Scores were reduced, they return to normal.
• Exhaustion Reduced. If you have the Exhaustion condition, its level decreases by 1, unless you slept uncomfortably (e.g. in armor).
• Gain Inspiration. You gain 1 Inspiration Point, up to a maximum of 4.
• Light Activity. You can spend 2 hours doing light activities such as: Standing Watch or Attuning to a Magic Item.
• Special Feature. Some features are recharged by a Long Rest. If you have such a feature, it recharges in the way specified in its description.

A Long Rest is interrupted in the same ways as RAW.

Extended Long Rest

An Extended Long Rest is similar to a regular Long Rest in almost all ways, and for all intents and purposes is considered a Long Rest (for things like class features), but with the following changes.

• Duration. It lasts for at least 12 hours. During it, you sleep for at least 9 hours and perform no more than 3 hours of light activity.
• Prerequisite. You can only take an Extended Long Rest in a Comfortable Place.
• Additional Benefits. In addition to the standard benefits of a Long Rest, you regain all spent Hit Point Dice, and gain an additional Inspiration Point (for a total of 2 from the rest).

Light Activity

Light activity is classified as something you can do with minimal effort and strain, over the course of about an hour. Typically, the topic of light activity is brought up during a Short or Long Rest. There are many things that could be considered light activity, with the following list of activities being just a few. If an activity is not listed below, speak with your GM to see if could be considered a light activity and therefore be done during a Short or Long Rest without interrupting it.

• Standing Watch (see rules for details).
• Attune to a Magic Item (see rules for details).
• Reading a book.

Things like talking or eating could also be considered light activity, but can be done so easily that they can be done alongside other activities like the ones listed above.

Watches & Ambushes

Standing watch means to watch over your group as a guard, and to be conscious of any potential threats nearby. Doing so is considered a light activity, which is done over the course of an hour. If something appears during your watch, your Passive Perception is used to determine if you notice it. Unlike a Short Rest where standing watch can be done often naturally without much thought, during a Long Rest, characters must actively make the decision to stand watch and plan out their time. A reminder that during a Long Rest, only up to 2 of those hours can be spent by a character to do a light activity.
Why Bother? If characters take a Long Rest and during it, Hostile creatures or otherwise environmental hazards appear at a hour where no one is standing watch, the consequences could be dire. Things could be stolen or lost, characters could be restrained or taken away, or more likely, the characters could be ambushed. If your Party is ambushed while asleep, you suffer all of the penalties that come with it including but not limited to: attack rolls against you being automatic Critical Hits.

If you are not asleep but not standing watch (likely because you're doing another light activity), your Passive Perception is still used but at Disadvantage (which is a -5 penalty to the score).

Planning It Out. To have an entire Long Rest watched over, all 9 hours must be watched. Decide with your Party who is standing watch at which hour(s) of the Long Rest. Multiple characters can choose to stand watch at the same hour. Non-player characters can also help stand watch, such as NPCs, familiars, or other companions.

New or Adjusted Senses

Lifesense

A creature with Lifesense can, out to a specific range, detect and locate living creatures as though they possessed the Blindsight sense.

Godsight

A creature with Godsight can perceive its surroundings within a specific radius without relying on sight, and as though they possessed the Truesight sense. They can "see" the intents of a creature, and can choose to see through walls or barriers as if they were transparent. In addition, they can use this sense and its effects on beings of immense power, such as a deity. However, using this sense also alerts all other creatures with Godsight of the creature's location, and in some cases, even their actions.

Scent

A creature with Scent can identify familiar smells just as humans do familiar sights; it can detect creatures within a certain range by the sense of smell. Strong odors, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the creature's Scent range. Overpowering odors, such as skunk musk or Troglodyte Stench, can be detected at triple the creature's Scent range. Scent does not pinpoint the exact location of odors, unless it is within 5 feet. When a creature with Scent detects an odor, as a Bonus Action, they note the direction of the odor.
Additionally, a creature with Scent can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom (Survival) check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10, regardless of the surface holding the odor. This DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's odor is, the number of creatures, and how fresh the trail is. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. This benefit otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill. Creatures tracking by Scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility. Scent can bypass effects that leave no physical tracks, such as the Pass without Trace spell.

Carrying Capacity

The following rules replace the Carrying Capacity RAW. Your size and Strength score determines the maximum weight in pounds that you can carry, as shown in the Carrying Capacity table. You can drag, lift, or push an amount of weight up to twice your maximum.
While dragging, lifting, pushing, or otherwise carrying weight in excess of your Carrying Capacity, you have the Encumbered condition, and your Speed can be no more than 5 feet.

Carrying Capacity

Creature Size	Carry Weight
Diminutive	Str. x 3.5 lb.
Tiny	Str. x 7.5 lb.
Small	Str. x 12 lb.
Medium	Str. x 15 lb.
Large	Str. x 30 lb.
Huge	Str. x 60 lb.
Gargantuan	Str. x 120 lb.
Colossal	Str. x 240 lb.

Burrow Movement Rules

A creature with a Burrow Speed can use that speed to move through sand, earth (dirt), mud, or ice. A creature can’t burrow through solid rock or any other similar material, unless it has a special trait that allows it to do so.
A creature that burrows can choose to either leave behind (a) loosely packed material or, (b) a tunnel big enough to fit a creature up to the same Size as them. Any tunnels made in things like loose sand immediately cave in, and therefore do not leave tunnels behind.
Unless otherwise stated, a creature must hold their breath if they burrow without making a tunnel.

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Cave-Ins

A tunnel made by a creature without a specific trait (e.g. Tunneling) collapses in 5 rounds from the point of creation. When a tunnel collapses, a Conscious creature inside the tunnel can hold its breath (as there is no longer oxygen).

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Moving for Creatures without a Burrow Speed

Tunnels left behind by a burrowing creature are considered Difficult Terrain for any creature without a Burrow Speed.
If a tunnel collapses, a creature without a Burrow Speed can spend an Action to dig up to an amount of feet equal to:

• 5 x half their Strength modifier (minimum of 1).
• 5 x their Strength modifier (minimum of 1), if they have digging equipment like a shovel or pickaxe.

Digging this way is still considered Difficult Terrain, and is only possible because of the burrowing creature’s disturbance of the ground.

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Attacking & Being Attacked

A creatue that burrows 5 feet underground can still be targeted by melee attacks, but the burrowing creature has Three-Quarters Cover. Unless otherwise stated, all ranged attacks and melee attacks past 5 feet cannot be made against the burrowing creature.
Likewise, if you are burrowed 5 feet underground, unless otherwise stated, you can only make a melee attack against a creature above ground within 5 feet of you, and that creature has Three-Quarters Cover.

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Area of Effects

A burrowing creature can still be affected by area of effect abilities and spells whose origins are above the ground while in range and that do not rely on sight, though if dealt damage, the creature takes half damage unless the Damage Type is Bludgeoning, Force, or Thunder.
Area of effect abilities that originate from below the earth however, cannot affect those above ground unless otherwise stated.

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Detecting a Burrowed Creature

While burrowing might provide cover, burrowing still causes disturbances in the ground above (i.e. vibrations, mounds, etc.). If a burrowed creature is not stealthed, creatures can sense the general location of such disturbances through a passive or active Wisdom (Perception) check, the DC of which is equal to 8 + 2 for every 5 feet underground. A creature with Tremorsense cannot detect a creature 60 or more feet below the earth.