BASIC OLD SCHOOL 5e
the plan here is to write a set of rules that bridges the gap between old school gaming (such as b/x) and 5e, with some of my own house rule twists. Something that is fully compatible with 5e, as in you can play through a 5e adventure using only the adjustments in these rules.
ABILITY SCORES:
roll 3d6, in order. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
optional rules (there are a million of these out there...here's 2 that I like that give a little better chance at a character who isn't hopeless, or the ability to play the class you want)
*roll two sets of scores in order as above. Choose 1 set to be your character.
*roll 3d6 6 times in order as above. Replace any 1 score with a 14. This allows at least a 14 in your chosen stat, if for instance you wanted to play a specific class.
SKILLS:
Characters choose 4 skills they are proficient in. Bards choose 2 extra for 6 total.
HIT POINTS:
To facilitate faster, more deadly combats, all monster HP are halved. All PCs use one die lower for the hit dice. (IE Wizards are d4 instead of d6, Rogues are d6 instead of d8, etc)
For truly hardcore, roll character HP at every level up as well as character creation. Optionally you may allow characters max HP at level 1.
DEATH SAVES:
Characters get ONE death save. This happens on their 2nd turn after falling to 0 HP. They add their con bonus to this death save, so the DC of the death save is 10, but a character with a 14 con would get a +2 to their roll. When their turn comes up they do nothing but bleed out. The next time their turn comes up they make the death save. This allows the entire party at least a full round to attempt to help stabilize the fallen character.
If a character drops to 0 hp they get a level of exhaustion until a long rest
STARTING WEAPONS/ARMOR:
Characters start with either leather, hide, or no armor.
They may choose one simple melee weapon or a shortsword
they also get one of the following: shield, sling and stones, or dagger
ACTION ECONOMY:
Characters get a move and action. Either can be replaced with a bonus action (or drinking a potion). The action can be replaced with another move. Weapons may be switched freely. IE you may attack with a sword one turn and a bow the next without expending any moves.
MAGIC ITEM IDENTIFICATION
You can't identify magic items automatically on a short rest, you need to make an arcana check (higher powered item=higher DC)
Common 5
Uncommon 10
Rare 15
Very Rare 20
Legendary 25
MAGIC: casters don't learn new spells automatically...they need to find them on scrolls or spellbooks, and pass an arcana check to be able to learn/copy them. The DC to learn or copy a new spell is equal to 5 + (2x the spell's level).
FLANKING: +2 instead of advantage
OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS: can be avoided by giving up half of your move to withdraw timely and carefully. IE if your move is 30' and you are near creatures who would have an opportunity attack, you can choose to move only up to 15' but no characters can take opportunity attacks on you that turn.
STEALTH: Only roll stealth when it becomes relevant. A character may announce that they are attempting to move stealthily, but you only have them roll at the point that they may be discovered.
AREAS THAT NEED MORE WORK:
ENCUMBRANCE: playing on roll20, turning encumbrance on is the easiest solution and following it. When playing in person, I really think the best system is a LOAD or SLOTS system based on the characters strength score, ala Shadowdark. # of gear slots equals 10 or their strength score, whichever is higher.
Light armor 1 slot, medium 2 slots, heavy 3 slots
DUAL WIELDING: I like the idea of dual wielding being part of the attack action (IE you could move and still dual wield.)
CLASSES AND LEVELING UP: I really want to minimize the complexity of characters as they gain more abilities through leveling up. As such I'd like to prioritize pretty much just 1 new ability at most on level up, and get rid of some of the abilities that are just fluff. It may take a complete rewrite.
the plan here is to write a set of rules that bridges the gap between old school gaming (such as b/x) and 5e, with some of my own house rule twists. Something that is fully compatible with 5e, as in you can play through a 5e adventure using only the adjustments in these rules.
ABILITY SCORES:
roll 3d6, in order. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
optional rules (there are a million of these out there...here's 2 that I like that give a little better chance at a character who isn't hopeless, or the ability to play the class you want)
*roll two sets of scores in order as above. Choose 1 set to be your character.
*roll 3d6 6 times in order as above. Replace any 1 score with a 14. This allows at least a 14 in your chosen stat, if for instance you wanted to play a specific class.
SKILLS:
Characters choose 4 skills they are proficient in. Bards choose 2 extra for 6 total.
HIT POINTS:
To facilitate faster, more deadly combats, all monster HP are halved. All PCs use one die lower for the hit dice. (IE Wizards are d4 instead of d6, Rogues are d6 instead of d8, etc)
For truly hardcore, roll character HP at every level up as well as character creation. Optionally you may allow characters max HP at level 1.
DEATH SAVES:
Characters get ONE death save. This happens on their 2nd turn after falling to 0 HP. They add their con bonus to this death save, so the DC of the death save is 10, but a character with a 14 con would get a +2 to their roll. When their turn comes up they do nothing but bleed out. The next time their turn comes up they make the death save. This allows the entire party at least a full round to attempt to help stabilize the fallen character.
If a character drops to 0 hp they get a level of exhaustion until a long rest
STARTING WEAPONS/ARMOR:
Characters start with either leather, hide, or no armor.
They may choose one simple melee weapon or a shortsword
they also get one of the following: shield, sling and stones, or dagger
ACTION ECONOMY:
Characters get a move and action. Either can be replaced with a bonus action (or drinking a potion). The action can be replaced with another move. Weapons may be switched freely. IE you may attack with a sword one turn and a bow the next without expending any moves.
MAGIC ITEM IDENTIFICATION
You can't identify magic items automatically on a short rest, you need to make an arcana check (higher powered item=higher DC)
Common 5
Uncommon 10
Rare 15
Very Rare 20
Legendary 25
MAGIC: casters don't learn new spells automatically...they need to find them on scrolls or spellbooks, and pass an arcana check to be able to learn/copy them. The DC to learn or copy a new spell is equal to 5 + (2x the spell's level).
FLANKING: +2 instead of advantage
OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS: can be avoided by giving up half of your move to withdraw timely and carefully. IE if your move is 30' and you are near creatures who would have an opportunity attack, you can choose to move only up to 15' but no characters can take opportunity attacks on you that turn.
STEALTH: Only roll stealth when it becomes relevant. A character may announce that they are attempting to move stealthily, but you only have them roll at the point that they may be discovered.
AREAS THAT NEED MORE WORK:
ENCUMBRANCE: playing on roll20, turning encumbrance on is the easiest solution and following it. When playing in person, I really think the best system is a LOAD or SLOTS system based on the characters strength score, ala Shadowdark. # of gear slots equals 10 or their strength score, whichever is higher.
Light armor 1 slot, medium 2 slots, heavy 3 slots
DUAL WIELDING: I like the idea of dual wielding being part of the attack action (IE you could move and still dual wield.)
CLASSES AND LEVELING UP: I really want to minimize the complexity of characters as they gain more abilities through leveling up. As such I'd like to prioritize pretty much just 1 new ability at most on level up, and get rid of some of the abilities that are just fluff. It may take a complete rewrite.
