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