5E Product Walkthrough Playlist
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  1. #1
    sturtus's Avatar
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    Dungeon Master's Guide options

    Now that the DMG is out, are there any plans to modify the 5e ruleset to enable any of the options in the book? There are quite a few, and I'm hoping to implement a couple in my campaign. Some are very deep changes that I don't intend to use, but wondered where the developers stood with these options. Here's an overview of the ones that would deeply affect the game in FG.

    Ability Options
    Proficiency Dice: instead of a fixed proficiency bonus, you roll a die. So instead of a fixed +2, you’d roll a 1d4.
    Honor and Sanity ability scores. Not really in our game’s theme.
    Fear and Horror (very Call of Cthulhu): characters can become frightened more often naturally. I might ask you all to make Wis saves or become frightened (causes disadvantage). Horror is worse, and it can cause madness.

    Combat Grid
    - Using a grid to track movement, areas of effect, line of sight, and cover. These are very similar to 4e rules.
    - Flanking rules to gain advantage when flanking. These are very similar to 4e combat advantage rules.
    - Tracking the facing of your character and monsters. This affects shields as part of AC for front and the arm they are on and rear attacks get advantage.

    Healing
    - A healer’s kit is required, and a single use is used up, to spend hit dice during short or long rests.
    - Slower healing: not all hp recovered in a long rest, but all hit dice are. You can spend hit dice to regain hp.
    - Gritty Realism rests: a variant where short rests are 8 hours and long rests are 7 days.

    Plot Points
    - players get plot points to create an effect during play. effect examples are plot twists, plot complications, and even the removal of the DM where the game is run by plot points. it’s pretty crazy.

    Combat Options
    - Speed Factor Inititative: adding or subtracting from initiative based on the speed of your weapon or action, the size of the character, etc. In this case, we used to play 2e like this, you have to declare your action at the top, figure out your init modifier based on your action, then roll. If you change your mind and don’t do what you declared at the top, you don’t do anything. Initiative is re-rolled every round.
    - Action Options (I love all of these)
    - Climb Onto Bigger Creature
    - Disarm
    - Mark
    - Overrun
    - Shove Aside
    - Tumble
    - Injuries: If you take a crit or drop to 0 hp, or fail a death save by 5 or more, you roll on the injury table. it’s nasty, but kinda awesome.
    - Massive Damage: if you take more than half your total hp in a single hit, you have to make a DC15 Con save or suffer system shock.

  2. #2
    sturtus's Avatar
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    There's also an excellent option to count diagonal squares similarly to 3.5.

  3. #3

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    LOL, oh no! - not the *diagonal* squares count! I use to run 3.5 games at a game store and I swear to god, I felt I wasted more time correcting players counting diagonal squares than anything else.

  4. #4
    hawkwind's Avatar
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    a few extra options i liked are the lingering wounds "ooops my characters lost an arm", the near miss rule where you can succeed on a near miss but bad stuff happens, players awarding inspiration and best off a firing into cover rule that opens up the prospect of member s of your own party engaged in melee with your bow

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Griogre View Post
    LOL, oh no! - not the *diagonal* squares count! I use to run 3.5 games at a game store and I swear to god, I felt I wasted more time correcting players counting diagonal squares than anything else.
    Oh yes! I have a player in one of my games insisting that I ajudicate the rule using the complex variant that is similar to the one in 3.5. I'm ajudicating it using the simple way, that is, 1 square in any direction is 5 feet. Both ajudications are correct, but I thought it was up to the DM to choose which to implement and enforce for both players and creatures.

    Also, another question. Do you consider two creatures standing next to each other diagonally a hard corner, like a wall, a large tree or terrain?
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  6. #6

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    DM's have final say on the rules they run. Obviously if you have a long standing group getting a consensus on which optional/variant rules they think are fun to use is good input. But DM's are supposed to have fun too - and the realistic diagonal movement rule is not a fun rule for the DM, its a "nag" the player rule that slows things down, IMO. When I played 4E, which also counts 1 square of movement in any direction as 5 feet, I became a fan of this simplification.

    I do not consider two creatures just standing next to each other diagonally to have cover unless there is a wall or some hard cover between them.
    Last edited by Griogre; April 24th, 2015 at 20:26.

  7. #7
    Thanks Griogre for your input. I'll consider taking a poll in the future regarding rules variants.

    Let me clarify my last question from my previous post.

    Two players are standing diagonally from each other. A creature attempts to move diagonally between the two creatures from his occupied space to an open space. Is this allowed?
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    DM: 1e Ruins of Adventure, Curse of the Azure Bonds
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    D&D 1e to 5e adventures converted: Keep on the Borderlands, White Plume Mountain, Tomb of Horrors, Against the Giants, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, Vault of the Drow, Queen of the Demon Web Pits
    Transitioning from D&D to DCC

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  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Baron28 View Post
    Thanks Griogre for your input. I'll consider taking a poll in the future regarding rules variants.

    Let me clarify my last question from my previous post.

    Two players are standing diagonally from each other. A creature attempts to move diagonally between the two creatures from his occupied space to an open space. Is this allowed?
    I can't remember seeing something about it in the rules.
    But i would rule yes, if they are friendly and no, if they are not.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Thegroo View Post
    I can't remember seeing something about it in the rules.
    But i would rule yes, if they are friendly and no, if they are not.
    I would really like to know for sure as I have heard differing points of view on this question from multiple sources. Thanks!
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    D&D 1e to 5e adventures converted: Keep on the Borderlands, White Plume Mountain, Tomb of Horrors, Against the Giants, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, Vault of the Drow, Queen of the Demon Web Pits
    Transitioning from D&D to DCC

    May your dice rolls be ever in your favor.


  10. #10

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    I'd say yes you could move between them, myself. 5E is exception rule based and the only spaces I am aware of a creatures being unable to move into are: a) impassible spaces; b) enemies spaces unless the size difference is 2 or more. Those are not impassible or enemy spaces so you can move through them. Obviously, opportunity attacks would apply if they move far enough to leave the reach of one or both PCs.

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