Homebrew and Variant Rules
Described below are a collection of variant rules from the back of the DMG or homebrew rules used by the table for longer campaigns. Most things here aren't used in one-shots since not all rules here are meant to quicken the pace of the game, but to add a layer of depth that slows these quicker styles of game.
Weapons and Armor take damage from combat and time, becoming less sharp and defensive as a well maintained piece of gear. These rules give uses to several items like whetstones and spells like mending.
Better Potion Drinking
- If a player uses an action to consume a healing potion, they do not have to roll for hit points. Instead, the player receives the full amount possible.
- If a player uses a bonus action to consume a healing potion, they have to roll for hit points using the values prescribed to the potion.
- Administering a healing potion to an unconscious person requires a full action, and a Dexterity Check (DC: 12). If the player passes they do not have to roll for the hit points. If however, the player fails the Dexterity Check, they must roll for hit points.
- Potions that do not heal hit points can be drank by a player as a bonus action with the written effects of the potion taking place as normal.
Curses and Diseases
While not all diseases are supernatural, all curses are. Despite this curses, like natural diseases, vary wildly in how they affect the afflicted.
Shapeshifting Curses
Players afflicted with curses like Lycanthropy or Vampirism can be classified as a lesser or greater type. Lesser types are younger, recently afflicted holders of the curse. As they grow and use their powers more, they grow more powerful, developing into a greater type shapeshifter.
These abilities are granted to players via feats tailored to each shapeshifter and type: Bat, Wolf, and Raven.
Environmental and Damage Combos
Players who use damage types and the surrounding environment get bonuses depending on the combo being applied. Not all combos are beneficial. Combos can be performed by players by magic if taking the same turn or by capitalizing on the environment.
- Lightning/Thunder and Fire: Combining the gasses of most fires and the charged ions of lightning/thunder causes those gasses to enter the fourth state of matter: plasma. Even magic is able to produce this effect, and to most naturalists surprise, it can produce it far easier than a natural experiment. This combo causes the fire and lightning/thunder damage rolled to be unaffected by natural and magical fire and thunder resistances, dealing full damage to the target.
- Lightning/Thunder and Water: Combing someone who is wet, either by standing in a stream, being in a storm, or who just got a bucket of water thrown and them, and electricity is bad news. Even though magic is the perversion of natural laws, it too can produce these very natural reactions when used in tandem - so beware! This combo causes damage dice to be doubled.
- Water and Fire: Water has been used by every race to put out fires that grow to close to their homes. Even with magic, this is true, combing water and fire creates steam and puts out the fire. This combo causes the fire damage to stop if continuous, or be halved if used in attack combo, and puts out fires and prevents them from starting.
Expanded Familiars: Make Familiars Better!
A familiar is a normal animal that gains new powers and becomes a magical beast when summoned to service by a sorcerer or wizard. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but it is treated as a magical beast instead of an animal for the purpose of any effect that depends on its type. Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar as it requires the familiar to be a spirit living out its afterlife in one of the many outer-planes.
A familiar also grants special abilities to its master (a sorcerer or wizard), as given on the table below. These special abilities apply only when the master and familiar are within 1 mile of each other.
| Familiar |
Special Ability |
|---|
| Bat |
Master gains a +3 bonus on Listen (Perception and Investigation) checks |
| Cat |
Master gains a +3 bonus on Stealth (Move Silently) checks |
| Crab |
Master gains a +3 bonus on Hide checks when attempting to conceal oneself |
| Hawk |
Master gains a +3 bonus on Spot (Perception and Investigation) checks in bright light |
| Kid (Baby Goat) |
Master gains a climb speed equal to ½ their movement speed and a +3 bonus on Climb checks |
| Lizard |
Master gains a climb speed equal to ½ their movement speed and a +3 bonus on Climb checks |
| Octopus |
Master gains a +2 bonus Grapple checks |
| Owl |
Master gains a +3 bonus on Spot (Perception and Investigation) checks in shadows |
| Quipper |
Master gains a swim speed equal to ½ their movement speed and a +3 bonus on Swim checks |
| Rat |
Master gains a +2 bonus on Poison saves |
| Raven |
Master gains a +1d4 bonus Copper Pieces when looting bodies of humanoids. A raven familiar can speak one language of its master's choice as a supernatural ability |
| Spider |
Master gains a climb speed equal to ½ their movement speed and a +3 bonus on Climb checks |
| Tiny Viper |
Master gains a +3 bonus on Intimidation checks |
| Toad |
Master gains a +5 bonus to Jump checks, and can jump an additional +3 feet |
| Weasel |
Master gains a +5 foot burrow speed |
*Only Sorcerers and Wizards with the ability to cast the Find Familiar spell can use the above table.
