Campaign Compendium

<div class='cover-header'>Campaign Compendium</div>

<div class='cover-footer'>Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition</div>

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# Campaign Compendium

##### A player guide
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##### Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
## [Character Creation . . .4](#part-i)
##### Race, Background & Class . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
##### Progressive Ability Scores . . . . . . . . . . . .7
## [Combat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8](#part-ii) 
##### On Death's Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
##### Big Bad Vodoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
## [Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . .11](#part-iii) 
##### Initiative Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
## [Inspiration . . . . . . . . . . 13](#part-iv) 
##### Fate Tokens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
## [Rules Reference . . . .  . . 15](#part-v) 
##### Variant Rules from the PHB & DMG  . . . 16

*This compendium is a work in progress. If you have any interesting material that could suit this project, feel free to notify me.*

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All copyrights reserved for WotC and various artists.

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# Unravel the Mystery of Kalevala.
W *elcome to the dark and gritty atmosphere that is Kalevala. Grab a friend by the hand and take over the world, discover secrets about your past or take a relaxing stroll by the sea - You are in charge of your own destiny as long as you're alive.*

*Queen Kiara's hymn echoes in your mind:*

*"The past and the present now enemies are.*

*No way of telling for how long or how far.*

*The present is fighting for the truth.*

*The past yet grasping the youth.*

*One force the other will overcome.*

*Or will they crash simply one by one.*

*The universe is shifting for the new era is here.*

*The past we can forget, embrace the new year.*

*Or is it something we all should fear?*

*Do not feel scared to shed a tear."*

#### What Happened?
All you can remember is distant voices, fleeting memories and hazy images of your past.

#### Who Are You?
You have a vague recollection of a name and profession but you have no deeper understanding of who you are.

#### What will you do?
You will have to forge your own destiny, there is no telling where your path in life may lead you.

*Just remember - all actions have consequences.*

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### GM's Notes
Kalevala is a campaign that is quite dark and gritty but it isn't a horror story. As players you can expect to start off weak and worn and only through hard work and dedication may you rise above. In short, hit points is a valuable commodity and you shouldn't expect to be able to win every fight by rushing in head first.

The level of fantasy and technology varies greatly between various areas - as does the difficulty. However, there are also plenty of weird and wonderous boons and rewards to find in this mysterious plane of existence.

On their journey Character's may die or suffer other horrible afflictions which may or may not be irrevocable but the campaign isn't designed to be a meat-grinder. Death and other horrible consequences may be the results of characters picking a fight above their capability, ignoring warning signs or walking blindly into a hostile atmosphere.

Furthermore, this campaign features a high level of home-brew and openness in terms of role playing D&D. If your first reaction to reading this is to worry then it's probably not for you.

#### Continued Reading

**As a player, all you really need to read to get started is character creation.** In the following pages of this compendium you will find various rules and alteration of rules that has been adopted for this campaign as well as a guide to character creation. Thereby, this compendium offers you an insight into my philosophy as a GM as well as a illustration of how the campaign plays at the table.

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# PART I
##### Character Creation

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# Be Who You Want To Be

C *reate a character that is tailored to your tastes. If you wish, you are offered the ability to let your wildest imagination come true in this Campaign-setting. Creativity and freedom isn't for everyone, however, so you may choose to either create a character using published WotC Classes or create anything you can think. In the latter case you and the GM will have to work together to determine the details but you as a player are in control of the theme.*

##  Blue Pill or Red Pill

**In this Campaign all characters use the same rules as depicted in this section for Race, Background and Ability Scores.** For Class, however, you may choose to take the blue or the red pill. After you have made your choice there is no going back. Either you use classes from the PHB (multi-classing included) or you create your own using the Freebird format as depict later in this section.

*This your last chance. After this there is no turning back. You take the blue pill, the story ends. You go back to the PHB and pick whatever generic class you want to. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember, all I'm offering is freedom. Nothing more.*

### Race and Background
These two things determine who your character is, to help alleviate how some options may be mathematically more attractive then others, however, the racial and background based bonuses have been leveled.

No matter what background or race you pick you gain the following benefits and nothing else from your background:

- Proficiency in one skill.
- Proficiency in one language (on top of common).
- Proficiency with a tool, kit, instrument or game.
- Any major racial feat or two minor ones.
- Any background feature.

### Freebird D&D (Classless)
Following this variant you remove all class-based level progressions except the proficiency bonus. To visualize how this system works in tandem with standard rules, just think of it as a more dynamic version of the multi-class system.

#### First Level
For their first level players create a theme which is equipped with a certain skill set. A Barbarian is a classic example of one such theme but there is no limits to whatever you might create. Your imagination is the only limit to what character you may create. Your GM should help you balance your character but *never* deny any idea without explaining how you may do what you want with your idea. It's not up to the GM to determine what is and isn't allowed, it is up to the GM to make it so that the wish of the player is balanced.

