House Rules

This is the list of our customized house rules and optional rules that will be implemented for our games.

Ability Damage
Bloodied
Cover
Critical Hits
Critical Hit and Fail Effects
Flanking
Identifying Spells in Combat
Potions
Quickened Spell
Spell Scroll Mishap

Ability Damage

Damage that subtracts from your ability scores. Damaged ability scores are restored to their normal value after a long rest. If the damage brings an ability score to 0, the character will suffer the following status effects:

Dexterity – Character becomes paralyzed
Constitution – Character dies
All other stats – Character falls unconscious

Bloodied

A bloodied creature is at or below half its maximum Hit Points.

Cover (PHB 196)

(Note: This has always been in the basic rules. We’re just going to be more consistent about using it.)

Walls, trees, creatures, and other obstacles can provide cover during combat, making a target more difficult to harm. A target can benefit from cover only when an attack or other effect originates on the opposite side of the cover.

There are three degrees of cover:

Half Cover – Bonus +2 to AC and Dexterity Saving Throws.
Three-Quarters Cover – Bonus +5 to AC and Dexterity Saving Throws.
Total Cover – Cannot be targeted directly by an attack or spell, though some spells may still reach the target by including it in an area of effect.

Critical Hits

Rolling a 1 on a d20 is always an automatic fail. Rolling a 20 on a d20 is always an automatic success. This applies to Ability Checks, Saves, and Attack Rolls.

Critical Hit and Fail Effects

When a character or a creature rolls a 1 or a 20 on an attack roll, we will roll for additional effects or damage from the attack. Effects may include additional damage, status conditions, ability damage (see above) or other special effects. The DM will roll for these effects.

Flanking (DMG 251)

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, and each of them has advantage on melee attack rolls against 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.

Identifying Spells in Combat

If a spell being cast is in your class’ spell list, you can automatically recognize and identify it.

Potions

Drinking a potion uses a bonus action. Class abilities which provide this benefit instead use no action to drink the first potion in a turn. Helping another character drink a potion still requires a full action.

Quickened Spell

A sorcerer who uses Quickened Spell to cast may circumvent the “one spell per turn” rule for spellcasting. When using Quickened Spell on a spell with a level, the sorcerer may still use their action to cast another leveled spell.

Spell Scroll Mishap (DMG 140)

A creature who tries and fails to cast a spell from a spell scroll must make a DC 10 Intelligence saving throw. If the saving throw fails, roll on the Scroll Mishap table found in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.