General Rules

• Characters start at level 3.

• The following array is used for stats: 16, 15, 13, 12, 10, 8

• Roll for health. If you roll below average, take average.

• Flanking has been modified, and no longer grants you advantage. Instead, it grants you a +2 bonus to attack rolls.

• Characters start off with two common magic items of their choice, and one uncommon item from me.

• Changelings, Gith, Dragonmarked races, Kenku, Loxodon, Veldalken, and Verdan are all banned.

• Resurrections use Matthew Mercer's rules, which are here

• When you're knocked down to unconsciousness multiple times in a day, you take 1 level of exhaustion for each time after the first before a long rest. Rules for removing it are as normal - Example:

You're knocked down once. Cool, you get healed, you're fine. You're knocked down again, an hour later. You take a level of exhaustion when you get back up.

• You make Death Saving throws in secret - Only I know the result. You are not allowed to communicate what the result is to fellow players. Through description and context clues, they can discern information. I've found this heightens tension, and removes the 'gamification' of death saving throws.

• Long rests are 8 hours, and can only be taken once every 24 hours. You need 1 hit point to gain the benefits of a long rest. A short rest is a period of downtime, at least 15 minutes long, during which a character does nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds. Short rests cannot be taken more than once every 4 hours, and you can’t benefit from more than two short rests before you take a long rest

• Milestone Experience is used.

Taking Action

It's time to act. You want to charge across the rickety bridge? Climb the crumbling wall? Kick down the old door? Great, now make a roll to see if you succeed.

Potions

Magic permeates the world — it's in the air you breathe, the food you eat, and the liquids you drink. Through carefully preparation, this magic can be harnessed to create powerful consumables that help — or hinder — your adventures.

Flasks

Potions are an adventurer's best friend, but it's not always sensible — or realistic — to carry a few dozen potions at once. When you need to carry a lot of potion in a little container, use a flask.

Identifying a Spell

Sometimes a character wants to identify a spell that someone else is casting or that was already cast. To do so, a character can use their reaction to identify a spell as it's being cast, or they can use an action on their turn to identify a spell by its effect after it is cast.

If the character perceived the casting, the spell's effect, or both, the character can make an Intelligence (Arcana) check with their reaction or action. The DC equals 15 + the spell's level. If the spell is cast as a class spell and the character is a member of that class, the check is made with advantage. For example, if the spellcaster casts a spell as a cleric, another cleric has advantage on the check to identify the spell. Some spells aren't associated with any class when they're cast, such as when a monster uses its Innate Spellcasting trait.

This Intelligence (Arcana) check represents the fact that identifying a spell requires a quick mind and familiarity with the theory and practice of casting. This is true even for a character whose spellcasting ability is Wisdom or Charisma. Being able to cast spells doesn't by itself make you adept at deducing exactly what others are doing when they cast their spells.

Invalid Spell Targets

A spell specifies what a caster can target with it: any type of creature, a creature of a certain type (humanoid or beast, for instance), an object, an area, the caster, or something else. But what happens if a spell targets something that isn't a valid target? For example, someone might cast charm person on a creature believed to be a humanoid, not knowing that the target is in fact a vampire. If this issue comes up, handle it using the following rule.

If you cast a spell on someone or something that can't be affected by the spell, nothing happens to that target, but if you used a spell slot to cast the spell, the slot is still expended. If the spell normally has no effect on a target that succeeds on a saving throw, the invalid target appears to have succeeded on its saving throw, even though it didn't attempt one (giving no hint that the creature is in fact an invalid target). Otherwise, you perceive that the spell did nothing to the target.

Casting a Spell

The following is an addendum to the passage under "Bonus Action", in the Casting Time section of Casting a Spell in the Player's Handbook, page 202. The change is indicated in bold

Hiding Spellcasting

In some situations you may attempt to hide the act of casting spells, cast them in a non-threatening manner, or disguise the use of specific components as part of the spell casting.

If a spell has a Verbal component, you must roll Intelligence (Stealth) or Wisdom (Stealth) opposed by Passive Perception if you are not actively observed, or Perception Roll if observed. Loud background noise give advantage to the your roll. If the observer knows that you are able to use magic, they have advantage to the Perception Roll.

If a spell has a Somatic component, you must roll Dexterity (Stealth) opposed by Passive Perception if you are not actively observed, or Perception Roll if observed. Lots of nearby movement (such as a crowd) give advantage to your roll. If the observer knows you are able to use magic, they have advantage to the Perception Roll.

If a spell has a Material component, you must roll Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) opposed by Passive Perception if you are not actively observed, or Perception Roll if observed. If the observer is trained to recognize spell components, he has advantage to the Perception Roll.

If a spell has multiple components, you must roll separately for each. Failure to one roll reveals only suspicious activity unless the observer has studied magic. Failure to two or more rolls reveals unmistakable evidence of casting magic.

Lineage