Questions tagged [house-rules]
House rules are small fan-created additions and replacements to core rules in a rules set, and this tag should be used when there are locally-created rules at the core of the question. In most cases, they are not officially sanctioned by the designer, in contrast to optional rules (see the [optional-rules] tag). For creation of substantial new content or rules subsystems, use the [homebrew] tag instead.
663
questions
11
votes
6
answers
6k
views
Would it be unbalanced to allow a non-warforged artificer to use a wand sheath if they make it themselves using one of their infusions?
One of my players is thinking about going artillerist but they don't have enough hands to hold a shield, an arcane firearm, and a sword. In going down the rabbit hole of animated shields and dropping ...
- 2,328
11
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Would it be game-breaking to allow casting spells at a higher level to increase the save DC for that spell instead of increasing damage?
There are a number of spells that include a section on "At Higher Levels." The actual effect varies from spell to spell; longer duration, more targets, summon better creatures, etc. I am specifically ...
- 39.5k
1
vote
0
answers
76
views
How to upgrade a secret house [closed]
Context
The players got a secret manor as a gift from a shady noble woman they made friends with but the manor is old and run down since the manor has been abandon for years. They no longer have ...
- 11
-1
votes
2
answers
329
views
What are the ramifications of making the Battle Master fighter's Commander's Strike maneuver no longer require the Attack action?
The Battle Master fighter's Commander's Strike maneuver (PHB, p. 74) states:
When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can forgo one of your attacks and use a bonus action to direct one of ...
- 75.6k
2
votes
1
answer
173
views
Would multiclassing in the same class (different non-stacking archetypes) break the game too much?
I know that as per RAW you can stack multiple archetype as long they dont conflict when changing the same class feature.
But would it be too game breaking to treat 2 non-stacking archetypes as ...
- 194
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is this change to how XP works in D&D 3.5 unbalanced?
I have been concerned for a while about how to treat experience totals in D&D 3.5 when a character gains or loses Level Adjustments (LA). Gaining/losing LA in play is too punitive and is ...
- 13.2k
8
votes
3
answers
948
views
What are the implications of allowing a shove attack with the Spiritual Weapon spell?
I saw this on a stream and it got me wondering. Instead of attacking with the spiritual weapon spell, they were allowed to try a shove using their spellcasting modifier rather than Athletics, ...
- 29.7k
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Are hit dice used to add damage?
I know it’s a stupid question, but allow me to explain. I’m a DM with a group of players who all learned how to play at the same time about a year ago, (me included). We got off to a rough start and ...
- 705
4
votes
1
answer
302
views
How could the passive Perception bonus of the Obsevant feat be replaced with a bonus to active Perception checks in a balanced way?
My DM doesn't tend to use passive Perception of the characters; he'll just get us to roll active Perception checks in most cases. We tend to use Perception far more than any other skill in the game.
...
- 987
4
votes
1
answer
377
views
Would it be imbalanced to allow these melee-enhancing cantrips to be used with ranged attacks?
The green-flame blade and booming blade cantrips both use the following wording:
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon
I was wondering what the ...
- 4,700
16
votes
3
answers
1k
views
To what extent would using the initiative system from Edge of the Empire in 5e break the game?
I've been checking out Star Wars - Edge of the Empire and I really like the initiative system used in it.
...
Once all Initiative checks have been
made, the CM notes down the results of each ...
- 355
11
votes
2
answers
528
views
How can I discourage gluttony while still granting buffs?
In Wendy's Feast of Legends, characters gain bonuses for foods eaten by their players.
The game explicitly mentions that buffs stack and there are a total 6 different food items (briefly: burger, ...
- 21k
11
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Would removing the "total cover" part of a Paladin's Divine Sense unbalance the feature?
Inspired by this question: What good is the paladin's Divine Sense?
I am running Lost Mines of Phandelver to introduce a couple of people to D&D (just me and my two players; I use DMPCs to ...
- 78.6k
10
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Would houseruling two or more instances of resistance to the same element as immunity be overly unbalanced?
Would it be overly unbalanced if a DM were to houserule that two or more instances of resistance to the same element (such as fire) to be treated as immunity?
- 6,143
5
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Is this adjustment to the Lucky feat underpowered?
I have the feeling Lucky feat in 5e is overpowered.
I have a modification that I want to propose my players with says you have to decide to use your luck point BEFORE rolling the dice. That's the ...
- 3,325
18
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Would it be unbalanced to increase a druid's number of uses of Wild Shape based on level?
Wild Shape is the prominent feature of the Druid class, but it allows only two uses until level 20, when Archdruid makes it limitless. This scaling feels quite odd to me and it appears to impact Moon ...