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##### Example 
This dialogue is an example of what character creation may look like. In this example the GM is very dominant in suggesting the possible feats but if a player is comfortable coming up with suggestions of their own that is even better! The whole point of a classless system is to allow the players to create virtually any character they like.

[Anne] My character's attributes are 6 14 12 7 10 6. I went with high Dexterity because I want to play a sharpshooter.

[GM] Great, that's easy, she gets the fighting style "Archery" which grants her a bonus to ranged attack rolls.

*For a first level character this is a bit sub-par, so we keep going.*

[GM] Does your sniper have any specialties?

[Anne] Yes, she shoot really far!

[GM] Ok, you're character is also granted the "Sharpshooter" feat, this lets her shoot really far and with great precision.

*Anne's character now pretty close to a fighter with variant human, she just need a bit of flavor.*

[GM] Outside of combat, what has shaped your character's past?

[Anne] She turned her back on civilization and spent time in forests learning how to create and utilize simple poison.

[GM] Ok, sounds interesting! Then she also gets proficiency with a poisoner's kit and she can use it given she has access to simple materials to coat arrows with poison during a long rest. She gains the ability to: ***Coat Arrows.*** Once per long rest you can coat [dex modifier] arrows with poison causing them to deal a bonus damage of 1d4 poison damage on a successful attack. The coated poison wears off once you take another long rest.

*Go with the flow, there are no dead ends!*

*Now all that is left to do for Anne's character is to determine minor traits like proficiencies, languages and Hit die. Maybe attach some forager trait too since she has lived in forests. Martial weapons, Medium armors, common language and d10 sounds reasonable but it's all up to you to decide together.*

**Remember**, the goal is that all of you have a good time. Always try to find solutions rather that problems. If a player wants to be a poison sprouting flying snake, find a way for that to be possible instead of saying no. Who knows what insane creations may come up, let your imagination fly!

#### Prerequisite and Balance

This system is designed to be very loose, your flavor and imagination is what dictates the specifics - not any detailed rule. When gaining new abilities, however, try to stick somewhat close to general power/level as in 5e PHB. Whatever players gain, each level should be free of hard restraints. The power-level of progression, however, should be considered and balanced to ensure that any player's character isn't a living god while others are useless.

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##### Two Pillars of Progress
There are two pillars which determine how good a character is at something.
- Ability Scores
- Existing skill set

This system leaves a crazy amount of responsibility on the GM, but, it also allows for some amazing opportunity of storytelling. If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of freedom, remember that attributes and existing skill set is key in determining how you may progress - then balance accordingly.

For instance - if a character wants crazy melee (str) based combat abilities, then of course they should need a lot of strength and possibly a few prior feats/skills/proficiencies which are based on melee combat. When gaining levels, try to use D&D 5E official material as inspiration for your feat/skill as doing so will make create a smoother and more convenient experience for everyone. If what you're trying to do isn't possible within the normal spells, feats, skills etc. then find a way to craft something with your GM - preferably with official material as framework.

##### Prerequisite suggestions
| Attribute  | Trait family |
|:---|:-----------|
|  Str  | Melee (str), Throw, Carry, Large weapons |
|  Dex  | Speed, Ranged attacks, Subterfuge, Small weapons |
|  Con  | Resistance, Endurance, Recovery |
|  Int  | Raw damage spells, Illusions, Slyness |
|  Wis  | Knowledge, Restorative, Sanity, Warding |
|  Cha  | Persuasion, Charm, Bolster |

#### Level Two and Beyond  (Yes! This is crazy!)

If you do need to reshape a skill/feat or create a new one, try to think of it as cooking and the attributes are your ingredients. If possible, stick to maximum two ingredients per feat, more than that can become over-saturated. Most feats are definable within those parameters and you can easily learn how to alter or create new ones using the same philosophy.

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##### Example level two: 
So let's say that a 18 Str 6 Wis fighter wants to get into healing arts. Remember, as a GM you can't say NO. Instead, you find out how you can make it happen. The player should be fully aware of that the fact that the character has a very low Wis score however, and should expect a very weak and limited ability to heal. Nonetheless, the player is free to do so if he/she wants to, though the reward will be significantly weaker than for a Str based feat (since the character has a Str score of 18).

Once the GM has made sure that the player is aware of the situation, the GM and the player negotiates a reasonable reward to the player's request. Remember to consider attributes and existing skill-set when doing so. A reasonable feat for this would be for the GM to grant the fighter some low-level heal with a few uses per long rest or perhaps something along the lines of lay on hands. Whenever you're leveling you should consider all D&D material as potential sources you can draw inspiration and rule-set from, there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

[GM] How did you acquire restorative power's, given that you're trained as a fighter?

[Pedro] My character was blessed by a spirit in his sleep, she said it will help him in challenges to come.

[GM] FUCK THAT PEDRO! Just kidding, cool! *deception roll*

[GM] Ok, so how about a scaled down version of the paladin's lay on hands, it sounds like it's in sync with your idea of the skill.

