Ceallan Campaign Rules

"The Dying World of Homebrew"

Cealla is a unique world, and with it there are several major differences players will encounter when playing in it. It is important that these differences and separations from traditional or alternate rules are known by the players in order to avoid confusion, and to ensure that characters looking to build towards certain spells or playstyles know what is and is available to them. As time passes, more changes will be made to races, specific spells, and other items within the world of Cealla. This section will serve as the main resource for checking and confirming errata as needed.

Lore Restrictions

Teleportation Magic

Within Cealla, the spells 'Teleport', 'Teleportation Circle', and 'Transport via Plants' are not accessible to players by traditional means. While certain items and circumstances may allow for these spells to be used for very pointed narrative purposes, they are not spells which players can have in their spellbook, readied spells, or so on. This is primarily due to the fact that travel through 'The Seam' and the Tofr Sea requires ancient relics of immense power or intense, highly specific training.

Necromantic Magic

The use of necromantic magic to raise or control the dead is very taboo and frowned upon in Cealla. Few in the world even have the knowledge or capability to explore learning about necromantic magic, outside of communing with very dark and evil forces within the Dying World. Therefore, the use of necromantic spells to raise or control the dead is not allowed without DM approval.

Resurrection Magic

Resurrection magic does not exist in Cealla, and as such the following spells cannot be used to raise the dead:

• Raise Dead
• Reincarnate
• Resurrection
• True Resurrection
• Wish

Revivify however can be taken, but serves more as a last-ditch recovery spell, with the player being on the cusp of death but not truly dead for lore purposes. While lore exceptions may come to pass, this ruling is to note for player characters, as these spells cannot be added to their character sheets.

Counterspell

Counterspell is allowed, and anti-magic/countering magic is very common in Cealla. Mechanically however, using Counterspell in combat has a few unique stipulations for Ceallan-based games. First, Counterspell does not stack indefinitely. For example, Mage A casts fireball on Mage B. Mage B uses their reaction to cast Counterspell to negate the Fireball. Mage A then uses their reaction to Counterspell Mage B's Counterspell. At this point, once Counterspell has been Counterspelled, no further Counterspell stacking can occur and events happen in this order:
1. The DM rolls a 1d3. 1 = Wild Magic Effect on the original caster. 2= Wild Magic Effect on the original Counterspell caster. 3 = Wild Magic effects on both casters. 2. The DM rolls on the Wild Magic table and resolves the effect. 3. The original spell resolves.
Additionally, to Counterspell a spell, the player needs line of sight on the spellcaster in question. In the case that players are flanked or surrounded by multiple casters, any spell caster using Counterspell that isn't facing or 'focused' on a specific target must pass a DC 14 Perception check to Counterspell someone behind them, in obscured light, or any other mitigating circumstances.

Flying

The spell 'Fly' or any spells that would enable to fly unassisted are not available in Cealla. Characters that either 1. Do not have the physical capability to fly (wings specifically) or 2. DM approval for a specific reason to fly, you are unable to fly without an airship or magic item.

Identifying Magic Items

Magic items can only be identified by using certain in-game spells. Several spells are designed specifically for identifying magic items, while several other divination spells are general purpose and may be used to discover some information. A spellcaster can be hired in a city to cast spells for you, usually 25gp for a 1st-level spell and 50gp for a 2nd-level spell. Finding a spellcaster powerful enough to cast higher-level spells may require traveling to an institution such as a major university. These spellcasters are rarely interested in gold and more often will require some type of service as payment, such as procuring difficult-to-find spell components or casting a different, high-level spell for them.

• Identify - Identifies all properties and command words of Uncommon and Rare items. Reduced effectiveness on Very Rare and Legendary items, though it will always provide more information than a successful Intelligence (Arcana) check.
• Detect Magic - Reveals School of Magic most closely associated with a magic item. For example, a Ring of Protection +1 would be associated with the Abjuration school while a Ring of Water Walking would be associated with the Transmutation school.
• Commune - Your deity answers three Yes/No questions which may concern a magic item.
• Contact Other Plane - An entity on another plane answers five questions with a single word each.
• Legend Lore - Reveals information about Legendary magic items or Artifacts.

Combat Rulings

Initiative

Players have thirty to forty five seconds to declare actions and complete their turn per round.

'Bloodied' Mechanic

When a monster is the halfway point of their maximum HP, they are officially considered 'Bloodied'. While primarily a narrative tool indicating the damage done to the monster so it is reflected to the players in combat, some bloodied monsters (such as kolkabrooks or others with legendary or charge actions) will regain their charged actions or spells upon entering this Bloodied state.