Warlocks, while known to have familiars, do not often travel with normal creatures, instead opting for the company of creatures like imps, almiraj, and pseudodragons . These powerful creatures do not give their master bonuses like a sorcerer or wizard while within 1 mile. Instead, a Warlock of the Chain's familiar grows alongside them, gaining special abilities (or impart abilities to their masters) depending on the master’s combined level in the Warlock class, as shown on the table below. The abilities given on the table are cumulative.
| Master's Warlock Class Level |
Special Ability |
|---|
| 1st-2nd |
Master gains a +2 bonus on all Listen checks and Spot checks. |
| 3rd-4th |
When a familiar is subjected to an attack that normally allows a Dexterity saving throw for half damage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails. |
| 5th-6th |
At the master’s option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his familiar. The familiar must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the familiar if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the familiar again even if it returns to the master before the duration expires. Additionally, the master may cast a spell with a target of “You” on his familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself. |
| 7th-8th |
The master has an empathic link with his familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see through the familiar’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated. Because of this empathic link, the master has the same connection to an item or place that his familiar does. |
| 9th-10th |
If the master is 9th level or higher, a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help. |
| 11th-12th |
If the master is 11th level or higher, a familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master’s level + 5. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the familiar’s spell resistance. |
| 13th-14th |
If the master is 13th level or higher, he may scry on his familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day. |
*Only Warlocks with the Pact of the Chain are allowed to use the above table.
Fading Spirits - Alternative Resurrection Rules
Character death can often prove to become a minor inconvenience in some campaigns once the adventuring party reaches a certain level, with spells being available to return fallen comrades from the afterlife with temporary setbacks, robbing a small element of danger, and threat to future conflicts and challenges within the story. If you wish to elevate the gravity of character death, you can introduce this optional rule.
If a character is dead, and a resurrection is attempted by a spell or spell effect with longer than a 1 action casting time, a Resurrection Challenge is initiated. Up to 3 members of the adventuring party can offer to contribute to the ritual via a Contribution Skill Check. The DM asks them each to make a skill check based on their form of contribution, with the DC of the check adjusting to how helpful/impactful the DM feels the contribution would be. For example, praying to the god of the devout, fallen character may require an Intelligence (Religion) check at an easy to medium difficulty, where loudly demanding the soul of the fallen to return from the aether may require a Charisma (Intimidation) check at a very hard or nearly impossible difficulty. Advantage and disadvantage can apply here based on how perfect, or off base, the contribution offered is.
After all contributions are completed, the DM then rolls a single, final Resurrection success check with no modifier. The base DC for the final resurrection check is 10, increasing by 1 for each previous successful resurrection the character has undergone (signifying the slow erosion of the soul’s connection to this world). For each successful contribution skill check, this DC is decreased by 3, whereas each failed contribution skill check increases the DC by 1. Upon a successful resurrection check, the player’s soul (should it be willing) will be returned to the body, and the ritual succeeded. On a failed check, the soul does not return and the character is lost.
Only the strongest of magical incantations can bypass this resurrection challenge, in the form of the True Resurrection or Wish spells. These spells can also restore a character to life who was lost due to a failed resurrection ritual.
If a spell with a casting time of 1 action is used to attempt to restore life (via the Revivify spell or similar effects), no contribution skill checks are allowed. The character casting the spell makes a Rapid Resurrection check, rolling a d20 and adding their spellcasting ability modifier. The DC is 10, increasing by 1 for each previous successful resurrection the character has undergone. On a failure, the character’s soul is not lost, but the resurrection fails and increases any future Resurrection checks’ DC by 1. No further attempts can be made to restore this character to life until a resurrection spell with a casting time higher than 1 action is attempted.