[Pedro] Sure!

[GM] Ok so you're granted the ability to heal 2HP per level instead of the 5HP a paladin would be able to, simply because of your awfully low Wisdom score (since wisdom is tied to the restorative family). Given that you are trained in battle, however, you may also use it as a reaction if you or an ally within 5 ft. gets damaged, healing immediately after the damage is received. We can call it "Combat Heal" unless you have a better idea.

[Pedro] I like it.

[GM] Great! You may also roll a d10 for this level's Hit Dice

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# Progressive Ability Scores
These rules offer a deeper alternative to the custom ability score as described on p. 13 in the PHB. In this build characters start off weaker to put more emphasis progress. This emulates a steadier growth of ability scores like in games such as Skyrim or Dark Souls.

## 25 points to spend
This variant to the point buy system is better suited for campaigns where you want to experience the whole journey from being a weak novice to rising up as a hero. As such, the variant starts off sparingly and attribute points should later on be rewarded as the character's progress. Every GM can tailor the amount of points to suit their campaign.

#### Base Ability Scores
All ability scores start off at 6, which equals a modifier of negative two.

#### Progression is Key
This system is built for steady progression. The GM should hand out more points to spend at a steady pace. How you do this is up to every GM, one route is awarding 2-8 points as a reward for major quests and a standard of 4 points per level.

##### Example
| Level  | Points rewarded |
|:---:|:-----------|
|  1  | 25 |
|  2-20  | 4|

For quests; points are best suited for major story arches such as defeating a dragon, discovering a font of power or perhaps as a reward from a powerful ruler. Sometimes, however, smaller quests may qualify as well if they are relevant for the story.

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#### Progressive Cost
The higher the attribute score, the costlier it is to progress even further.

##### Ability Score Progressive Cost

| Interval  | Cost per attribute |
|:---:|:-----------|
|  7-10  | 1 |
|  11-14  | 2 |
|  15-17  | 3 |
|  18-20  | 4 |

##### Ability Score Total Point Cost

| Score  | Cost |
|:---:|:-----------:|
|  7  | 1 |
|  8  | 2 |
|  9  | 3 |
|  10 | 4 |
|  11  | 6 |
|  12  | 8 |
|  13  | 10 |

| Score  | Cost |
|:---:|:-----------:|
|  14  | 12 |
|  15  | 15 |
|  16  | 18 |
|  17  | 21 |
|  18 | 25 |
|  19  | 29 |
|  20 | 33 |

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##### Example Level 1
| Attribute  | Base | Chosen | Cost |
|:---|:-----------:|:-----------:|:-----------:|
|  Strength      | 6 | 14 | 12 |
|  Dexterity     | 6 | 9 | 3 |
|  Constitution  | 6 | 10 | 4 |
|  Intelligence  | 6 | 8 | 2 |
|  Wisdom        | 6 | 10 | 4 |
|  Charisma      | 6 | 6 | 0 |
|  Total:        |   |   | 25 |

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# PART II
##### Combat

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# On Death's Door

This alternative rule replaces the *unconscious* condition which is triggered from dropping to 0 hit points. Instead, characters make one last stand and gains the condition *On Death's Door*. This variant rule allows players to continue controlling their characters while at 0 hit points but they run a great risk doing so, and they still roll for death saving throws!

The standard rules as described on page 197-198 in the PHB still apply unless stated otherwise.
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### Dropping to 0 Hit Points
If a you drop to 0 hit points and isn't killed outright, you enter the *On Death's Door* condition.
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#### Instant death
Unchanged, use the standard rules as descibed in the PHB.

#### Falling Unconscious
This rule has been removed, instead players who drop to 0 hit points gain the *On Death's Door* condition.

#### Condition: On Death's Door

- Being at 0 hit points doesn't cause you to fall unconscious.
- You cannot maintain concentration.
- The condition ends if the you gain at least one hit point.
- You *gain* three temporary levels of exhaustion while the condition persists.
- Death saving throws are *not* affected by the disadvantage imposed from exhaustion.

***Fight.*** At the cost of a death saving throw you may attempt an ability check, use an item, take the attack action, casts a spell or use a bonus action.

***Flight.*** A creature affected by this condition is able to move and take the *dash*, *disengage* and *dodge* actions without having to make a death saving throw.

##### Exhaustion

| Level |   Effect 											|
|:---:	| :-------------									|
|    1     | Disadvantage on ability checks			 		|
| 2 	| Speed halved 										|
| 3 	| Disadvantage on attack rolls  and saving throws 	|
| 4 	| Hit point maximum halved 							|
| 5 	| Speed reduced to 0 								|
| 6 	|Death 												|

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#### Death Saving Throws
Unchanged, use the standard rules as descibed in the PHB.

#### Stabilizing a Creature
The best way to save a creature with 0 hit points is to heal it. If healing is unavailable, the creature can at least be stabilized so that it isn't killed by a failed death saving throw.

