this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2023
27 points (100.0% liked)

D&D Next - 5e Discussion

2394 readers
2 users here now

A place to discuss the latest version of Dungeons & Dragons, the fifth edition, known during the playtest as D&D Next.

Join our discord! https://discord.gg/dndnext

-- Rules --

  1. Be Civil. Unacceptable behavior includes name calling, taunting, baiting, flaming, etc. Please respect the opinions of people who play differently than you do.
  2. Use Clear, Concise Titles.
  3. Limit Self-Promotional Links. External links to blogs, kickstarters, storefronts, YouTube channels, etc, must be related to DnD and posted no more than once every 14 days. Affiliate links are never allowed.

This is a new community and the rules are in flux. Please bear with us (and give your feedback!) as we navigate building this new community. Thank you!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
[email protected]
27
What 5e variant/house rules do you play with that work? (feddit.uk)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
77 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I'll be DMing some more 5e soon and I want to take the opportunity to try some different ways of playing (I'll post my own suggestions as comments so they can start their own discussion threads). What alternate rules have you tried that you thought worked well? They can be larger changes to the game or little QoL tweaks (though if you can respond to the suggestion with "at this point just play [different game] instead" then that's probably more than what I'm looking for!)

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I really like the idea of secret death saves, definitely feels like it would up the tension a lot when someone drops

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It really gets everyone scrambling to help, and it makes more sense for PCs not to know. It's one of my favorite changes, and it's so simple, it's really good.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Maybe let them know the results if they use their action to make a medicine check to try and stabilise, though tbh the only time I've seen anyone actually do that is at level 1 when nobody's got magical healing yet!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I've run and played in games with no magical healing, and even in games with healers, I find stabilization checks to be relatively common, especially in parties of 2 or 3 where your healer is typically also your front liner (paladin or cleric) and can go down. I don't tend to tell them the number of successes and failures, but I do tell them whether they succeeded or failed in stabilizing and how close their teammate is to death. Something like "while you fail to stop the bleeding, her injuries don't seem life-threatening yet" or "he's still alive, but every breath he draws grows weaker, and you fear the next may be his last". I prefer to stick to natural language when I can.