School mechanics
THESE RULES ARE COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. IF YOU WANT TO OPT OUT OF THESE, THAT IS NO PROBLEM AT ALL, JUST LET ME KNOW.
Strixhaven Tracking Sheet
Players can use the sheet below to keep track of the effects of those rules on their characters. Each player should have a copy to use during the course of the adventures. The tracking sheet includes the following parts:
Relationships.
As students, the characters have the opportunity to cement friendships, establish rivalries, deepen bonds, and otherwise develop relationships with student NPCs in this adventure. Although these pursuits could be played out entirely with roleplaying, you can use the following Relationship rules to reinforce this aspect of the adventures.These rules provide characters with benefits—or drawbacks!—based on their social endeavors, infusing their interactions with other students with rules weight, and making this integral part of student life a more significant part of the game.
The rules encompass only interactions with student NPCs. Professors, administrators, and other older adults aren’t part of the Relationship rules.
Relationship Points
The characters have opportunities throughout the adventures in this book to gain Relationship Points with student NPCs. At your discretion, in addition to Relationship encounters, other roleplaying encounters might also provide Relationship Points.A character’s total number of Relationship Points with an NPC determines their status with that NPC, as described below. Relationship Points start at 0 and increase or decrease by 1 each time a character interacts with one of the NPCs covered by these rules, whether in a Relationship encounter or during another roleplaying scene.
When a character interacts with a student NPC, that character’s player decides which of the following categories they wish their response to fall under: Friendly Response. A friendly response earns 1 Relationship Point. A friendly response is positive; it might take the form of showing warmth or providing affirmation and camaraderie, as the encounter dictates.
Rivalrous Response. A rivalrous response earns −1 Relationship Point. A rivalrous response is negative, and might take the form of being rude to the NPC, antagonizing the NPC, or taking similar unkind actions.
Each time a character’s number of Relationship Points changes for an NPC, the player should note that on their tracking sheet. The sheet can also be used to track other details about the Relationship.
Making Friends and Rivals
While a character has 2 Relationship Points or more with a student NPC, that NPC becomes a Friend, and the character receives a Bond Boon from that person as long as the NPC is a Friend.While a character has −2 Relationship Points or less with a student NPC, that NPC becomes a Rival, and the character receives a Bond Bane from that person as long as the NPC is a Rival.
Bond Boons and Bond Banes are noted in each NPC entry in the “Fellow Students” section. When a character makes a Friend or a Rival, the player should note it on their tracking sheet.
At any time during the adventures in this book, a character can end their friendship with an NPC, effective immediately. When they do so, that character’s Relationship Points with the NPC reset to 0.
Deepening Relationships
Once a student NPC has become a character’s Friend, the character has the option of deepening the Relationship. The next time a Relationship encounter happens with the Friend, the character can express a wish for a deeper connection with that NPC. This might be a romantic pairing, a deeper platonic camaraderie, or a sibling-like bond. Before this encounter takes place, talk to the player to ensure a clear understanding of what sort of Relationship they seek with the NPC.Becoming Beloveds
If a player wants a deeper Relationship between their character and a Friend, the Friend can become the character’s Beloved if the character has 2 Relationship Points or more with the NPC. During the next Relationship encounter, they can deepen their Relationship and become Beloveds, in addition to the normal interaction the Relationship encounter allows.Beloved Inspiration
When a character has a Beloved, the character gains Beloved Inspiration at the end of each long rest. Beloved Inspiration functions like regular Inspiration (as described in the Player’s Handbook), except a character regains a number of uses of Beloved Inspiration after each long rest equal to the number of Beloveds they have, not to exceed a number equal to their proficiency bonus.Ending Beloved Relationships
A character can end a Beloved Relationship at any time. When that Relationship ends, the NPC no longer provides Beloved Inspiration to the character.If the character’s Relationship Points with the NPC ever drop below 1, the Beloved Relationship ends immediately.
Report Cards.
This section includes places to track the results of each Exam.Though each character might be a member of a different college at Strixhaven, the adventures assume that the characters take at least one general education or interdisciplinary course together each year. It is this course that the Exam rules represent.