- 1,714
9
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What are the possible balance implications for houseruling INT as Paladin's spellcasting ability and class features?
Related (yet different): What is the source of a Paladin's spell-casting ability?
Related (strongly): What are the impacts of changing a Ranger's spellcasting ability?
(I don't know if everything ...
- 1,928
6
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Would it be balanced to allow Enlarge/Reduce to double its effect when upcast?
The enlarge reduce spell currently has no listed advantage to being upcast. It also seems relatively rare to find 5e mechanics that are able to stack with this spell, allowing you to grow/shrink even ...
- 2,163
14
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Would there be balance issues if I allowed opportunity attacks against any creature, not just hostile ones?
As shown in this question and answer, I am confused by the terms "hostile" and "enemy". So I was wondering if in my own game I could simply remove the "hostile" from the opportunity attack rules, ...
- 6,447
10
votes
2
answers
752
views
Granting inspiration on a natural 1
I’ve seen Critical Role run their 826LA promotion where they pledged $100 to the charity for every natural 1 they rolled on the show, and I’ve seen Dungeon World’s rule of marking XP on a miss.
I’m ...
- 9,569
7
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is allowing Barbarian features to work with Dex-based attacks unbalanced?
The barbarian requires that you make attacks using Strength in order to get a number of benefits. This, to me, sounds very much like someone trying to enforce their personal notion of what a barbarian ...
- 346k
7
votes
2
answers
295
views
What would be the balance implications of a house rule allowing a readied spell to be held indefinitely?
As established by this question, readied spells can only be held until the beginning of your next turn.
What would the balance implications be if there were no upper limit on how long the spell's ...
- 4,737
11
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Will allowing a Dex-based barbarian to multiclass based on Dex instead of Str cause any future balance issues?
A player of mine plays a dex barbarian and multiclassed into fighter for a fighting style. His strength score is 8 and he is using fitness weapons based on Dex for attacking. I didn't understand at ...
- 6,447
6
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How game-breaking would a house-rule letting spellcasters prepare new spells at any time be?
Spellcasters that prepare spells have nearly identical rulings when and how they can do so (emphasis mine):
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long
rest. Preparing a ...
- 277
13
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Is this change to the Magic Initiate feat unbalancing?
The Magic Initiate feat states:
Choose a class: bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard. You learn two cantrips of your choice from that class's list.
In addition, choose one 1st level ...
- 75.6k
15
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Would a house rule letting anyone cast their ritual spells as rituals be game-breaking?
By default, there are limited ways for characters in D&D 5E to cast ritual-tagged spells as rituals. Either they choose a class with the Ritual Casting feature, choose warlock with the Book of ...
- 31.4k
3
votes
1
answer
877
views
Would anything change if Opportunity Attacks only allowed you to make melee weapon attacks?
This question was inspired by discussions regarding Whirlwind Attack, as well as this answer to the Q/A "Can I use the War Caster feat to cast Vampiric Touch as a reaction?", which mentions using a ...
- 75.6k
16
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What are the ramifications of this change to upcasting spells?
I was looking at the Evocation Wizard's Overchannel feature which states:
When you cast a wizard spell of 1st through 5th-level that deals damage, you can deal maximum damage with that spell.
This ...
- 75.6k
11
votes
1
answer
721
views
What balance pitfalls result from this house rule modifying the optional Flanking rule?
As much as I enjoy 5e, one design issue sticks in my craw: combat is too static. Once initiative is rolled, everyone tends to move to a single position and stand there whacking enemies until someone ...
- 8,962
21
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Can an invisible creature see themselves and their own gear?
Suppose there's an everyday ordinary human character who becomes invisible, either due to quaffing a potion of invisibility or from somebody casting the invisibility spell on him. This causes both him ...
user37158
1
vote
0
answers
178
views
Best way for a one armed character to wield guns? [closed]
My homebrew gunslinger7/sorcerer7 just got his arm cut off during some shenanigans last session. It was awesome. But he almost exclusively uses a revolver, which doesn't say it requires two hands to ...
- 11
15
votes
4
answers
1k
views
What balance pitfalls result from this house rule modifying the Shield Master feat?
For an upcoming game, I'm weighing Shield Master as a feat selection. The closer I look at it (and recent rulings on it), however, the more lackluster I find it in comparison to other choices like ...
- 8,962
3
votes
0
answers
229
views
What are the balance implications of allowing players to use their action to make a bonus action? [duplicate]
By the rules, according to the sage advice compendium actions and bonus actions are not interchangeable.
I can completely see why you shouldn't be allowed to perform an action as a bonus action, ...
- 6,447
14
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Is it unbalanced to allow a monk with the Tavern Brawler feat to use improvised weapons as monk weapons?
