This page details how I use the 5th edition rules. Comments welcome.

Race and Class options are only allowed from the following books:

• Player's Handbook
• Dungeon Master's Guide
• Monster Manual
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Character creation can be done using any method outlined in the PHB. However, if you choose to roll dice for your characteristics, I expect it to be done in person – primarily so we can laugh when you roll low. (The same rule exists for hit points at levels 2 and above)

• Races: Only races from the Player's Handbook are allowed with the following exceptions and notes:
  • Dragonborn, Tieflings, and Drow (Dark Elves) are highly unusual and will be met with stares and/or hostility everywhere they go.
  • Orcs are allowed as a player race – though they will be met with some suspicion in certain “civilized” towns.
  • Goblins are allowed as a player race – however they are highly unusual and generally hated by everyone.
• Variant Rules: All variant rules in the Player's Handbook are allowed – with the following comments:
  • Equipment Sizes (PHB, p.144): Using armor of a different size is allowed without modification. However, a day of this will incur one level of Exhaustion (PHB, p.291).
  • Some variant rules from the DMG are also used. (Need a list)
• Significant Injury Houserule: Any time a character fails a death saving throw, they acquire one level of Exhaustion (PHB, p.291).
• Unconscious condition: Ignore the last bullet point: “Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature.” Such an attack may or may not be a critical hit based on the normal rules for critical hits.
• Grid-based combat: Combat is almost always done on a square-grid battlemat with miniatures or other tokens.
• Persistent Damage: (see below)
• Wizard enhancements:
  • Wizards can put spells in their spellbook even if they are of a level higher than they can prepare.
  • Wizards can use Ritual Casting to attempt casting spells of a level higher than they can prepare. To do so, they must spend an additional 10 minutes and make a spellcasting ability check (just like for a spell scroll) for each level above their maximum. Any failure results in something bad (TBD).
• Deities: The preferred deities are from the “Fantasy-Historical Pantheons” (PHB, p.297-299) or the Non-Human Deities (PHB, p.296)
  • Celtic – also worshipped in Spindrift
  • Greek – also worshipped in Lowland
  • Egyptian – also worshipped in Backbone
  • Norse – also worshipped in Rota

• Any time a character takes damage, they incur one point of “Persistent Damage” for each die rolled against them.
• This damage is part of (not in addition to) the normal hit point damage they take and needs to be kept track of separately.
• Each point of Persistent Damage reduces the character's maximum hit point total by one.
• If the total of Persistent Damage equals the character's total hit points, they die.
• Magical healing (except for Healing Word) restores one point of Persistent Damage for each die rolled.
• Hit dice rolled after a Short Rest has no effect on Persistent Damage.
• A Long Rest restores ONE point of Persistent Damage.

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