You can use your action to administer first aid to a creature *on death's door* and attempt to stabilize it, which requires a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check.

A **stable** creature gains 1 hit point.

#### Hard Core
Using this variant, players gain one level of exhaustion once they recover from the on death's door condition. This means that a character will die instantly if they already have three levels of exhaustion when they are reduced to 0 hit points.

The levels of exhaustion represent a character being mortally wounded from being brought back from 0 hit points. The design of this mechanic is aimed to make death feel more real than playing a game o 0 hp whack-a-mole.

To make this mechanic more flexible a GM might allow for players to recover two levels of exhaustion from a long rest instead of one if they succeed on a DC15 Constitution saving throw.

#### Monsters and Death
Most DMs have a monster die the instant it drops to 0 hit points, rather than having it gain the *On Death's Door* condition and make death saving throws.

Mighty villains and special nonplayer characters are common exceptions; the DM might have them follow the same rules as player characters.

### Knocking a Creature Out
When a melee attack would normally cause a monster to die you may instead choose to knock them unconscious for 1d4 hours.

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# Big Bad Vodoo
A bite from a dragon or a ten foot long ballista bolt might occasionally cause a character to lose more than half of their hit points in one turn. If you want to make big bad monsters even scarier, then say no more! These alternative rules build off the Massive Damage ruleset from the DMG p. 273.

### Massive Damage
This optional rule makes it easier for a creature to be felled by massive damage. When a creature takes damage equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum during one turn without being reduced to 0 hit points must attempt a **DC 15 Constitution saving throw**. A creature who fails suffer a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock table.

For example, a creature that has a hit point maximum of 30 must make that Constitution save if it takes 15 damage or more in one turn.

##### System Shock Table
| d4 | Effect |
|:----:|:-------------|
| 1 | Frightened |
| 2 | Blinded |
| 3 |Deafened |
| 4 | Prone|

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##### The Natural 20: Battle Frenzy

Succesfully escaping system shock table by rolling a natural 20 on the Con Save triggers a state of Battle Frenzy:

**No Pain No Gain** – 
The pain triggered a rush of adrenaline which fills your veins with ferocity, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice your level plus your constitution modifier (minimum 1). The temporary hit points gained this way lasts up to 1 hour.

##### Natural 1: Staggering Blow.
A critical failure on the constitution save makes the character unable to take bonus actions or reactions until the effect ends in addition to the system shock table effect.

#### Duration
Most GM's want to rule that the system shock condition ends after the players next turn. If a GM wants to enforce an even harsher variant he or she may instead have the players repeat the DC 15 Constitution save at the end of their turn until they succeed or an ally helps them.

***Help.*** A player may help another character to recover early. As an action they may administer remedy by attempting a  **DC 15 Medicine (Wis)** ability to end the condition.

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# PART III
##### Initiative
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# Initiative Deck
Instead of determining where you go in combat using die, you can create more dynamic combat by using a deck. This is a fun and easy way to make combat more interesting. Most importantly, it speeds up the initiative segment of combat a lot while players also get to keep rolling for initiative. Everybody wins.

## Setup
To get started you need only a few things:
- Standard size playing cards.
- Plastic sleeves of the same size.
- Pen & Paper

##### Roll For Initiative
In this variant rule, turn order isn't determined by a die, but the initiative score remains - *you still roll for initiative!*

The standard initiative roll is replaced with a with a variable DC check. Players who pass the initiative check gains advantage to their first attack during the first round of combat. The DC is determined by the difficulty of the initial combat situation.

| Difficulty | DC |
|:---|:-----------|
|  Easy - *A Walk in the park.* | 5 |
|  Medium - *Work Work!*  | 10 |
|  Hard - *Getting Serious...* | 15 |
|  Very Hard - *Oh Shit!*  | 20 |
|  Insane - *Dear God Help Us.*  | 25 |

*There was much rejoicing.*

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#### Creating Your Initiative Deck

All you need to do is to sleeve one card per player and one card per monster. If you use group initiative for all monsters of the same type you only need one card per monster group. You might also want to sleeve a couple of generic monster cards for random encounters.

Now, insert a piece of paper with the character or monster name inside the sleeve on the face-up side of the card. The DM can now collect all cards and put them behind the DM-screen. How much information you add to the note is up to you, AC or resistances for instance might be handy to add.
 
**The next level.**
But wait, there is more! The DM can also use this system to mark conditions or triggers as a reminder, all that is needed is a wet-marker. Since the cards are sleeved the wet-marker comes off easily with the swipe of a finger if the note is no longer relevant.

#### Using Your Initiative Deck

Once all monsters and players have a card representing their creature you have a created a little **initiative deck**. Once combat initates simply shuffle the deck (face down) so that a random initiative order is established.

Draw the top card from the pile and declare it as the **active player** (or monster) but also declare what card is now showing on the top of the deck, this gives the players information about the next turn too. When a player or monster has taken its turn you put their card in the **discard pile** face down. 
 
