- Hello friends, Ginny Di here.
Today, I woke up and chose violence.
And by that, I mean, I decided to start
one of the most controversial conversations you can have
in the D&D community short of arguing about
which edition is best.
We're gonna talk house rules.
(gentle upbeat music)
But before we do,
quick reminder that my new D&D inspired pin-up calendar,
Natural '22, is now available for pre-order.
It's a collection of 13 brand new cosplay photos
featuring my original characters in a super cute,
vintage-y cheesecake style.
They're limited edition,
so once they're gone, they will never be sold again.
So if you have even the tiniest bit of interest,
now is the time to check it out.
And might I say, they make great gifts.
Anyway, house rules.
If you've never heard of a house rule,
it basically just means that the DM
is changing the rules of the game for their specific table.
Most people implement house rules to fix something
that they think is flawed or broken,
to make something more fun or more dramatic,
or to make something easier or more challenging,
depending on what their table needs.
I get why house rules are controversial.
I mean, my own DM once said that he liked a house rule
that makes Healing Word an action instead of a bonus action.
Jesse, you fucking monster.
So today I wanna talk about how to identify
if a house rule is going to be right for your table.
I will walk you through three basic steps
to evaluate a house rule,
and then we'll talk a little bit
about how to actually implement house rules
without overwhelming or confusing your players.
(yawns)
- That was a long game.
I'm gonna head back to the dice bag
with the other d20s, you coming?
- Actually, I'm just gonna relax
on my new Dwarven Forge Reliquaries.
- Wait, reliq-what?
I thought Dwarven Forge made terrain.
- No, they do.
But they just launched a new Kickstarter for these.
It's hard to even pick a theme
when they're all so dang stylish.
Like this one, this one, or this one.
- Is that glowing?
- Oh yeah, the Hero Reliquaries have rechargeable LEDs.
I guess Ginny just thought I deserved to be shown off.
- You pledged for these on Kickstarter, didn't you?
- Look, if she doesn't want me to buy stuff,
she shouldn't put her wallet in the same bag as her dice.
Dwarven Forge Reliquaries:
Epic thrones for legendary dice.
Available exclusively through Kickstarter.
Check the link in the description to make your pledge.
- The very first question to ask yourself,
whether you are inventing a house rule
or considering one that you found online
or heard about from a friend,
is what it's actually going to bring to your game.
Some house rules solve a problem, for example,
offering a plus one to attacks and damage
when players are ready with their action
right when their turn begins,
can help solve the problem of slow, dragging combat.
It basically encourages distracted or indecisive players
to be better prepared by rewarding them for speed.
Some house rules make the game more exciting or dramatic,
like having the DM or the player
roll their death saves privately,
so that other players don't know how long they have
to get their fellow party member back on their feet.
So what is your chosen house rule accomplishing?
Is it solving a problem?
Is it making the game more fun?
Is it heightening tension?
It's super important to know why
you're putting a house rule into place.
You might stumble across a rule
that sounds good and make sense,
but it was created to solve a problem
that your table isn't actually experiencing.
Or maybe something that's exciting
and dramatic for another group,
like rolling secret death saves,
is going to be frustrating or stressful for another table.
I think it's also worth it to ask yourself
if the house rule is helping players,
helping the DM or helping both.
A house rule that allows potions to heal max damage
when used outside of combat, for example,
clearly helps players.
Meanwhile, the house rule
that makes "Healing Word" an action,
or even flat-out removes Healing Word from the game
is a rule that benefits the DM
by making it harder for players to pop back up
after being knocked unconscious.
And of course, some house rules
benefit both parties equally,
like the one that says
that if you roll exactly your target's AC,
you deal half damage.
Now, I am not saying that you can't have rules
that benefit just the players or benefit just the DM.
What I am saying is that you should be aware
of which side you're buffing with each rule,
and be sure that giving that side a bonus
will actually improve your game.
Before you even begin thinking about what the downsides are
to any given house rule,
it is absolutely crucial to understand the upsides.
If you can't identify what problem it's solving
and who it's helping, then what's the point of adding it?
(gentle music)
Think of the most ridiculous ways
that players could take advantage of a house rule.
Now assume that they are going to think of something
at least three times more ridiculous.
For example, let's say that you have a house rule
that ranged fighters have infinite non-magical projectiles.
On the surface, it seems like a good rule.
Keeping track of ammo sucks.
Not everyone wants to do it.
But at some tables, it won't take long for this ability
to start to get stretched.
Can they sell the arrows for profit?
Can they use them to build a raft?
Can they empty them infinitely out of the quiver
to create a field of spiky, difficult terrain,
or to fill a chasm?
Not all players will think like this, of course.
And some DMs would probably be fine
with these kinds of creative uses.
But if you don't want your ranger
to turn into a traveling arrow salesman,
these are the kinds of things to think about
before you put that kind of rule into place.
