UnearthedArcana:VariantRules Forthismonth’sUnearthedArcana,we’re showingoffafewvariantrulesthatyoucanuse inyourcampaigns.Afewoftheseoptionsshould lookfamiliartoplayersofearliereditionsofthe D&Dgame,assomehavebeenpresentedas variantsinthoseprioreditions. RulesVariant:Players MakeAllRolls Thisvarianthastheplayersrolldiceforallparts ofcombat,includingsuchthingsasmonster attackrollsandsavingthrows.Bymovingdie rollstotheplayers’sideofthetable,thisoption keepsthingssimplerforyouastheDM.In addition,themoreactiveyoucankeepthe playersinyourgame,themoreengagedthey’ll be. Thisisagoodoptionifyourplayerslikerolling thedice,andifyoudon’tminddoingalittlework upfronttomakethathappen. AttackingandDefending Theplayersrolltheircharacters’attacksas normal,butyoudon’trollfortheiropponents. Instead,whenacharacteristargetedbyan attack,theplayermakesadefenseroll. Adefenserollhasabonusequaltothe character’sAC −10.TheDCfortherollequals theattacker’sattackbonus+11. Onasuccessfuldefenseroll,theattackmisses becauseitwasdodged,absorbedbythe character’sarmor,andsoon.Ifacharacterfailsa defenseroll,theattackhits. Iftheattackerwouldnormallyhaveadvantage ontheattackroll,youinsteadapply disadvantagetothedefenseroll,andviceversaif theattackerwouldhavedisadvantage. Ifthedefenserollcomesupasa1onthed20, thentheattackisacriticalhit.Iftheattacker wouldnormallyscoreacriticalhitonarollof19 or20,thentheattackisacriticalhitona1or2, andsoforthforbroadercriticalranges. ©2015 Wizards of the Coast LLC SavingThrows Whenacharacterforcesanopponenttomakea savingthrow,thatplayerinsteadmakesasaving throwcheck.Thebonustothed20rollfora savingthrowcheckequalstheeffect’ssaveDC − 8. TheDCforthischeckequals11+thetarget’s savingthrowmodifier.Onasuccessfulcheck,the characterovercomesthetarget’sresistanceand treatsthetargetasifitfaileditssavingthrow. Onafailedcheck,thetargetistreatedasifit succeededonitssave. Aswithattacks,thesavingthrowcheckhas advantageifthetargetwouldhavedisadvantage onitssavingthrow,andviceversa. ContestsandChecks WheneveranNPCormonsterwouldnormally makeanabilitycheck,rollinitiative,ortakepart inacontest,neitheryounortheplayersrollthe d20.Instead,usetherulesforpassivechecksto determinetheresult.Seechapter7,“Using AbilityScores,”ofthePlayer’sHandbookfor moreinformationonpassivechecks. OptionalRule:Vitality SomeDMsfindhitpointsbothersome.Afighter cansurviveafireball,atroll’srendingclaws,and aone‐hundred‐footfall,onlytocrumpleina heapduetoakobold’sdaggerslash.This optionalrulemorerealisticallyreflectsthewear andtearacharactersuffersfromwounds. Eachcharacterhasapoolofvitalityinaddition tohitpoints.Acharacter’smaximumvitality equalsthecharacter’sConstitutionscore. Wheneveracharactertakes10ormoredamage fromanattackoreffect,thecharacterloses vitality.Dividethedamageby10andround down.Theresultishowmuchvitalitya characterloses.Inotherwords,acharacterloses 1vitalityforevery10pointsofdamagedealtby anattackoreffect. 1 Ifacharactersuffersacriticalhit,doublethe vitalitylost,sothatthecharacterloses2vitality forevery10pointsofdamage.Ifacriticalhit dealslessthan10damage,itstillreducesvitality by1. Losingvitalitycausesacharacter’shitpoint maximumtodrop.Calculatethecharacter’s currentmaximumusingvitalityinsteadof Constitution.Thus,asvitalitydrops,a character’sConstitutionmodifierfor determininghitpointsalsodrops. Acharacterreducedto0vitalityis immediatelyreducedto0hitpoints.Ifa characterisreducedto0hitpointsbuthisorher