 Continue drawing cards until the deck is empty, at which point you shuffle the deck again and simply repeat the process, starting a new combat round.

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# PART IV
##### Inspiration
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# Fate Tokens
Fate can be a cruel mistress in a d20 oriented world. The system we all know and love is based on chance, and that's part of it's charm! Sometimes, however, a clutch moment might deserve a slightly bigger chance of success than another. This system gives the players a chance to alter fate in their favor by using **Fate tokens**.

## Getting Started
These rules replace the standard rules for inspiration with a token system. Once players finish a long rest the may take a number of tokens from the based on their proficiency bonus.

All you need is a set of poker chips, if the colors are different feel free to change or remove tokens as needed.

#### Gaining Fate Tokens
A player may purchase tokens for a total value equal to their proficiency bonus once they finish a long rest. Players may not save up tokens, once a long rest is finished, they must return tokens until their total value of tokens does not exceed their proficiency bonus.

#### Using Fate Tokens

Every fate token grants a unique ability which the players may consume at will as a free action.

A player has to declare that they consume the token *before* any relevant roll has been made. For example; a player cannot roll for a attack, notice that it missed the target and then retroactively consume a green mana token to gain advantage.

*When a token is consumed a rush of energy flows through the character's veins, emitting a feint glow of the tokens color around the character.*
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#### The Long Rest
The Fate Token rules work in addition to the standard rules for resting.

**Long Rest:** Fate tokens are replenished. To receive this bonus you may must finish the rest without any major incidents or ailments.

#### Using this in your Campaign

The fate token mechanic does two things, it rewards long rests and it gives players a unique chance to influence their character more. A long rest isn't always possible, it should be a nice relief after a long and weary journey.

These rules are best aimed for a despair themed or gritty campaign where being out on the road is truly dangerous and resources are scarce.

##### Fate Token Table

| Token | Cost | Ability |
|:----:|:----|:----|
|  Ruby (Power)   | 2 | Before you roll for damage, you may spend this token to gain the possibility to re-roll any damage or healing die associated with this attack or spell. |
|  Sapphire (Awareness)  | 2 | Before you roll for a saving throw you may spend this token to gain advantage on the roll. |
|  Emerald (Focus)   | 1 | Before you roll for any attack roll using a d20, you may spend this token to gain advantage on the roll. |
|  Diamond (Skill)   | 1 | Before you roll for any skill check you may spend this token to gain advantage on the roll. |
|  Obsidian (Fate)   | 1 | You as a player may attempt to bend reality, you may spend this token as a Plot Point (DMG 269) A player may never have more than one of these at the time. The result of the effect varies greatly, the risk increases with the reward. |
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# PART V
##### Rules Reference

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# Variant Rules from the PHB & DMG
These optional rules are adopted for this campaign with little to no alteration as presented in the PHB & DMG. Listed in order of page number and book, starting with the PHB.

### Equipment Sizes (PHB 145)

A common sense optional rule that basically says that armor and clothing that fits one character won’t necessarily fit someone else. Yes, I can’t believe this is a variant rule rather than a default assumption, but there you go. What this means in practice is that if you kill a 7’5″ bugbear and steal his full plate armor, you're going to need to employ a smith to do some considerable work resizing it for your dwarven paladin.

### Multiclassing (PHB 163)

Multi classing is allowed but the GM has a final say if a specific combination is especially difficult to pull off. In such cases a quest of a specific requirement must be met before multi-classing.

### Feats (PHB 165)

Feats are fun and flavorful. Players may take any feat from the list instead of ASI with some exceptions.

***Alteration:*** Lucky feat is banned. Feats that gives a player a bonus to an ability score no longer does that. Talk to your GM if you want a specific feat that isn't covered by the list.

### Opportunity Attacks (PHB 165)

RAW any creature may take an AoO once a creature leaves it reach without taking the disengage action or is under a similar effect which denies AoO. These rules are simple enough to pickup and use but after some years with them I find them lacking. The one problem I have with this system is that a creature can run in circles around another creature without provoking attacks which doesn't make any sense to me. Therefore, I also allow creatures to take an attack of opportunity if a creature moves around in your space.

***Alteration:*** If a creature of medium size or smaller move 5 ft. or more around you while adjacent to you it triggers an Attack of Opportunity. If a large or larger sized creature does this it only triggers an AoO if it moves 10 ft. or more directly adjacent to you. The standard rules still apply in addition to these rules, this just expands the criteria for allowing an attack of opportunity.

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### Advantage and Disadvantage (PHB 173)

RAW you either have it or you don't, there is no progressiveness in this rule. Personally I like depth and I also find it strange that for instance double advantage is canceled by a single disadvantage. I don't like this static rule too much so I'm inclined to alter it somewhat to allow more depth.

