Combat

Readied Actions as Written

Not a house rule, but a departure from how I've run games in the past. Readied actions will be run as written, meaning that you can now hold your action only, not a bonus action or movement, extra attack doesn't work with a readied action, and readying spells is much riskier. In summary, when you ready a spell, you expend the spell slot and hold the spell at the ready. Doing so uses your concentration. If the trigger never occurs, you lose concentration or use your reaction on something else, you lose the spell.

Delaying Your Turn

When initiative is rolled or when you would start your turn, you can choose to alter what you rolled for initiative to better coordinate with your allies. Your new initiative can be any number lower than your current initiative. If your new initiative ties with another creature, it is resolved as normal.

Two-Weapon Fighting

Once per turn when you make an attack with a light weapon, you may make an additional attack with a different light weapon you are also holding. You don't add your ability score to the damage roll of this extra attack. This does not stack with the claw feature of the beast barbarian. You can also use two-weapon fighting with ranged weapons as well as melee.

New Fighting Style: Versatile Weapons

This fighting style is available to all classes that receive a fighting style. You are skilled at using versatile weapons to their fullest potential. Once per turn, when you miss a melee weapon attack on your turn while wielding a versatile weapon with which you are proficient in two hands, you can repeat the attack roll against the same target using one hand. Any modifications to the original attack roll, such as advantage, disadvantage, or without your proficiency bonus, also affect this attack roll.  

New fighting style: Fencing

Whilst you are holding a one handed melee weapon in one hand and nothing in your other hand, you gain a +2 to AC and a +2 to damage rolls.  

Leaping

Under normal rules, jumping uses up your movement, meaning that even if you have a much farther jump distance than your movement, you can't make use of it in combat, ending your turn mid-jump. With this new rule, jumping costs movement as usual with one exception. On your turn, instead of taking your movement as normal, you can instead choose to spend all of your movement to leap. When you do so, you can move up to 10 feet in a straight line and perform a high or long jump, ending your movement at the end of the jump. If you don't (or can't) move 10 feet in a line, your jumping distance is halved as normal. For example, Jeff the barbarian has 20 str, 30 feet of movement, and has the jump spell, meaning he has a long jump of 60 feet. If he chooses to leap, he can move 10 feet forward and long jump, travelling 60 feet, for a total distance moved of 70 feet on his turn, albeit at the cost of being unable to move in anything but a straight line.   Any effect that reduces one's speed has the same effect on one's jumping distance. For example, if Jeff was hit by a ray of frost spell, he'd only be able to jump 50 feet, or if he lept from difficult terrain, he'd only be able to jump 25 feet due to being able to get solid purchase on the ground.  

Additional Combat Options

Give Ground

When you are hit with a melee weapon attack and are holding a melee weapon, you can use a reaction to roll a d4 + your proficiency bonus and subtract the result from the damage taken. When you reduce damage in this way, you must move 5 feet to an unoccupied space that is not difficult terrain. The creature that attacked you can then also move 5 feet towards you. You cannot take this reaction if you cannot move to such a space or if your opponent cannot follow you.  

Gain Ground

When facing an opponent, you can attempt to drive them back and gain the upper hand. Once on your turn, when you hit a creature no more than one size larger than you with a melee weapon attack, you can attempt to drive them back. The target must make a strength or dexterity saving throw(their choice), with advantage if you are below half hp. The DC is equal to 8 + your proficiency + your strength or dexterity modifier. On a failure, the target takes 1d4 plus your proficiency bonus points of additional damage and must move 5 feet into an unoccupied space that is not difficult terrain if they can. You must then also move 5 feet towards your opponent using your movement speed. You cannot attempt to gain ground if you cannot move at least 5 feet.

Cleave

When a melee weapon attack reduces an undamaged creature to 0 hit points, any excess damage from that attack might carry over to another creature nearby. The attacker targets another creature within reach and, if the original attack roll can hit it, applies any remaining damage to it. If that creature was undamaged and is likewise reduced to 0 hit points, repeat this process, carrying over the remaining damage until there are no valid targets, or until the damage carried over fails to reduce an undamaged creature to 0 hit points.  

