House Rules

HOUSE RULES

The purpose of these rules is to help the immersion of the game, increase tension, address some shortcomings, and improve roleplay at the table. We will go over these during session zero.

ROLLING UP YOUR CHARACTER

Your characters are supposed to be heroes so let’s start that way, they have abilities that outclass the average person in Shadowmarch. We will use a 2 Array Stat System for this campaign. • Roll 4d6 and discard the lowest number, 6 times, write those numbers down. • Roll 4d6 and discard the lowest number, 6 times, write those numbers down. Now pick the best of the two arrays for your character. You ARE NOT picking the 6 best rolls, but the best array of the two sets.

CHARACTER RACES

You may select any races listed in ‘Folk of Shadowmarch’ from the Players setting guide.

CHARACTER DEITIES/PATRONS

In character creation, Clerics and Paladins must select a deity they worship, while Warlocks choose a patron. Players can opt for one of the prime gods from the Pantheon, each offering unique blessings and guidance. Alternatively, they can collaborate with the GM to craft a demigod, tailored to their character's backstory. This choice not only shapes their divine or eldritch powers but also adds depth to their narrative journey, intertwining fate with the divine.

ENCUMBRANCE

We are ignoring carrying weight for the most part. Anything your character is carrying should be within reason, which does include coins. The DM will inform players when tracking encumbrance becomes necessary based on narrative relevance and environmental factors, providing role-playing opportunities and shaping the story's direction.

RATIONS, WATER, AMMO

In our campaign, harsh conditions demand careful management of rations, ammunition, spell components, and critical supplies. Generally, we won't track daily usage unless it is plot relevant. Characters should acquire these items strategically, especially before venturing into hostile environments. Resource scarcity may impact narrative tension and survival challenges, so players should plan ahead. The DM will inform players when tracking these items becomes necessary based on narrative relevance and environmental factors, providing role-playing opportunities and shaping the story's direction.

HIT DICE AT LEVEL UP

As your characters are heroes, leveling up should reflect this and Hit Dice increases should not be meaningless as nothing is more of a letdown than rolling a 1 for your Hit Dice increase. To continue with our concept of heroes you will roll with advantage for your Hit Dice at level up, now if you roll two 1’s then, well that's just the gods saying, “you're just not that tough”.

BONUS ACTION POTIONS

A creature can drink a potion using a Bonus Action or Action, but a full Action is still required to administer a potion to another creature. Healing in 5e is less optimal than dealing damage since most healing effects are less potent than damaging effects. If you use an Action to drink a potion and regain lost HP, your efforts will likely be undone by the enemy on its next turn (since its damage is likely to be greater than your healing). For this reason, drinking a potion using a Bonus Action helps ensure you benefit from drinking it. You can use a Bonus Action to drink the potion, and then use your Action to deal damage (or take some other beneficial action). You can consume the potion without losing ground to the enemy.

ENHANCED CRITICAL HITS

When a player scores a critical hit, they roll their damage dice for the attack as if it were a normal hit, without doubling the result. Then, they add the maximum value of all damage dice rolled to the total roll before adding any modifiers. This ensures that critical hits have a significant impact on the outcome of combat, making them truly critical moments.
For example, let's say a Paladin scores a critical hit with their longsword while using Divine Smite. The longsword deals 1d8 slashing damage, and the Divine Smite adds 2d8 radiant damage. If the Paladin's damage modifier is +3, they would roll 1d8 for the longsword damage and 2d8 for the Divine Smite damage. Then, they would add the maximum value of all rolled dice (8 for the longsword and 16 for the Divine Smite) to the total roll before adding their +3 modifier. This ensures that the critical hit with Divine Smite deals maximum damage and makes a significant impact on the target.

HELP ACTION

A creature that lacks proficiency in a skill cannot take the “Help Action” to aid another creature with an Ability Check using that skill.

COLD WEATHER TRAVEL

In the unforgiving winter of Shadowmarch, the extreme cold can lead to catastrophic consequences for travelers.

COLD EXPOSURE LEVELS

• Normal Conditions (0-4 hours): Traveling in the cold is uncomfortable but manageable. Characters must dress warmly and take precautions, but they can endure these conditions for up to 4 hours without significant risk.
• Chilled (4-8 hours): After 4 hours of exposure, characters begin to feel the effects of the cold. They must make a constitution saving throw (DC 12) every hour. On a failed save, they gain one level of exhaustion.
• Hypothermic (8+ hours): Traveling in the cold for more than 8 hours is extremely dangerous. Characters must make a constitution saving throw (DC 15) every hour. On a failed save, they gain two levels of exhaustion.

CRITICAL SUCCESS (NATURAL 20)

If a character rolls a natural 20 on their Constitution saving throw against the cold, they gain a significant boon: Vigor: The character gains advantage on all constitution saving throws for the next 24 hours.

CRITICAL FAILURE (NATURAL 1)

If a character rolls a natural 1 on their Constitution saving throw against the cold, they suffer a catastrophic failure: Exhaustion Surge: The character gains 2 levels of exhaustion.

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE

The Near-Death Experience (NDE) rule adds escalating fatigue levels to make the consequences of almost dying more meaningful and impactful.

FATIGUE LEVEL 1

After Being Knocked Unconscious When a character is knocked unconscious but later revived, they suffer from Fatigue Level 1. Fatigue Level 1 represents the lingering effects of being incapacitated and recovering from near-death.

• The character has disadvantage on ability checks.
• This level of fatigue can be recovered after a short rest.