***Alteration:*** Advantage and Disadvantage only cancel each other out on a 1-1 basis. To determine the final outcome consider each instance of advantage as (+1) and each instance of Disadvantage as (-1). Two instances of Advantage, therefore, isn't canceled out by one instance of disadvantage, instead 2-1=1 (advantage).

Additionally, you may go beyond advantage if you have multiple effects that grants you advantage. This doesn't cause you to roll more dice, however, instead you add (+1) to the result. The same is true for disadvantage except you would add (-1) to the roll instead for each instance of disadvantage beyond the first.

### Resting (PHB 186)
Because this is a rule-set aimed for a dark and gritty setting the total number of rests a character can gain benefits from is limited to a total of three rests per 24 hours.

### Ability Checks PHB (174-179)

As a whole these rules are quite wide and very open for interpretation as to how exactly they would work in any given Campaign. I like the openness of these rules but I have found a couple of things that I wish to adjust over the years.

***Alteration:*** You may only assist someone with an ability check if both of you are proficient in a specific skill.

Additionally, you as players have **Instinct.** After you see the result *of an ability check that you are proficient in* you may choose to use your passive score instead. This is called using your instinct and you may do so a maximum number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest. This feature does not work if the initial result was a natural 1.

### Planar Effects (DMG 50-66)

The Dungeon Master’s Guide introduces a number optional effects to bedevil player characters when they visit other planes of existence. These are (take a deep breath): Feywild Magic, Shadowfell Despair, Psychic Dissonance, Blessed Beneficence, Pervasive Goodwill, Overwhelming Joy, Hunter’s Paradise, Beast Transformation, Immortal Wrath, Power of the Mind, Mad Winds, Abyssal Corruption, Prison Plane, Vile Transformation, Cruel Hindrance, Pervasive Evil, Blood Lust, Law of Averages, Imposing Order, and Planar Vitality.

So if the player characters happen to go on a jaunt to the Outer Planes, these are the rules I’ll be referring to in the first instance. Of course, some planes may not be covered by the DMG examples and some planar effect may be altered to better suit a specific campaign.

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### Training to Gain Levels (DMG 131)

As an optional downtime rule, the DM can insist that characters spend time and gold in order to go from one experience level to another. On the whole, I don't like this. I prefer the conceit that characters simply get better by the experience of adventuring.

That said, if a character decides to multi-class into an area that he has no previous experience – a fighter chooses to become a warlock, for example – then I’d find it very hard to wave my hand and say that it’s something that simply happens on the fly. I think I’d view it as a role-playing opportunity – the fighter needs to gain an eldritch patron to power his new warlock abilities.

***Alteration:*** So I won’t be using this rule, BUT, the story of the campaign trumps the mechanics. If a level gain can easily be explained away within the campaign narrative, then that’s fine and dandy. If it can’t, then we need to pause and assess how a character received these new abilities.

How did Quentin the Surprising Erudite (barbarian level 8) pick up a level of wizard during a spelunking expedition on the Rock of Bral? There’s a story there, and it’s always fun to tell stories.

### More Difficult Magic Item Identification (DMG 136)

Under the normal rules you can identify any magic item by handling it and experimenting with it over the course of a short rest. By the end of the short rest, you know all these is to know about the item. I think that’s a bit dull. Magic items are, after all, supposed to be unique items of power in 5th edition.

Therefore you'll need to cast the Identify spell, or embark on some serious empirical research, to learn all there is to learn about a magic item. Some may give up their secrets easily, others may not.

### Mixing Potions (DMG 140)

These rules are fun and chaotic so I intend to use them. Quaff a second potion while still under the effect of a first, or mix potions together and consume the results . . . and something unexpected may happen. Maybe one of the potions will become permanent, maybe you'll poison yourself, maybe you'll explode! The dice will decide.

While I intend to use the concept - the option that makes potions permanent will only be used in very specific situations.

### Scroll Mishaps (DMG 140)
Under this variant rule, if you have to make a roll to use a scroll (probably because the spell on it is too high a level for you) and you fail that roll then you have more to worry about that the spell not going off. You need to make a saving throw or a mishap occurs – this mishap might be annoying, debilitating or deadly. It’s a random die roll.

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### Spell Scrolls (DMG 200)
Where is the fun in not being able to cast spell scrolls outside of your class? Doing so always comes at the risk of a mishap anyway so personally I'm inclined to say - go nuts! Let there be scrolls!

***Alteration:*** Anyone may attempt to use a Spell Scroll. To cast a spell scrolls you may use your spellcasting ability modifier or Arcana (Int). A character who doesn't have spell casting attempts the ability check at disadvantage.

If you know the spell you can cast it without an ability check. If you have spellcasting but do not know the spell, follow the rules depicted in the Spell Scroll Table.

### Flanking (DMG 251)

I have always been a sucker for tactical and strategic options. Flanking as the variant rule describes it grants both players who are flanking a creature advantage on their attack rolls. Advantage on average is equivalent to a +5 bonus on the d20. Personally, I have always felt like this is too big of a boon for ganging up on someone, and would probably do more harm to the players than good when they are up against a horde of small creatures. On a quest to find a sweet spot for strategic flanking I have adopted this rule with a slight alteration.

