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YOU ARE DEAD (or Hardcore/AD&D for D&D 5e House Rules)

Collected rules for my 5e game. To keep the game feeling like sword and sorcery (and challenging the whole campaign), the following AD&D-inspired rules will be in play. Everyone starts at level 0 as a nobody. Character stats and races are determined randomly via a character funnel. Though there is no restriction on class, your […]

what does magic smell like?

In my current Clash of the Titans campaign one of the characters picked up a mutation that allowed his character to smell magic. I ended using the following table to simulate this: Magic Generally – Ozone. Evocation – Coriander. Conjuration – Black pepper. Transmutation – Earthy smell. Abjuration – Freshly Baked Bread Divinition – Chocolate. Enchantment […]

Energy/Level Drain for 5e

I have always liked the idea of level drain as a representation of terror/horror as the given monster actually scares the PC. I never liked the fact you could be de-leveled back to level 1 – though I never saw this happening back in 1e days, PCs were just too careful when dealing with level-draining […]

Bonfire for D&D

My 5e games are fairly lethal – no resurrection magic of any kind, hit points capped at level 10 but monsters not modified and only 1 action a turn. My son calls them “the Dark Souls of D&D campaigns”. The only way my PCs get a rez is if they escape (or are saved) from […]

Maleficence (Magical Calamity Table)

Decided to consolidate the magical calamity table for the sorcerer into 1 table. D16 for doubles, d24 for triples and d30 for quadruples. die Effect 1 Stop: Absolutely nothing happens (time stops for 1d4 rounds, 100 ft radius, the sorcerer is not affected but otherwise the standard time stop rules apply). 2 For the next minute, you can […]

Maleficence (Magical Calamity Table)

Stolen for my 5e game from a few sources, main one being sorcery is a sword without a hilt. These are the triple roll disasters for sorcerers. Maleficence Your spell effect targets adjacent target instead (harms next nearest person, alters wrong thing, creates related but not identical item). Teleport 1d6x10′ in a random direction. A random […]

Hedge Wizard/Wise Woman

I quite liked the idea of component based magic from sorcery is a sword without a hilt. Here is a 5e version specifically built as a self-taught wizard type. This only works if you use slot based encumbrance – which I do. Rise Up Comus is worth a read and I don’t do it justice […]

Old School XP Progression for D&D 5e

For my PCs reference. Archetype Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Martial – Thief Rogue 0 1,200 2,400 4,800 9,600 19,200 38,400 76,800 153,600 230,400 345,600 483,840 677,376 948,326 1,043,159 1,147,475 1,262,222 1,388,445 1,527,289 1,680,018 Martial – Fighter Fighter, Ranger, […]

Identify (House Rule)

5e identify makes identifying magic items too easy, 1e/2e is too hard and I feel its onerus for both me, as the DM, and the PCs. So my goal with this to not have it as onerous as 1e, etc, but not so easy as 5e and, as the DM, not track anything: Automatically know […]

BECMI Warmachine

So I have tried various systems for mass combat over the years with D&D and most recently used the system from Strongholds and Followers which is innovative but we found it too slow and disjointed from the PCs actions. My PCs actually preferred to be directly in command of the units or fight on the […]