Arcane Kobold

After seeing a few articles come through and a video suggested about house rules in D&D 5e it had me thinking what I do that isn’t in the rules or alters the rules. To that end I compiled what I found and have these house rules that I think make D&D 5e more fun. The disam and cleave mechanics are the optional rules from the 2014 DMG and the dreadful blessings mechanic is from Sly Flourish. The rest are amalgamations over the years that my players and I have found fun or interesting. Or rules that I require to flow more with what I think the game should be like.

1. Crits are max damage plus a roll.
2. Natural 1s on ability checks and saving throws are always failures.
3. Natural 20s on ability checks and saving throws are always success.
4. Use the 2024 exhaustion rule: each level is -2 to any d20 roll and -5ft movement. Level 6 causes death.
5. Spell Scrolls, anyone can attempt to cast from a scroll:
   • If it is on your class’s spell list normal rules apply.
     • Of a level you can cast no check required.
     • Of a level above what you can cast then make a spell casting ability check DC 10+spell’s level.
   • If it is not on your list or you don’t have a spell casting trait you must make an intelligence check, DC 12 + the spell’s level. On a failure the scroll is consumed and you roll on the wild magic table.
   • You can only cast scrolls that are an action.
   • Magic initiate and ritual caster do not qualify you for access to class spell lists.
6. No warforged or artificers in normal games (only Ebberon settings).
7. Long rests have to be taken in safe areas such as homesteads, guard outposts, villages, towns, and cities. In dungeons and the wilderness you can only get a short rest or sleep to avoid exhaustion.
8. Dreadful Blessings: Some boss fights or monsters have dreadful blessings. They let them do things that bend the rules to make the story flow more. They are limited like legendary resistances or actions and do not recharge. You will be aware of a boss having dreadful blessings. Abilities may include:
   • Dispelling spells with no action on their turn.
   • Refreshing legendary resistances
   • Empowering attacks to bypass immunities
   • Forcing disadvantage on saving throws that can’t be offset with advantage
   • Granting a second attack action to on their turn
9. Disarm: you make an attack with a weapon, that is the DC for a contested check vs athletics or acrobatics.
10. Cleaving: Melee attacks that kill an enemy any leftover damage can be passed to a creature within 5 feet of the original target that is within your reach unless you have movement to make it to the new target. You can cleave through additional creatures up to your proficiency bonus. Note for sneak attack, you must still qualify for it against that creature separately than the previous.
11. Potions can be consumed as a bonus action or action by you, administering them to another requires an action.
12. Improvised action can be a bonus action. The general rule is damage or incapacitating another creature requires an action. To setup your character for a dramatic event or be heroic will be a bonus action.
13. When falling heights of more than 10ft, then have until the end of your current turn or as a reaction to save yourself before you fall 500ft per round.
14. With the correct proficiency materials you can craft one of the following during a long rest. This crafting is quick and improvised so it requires an ability check and has a cost of failure beyond not crafting the item. On a success it consumes the 25gp of materials, on a failure you consuming only 10gp of materials instead. Every 50gp of materials weighs 1 pound. When you spend downtime to craft these items there is no risk of failure.
    • Potion of healing (2d4+2): DC 10 Intelligence (Herbalism kit) check
      • If you have a feature that lets you cast a healing spell of 1st level or higher then you may use your spellcasting stat instead of Intelligence.
      • Alternatively you may craft a potion of greater healing (4d4+4), DC13 check for 50gp of materials on success and 20gp of materials on failure.
    • 1st level spell scroll for a learned or prepared spell with a DC 11 Arcana or Calligrapher’s tools check using your spellcasting stat.
      • Note, any high cost components must be available and any consumed components are consumed when crafting a scroll. When casting from a scroll those valued components are not needed then.
      • DC for the scroll effect is 13 and/or +5 to hit.
      • Alternatively you may make progress on a 2nd level spell scroll. With a check DC of 12, consuming 100gp on success and losing 25gp on a failure. After three successful checks you complete a 2nd level scroll (costing a total of at least 300gp of materials).
    • Holy water: if you have access to cleric or paladin spell casting you may make a DC13 spell casting check (proficiency + spell casting modifier).
    • Simple poison: Make a DC13 intelligence (poisoner’s kit) check. Coat one slashing or piercing weapon or up to three pieces of ammunition. Applying the poison takes a bonus action. A creature hit by the poisoned weapon or ammunition takes 1d4 poison damage. Once applied, the poison retains potency for 1 minute before drying.
    • Alchemist’s fire or Acid: Make a DC13 intelligence (alchemists supplies) kit to make one vial of alchemists fire or acid.
15. While in the wilderness you may attempt to forage for ingredients for healing potions. A check can only be made once a week in a hex. Spend one hour and make DC15 intelligence (medicine, nature, or herbalism kit) check. You may gain a +1 to the check for each additional hour up to a total of +3. On a success you gain 3d6gp of materials plus an additional 2d6gp for each extra hour spent foraging up to an additional 6d6.
16. Rangers, Eldritch Knights, and Arcane Tricksters can also use a spell casting focus.
17. Proficiency in the medicine skill grants you the healer feat (2014 version).

In addition to those I have been always toying around with the ability for players to harvest monsters for components for spell scrolls, foci, and weapons. Currently I have the rules that lets you harvest from non-humanoid monsters (e.g. not goblins, orcs, or other human-like races, no heinous war crimes). You must declare what you’re attempting to do with what you are harvesting, then I’ll let you know if that is possible. It takes 1 hour to make a check, a monster may have a number of checks made against it equal to one third it’s challenge rating. The DC for each check equals 10 + half the challenge rating + the number of previous checks made. You need to use intelligence (nature) or an appropriate tool as well as have equipment to collect and store the materials you harvest. From there you gain gold piece equivalent for consumable items that you might craft equal to the challenge rating of the creature plus 1d6gp for every 5 points you beat the check.

As an example, the party just defeated a CR 11 Behir and the wizard has a great idea to try and harvest some of it’s blood to make an ink for their scrolls. And the ranger wants to try and harvest some teeth to make arrowheads that might deal extra lightning damage. And the fighter suggests part of the hide might be crafted into a nice cloak or shield that could grant lightning resistance. The wizard being proficient with nature offers up to start the checks starting with collecting blood to make use as ink. And the ranger being proficient with survival persuades me that his help should grant the wizard advantage on the checks to harvest the blood. And that the wizard’s help should grant him advantage to harvest teeth and the hide. I agree that it sounds reasonable. The checks are as follows:

• Harvesting blood to use as ink: DC 15 intelligence (nature) made by the wizard.
• Harvesting teeth to use as arrowheads: DC16 intelligence (survival) made by the ranger.
• Harvesting hide to make a cloak or shield: DC 17 intelligence (survival) made by the ranger.

I have not found crafting rules for permanent magic items and scrolls above 2nd level that I like for my table. Those are still up in the air but do require questing and downtime to complete with players having to have a conversation with me and some rolls. I have read the Battlezoo Bestiary section on monster parts and find the refining and imbuing rules a nice start to what I would like.

However for consumable items after questing for the raw materials my above rules apply to quick items like healing potions and 1st or 2nd level spell scrolls. I’ve also thought that crafting 5 arrows that deal an extra 1d4 damage of some type on a hit during a long rest seems pretty good without being overpowered if they have tool proficiencies to make those sorts of items.