***Alteration:*** Any creature that would be easier to hit by facing multiple enemies at once will receive -1 to AC per attacker beyond the first one.

### Fear and Horror (DMG 266)

In certain situations your character may see things so vile, or be so overwhelmed by the futility of their predicament that the rules for Fear or Horror come into play. If circumstances call for it (perhaps you're faced with overwhelming odds, or a foe you know you can’t beat) then the DM could call for Wisdom saving throw: fail it and you gain the Frightened condition. Horror calls for a Charisma saving throw. Fail that and you could gain a Madness (q.v.).

I like the rules for Fear and Horror. They are not intrusive, and only need to be wheeled out in specific circumstances. DMs running Ravenloft would certainly use them more, but I see a place for them in most D&D campaigns.

***Alteration.*** There’s just one problem I have with this variant, and it is that under these rules no one can heal naturally without a healer’s kit. That seems a bit harsh, so I'm going to modify the variant slightly.

If a character attempts to heal without using a healer's kit they may still do so but the result is limited and usually worse than with a kit. Character's may spend *one* hit die to restore hit points without the healer's kit but doing so downgrades the size of the die one step.

For example: Boblawlaw the barbarian wants to spend one hit die without a healer's kit. He rolls a d10 instead of a d12 but is still able to restore some hit points.

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### Healer’s Kit Dependency (DMG 266)

A character cannot expend hit dice to recover hit points at the end of a short rest until someone expends the use of a healer’s kit. This represents bandaging the wound and applying alchemical salves to the damage. Only one use of the kit is expended regardless of how many hit dice the character chooses to spend. I like this variant. It explains how hit dice work in the context of the game world. There’s a degree of verisimilitude that the normal rules lack. And it gives the healer’s kit a beefier role in the game. I like that too. 
 
If a character runs out of hit dice to spend then a healer’s kit can be of no more use to him. This also makes sense to me, because presumably you can only benefit from so much medical attention. Yes, I like this variant a lot. It will take much to persuade me not to use it.

To be clear, I should point out that this variant doesn't affect the Fighter’s ‘second wind’ ability in any way. That works as printed and doesn't require the use of a healer’s kit. Magical healing from spells and potions also works without using a healer’s kit.

### Slow Natural Healing (DMG 267)
The general rules allow PCs to regain all of their hit points at the end of a long rest. Regardless of how wounded they are, eight hours of sleep or playing tiddly-winks is all it takes to knit all wounds and be as good as ever they were. There are types of campaign where this Wolverine-level healing factor is a necessity, but my campaign isn't going to be one of those.

As a DM I would like (on occasion) to put the PCs in a situation where hit points become a valuable commodity. PCs who are wounded and can’t heal just by sitting around become desperate and creative. It’s not something I would want to overdo, but it’s a cool narrative tool in the DM's arsenal that I don't wish to discard. Then we have the issue of verisimilitude. If the PCs are humans, and the PCs can heal all their wounds over night, does that mean that all humans are possessed of such miraculous powers? Why are there doctors, or healers or hedge witches? The world begins to break down. I can’t get my head around it.

So, in this variant PCs don't heal any hit points overnight at all. The only way they can heal themselves is by spending their hit dice during a short or a long rest. As in the standard rules, PCs have a maximum number of hit dice equal to their level and half their hit dice maximum is recovered after each long rest.

### Plot Points (DMG 269)

These rules take the idea of co-operative storytelling to a new level. Up to once per session, each player can spend a plot point to offer up an event to be incorporated into the session that the other players and the DM must accept as true. This could literally be anything – such as the arrival of a long lost cousin, discovery of a secret door, acquiring a new mission from a patron. A game like this could be a lot of fun. But it needs to be a special sort of game, with the right group of players. It’s not for everyone.

***Alteration.*** Only option 1 and 2 are adopted, the third one is too crazy for my tastes. When using option 1 or two, however, the result is not always positive! Simply use a variable DC instead to determine whether the outcome is positive or negative.

*Alternatively; to determine the outcome the player rolls three d20s and the median value depicts what will happen. This system is taken from *Tavern Tales*. The median value determines whether the result is a good, neutral or a bad tale. The GM will determine the bracket based upon how ground breaking the plot point is to the story. Big reward = big risk and vice versa. For example, the GM might say that a neutral tale is within 12-18 for something that is really hard. If the median is below 12, then it's a bad tale and the GM will get to narrate what the consequence of the plot point is. If it's a good tale (19 or 20 for this example) then the player gets to describe what happens instead.*

### Action Options (DMG 271-272)
Only the rules explicitly written in this section is adopted. A rule that is not presented in this section is therefore not adopted at all.

