House Rules

The following are the house rules that everybody is expected to adhere to:

• The Golden Rule. Treat others with respect. If you are being an asshole, I will be an asshole and will boot you from the table without warning. I do not condone "toeing the line" either. Do not test this.
• Tension between Players. If there is tension between players, it is expected that they resolve said tension privately. Role playing tension for narrative sake is condoned, as long it's fun and doesn't turn personal.
• Player vs. Player. PvP is only condoned when the involved players have discussed and agreed to the PvP. This rule also applies to thievery and related.
• R Rated Themes. Possible depiction of violence, sex, and substance use. All depiction are to be handled with respect. The DM and players are expected to strictly adhere to this.
• Safe Word. The safe word is the phrase "I'm telling you three times." If a player or the DM start with this phrase, everybody is expected to shut up and listen. The session will not progress until the situation is resolved. DO NOT ABUSE, if everybody wants it to be taken seriously.
• XNO Cards. XNO cards are available and is open to use during the session.
• Realism. Actions have consequences. Violence can lead to death, being stupid can kill you. Use common sense.
• Spotlight. Players are expected to share the spotlight and not hug it for themselves. Thinking about the other players is heavily promoted.
• Metagaming. Players are expected not to meta-game. It ruins the immersion for themselves and others.
• Role Playing. Is heavily promoted but not expected. Players may play their character to their comfort level.
• Rulings Over Rules. The DM rulings overrules the actual rules. Rules as Intended, Rule of Cool and Rules as Fun are core tenants.
• Retconning Rules. A player may challenge the DM's rulings only if they are brief and concise. That means it won't ruin the session's pacing. If the DM agrees with a players arguement and the retcon won't hassle the table, then the rulings will be retconned. Else, they may approach the DM after the session to discussed the ruling.
• Session Length & Breaks. Sessions are 3 hours long, 180 minutes total. There will be a 10 minute break every 90 minutes.
• Debriefing. At the end of the session, I host a 10 minute debrief, where everybody may provide feedback. Participation is voluntary.

Variant & Optional Rules

The following are the variant & optional rules being used during the session:

• Surprise. as per (PHB'14 p. 189)
• Flanking. as per (DMG'14 p. 251)
• Skills with Different Abilities. as per (PHB'24 p. 14)
• 2024 Equipment List. as per (PHB'24 p. 213)

Homebrew Rules

The following are the homebrew rules being used during the session:

• Homebrew Upon Review. All homebrew require DM approval.
• Karmic Die. When you roll natural 1 on a ability check, saving throw, or attack roll, you gain a Karmic Die. After you roll your next ability check, saving throw, or attack roll, you may choose to use your Karmic Die to roll another d20 and keep the highest. You may only have one Karmic Die at a time. This replaces Heroic Inspiration.
• Narrative Encumbrance. Encumbrance follows common sense and strives to be realistic. No book keeping needed.
• Max Critical. Critical damage deals "damage die + max damage" (exp. A longsword would deal 1d8+STR+8 slashing critical damage instead of 2d8+STR).
• Bleeding Out (Condition). When a creature hits 0 HP, they are considered to be 'Bleeding Out' instead of unconscious. When a creature gains the 'Bleeding Out' condition, they are knocked prone, drop concentration on any spells they are currently concentrating on, and gain a point of exhaustion. On the start of their turn, they roll a death saving throw. A creature may perform their turn as normal but before they do so, they gain a death save failure. A creature may choose to skip their turn for no additional effects.
• Quick & Potent Potions. Any consumable that is stored in a vial/syringe can be consumed using a bonus action. Using your action to consume a healing potion grants you max healing. Using your bonus action to consume a healing potion requires you to roll for the healing. You can heal a creature with a healing potion by using your action, you roll for the healing. This replaces all potion rules from PHB'24.
• Flailing. You can forfeit your movement to make an additional attack action at -5 to hit. You can use any weapons or a cantrip. You must not have moved previously to use this action.

There are the character creation rules.

Starting Level: 9 (up to 14)

Leveling System: Milestone

Stat Generation: Standard Array

Species Options: All officially published species in the PHB 2024

Class Options: All officially published classes in the PHB 2024 and all officially published subclasses (including 2014) with some minor rework. See "Class Rework" in the rules document for further details.

Background: All officially published Background in the PHB 2024

Backstory: Mandatory. See "A Good Backstory."

Elements

That being said, there are few elements that must be present in your backstory, these are the tools for the DM to use:

The Love One. - This is a NPC your DM can use as a quest giver or motivation for you to do a background specific quest.

The Nemisis. - This is a NPC like the love one but your motivation is the opposite.

Internal Conflict. - This is a dramatic element that you can use or the DM can provoke to create dramatic scenes during the session. This is part of the lie your character believes in. Here are two examples of an internal conflict:

• A person struggling with the guilt of accidentally killing a sibling. Anything that reminds them of their late family member result in him externalizing which manifest as risk taking behavior.
• A person people pleasing because they are afraid of being rejected or being alone.

Flaw (Major or Minor). - A dramatic element that you or the DM can use to create dramatic scenes during a session. This is basically behavioral patterns for your to exploit so that you can engage with other players or the setting via role playing. They don't have to be anything major but just make sure they are usable. This is also part of the lie your character believes in. Here are two examples of flaws:

• A person with a gambling addiction. Every time they have their hands on some cash, they always end up finding the first opportunity to spend it, resulting in them being constantly broke.
• A person who is afraid of the dark. Every time it gets close to being too dark to see, they immediately turn a light source up. They sleep with a light on, always, and become restless if they can't see.

Minor Quest. - This is the quest your character is additionally pursuing in this adventure. However, it doesn't have to be directly tied to the actual campaign story. This can be something simple as "seeing the sights and leaving my mark" or something more major, such as "proving to myself or others that I'm not a coward." "Why am I here" answers your character motivation in pursuing this mission and the "minor quest" glues all other aspects of your backstory together.

All these elements are basically tools for you and the DM to use to immerse yourself to the story and are essential for a good and fulfilling backstory.

Languages

Weapons & Armor

General Skills

Tools

The following, for simplicity's sake, are considered tools.