Firearms
Firearms in fantasy games are somewhat difficult to do, as not everyone has a power fantasy of walking around with a modern assault rifle. However, that isn't to say those players don't exist. To merge the idea of firearms and medieval weaponry together, we use steampunk styled weapons and cowboy inspired six-shooters and repeaters.
In base 5e there are not many rules for guns. Most don't describe how many shots are able to be fired before reloading; in-fact the only real rule described in the DMG is that a player can reload a firearm as an action or bonus action.
So, we have had to make our rulings.
Flanking
When a creature and at least one ally are within 5ft of the same enemy on opposite sides, that enemy is flanked. Each of the creatures flanking has advantage on melee attacks against it.
For this to work, you need to be precisely opposite with the enemy between you; the aim is to form a straight line through all three creatures.
Intelligence
This
feat is taken by all players at level 1. The purpose of it is to make intelligence less of a dump stat for those that aren't wizards and investigators.
Lingering Injuries, Massive Damage, and System Shocks
These are variant rules found in the back of the 5e DMG (p: 272-273).
Skill Check Retries
When another player attempts a Skill check roll to gain new information (Perception, History, Arcana, etc.) from the DM and fails, you may attempt the same check only if you have a higher Skill modifier than theirs.
- When you use the Help action to aid another character in a task, you must have proficiency in that Skill.
Stealth Checks and Unique Stealth Actions
Instead of rolling a Stealth check when a player decides to stealth, the DM calls for a Stealth check when their is a chance of detection, using the npc's Perception or Investigation skills depending on the situation.
- Choke Hold: Once a player successfully Grapples a creature at the neck or other vital spot, they can make an additional Grapple check to attempt choking it unconscious or dead. Attempting an additional Grapple check at disadvantage. If the player succeed on this grapple, their hands move to the creature’s vital point and start cutting the flow of air. On the creature’s next turn, the choker makes a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the creature’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the creature succeeds, the Grapple is broken. If it fails, it is Suffocating.
- Coup de Grace: Conditions such as Paralyzed, Unconscious, or Sleeping that grant automatic critical hits against humanoid creatures allow a player to deal one final blow that kills the target.
- Gag Mouth: Once a player successfully Grapples a creature, they can attempt to gag it and prevent it from making sounds. A player can use their bonus action and make an additional Grapple check. If they succeed on this grapple, the creature is gagged while the grapple persists. A gagged creature cannot cast spells with verbal components and its speech is muffled and cannot be understood. When the creature is no longer grappled, it is no longer gagged as well.
- Grapple from Stealth: When a player declares stealth, as long as their stealth roll is above the Passive Perception of anyone guarding, their first Grapple check always gains advantage.
- Silent Takedown: Rogues or anyone suitably trained or equipped with a silent weapon can attempt to incapacitate an unaware creature, through force or with tools such as a garrote. A creature must be Surprised or incapable of taking actions and reactions to be subject to a Silent Takedown. The player may attempt a weapon attack using their Dexterity modifier or a choke hold with a Strength (Athletics) check. The check DC is equal to 10 + the creature's Hit Dice (Example: 10+1d8=18). If the player succeed, the target creature is considered Grappled, Gagged, and Suffocating; and suffers disadvantage on their first check to break the Grapple if they were Surprised
Trip
You may use your bonus action and spend one of your attacks perform a special melee attack to trip a creature, knocking it prone. If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them. You must be using a weapon with the Reach property to use this ability.
Variant Encumbrance
The rules for lifting and carrying are intentionally simple. Here is a variant if you are looking for more detailed rules for determining how a character is hindered by the weight of equipment. When you use this variant, ignore the Strength column of the Armor table.
If you carry weight in excess of 5 times your Strength score, you are encumbered, which means your speed drops by 10 feet.
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.
Supplemental Material
Dungeon Masters Guild Supplements
Epic House Rules: DnDBeyond
GM Binder 5e
Homebrewary
Kobold's Press
- All Deep Magic supplemental material
MCDM Productions
Wizards of the Coast
Unearthed Arcana
Unearthed Arcana is official Wizards of the Coast supplements to the core rulebooks, containing material that adds or expands upon other rules.
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