***Climb onto a bigger creature.*** Are adopted with a slight clarification to what adjudicates a general climb onto roll. For normal circumstances the DC will vary on the creature which is the target. The DC will be a Athletics (Str) or Acrobatics (Dex) skill check.

Failing such an attempt triggers an Attack of Opportunity if the creature has a reaction to spend. The automatic critical strike remains, which is this features most interesting trait.

***Disarm.*** Adopted as written.

***Overrun.*** Adopted as written.

***Shove Aside.*** Adopted as written.

***Tumble.*** Adopted as written.

***Cleave through creatures.*** Adopted with some alteration. Attempting such a "cleave" is tougher (and different) than a normal strike. As such, you may declare that you are attempting a cleave but doing so enforces disadvantage on your attack roll.

Additionally, if the group is OK with piercing weapons piercing through creatures players may also pierce in a 10ft line using piercing weapons with the reach property such as a Pike.

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### Hitting Cover (DMG 272)

Cover is granted by any substantial object placed between you and your attacker. The bigger the cover, the larger the bonus you get to your armor class. Half cover gives you a +2 bonus, and three-quarters cover a +5 bonus. If you have total cover you cannot be targeted with an attack. Cover is one of the few elements in fifth edition that grants a specific numerical bonus rather than simply conferring advantage. If you are attacked when you have cover, there is a greater chance of the attack missing. This optional rule asks how did the attack miss.

Neville the swashbuckler is fighting an orc in mêlée combat. Feckless Dave the ranger is trying to shoot the same orc with his longbow. Neville and the orc are battling in such a way that Neville is providing half-cover to the orc. The orc is usually armor class 13, but thanks to Neville, it is actually armor class 15 against Dave's attack. Dave attacks and hits armor class 14 with his attack roll. He has missed the orc. But the roll would have been good enough to hit the orc had it not been for the cover, so the attack must have hit the cover instead. The DM now compares the Dave's attack roll with Neville's armor class. If the roll is good enough to hit Neville then he gets an arrow in the back. If it’s not good enough then it still struck Neville, but didn't do him any damage.

Rules for hitting allies when firing into mêlée are always fun.

### Spell Points (DMG 288)

So how does this work? In the default rules all characters know a certain number of spell slots of each level per day, and use those slots to cast any spell that they have prepared. For example, a fifth level wizard has four 1st level spell slots, three 2nd level spell slots, and two 3rd level spell slots. He spends a spell slot to cast a spell of the same level. The spell point system replaces spell slots with a pool of spell points. A spell costs between 2 and 13 spell points to cast depending on its level: 2 for a 1st level spells, 3 for a second, and 5 for a third. A fifth level wizard using the spell point system has 27 spell points in his pool. This allows the character to cap off the same number of spells per day – [(4×2)+(3×3)+(2×5)=27] – but obviously with much greater versatility. A wizard using the spell point system could cast up to thirteen 1st level spells in a day.

There is a benefit to using the default system over spell points, but not until level nineteen. Under the standard rules wizards pick up a second 6th level spell slot at level nineteen, and a second 7th level spell slot at level twenty. A caster using the spell-point rules can never cast more than one spell from each of the four highest spell levels (6, 7, 8 and 9) per day regardless of how many spell points they have. But considering how likely it is that a character ever reaches nineteenth level, this seems much of balancing factor. The ability to cast significantly more lower level spells (many of which are quite potent) seems too good an option to ignore.

So spell points make spellcasters, as a whole, more versatile and more powerful. *If any given spellcaster wants to use spell points instead, that's perfectly fine by me.* However, I honestly think that the original system works fine and it's much simpler to use.

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# Credits

### Combat
Cover art copyright [Zenimax](https://www.zenimaxonline.com/ "Go there") from the elder scrolls online.

### On Death's Door
Credits to [cheatisnotdead](https://www.reddit.com/user/cheatisnotdead "Go there")  on reddit for a truly amazing concept and brilliant execution.

Art Credit: Unknown. If you know the artist, please contact me!

### Character Creation
Beautiful cover art by [vladgheneli](https://vladgheneli.deviantart.com/ "Go there") at DeviantArt.

###  Big Bad Vodoo

Vuk Kostic (aka Chevsy on DeviantArt) for absolutely stunning artwork.

### Initiative
Beautiful cover art by [onestepart](https://onestepart.deviantart.com/ "Go there") at DeviantArt.

### Inspiration
Beautiful cover art by [Isdira](https://isdira.deviantart.com/art/Divine-Blessing-414277848 "Go there") at DeviantArt.

### Progressive Ability Scores

[FUNKYMONKEY1945](https://vladgheneli.deviantart.com/art/Eric-Excercise-634714804 "Go there") at DeviantArt.

### General Notes and Ideas

[Iourn](https://iourn.wordpress.com/ "Go there") at The Walk Between Worlds.

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If you have any interesting material that could suit this project, feel free to share it.
 
 Contact: [kyllebylle](https://www.reddit.com/user/kyllebylle/ "Hello there, almost didn't see you") at reddit 
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