Disarm

A creature can use a weapon attack to knock a weapon or another item from a target’s grasp. The attacker makes an attack roll contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) check or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the attacker wins the contest, the attack causes no damage or other ill effect, but the defender drops the item. The attacker has disadvantage on its attack roll if the target is holding the item with two or more hands. The target has advantage on its ability check if it is larger than the attacking creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller.  

Use environment

A good fighter excels at using the environment around them to their advantage to help deal with their assailants. A cut of a rope to drop a chandelier, tipping a pot of boiling soup over, pushing a pillar over to crush some foes, or kicking up nearby sand to throw in their opponent's face. When using a nearby piece of the environment for such a use, you can spend an action to push, pull, cut, or knock over or otherwise use the environment to debilitate a foe or foes. Depending on the circumstances, the DM may call for some kind of check in order to perform the maneuver. If you succeed, an effect occurs determined by the DM that is similar to a spell or magical effect. The nature of the effect is based on your proficiency bonus and the severity of the effect.

• Very minor effects are for environmental objects that merely annoy or slightly injure, rather than being potentially lethal, such as throwing flour at someone's eyes, or rolling a cannonball under their feet to trip them. These will be in line with cantrips in terms of power.
• Minor effects are for small environmental objects that could still pose a threat to someone caught unawares, like knocking a brazier into someone and setting them alight, or a pot of hot soup poured over one's head, or slamming a heavy door onto a creature's head. These effects are equivalent in power to a spell of a level equal to your proficiency bonus minus 1.
• Moderate effects are for environmental objects that pose a real threat to life. Medium sized objects typically create these effects, such as a heavy statue being pushed onto a creature. These effects are equal in power to a spell of a level equal to your proficiency bonus.
• Severe effects are for environmental effects that no normal person could be expected to survive. A chandelier falling from a ceiling. A cannon being pushed off a ledge onto someone. Destroying a central pillar to collapse a ceiling onto a room of enemies. These effects are equal in power to a spell of a level equal to your proficiency bonus plus 1.

If the effect calls for a saving throw, its DC is equal to 8 plus your proficiency bonus plus your strength or dexterity. If you have multiattack or extra attack, you may replace one of your attacks with a Use Environment action. You may do this no more than once per turn.    

Fighting in precarious places

Pirates routinely find themselves fighting from odd locations, such as atop a sail, in a crow's nest, dangling from rigging or swinging from ropes. Such places are precarious, and falling to a watery doom is a constant threat. The DM determines what makes a combat situation precarious. Creatures in such situations can only move at half their speed. When a creature in a precarious position takes damage, they must make an acrobatics or athletics check, depending on whether its positioning relies on its balance (acrobatics) or grip strength(athletics) to stay steady. The DC is equal to 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is higher. On a failure, the creature falls and lands prone. Environmental circumstances such as heavy wind may affect the DC. The creature also falls if they are forcibly moved away from what they are balancing on or holding on to or if an effect knocks them prone.   Whilst risky, fighting from such a vantage point fills a fighter with vigour and confidence, as well as giving them the upper hand in a fight. Whilst fighting from a precarious position, a creature can add an additional amount of damage to their melee weapon attacks equal to their proficiency bonus.   A creature that falls from a precarious position can use a reaction to grab onto something and save itself, provided it is within its reach. Examples of something to grab onto include the position one just fell from, the ship's rigging, a small piece of rock jutting out from a canyon wall, etc. A creature that saves itself in this way is still considered to be in a precarious position, and has disadvantage on weapon attacks, and cannot attack with two-handed weapons or cast spells that require somatic components. Creatures that target a dangling creature have advantage in attack rolls. A dangling creature can use half its movement to pull itself to safety if there is a place to pull itself to.  

