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We are using the following custom rules for our 5E Campaign

Rests

Short Rests

Short rests are a period of rest of at least 10 minutes length, during which you can recover your wind and limited resources.

At the end of a Short Rest in which you took only light activity (reading, eating, sitting down), and during which you had at least 1 Hit Point, you may roll one or more Hit Dice to recover lost Hit Points.

If you begin a Short Rest on 0 Hit Points then you may regain one Hit Point when it ends provided that it lasts at least 1 hour.

You can benefit from multiple Short Rests between periods of sleep, but their duration increases. So for example your first Short Rest might take 10 minutes, your second 30 minutes, your third an hour, and so forth. In general you cannot gain a benefit of more than 3 Short Rests between periods of sleeping (or trancing).

Long Rests

Long Rests are periods of rest of at least a day's duration, during which you can recover your spells, hit points, and hit dice. A Long Rest requires a place of safety, and sufficient food and water, for example: a secure camp site, an inn in a city, an uninhabited dungeon. You cannot take a Long Rest in an area dangerous enough to require sentry duty. Any period of strenuous activity (fighting, running, etc.) during the course of a Long Rest requires you to start over.

At the end of a Long Rest in which you took only light activity (reading, eating, talking, strolling), and in which you had sufficient food and water, you may roll one or more Hit Dice to recover Hit Points. After you have done so you regain Hit Dice equal to half your maximum Hit Dice, rounded down.

If you begin a Long Rest on 0 Hit Points then you regain one Hit Point when it ends, but may not regain or roll Hit Dice.

Injuries

Whenever you are reduced to 0HP by a critical hit, or receive a hit while at 0HP, make a roll on the Long Term Injury table.

Backgrounds

You may add your Proficiency Bonus to any skill check in which your Background appears relevant, unless you already have proficiency in the skill being used. e.g. A soldier could add their Proficiency Bonus to an Intelligence (History) roll made to recall a famous battle strategy or the name of a commander.

Saving Throws

Add one half your proficiency bonus (rounding down) to each saving throw in which you are not already proficient.

Weapons

Shields

The following rules apply to shields:

  • When you are hit by a melee attack where your shield might have protected you (e.g. you have the shield in hand and could have blocked it) you may declare that the attack misses you instead. Your shield is destroyed.
  • When you are targeted by a directional area of effect (e.g. Dragon breath), and have a ready shield of Medium or larger size, you may use your reaction to hide behind it. You gain advantage on your saving throw against the attack, but your shield takes the damage and may be destroyed. You begin your following turn crouched.

A character with the appropriate proficiency (Blacksmithing, Woodworking, Leatherworking) can repair a destroyed shield using half its cost in materials.

A shield counts as a weapon.

Spears and Javelins

When you collect spears and javelins that you have thrown, roll a d20 for each one, adding your proficiency score. On a 9 or less the spear or javelin has broken. On a fumble the weapon always breaks.

Items

The following additional items exist:

Tower Shield
A tower shield is a very large shield. To wield a Tower Shield you need a Strength of 15 or more. When using a tower shield you have the benefits of partial cover in addition to the normal shield bonuses.

Spells

Force Field Spells

Certain spells create fields of force. These are bound by the following rule:

The force created has a Toughness rating. When the total damage taken by the shield in one round exceeds the Toughness rating, the caster must make a Concentration Check, as if hit by an attack with damage equal to the excess damage. If the check fails the shield is damaged, and its toughness is reduced by 5. This damage will be obvious to all who can see the shield — the shield cracks, wavers, fades, crackles, etc. If the shield has its Toughness reduced to 0, the spell ends.

Optionally a critical hit on the shield that exceeds the Threshold on its own can cause an additional 5 toughness to be lost.

The following spells are covered by this rule:

  • Leomund's Tiny Hut (Toughness: 15)
  • Anti-life Shell (Toughness: 25)
  • Wall of Force (Toughness: 20)
  • Forcecage (Toughness: 25)

Grand Rituals

Certain spells are Grand Rituals. They are far more complex and demanding than normal spells, no mortal mind can encompass them. Casting one is an adventure in itself. Grand Rituals follow these rules:

  • A Grand Ritual can only be cast as a Ritual
  • A Grand Ritual cannot be memorised, it must be cast from a tome containing only the Ritual. These tomes are magic items, a book with 10 pages per level of the Grand Ritual contained inside.
  • Grand Ritual tomes are not generally available, finding the one that contains the spell you need can be an adventure in itself.
  • Once a given tome has been used to cast a Grand Ritual it cannot be used again by that caster. (Usually some other limits will apply, for example the tome cannot be used for 100 years, or on a certain day, or only if stolen from the previous user, etc.)
  • The effects of a Grand Ritual can only be undone by another Grand Ritual.

