Shattered World House Rules

Welcome to the Shattered World House Rules! A large portion of these rules have come from Gamingbrew's Erenel House Rules with a few exclusions and minor changes. I really enjoy Erenel's lore and the Gamingbrew is a really chill guy (one of my cats even got featured in an episode of the Rise of Harlock campaign!), so a lot of inspiration from Erenel is implemented here. If you are ever curious about some of the lore, factions, characters, items, etc. from Shattered World, go take a look at Erenel!

— Keeper of Tales

 

Approved 5E Books!

The following are books currently approved for use when creating your Shattered World character.   Please note that ONLY Shattered World races may be used when playing in campaigns to fit into the Shattered World Fictional Universe.  

• Official Wizard of the Coast releases unless noted below
• All Shattered World player options
• Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn
• Other options available upon review when discussed with the Dungeon Master

 

Encounters and Leveling

Instead of leveling up via experience points, the players will now level up via encounters and a point-based system. There are three types of encounters the player will deal with -- combat, exploration, and socialization, such as talking to important NPCs for missions or completing quests.   While we will somewhat still be working via experience points, it will be based around a point system I have created below.

Gold By Level

Level	Starting / Gained Gold	Level	Starting / Gained Gold
1	40 / 40	11	5,500 / 3,000
2	80 / 50	12	8,500 / 5,500
3	130 / 70	13	14,000 / 8,000
4	200 / 120	14	22,00 / 14,000
5	320 / 200	15	36,000 / 24,000
6	520 / 280	16	60,000 / 30,000
7	800 / 500	17	90,000 / 60,000
8	1,300 / 800	18	150,000 / 90,000
9	2,100 / 1,400	19	240,000 / 110,000
10	3,500 / 2,000	20	350,000 / 250,000

Attunement

Attuning to an item requires a creature to spend 10 minutes focused on only that item while being in physical contact with it. If the 10 minutes is interrupted, the attunement attempt fails. Otherwise, at the end of the 10 minutes, the creature gains an intuitive understanding of how to activate any magical properties of the item, including any necessary command words.   A creature can also voluntarily end attunement by spending another 10 minutes focused on the item, unless the item is cursed.  

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Combat Reworks

Delay Initiative

After rolling initiative and before the first round of combat begins, a player can choose to lower their initiative until immediately after a non-hostile creature. After lowering initiative in this way, the new initiative is locked in until the end of combat. A player cannot lower their initiative to follow a player who also used delay initiative.

Do or Dodge

During combat, a player has 1 minute to decide what to do on their turn. If the player hasn't decided, they take the dodge action and their turn ends.

Tactical Combat

Bloody Critical

When a creature scores a critical hit with a melee weapon attack that deals bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage, the target gains 1 stack of the bleed condition, up to the bleed maximum.

Flanking

When you and an ally are flanking a target, you gain +2 on melee attack rolls against it. To flank a foe, you and your ally must be on opposite sides of the creature. A line drawn between the center of your space and the center of your ally's space must pass through opposite sides or opposite corners of the foe's space.   Additionally, both you and the ally must be able to act, you must be wielding melee weapons or be able to make an unarmed attack, you can't be under any effects that prevent you from attacking, and you must both have the enemy within reach. If you are wielding a reach weapon, you use your reach with that weapon for this purpose.   A huge-sized creature requires 3 allies before it is considered flanked. A gargantuan sized creature cannot be flanked.

Glancing Blow

When a melee attack is equal to a target’s armor class, the damage dealt by the attack is halved.

Standing From Prone

Standing up from the prone position costs 15 feet of movement, regardless of your total movement speed. (All Erenel races have a base movement speed of 30 feet)

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you take the Attack Action on your turn and attack with a Light weapon in one hand, you can make one extra attack as part of the same Action. That extra attack must be made with a different Light weapon in the other hand, and you don’t add your Ability Modifier to the extra attack’s damage. You can make this extra attack only once on each of your turns.   A shield with the Light property can be used in Two-Weapon Fighting and deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage on hit.

New Actions and Bonus Actions

Only new or updated actions and bonus actions are listed.

Back-to-Back

Bonus Action
When you are adjacent to a willing creature, you can use a bonus action to stand back-to-back. While back-to-back with an ally you both cannot be flanked in any direction. You remain back-to-back until one of you moves or is knocked prone.

Bypass

Action
Taking the Bypass Action allows you to try and move through a hostile creature’s space by tumbling past or forcing your way through. Make a Strength (Athletics) Check or a Dexterity (Acrobatics) Check contested by the hostile creature’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). If the bypasser wins the contest, it can move through the hostile creature’s space once this turn. The hostile creature can choose to just let you pass instead of rolling. You still provoke opportunity attacks if you move beyond a creature’s reach.

Help

Action
You can lend your aid to another creature in the completion of a task, provided that you have Proficiency in the skill or with the tools called for in the check. If you do not have proficiency in the skill or tools called for, the KT may allow you to Help if you can describe the specific helpful actions you take in aiding the other creature.

Protect

Action
You focus on protecting a willing target within 5 feet of you. Until the start of your next turn, all attack rolls made against the target are instead redirected to you at advantage. Protect ends if you are ever more than 5 feet away from the target. A target can only be protected by one creature at a time.

Sidestep

Bonus Action
You move 5 feet. Moving with sidestep does not provoke opportunity attacks and does not count against your total movement.