Flanking

In Ceallan games, the optional flanking rules are utilized for combat encounters. The specifics of these rules can be seen below:

• Flanking gives combatants a simple way to Advantage against a common enemy. To do so, players must make a skill check against an enemies AC, needing to roll higher in order to successfully gain Advantage.
• A creature can’t flank an enemy that it can’t see. A creature also can’t flank while it is incapacitated. Creatures Huge and larger cannot be flanked.
• Flanking on Squares. When a creature and at least one of its allies are adjacent to an enemy and on opposite sides or corners of the enemy’s space, they flank that enemy.
• When in doubt about whether two creatures flank an enemy on a grid, trace an imaginary line between the centers of the creatures’ spaces. If the line passes through opposite sides or corners of the enemy’s space, the enemy is flanked."

Hit Points, Healing, and Resting

When calculating hit points for your character, the following rules are used to do so:

• At first level, you take the MAXIMUM amount of your hit die and add your Constitution modifier.
• For every following level you may roll your hit die or take the median amount +1. (For example, your hit die is a 1d10 and you roll a 9. You can now add 9 to your total HP. Alternatively, you roll your hit die and roll a 2, you can instead take the median of 1d10 (5) and add 1, giving you 6 HP.

When healing with potions, the following rules are used to determine the total amount recovered:

• If you drink a potion as a bonus action, you will roll the associated die and recover the amount rolled. (For example, the potion recovers 4d4+4 HP, and you roll a 8, you will add the +4, recovering a total of 12 HP.)
• If you drink the potion as an action, you can recover the maximum amount of the potential roll. (For example, the potion recovers 4d4+4 HP, you forgo rolling and take the maximum amount which is 16 and then add +4, recovering a total of 20 HP.)

When adventuring, a party can take a maximum of one long rest per day, and two short rests. These rests are applied in a 24 hour cycle, and do not recover at midnight or any arbitrary time. Should you take a long rest, you cannot take another long rest for 24 hours. The same rules apply after using both short rests.

Death Saving Throws

Death saves are gone entirely. When a character hits 0hp, they're "Desperate". Players must then make a CON Save equal to 10+ the damage taken beyond 0HP (If a player has 1HP, then takes 9 damage, the CON Save DC is 18). The maximum DC of a Con Save of this type is DC 20. Players that make their DC take one point of Exhaustion, and are returned to 1HP. Players that fail their CON Save are rendered "Unconscious", and cannot take action or perform any functions unless they are brought up from 0hp. Attacks against "Unconscious" players are automatically successful, and give two points of exhaustion. Players that are "Unconscious" for an hour or more gain one point of exhaustion, but are able to expend a hit die to recover HP.
Exhaustion Recovery:

• Level 1: Can be recovered with a Long Rest. (Once per day).
• Level 2: Can be recovered with a Long Rest. (Once per day).
• Level 3: Can be recovered with a Long Rest. (Once per day).
• Level 4: Can be recovered with a Long Rest. (Once per day).
• Level 5: Can be recovered with a Long Rest. (Once per day).

It is important to note these recovery requirements are cumulative, which means that someone with Level 2 Exhaustion will require two long rests to recover full, whereas someone with Level 5 Exhaustion will require five days of recovery time. Additionally, Greater Restoration can be used to remove a point of Exhaustion from a character.

Critical Strikes

Critical strikes are calculated using an alternate mechanic other than rolling for double damage. Instead, the player will take maximum damage for the first portion of the damage roll, and will then roll for damage, adding the two amounts to calculate the total critical strike amount. For example, you land a critical strike wielding a longsword and add a +4 for damage. This means you will take the maximum amount first, which is 12 (8+4) and then roll for damage on the second half. In this example, the player rolls a 6, yielding a total critical strike score of 22. The math of this example is below:

• Critical strike is landed, resulting in 'double damage'.
• The first half of that damage is maximized, with 1d8+4 yielding 12 total damage.
• The second half of that damage is rolled, yielding 10 total damage (1d8=4.
• The total damage dealt is 22.

Character Development

Ability Score Generation Rule: 27 Point Buy

You have 27 points to spend on your ability scores. The cost of each score is shown on the Ability Score Point Cost table. For example, a score of 14 costs 7 points. Using this method, 15 is the highest ability score you can end up with, before applying racial increases. You can’t have a score lower than 8.
This method of determining ability scores enables you to create a set of three high numbers and three low ones (15, 15, 15, 8, 8, 8), a set of numbers that are above average and nearly equal (13, 13, 13, 12, 12, 12), or any set of numbers between those extremes. The tool recommended to calculate these scores is found here.