Whatever house rule you're thinking about using,
consider how it can be used both in and out of combat,
how it could be combined with other spells or abilities,
and how it might change as your players level up.
Something that's a nice little bonus early in the campaign
could very easily spiral into something wildly overpowered
at higher levels.
Now I'm not gonna act
like Wizards of the Coast is infallible,
and certainly there are plenty of flaws in fifth edition,
and in any edition.
But the fact remains that the rules as written for D&D
were created and reviewed and play tested
by teams of people for whom this is their entire job.
This is a complex, sprawling game
with tons of different interconnected systems
and factors and mechanics.
Pulling on one thread can very easily unravel something else
if you're not careful.
So before you implement a house rule,
you have to make sure that you're not fixing one thing
by breaking something else.
(gentle music)
I touched on this a little with the question
of who the house rule helps and hurts,
but beyond just asking if the rule
is for the benefit of the players or the benefit of the DM,
it's also very important to make sure
that your house rules don't favor
or target specific players.
When adding a new house rule,
think through how it will impact every single player
at your table.
Some of these might be obvious,
like if you implement house rules
that make short rests harder to come by,
classes that really rely on short rests,
like Warlocks or Monks,
will struggle more than classes that don't, like Rogues.
Another example is that one popular house rule
where you take a level of exhaustion
if you're knocked unconscious,
which tends to disproportionately affect melee fighters
who are taking most of the hits.
But some imbalances will be a little harder to spot.
For example, the "exploding dice" house rule
is pretty popular, and is even a core part of some games,
like Savage Worlds.
With this rule, when you roll the maximum on a damage die,
you get to roll it again and add it to your total.
Sounds fun, and some tables absolutely love it.
But in practice, someone wielding a Maul or a Greatsword,
both of which deal 2d6 damage,
is twice as likely to benefit from this house rule
as someone wielding a 1d8 Warhammer or a 1d12 Greataxe.
Again, this might not be a deal breaker for your table,
but it's good to be aware of,
especially if you also have other house rules
that favor those same players.
Likewise, you wanna make sure that your house rule
doesn't make certain skills or features completely obsolete.
Let's say that you don't like attacks of opportunity
for some reason,
and you completely house rule them out of the game.
Now you have taken away special features
from certain classes, like Rogues with their Cunning Action
and Monks with their Step of the Wind,
as well as subclasses like Swashbuckler Rogues,
Hunter Rangers, and Eagle Totem Barbarians.
Plus any feat that relies on attacks of opportunity,
like Mobile or Sentinel, is now worthless.
This can be extra frustrating for players
when a house rule is brought into play
after they have already created a character,
but even if it's a session zero thing,
certain house rules can be very restrictive
to character building.
Ask yourself if your house rule
is going to dissuade people
from wanting to play any caster
or any martial class, for example.
(air whooshing)
(gentle music)
So you have found a house rule
that you believe solves a problem
or makes the game more fun,
can't be pushed to game-breaking levels,
and doesn't unfairly favor or target specific players
at your table.
Now it's time to put it into practice.
So how do you do that?
I would recommend a simple, three-step process.
First, discuss it with your group.
Is anyone surprised to hear me say this?
Breaking news: Ginny Di recommends communicating!
But seriously, if you're planning
on implementing a house rule,
your players need a chance to hear about it and respond.
They might have feedback that you didn't consider,
or you might even be solving a problem
that they don't want solved.
Talking through it allows players to ask questions
and make sure that they understand
how the rule will work in practice.
You definitely don't wanna spring a house rule
on players mid-game.
Second, take it slow.
Especially if your players are new to D&D
or if they play in other games
that don't use the same house rules,
it'll take time for them to learn new ones.
To avoid over-complicating things,
I would suggest that you only introduce
one or two new house rules at a time.
Then, give them a few sessions to sink in
and see how they actually play out at the table
before you consider adding more.
I haven't actually seen many tables
that benefit from a laundry list of house rules.
In my opinion, they are most successful
in small quantities, anyway.
Third, be willing to adjust.
Every table is different,
so just because a house rule works for someone else
doesn't mean it'll be a perfect fit for your own table.
And if you're inventing a house rule,
this is even more important.
Observe how the rule is working in practice,
and be willing to walk it back
or adjust the changes that you've made
if you or your players feel
that it's not working as intended.
Ideally, everyone should be approaching this process
in good faith, with the end goal of making the game more fun
for everyone at the table.
If a house rule isn't working
or is causing issues for specific players,
everyone should be open to making changes to improve it.
I hope this helps you incorporate house rules
into your own games without playing favorites
or becoming a D&D dictator.
In fact, I have another video
that digs even deeper into finding that sweet spot
between being too hard on your players
and going too easy on them.
That is a great one to watch next
if you wanna get better at challenging your players
in a way that is still fun for everyone.
And of course, I would love to hear
about your house rule experiences in the comments.
I wanna hear it all.