The following spells are Grand Rituals under this rule (casting times noted in parenthesis):

  • Wish (5 hours)
  • True Resurrection (24 hours)
  • True Polymorph (1 minute)
  • Imprisonment (24 hours)
  • Clone (7 days)
  • Simulacrum (12 hours)

Other Spell Changes

The following spells have changes:

Leomund's Tiny Hut
The outside of the hut can be camouflaged. The caster should make a Stealth check at disadvantage (the hut is large) if he or she camouflages the tent. The result is the DC for any search action or perception check to notice the hut.
Spirit Guardians
The area defined by the spell does not move with the caster, but remains fixed where initially created.

Reincarnate

The following table substitutes for the Druidic reincarnation table.

Roll d100 Race Stats Abilities
1-13 Nymph +2 Cha, +1 Wis Darkvision. Fey Ancestry. Elvish & Sylvan. Swim 30.
Unarmoured AC = 10 + Cha Mod
Nymph's Charm: Friends cantrip. Charm Person 1/long rest at 3rd. Suggestion or Enthrall 1/long rest at 5th. Charisma. If the target is not attracted to females, or is a child, the spell fails.
14-26 Faun +2 Dex Darkvision. Fey Ancestry. Sylvan.

Forest: +1 Wisdom, Druid Cantrip, Natural Camoflage (can hide in natural phenomenon).
Mountain: +1 Strength, Nimble footed (ignore diff terrain), increased spear damage
Plains: +1 Con, double jumping, adv. on Init in plains.
27-39 Satyr +2 Cha, +1 Dex Fey Ancestry. Sylvan.
Panpipes: Vicious mockery cantrip. Entangle 1/long rest at 3rd. Suggestion 1/long rest at 5th. Charisma.
Adv. vs. getting drunk
40-52 Dryad +2 Wis Natural Armour 12+Dex. Forest Blend (Adv. hide in plants). Sylvan. Female.
Tree Stride: Once a turn, you can use 10 feet of your movement to step magically into one living tree within your reach and emerge from a second living tree within 60 feet of the first tree, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the second tree. Both trees must be Large or larger.

Guardian: +1 Con. Increased carrying capacity
Watcher: +1 Dex. Speak to plants
53-64 Genasi +2 Con Primordial.

Air: +1 Dex, Hold Breath. Levitate 1/long rest.
Earth: +1 Str, Nimble footed (ignore diff stone terrain), Pass without Trace 1/long rest
Fire: +1 Int, darkvision, resist fire, produce flame and burnings hands 1/long rest (con)
Water: +1 Wis, resist acid, amphibious, 30ft swim, shape water create water 1/long rest (con).
65-74 Wood Elf +2 Dex, +1 Wis Darkvision. Trance. Keen Senses. Fey Ancestry. Elvish. Move 35. Mask of the Wild (hide in natural phenomena).
75-84 Eladrin +2 Dex, +1 Int or +1 Cha. Darkvision. Trance. Keen Senses. Fey Ancestry. Elvish.
Fey Step (30ft teleport) 1/rest. Seasonal cantrip (choose after each rest) Int or Cha:
Autumn: Friends
Winter: Chill touch
Spring: Minor illusion
Summer: Fire bolt
86-100 Awakened Animal - Darkvision. Natural attack (1d8+Stat bonus, proficient).

Badger: +2 Con, +1 Str. Keen Scent. 10ft Burrow. Claws
Stag: +2 Str, +1 Con. Charge 20ft +2d6 damage, DC13 knock prone. Headbutt
Wolf: +2 Dex, +1 Wis. Keen Scent and Hearing. Pack Tactics 1/rest. Bite
Bear: +2 Str, +1 Con. Keen Smell. Natural Armour 12 + Con Bonus. Claws