Stealth Kills

A cool, new way for players, NPCs, and BBEGs to be silent killers. Players must now be wary in their sleep or set up watches.     Melee Attacks. If the attacker is wielding a melee weapon, they must approach the target undetected. Perception checks (including passive) made by the target to detect the attacker have advantage. Register the target's AC to the HIT as well.   Ranged Attacks. Because the shot is so precise, the target gains a +5 to its AC against ranged attacks that target its kill zone. Note that the attacker may miss the kill zone but still hit the target. Crossbows and shortbows can only be used at long range with a clear shot (i.e., daytime, wide open area - the attacker can use cover, like trees or bushes, etc.).   Lethal Strike. If the attacker hits the target’s kill zone, they score an automatic critical hit. If the target has hit points remaining after the damage is dealt, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 10 + damage dealt) or die.   Surprise. The target of an attempted stealth kill is surprised, even if the attack misses.

Conditions

Only new or modified additions are listed below.

Bleeding

While you are subjected to the Bleeding condition, you experience the following effects.

• Levels of Bleeding. This condition is cumulative. Each time you receive it, you gain 1 level of bleeding up to the Bleed maximum. The bleed condition can stack up to a total number of stacks equal to the highest Proficiency Bonus of a player character in combat.
• At the beginning of your turn, take slashing damage equal to your bleeding level.
• Ending the condition. All stacks of bleeding are removed if you receive any healing or after a successful Medicine skill check. The Medicine skill check DC is equal to 8 + total bleed stacks.

Exhaustion

While you are subjected to the Exhaustion condition, you experience the following effects.

• Levels of Exhaustion. This condition is cumulative. Each time you receive it, you gain 1 level of exhaustion. You die if your exhaustion level exceeds 10.
• When you make an attack roll, ability check or saving throw you subtract your exhaustion level from the roll.
• Subtract your exhaustion level from the Spell save DC of any spell you cast.
• Ending the condition. Finishing a long rest removes 1 of your levels of exhaustion. When your exhaustion level reaches 0, you are no longer Exhausted.

Grappled

While you are subjected to the Grappled condition, you experience the following effects.

• Your speed becomes 0 and can’t be changed.
• You have disadvantage on attack rolls against any target other than the grappler.
• The grappler can drag or carry you when it moves but suffers the Slowed condition while moving unless you are Tiny or two or more sizes smaller than the grappler.

Husk

While you are subjected to the Husk condition, you take damage from magical healing sources instead of restoring hit points.

On Fire

While you are subjected to the On Fire condition, you experience the following effects.

• At the beginning of your turn, take the indicated fire damage associated with the condition’s triggering effect. If no fire damage is listed, a creature takes 1d4 fire damage.
• Additional On Fire effects do not stack with the highest indicated fire damage used.
• Ending the condition. The On Fire condition can be removed at the Game Masters discretion (jumping into water) or by going prone and using an action to stop, drop and roll.

Slowed

While you are subjected to the Slowed condition, you experience the following effects.

• You must spend 1 extra foot of movement for every foot you move.
• Attack rolls against you have Advantage.
• You have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.

Umbra Malady

While you are subjected to the Umbra Malady condition, you suffer reduced healing effects. When you recover hit points from healing spells or consumables that require a roll, you must roll the dice twice and take the lower result.

Wounded

While you are subjected to the wounded condition, you suffer disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws and ability checks.

Dropping to 0 Hit Points

Falling Unconscious

If damage reduces you to 0 hit points and fails to kill you, you fall unconscious and must immediately make a death saving throw. This unconsciousness ends if you regain any hit points.

I Didn't Hear No Bell

While at 0 hit points, you slowly begin to recover with each successful death saving throw.

One Successful Death Save

No change.

Two Successful Death Saves

While at 2 successful Death Saves, you are no longer unconscious. Instead, you are both Prone and Incapacitated. While prone in this way, you cannot stand or take actions, bonus actions or reactions. You can use movement to crawl and speak.

Three Successful Death Saves

When you reach 3 successful Death Saves, you retain all the benefits from 2 Successful Death Saves. You are stable and no longer need to make death saving throws. In addition, you can take 1 action immediately after stabilizing. After performing this action, you cannot perform another action until you regain at least 1 hit point. A stable creature that isn’t healed regains 1 hit point after 1d10 minutes.

Damage at 0 Hit Points

When you take damage while you have 0 hit points, you gain levels of Exhaustion dependent on the damage taken. You do not collect a failed death saving throw when you take damage while at 0 hit points.

• If the damage taken is between 1 and 20 damage, you suffer one level of Exhaustion.
• If you take 21 damage or more, you suffer two levels of Exhaustion.
• If the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.

 

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Hit Points at Higher Levels

Hit Points are automatically determined by the character sheet from first leve, your Constitution modifier. Any level above first also automatically calculated by the character sheet.

Quick Rest

A quick rest is a 1 minute period of downtime during which a character quickly catches their breath and tends to their wounds. During a quick rest, a character can spend one or more available Hit Dice at the end of the quick rest, up to their proficiency bonus. For each Hit Dice spent in this way, the player rolls the die and adds the character's Constitution modifier to it. The character regains hit points equal to the total.   A character can't benefit from more than one quick rest in a 24-hour period. Short and long rest durations remain unchanged (1 hour & 8 hours).

Satchel

Satchel is a Shattered World 5E item allowing for quick access to a limited number of consumables. All Player Characters are given a 1-slot satchel upon character creation and have the option to purchase larger satchels.

Speaking in Combat

You can speak during combat and creatures can respond on their turn but the full conversation has to happen in 6 seconds.

Spell Changes

General Spell Damage Rule

When casting a spell that deals damage and requires concentration to maintain, the player rerolls the damage die each time the spell deals damage. These spells include but are not limited too; Moonbeam, Spirit Guardians, Wall of Fire, etc.

Magic Missile

When rolling damage for the Magic Missile spell, roll dice for each missile separately.

Sending

Instead of the normal 25 word limit, the spellcaster can send a short six second message.

Silvery Barbs

Banned.