Here's the list of house rules that deviate from the general rules in the Player's Handbook. None of these are set in stone—I reserve the right to change them if things aren't working well.
- We're not going to worry about weight limits or encumbrance for how much you can carry, as long as it is within reasonable limits. Using video game logic, your characters are able to carry about how much you could hold in a big hiking/camping pack—but without them actually carrying a big hiking/camping pack.
- As long as the party is around “civilization”, you can assume that you have stocked up on any consumable resources (e.g., rations, oil, arrows) that are written down in your inventory. Approximately every in-world week the party will pay 5 gp each, which represents this upkeep. If you want to buy something new (something not on your character sheet), this still needs to be handled separately at a shop. And if you are preparing for a longer journey away from civilization (i.e., more than a week), you will need to prepare for this accordingly, and we will start tracking consumable resources.
- Note that magical ammunition (e.g., a +1 arrow) releases its spell upon hitting a target. So, it is treated as non-consumable until it hits a target—it must be kept track of separately, and if it misses, you must take the time to retrieve it if you want it back.
- If you are a spellcaster and have either (a) a component pouch or (b) a spellcasting focus appropriate to your class, then we will assume you have the material components needed to cast your spells. However, any spell components that have a monetary value listed beside them are not included in this; if the spell requires a “diamond worth at least 500 gp”, you need to have that in your inventory. More exotic materials may be hard to find.
- Drinking a potion of healing only requires a bonus action (not an action); however, administering a potion to someone who is unconscious requires a full action.
- If an ally is unconscious at 0 hit points, you can use your action to make a DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check to administer first aid. A successful check counts as one success on their death saving throws. If you are proficient with the herbalism kit and currently have a kit, you may use it to gain advantage on the check.
- When you use the Ready action to ready a spell that will be released on a trigger, you cast the spell at that time (using a spell slot) and hold its energy. If the trigger does not occur before the start of your next turn, then on your turn you may choose to use that held energy to redirect it elsewhere, releasing the spell as if you had just cast it. Alternately, you may choose to continue to hold the energy, and use the Ready action again to keep it held; you may choose a new trigger if you wish. All other aspects noted in the Player's Handbook about using the Ready action to ready a spell (pg. 193) apply.
- Inspiration will be awarded by the DM for good roleplaying, which will add a token into a “group pool”
- The group pool can have a number of tokens up to the number of players; this total will roll over from session to session
- Anyone can use an inspiration token from the pool on their turn, with a limit of one per turn
- Inspiration will let you reroll a d20 roll and take the higher value—you can decide to use it after you see what you rolled initially (but before the consequences of that roll play out)
- A spell scroll allows you to cast a spell without using a spell slot, or providing any material components. If the spell is on your class's spell list, reading the scroll will succeed. If the spell is on your class's spell list but of a higher level than you can normally cast, or is not on your class's spell list, you must make an ability check using your class's spellcasting ability to determine if you cast it successfully. The DC equals 10 + the spell's level. If your class has no ability to cast spells, you must make an Intelligence (Arcana) check, with a DC equal to 12 + the spell's level. On a failed check, the spell disappears from the scroll with no other effect.
- A wizard can copy a spell on a spell scroll just as they can with spells in spellbooks. To do so, the spell must be a spell that is on the wizard spell list. If the spell on a spell scroll or in a spellbook is of a higher level than what you can normally cast, you may still copy it into your spellbook, but you will not be able to cast it until you have spell slots of that level.