vitalityremainsabove0,anyadditionaldamage isappliedinsteadtothecharacter’svitality.A characterisnotunconsciousuntilbothhitpoints andvitalityreach0. Completingalongrestincreasesacharacter’s vitalityby1+thecharacter’sConstitution modifier,uptothecharacter’smaximumvitality. Effectsthatrestorehitpointshavenoeffecton vitality.However,acharacterwithmaximumhit pointswhoreceiveshealinginsteadrestores1 vitalityforevery10pointsofhealing. RulesVariant:Custom Alignments Alignmentservesasahandylabelforthegeneral attitudesofcharactersandmonstersalike.It worksasasortingmechanism,providingabig‐ pictureassessmentofwhichcreatures,factions, andNPCsmakenaturalalliesorenemies. Thestandardalignmentsystemembracesthe fundamentalpointsoftensioninD&D:the strugglebetweengoodandevilontheonehand, andtheconflictbetweenlawandchaosonthe other.Thenicethingaboutthisarrangementis thatitallowsfortensionevenwithinagood‐ alignedparty.Thelaw–chaosdividemeansthat characterscanstilldisagreeonhowtopromote goodintheworld. Alignmentismeanttoserveonlyasaquick summaryofacharacter,notarigiddefinition. It’sastartingpoint,butelementssuchasflaws andbondspaintamuchmoredetailedpictureof acharacter’sidentity. ©2015 Wizards of the Coast LLC Youmightfindthatthealignmentchoicesof goodandevil,lawandchaosaretooabstractfor yourcampaign.Youmightpreferattitudesthat aremorenuanced,withouttheimplicit demarcationofheroesasgood‐alignedcreatures andvillainsasevil‐alignedones.Asimple solutionistodiscardalignmentinfavorofan alternativesystemthatbringsthekeyconflicts inyourcampaigntotheforefront. IdentifytheConflict.Thinkaboutthe importantopposingforcesinyourcampaignby askingthefollowingquestions.Canyouplace themonoppositeendsofacontinuum?Are theremultipleconflicts?Whatarethekey conflicts,andhowdoalltheseparateconflicts interact? Foryourownalignmentsystem,trytocreate atleasttwopaths,oneofwhichallowsarangeof optionsfortheplayercharacters.Theother pathscandividetheworldbetweenthe characters(includingtheirallies)andtheir enemies. Forexample,imagineacampaignsetting whereanecologicalcrisisengineeredbyacabal ofnecromancersthreatenstotransformthe worldintoadeadwasteland.Formingone alignmentpatharetheopposingforcesoflife anddeath.Likethechoiceofgoodorevil,this conflictdefinesthesetting,andyouwould expectmostplayercharacterstobealignedto lifeoratleastneutralwithrespecttotheir supportforthenecromancers’plans. Thesecondconflictpathmightbepreservation versusdestruction.Peoplewhohavegatheredto protectthelandmightdisagreeonwhetherto attackanddestroythenecromancers,ortowork insteadatstrengtheningthenaturalorderso thatnoteventhenecromancers’powercan overwhelmit. MultipleChoices.Forgrittiergamesthatavoid obviousclassificationsofgoodversusbad,you mightcreatealignmentpathswithmorethan twochoices.Inagamethatfocusesonintrigue andpowerstruggles,forexample,alignment mightbeaquickreferenceforwhichfactionsa charactersupports.Oneelementofacharacter’s alignmentmightindicatehisorheraffiliation withanoblehouseorguild.Asecondelement couldcalloutwhichdeityorpantheonthe characteristiedto. 2 NeutralAlignment.Whencreatingyour alignmentsystem,thinkabouttheroleof neutrality,anddecidewhetherthere’sa midpointforanyalignmentpath.Neutral creaturesmightchoosetositoutastruggle(asis oftenthecaseingoodversusevil)orsee strengthsinbothapproaches(asinlawversus chaos).Theroleofthischoiceinyourcampaign shouldmakesenseintermsofyourcentral conflict. ©2015 Wizards of the Coast LLC 3
© Copyright 2024