Each Exam encounter has a Studying phase followed by a Testing phase. In general, a character can approach Studying in any way they desire, with that phase then culminating in a single ability check of their choice. In contrast, Testing requires ability checks using specific skills.
In each phase, resolve the outcome of one character’s ability checks before moving on to another character. (If any characters are studying together, however, resolve their ability checks at the same time. See below for more information.)
Studying Phase
The Studying phase of an Exam represents the characters brushing up on their coursework, prompting sparks of insight when faced with difficult questions, or using mnemonics or other memorization techniques to absorb academic material.During the Studying phase, each character must succeed on an ability check against a DC noted in the encounter. They can use any ability and skill they wish when making this check, but they can make it only once.
For example, one student might make an Intelligence (History) check to pore over their books, while another student makes a Charisma (Performance) check to create a series of spoken mnemonic devices. A third student might make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check to create reminding gestures or practice any physical components that are part of a course, such as the somatic gestures involved in spellcasting.
On a successful check, the character gains one reroll to use during the character’s next Testing phase.
Pulling an All-Nighter
After pulling an all-nighter, a character gains two rerolls to use during the next Testing phase if the character succeeds on the ability check. Doing so imposes a cost: the character gains 1 level of exhaustion that takes effect at the start of the day of the Exam. This level of exhaustion can’t be removed until after the Exam.Studying Together
If two or more characters engage in a group study session, each participating character has advantage on their ability check during the Studying phase.Skipping Studying
A character can skip the Studying phase if they wish, forgoing the chance of gaining these rerolls.Testing Phase
Once the Studying phase of an Exam is over, have the players record any rerolls their characters receive, then begin the Testing phase.Ability Checks
Each Exam’s Testing phase consists of two ability checks, with specifics (including the DC) noted in the encounter. If a character gained any rerolls during the Studying phase, the character can use one reroll when making a Testing ability check, rerolling the check’s d20 and using the new roll. Each character’s Testing phase has three possible results:Failed. No successful ability checks means a character failed, having gotten fewer than half the questions correct.
Passed. One successful ability check means a character passed, having gotten half or more of the questions correct, but not all the questions. The character gains one Student Die, explained below.
Aced. Two successful ability checks mean the character aced the Exam, having gotten all the questions correct. The character gains two Student Dice, explained below.
Cheating
An unscrupulous character can cheat on an Exam. Doing so requires a successful Charisma (Deception) check and a successful Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, both using the DC set for the Exam. If a character cheats, they can’t use any rerolls from their Studying phase.If the character fails either of these checks, a proctor or other authority figure notices the cheating, and the student fails the exam.
If the Charisma (Deception) and Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks are both successful, the character successfully cheats and aces the Exam.
Failed Exam
If a character fails an Exam, Strixhaven’s bylaws require them to attend tutoring with a junior faculty member until they achieve at least a passed Exam in a different Exams encounter. This tutoring can be narrated through roleplaying, or you might simply inform the player of this result.A student who must attend tutoring can’t take part in any Extracurriculars or Jobs until they achieve at least a passed Exam during one of that academic year’s Exam encounters. The character thus loses any benefits from Extracurriculars or Jobs, and their player should indicate this suspension on their tracking sheet.
Student Dice
A Student Die gained from an Exam is a d4 the player can roll and add to an ability check that the character makes, provided the check uses one of the two skills featured in the Exam. The player can wait until after rolling the d20 before rolling the Student Die, but must do so before you say whether the check succeeds or fails. No more than one Student Die can be rolled per check. After rolling a Student Die, a player can’t roll it again until the character finishes a long rest.Players should note any Student Dice they gain and the skills those dice can apply to on their tracking sheet.
At the end of each academic year, players lose any Student Dice their characters have earned from an Exam.
Extracurriculars.
At any point during the book’s adventures, a character can gain the benefit of two of the Extracurriculars noted below, as described later in this section. If a student character also works on campus using the Job rules, the character can benefit from only one Extracurricular.Characters can gain the benefit from a new Extracurricular only by joining it at the start of an academic year, which corresponds to the beginning of a new adventure. Typically, joining an Extracurricular in between academic years isn’t eventful. Players should note the changes on their tracking sheet. While a student participates in an Extracurricular, they gain a Student Die and a Relationship Point, as explained below.