FATIGUE LEVEL 2

After 1 Failed Death Save If a character fails their first death saving throw, they suffer from Fatigue Level 2. Fatigue Level 2 represents the additional strain and trauma of being closer to death.

• The character has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls.
• This level of fatigue can be recovered after a long rest.

FATIGUE LEVEL 3

After 2 Failed Death Saves If a character fails their second death saving throw (or rolls a natural 1 on a death saving throw), they suffer from Fatigue Level 3. Fatigue Level 3 represents the critical state of the character, on the verge of death.

• The character has disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.
• The character cannot regain hit points through resting until they receive magical healing through a level 1 spell or higher.
• This level of fatigue can be recovered after 2 long rests. (after the first long rest they suffer from Fatigue Level 2)

DEATH SAVE RULES

Death Saves represent the struggle of a character fighting for their life in this world. Do they get saved by their allies, fight through and stabilize, or does their soul leave their body and pass on? This is an incredibly important moment in a game. If a character dies, the player can no longer play them. That is the biggest consequence that could possibly happen!

SECRET DEATH SAVES

All Death Saves are “Secret Rolls”. The GM will roll them in secret and only the GM will know the result. The rest of the group is left unaware about whether their friend is about to die, at 2 failures, or will be ok, at 2 successes.

HEROIC STABILIZATION

When a character succeeds on 3 of their Death Saves, they come back to consciousness at 1 HP instead of stabilizing at 0 HP and remaining Unconscious. I use this rule at my table because it feels lame when a PC spends multiple turns ONLY rolling Death Saves, then completes with 3 Saves and now just gets skipped entirely as they lie there doing nothing. It also feels EPIC to have a character stand up and wipe the blood off their mouth, ready for more.

GRIMDARK RESURRECTION

In the grimdark world of Arathos, resurrection is not a simple matter of casting a spell. The process is fraught with peril, requiring the active involvement of the entire party and a series of skill checks to aid the ritual. This system introduces a Resurrection Challenge to reflect the difficulty and gravity of bringing a soul back from the dead.

BASIC MECHANIC

When a character dies and a resurrection spell (such as Revivify, Raise Dead, Resurrection, or True Resurrection) is cast, the spell triggers a Resurrection Challenge. The success of the resurrection is determined by a series of skill checks performed by the party to aid the ritual, culminating in a final check by the caster.
Base DC: Each resurrection spell has a base DC, which is modified by the skill checks and previous resurrections. The base DCs for the spells are as follows:

• Revivify: DC 25
• Raise Dead: DC 20
• Resurrection: DC 15
• True Resurrection: DC 10

RESURRECTION CHALLENGE STEPS

Preparation Phase: The party has 10 minutes to prepare for the ritual. During this time, three party members can perform one action to aid the resurrection. Each successful skill check can either increase or decrease the final resurrection DC. The DM sets the DC for each check based on the difficulty of the task (typically DC 15).
Aid the Ritual: Each party member describes how they assist in the resurrection. Possible actions include:

• Medicine Check: A successful check can stabilize the body and prepare it for the soul’s return. (+1 to final check)
• Religion Check: Performing rites or prayers to the relevant deity or deities. (+1 to final check)
• Arcana Check: Infusing the ritual with magical energy or ensuring the magical circles and glyphs are properly drawn. (+1 to final check)
• History Check: Recalling important aspects of the deceased’s life or significant events that might aid in calling back their spirit. (+1 to final check)
• Performance Check: Using music or storytelling to draw the spirit back. (+1 to final check)
• Persuasion Check: Speaking to the spirit, pleading for its return. (+1 to final check)

Critical Success: Rolling a natural 20 on a skill check grants an additional +2 to the final check.
Critical Failure: Rolling a natural 1 on a skill check imposes a -2 to the final check.
Final Resurrection Check: The caster of the resurrection spell makes a final spellcasting ability check (adding their spellcasting ability modifier) against the modified DC. The final DC is determined by the base DC of the spell, adjusted by the aid received from the party.

MODIFIERS FOR PREVIOUS RESURRECTIONS

Each time a character is resurrected, their connection to the mortal coil weakens, increasing the difficulty of future resurrections.

• First Resurrection: No penalty
• Second Resurrection: +2 to the base DC
• Third Resurrection: +4 to the base DC
• Fourth Resurrection and beyond: +6 to the base DC

Example Scenario

A character named Aelar has fallen in battle, and the party cleric, Elaria, is preparing to cast Raise Dead.
Base DC: The base DC for Raise Dead is 20.
Preparation Phase:

• The party has 10 minutes to assist in the ritual.
• Rogar the fighter makes a Medicine check (DC 15) and succeeds, adding +1 to the final check.
• Liora the bard performs a mournful song, making a Performance check (DC 15) and rolls a natural 20, adding +3 to the final check (+1 normally, +2 for critical success).
• Theren the wizard inspects the magic circle with an Arcana check (DC 15) but rolls a natural 1, resulting in a -2 penalty to the final check.

Final Calculation:

• Base DC: 20
• Medicine Check: +1
• Performance Check: +3
• Arcana Check: -2
• Final DC for the resurrection check: 20 + 1 + 3 - 2 = 22

Final Resurrection Check:

• Elaria the cleric rolls a spellcasting ability check (Wisdom).
• She needs to roll a 22 or higher to succeed.

If Elaria succeeds, Aelar is brought back to life. If she fails, Aelar’s soul remains beyond reach.

This system ensures that resurrection is a significant event, requiring teamwork and skill, and reflecting the grim and challenging nature of the world.