Changes to Classes

 

Alternate Ability Scores

Certain classes and subclasses may scale off of alternate ability scores at the players' discretion.

• Warlocks can substitute intelligence for abilities that use charisma.
• Aberrant Mind Sorcerers can substitute intelligence for abilities that use charisma.
• Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monks can substitute charisma for abilities that use wisdom.
• Way of the Cobalt Soul Monks can substitute intelligence for abilities that use wisdom.

Barbarian

A battlerager barbarian gains proficiency in heavy armour at 3rd level, and can still keep the benefits of rage whilst wearing it. Heavy armour versions of spiked armour are available. The damage from grappling a creature changes from 3 to the barbarian's strength modifier, and occurs again at the start of the barbarian's turns if the target is still grappled.   When the berserker barbarian enters a frenzy, they gain an additional weapon attack as part of their action, instead of using a bonus action. Also at 3rd level, when a berserker barbarian enters a rage, they ignore the effects of exhaustion for the duration.   A storm herald barbarian's Storm Aura no longer takes a bonus action on subsequent turns to activate, instead the effect simply happens at the end of each of the barbarian's turns whilst raging.

Druid

A circle of spores druid's symbiotic entity ability now takes a bonus action to activate and doesn't end when the temporary hit points it grants are lost.

Fighter

Indomitable now allows the fighter to automatically pass a saving throw, rather than rerolling it.   An Echo Knight's summoned echo can only move across solid surfaces unless the echo knight has a fly speed themselves.

Sorcerer

Every sorcerer subclass has a new feature that gives them additional spells known to keep them in line with newer subclasses. Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11ElJBKSfJbHSyOOt5BpFRl2MFGZhFTD3/view?usp=sharing   When building a sorcerer, a player can choose to use the spell points system from the DMG. When they do so, they no longer have sorcery points, instead gaining additional spell points equal to how many sorcery points you would have.  

Warlock

Pact of the blade allows you to use charisma for attack and damage rolls.   Hex warrior no longer gives charisma to attack and damage rolls.  

Changes to Feats

Shield Master

The user of the feat can add their shield's AC bonus to all dex saves, not just dex saves that only target them.

Heavy Armour Master

The damage reduction applies to magical damage as well.

Fighting Initiate

Fighting Initiate is now a half feat, allowing you to add +1 to your dexterity or strength ability scores.

Dual Wielder

The dual wielder feat now gives you the following additional abilities:

• When you would make a weapon attack as a reaction whilst two-weapon fighting, you can make an attack with each weapon you are holding.
• Any spell or effect that normally targets one weapon (e.g the magic weapon spell, the bloodhunter's crimson rite) can target both weapons you are holding.

Martial Adept

Martial adept now gives a number of superiority dice equal to your proficiency bonus. Whenever you gain a level, you can replace one of the manoeuvres you know with a different one.

Grappler

Pinning a creature does not restrain you.

Poisoner

The DC for any poison you make is equal to 8+pb+your Intelligence or Wisdom (your choice when you select this feat).  

New Feat: Brawling Mastery

You have mastered the art of unarmed brawling, able to throw your opponents around. You gain the following benefits:

• Your damage die for your unarmed strikes and natural weapons increases by one step (from 1 to d4, d4 to d6, d6 to d8, or d8 to d10).
• When you successfully shove a creature, you can either move it 10 feet or 5 feet back and knock it prone.
• Your speed isn’t halved by carrying a grappled creature who is the same size category as you or smaller.
• Once on each of your turns, when you hit a creature with an unarmed strike or a weapon wielded in one hand on your turn, you can make an additional unarmed strike against the same target without the aid of your proficiency bonus (no action required).