A friend of mine wants to play a variant human monk with the Tavern Brawler feat. He asked me if he could use improvised Weapons as monk weapons.
I personally haven't played a monk, or a character ...
- 305
18
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Are there any balance issues in allowing two half-feats to be taken without the Ability Score Increase instead of a feat?
Some feats such as Actor and Keen Mind provide a single Ability Score increase along with some other benefits. These feats are sometimes called half-feats (and I am using this definition for this ...
- 36.3k
10
votes
4
answers
867
views
Are there any balance drawbacks in ignoring Physical, Social or Mental Limits?
I've been gamemastering Shadowrun 5e since it was published. I have every single book published for the system, a throve of supplements, maps, miniatures, cards, and a bunch of other acessories. I ...
- 16.1k
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Are there any balance-breaking consequences of house-ruling that the Spider Climb spell can be upcast to affect additional creatures?
I have a broader question that is the root of this question. I thought I'd ask what I would think is a relatively simple question and see if the answers can help me answer the broader question.
As ...
- 131
3
votes
1
answer
853
views
Is a house-rule to increase crit range via the Bless spell balanced?
Here's the situation. In the campaign that I am DMing, I have ruled that if a blessed creature (via the Bless spell) gets a total of 20 (or more) on the sum of the d20 and the d4 on an attack roll, ...
- 49
8
votes
3
answers
608
views
Adjusting power of Animate Dead in custom Dark Sun campaign with slower recovery mechanics (24-hour short rest, 1-week long rest)
tl;dr Because of slower recovery mechanics, my Wizard cannot raise or sustain as many undead as a RAW 5E Wizard. What would be a fair alteration to the spell to bring it back inline with the intended ...
- 81
10
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Does this house rule, for determining hit point maximum, make characters weaker than RAW?
Recently my friend had mentioned that he was using a house rule for his players to calculate their hit point maximum, which I am both curious & hesitant to try with my players.
His way of ...
- 505
12
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Is this house-rule removing the increased effect of cantrips at higher character levels balanced?
As a D&D 5e GM and ex-D&D 3.5e GM, I have found that cantrips are too strong:
After a certain level, they deal more damage than some level 1 spells.
You can use them indefinitely.
It makes a ...
- 5,566
5
votes
2
answers
324
views
What balance pitfalls result from this house rule regarding the Incapacitated condition?
For an upcoming campaign I'm considering a set of hacks to give 5e a more visceral sense of danger. One such hack would eliminate the incapacitated condition altogether and use stunned in its place. ...
- 8,962
6
votes
1
answer
335
views
What are the unintended or dangerous consequences of allowing spells that target and damage creatures to also target and damage corpses?
There have been quite a few questions about corpses and creatures, such as here where it is argued a dead creature is still a creature, here where the opposite is argued, and here where resurrecting ...
- 75.6k
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Does allowing the Thunderwave spell to be centred-on but not affecting the caster increase its power level?
The thunderwave spell has the description:
A wave of thunderous force sweeps out from you. Each creature in a 15-foot cube originating from you must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed ...
- 30.6k
11
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Are there serious balance implications to allowing a multiclassed character get the Extra Attack feature directly at level 5?
In my campaign, a player has informed me that they plan to play a multiclassed Barbarian/Monk as their character. I've already informed them of the potential issues that might arise from the (relative)...
- 52.3k
21
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What are the unintended or dangerous consequences of allowing spells that target and damage creatures to also target and damage objects?
Inspired by my previous question, I've begun to feel that life might be easier if I just had every spell be able to target both creatures and objects with attacks, and damage objects as well as ...
- 2,870
1
vote
0
answers
114
views
Would this house-rule about creating shadows from living creatures unbalance CoS? [closed]
I am running Curse of Strahd for my gaming group and am trying to put general shapes on future encounters and occurrences. I thought it would be cool if, when Strahd uses his Lair Action to create a ...
- 21
3
votes
2
answers
606
views
Do Rogues become Tier 3 by removing restrictions on sneak attack?
I enjoy playing Rogues, but they generally have a hard time keeping pace in a 3.5 game and are only Tier 4* per this answer. I've personally found one of the biggest hindrances to Rogues is the absurd ...
- 33.5k
2
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Is the GiffyGlyph's Darker Dungeons set of rules balanced? [closed]
I came across the the GiffyGlyph's Darker Dungeons extension set of rules for D&D 5e and I find them fascinating. I like some of the concepts a lot and the fact you can pick and choose what to ...
- 3,325
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
What happens when you roll a nat 20 on an Animal Handling check? [closed]
My Dragonborn Barbarian has animal handling as part of his skillset, which he used to tame a wolf collected from a goblin camp. Now this wolf has proven to be the unsung MVP of our recent encounters ...