 

New Feat: Defensive Dual Wielder

You have mastered fighting with two weapons, using a smaller weapon for parrying and defence and a larger one for offence. You gain the following benefits:

• You can use two-weapon fighting whilst wielding a light melee weapon and a one-handed melee weapon.
• You gain a +2 to AC when wielding a light melee weapon in one hand and a one-handed melee weapon in your other hand.
• When you are hit with a melee attack and are wielding a light weapon, you can attempt to parry it, reducing the damage. Roll the weapon's damage die and add it to your AC (roll twice and add together if your light weapon is a dagger). If this causes the attack to miss, you still take half the damage, and you may make an attack against that creature with another weapon you are holding as part of the reaction.
• You can draw or stow two one-handed weapons when you would normally be able to draw or stow only one.

New Feat: Versatile Weapons Master

You have mastered fighting with versatile weapons, adept at changing your fighting style at a moment's notice. You gain the following benefits.

• Once per turn, when you miss with a melee weapon attack on your turn while wielding a versatile weapon with which you are proficient in one hand, you can attempt to shove or trip that creature. Any modifications to the original attack roll, such as advantage, disadvantage, or without your proficiency bonus, also affect this ability check.
• Once per turn, when you make an attack roll while wielding a weapon in one hand, the target is wielding a shield, and your other hand is empty, you can use your other hand to pull down the shield (no action required). If you do so, the creature gains no benefit to armour class from its shield for that attack.
• Before you make a melee weapon attack while wielding a versatile weapon in two hands, you can choose to forgo your proficiency bonus. If the attack hits, you add one and a half times your proficiency bonus to the attack’s damage.
• Before you make a melee weapon attack while wielding a versatile weapon in one hand, you can choose to forgo your proficiency bonus. If the attack hits, you add your proficiency bonus to the attack’s damage.

New Feat: Explosives Master

You are a master of using explosives to destroy your enemies. You gain the following benefits:

• When an explosive calls for a saving throw, you can make the DC equal to 8 + your dexterity modifier + your proficiency bonus.
• When a bomb deals damage, you can add your dexterity to the damage roll.
• Your bomb's effects deal double damage to objects and structures.

 

New Feat: Wildshape Weapons

Prerequisite: The wildshape class feature or the Shapechange Spell   Through training and dedication, you have taught yourself to be deadly with any weapon regardless of your form. When you adopt a new form via wildshape or shapechange into a creature of Small size or larger, you can have the new form wield a weapon you are holding. If you are proficient with the weapon, the new form is also proficient. If the new form lacks hands, it holds the weapon in a mouth, claw, tail or similar appendage. Doing so counts as wielding the weapon in a single hand for the purposes of combat.   When you do so, you can replace one of the creature's natural attacks with said weapon. The natural weapon replaced is the one that is holding the weapon (i.e if you transform into a wolf and hold a longsword in your mouth, the sword replaces the wolf's bite attack).   If the creature is Large size or larger, the weapon's size increases in proportion to the new form. The weapon deals double the damage dice when the form is Large size, triple if it is huge, and quadruple if it is gargantuan. The extra dice only apply to the weapon's base damage and not any additional damage granted from class features, spells, feats etc.  

Changes to spells

• Barkskin no longer requires concentration and lasts 8 hours.
• Stoneskin no longer requires concentration.
• Time Stop: Whilst time is stopped, all creatures other than the caster are considered to be paralyzed.
• Hunger of Hadar: The cold damage increases by 1d6 for every level upcast.
• Forcecage: requires concentration.

New Spells

 

General

Smaller Short Rests

Short rests are now 10 minutes of light activity instead of an hour.

Reducing falling damage

If a creature willingly jumps from a high place, it can attempt an acrobatics check. On a success, they take half the damage and don't land prone.

Additional Feats

Player characters gain a feat at levels 1, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 19, regardless of multiclassing. You can still replace an ASI with a feat as normal. Variant human does not exist, but in exchange, vanilla human can gain two additional skill, tool or language proficiencies.  

Inspiration

You can hold up to 2 inspiration at a time.  

Update to spells granted by races or feats

If a feature grants you the ability to cast a spell once per long/short rest(e.g the magic initiate feat, or the tiefling's infernal legacy trait), you can cast it again using the appropriate level of spell slot, if you have them.