D&D 5E Starting a new campaign tomorrow! Thoughts and house rules

[BookTenTiger]

Well I've finally done it. After moving to Atlanta 18 months ago, I've finally found some folks who want to play D&D! I am very excited and wanted to post some initial thoughts here. I'll also be posting some house rules I'm considering.

The players are all brand new to TTRPGs. Two of the players are my coworkers, and two are their significant others. For the first time in my gaming history the majority of my players will be women!

We have done two introductory sessions with premade characters. In the first session, they explored an old tower, seeking out a cure for a mysterious Curse of Crows. In the second adventure they rescued a kidnapped band of musicians from a gang of goblins and their pet cockatrice. Everyone had a good time, and by the end of the second adventure they were talking about creating character backstories and playing in longer adventures.

I brought up a dream of mine: creating a campaign setting together. And they were into it! We talked about picking out monsters, environments, adventure ideas together...

Well, that was a few weeks ago, and now that the holidays are over we are coming back together for our official Session 0!

Here's what I'm thinking for a general Session 0 Plan:

1) First we are going to flip through the Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide and talk about the kinds of classes and races we want to play, the kinds of foes or challenges we want to face, the kinds of adventures we want to go on, and any optional rules that sound interesting.

2) Inspired by Ironsworn, I created a series of questions to guide our campaign creation process. You can see it here (and feel free to copy it). There are questions on Gameplay (tone, risk, level of tech), Setting (environment, power structure, common folk), Magic (arcane, divine, primal), and Threats (danger level, mortal foes, supernatural forces). As we discuss and answer the questions, I'll sketch a map on grid paper.

3) The final three questions are all about the first adventure: where it takes place (home town, big city, etc), how the characters are connected (friends and family, all know the same NPC, etc), and the motivation for their first quest (treasure, rescue, etc).

4) Once we are done with the campaign setting, it'll be time to create characters. Since these are brand new players, I'll want to provide a guiding hand. I think I can more easily manage two at a time, especially since I have two Player's Handbooks.

5) While I help two of the players make characters, the others will be creating our starting town! I created this Settlement Character Sheet with lots of options to choose from. Two players will complete the front of the sheet, and two will complete the back.

6) By the end of Session 0, we will have a Campaign Setting, new characters, and a starting town! If there's still time, I might do a little practice combat encounter so the players can try out their characters.

So those are my initial thoughts for my Session 0 tomorrow! Soon I'll post the House Rules I'll be using.

 

[Retreater]

Best of luck! I hope you and your players have a wonderful time.

 

[SteveC]

I will tell you the house rules we are using for the most recent 5e games we've been playing. All of our players have played earlier editions of the game, so we have some expectations from that.

1. We use flanking, which is to say if you have an ally with a weapon on the opposite side of the opponent, you have advantage on attacks. This comes from the previous game experience we have, and was sort of expected for tactical play.
2. We use healing surges. You are able to use an action to spend up to half your hit dice. You can do this once per long rest. This is another rule from 13th Age (and 4e) but the last big campaign we ran had them.
3. We use Hero Points. You receive a pool of D6 equal to 5+ half level. It resets when you level up. You can spend these after making a check/attack/save.

I think that's all of them. From playing at lower and higher levels, they seem to work well.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Here are some house rules I'm considering introducing tomorrow:

Races

Ability Score Increase
All characters gain a +2 to one Ability Score and +1 to a second Ability Score, no matter their race.

Dragonborn
Breath Weapon: Damage die increased by 1d6 (so 3d6 at 1st level), and can be used on objects.
Draconic Charm: Your draconic ancestry grants you a natural charisma that influences those around you. You gain proficiency in one of the following skills: Animal Handling, Intimidation, or Persuasion, and add +1d4 to checks made with that skill.

Dwarven Combat Training, Dwarven Armor Training, Elven Combat Training: If an elf or dwarf gains the same proficiency from their class, they may instead choose a vehicle, tool, instrument, or gaming set proficiency.

Half-Orc
Savage Attack: This will work with any attack, including ranged and spell attacks.

Classes

Fighter
Combat Master (1st Level Ability): Fighters are masters of combat- even when they miss an attack, they are able to turn their effort to their advantage. Once per turn, when you miss an attack, you may gain one of the following benefits:

• Shift: Immediately move 5 feet.
• Defend: Gain +1 AC until the start of your next turn.
• Fortify: Gain temporary Hit Points equal to your Proficiency Bonus, which last until the start of your next turn.

Monk
Monks can use Wisdom or Strength for Unarmored Defense, and Ki abilities.
At 2nd Level, Monks start with 4 ki points, and then increase by one each level.

Ranger
We will be using the Unearthed Arcana version of the ranger, except instead of Weapon Mastery, I'll have the ranger choose either a Battlemaster Maneuver or two cantrips from the Druid spell list.

Sorcerer
Sorcerers may use Charisma or Constitution for their Spellcasting Ability.

Warlock
Warlocks may use Charisma or Intelligence for their Spellcasting Ability.

 

[aco175]

Sounds like a fun time. I like that you played a few 1-shots first to see how on board the group was before doing this. With some luck, you will have another DM from among them to take over once in a while and you can play.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Here's a couple more house rules. A while back I came up with this rule for Spell Foci, which I like:

Potions: Drinking a potion is a bonus action. Administering a potion to another creature is an action.

Arcane Spell Focus
Crystal - A crystal can be attached to a shield.
Orb - There is a 10% chance a spell cast with an orb does not use up a spell slot.
Rod / Staff / Wand - Each rod, staff, or wand is carved with a rune representing a creature of legend. This rune allows the spellcaster to replace the damage type typical to the spell with another damage type. When the wand is used in this way, it has a 10% chance of crumbling to dust after the spell is cast.

• Black Dragon Rune - Acid
• Frost Giant Rune - Cold
• Phoenix Rune - Fire
• Djinni Rune - Force
• Golem Rune - Lightning
• Lich Rune - Necrotic
• Barbed Devil Rune - Poison
• Illithid Rune - Psychic
• Unicorn Rune - Radiant
• Roc Rune - Thunder

Holy Symbol
Emblem - An emblem can be attached to a shield.
Reliquary - There is a 10% chance a spell cast with a reliquary does not use up a spell slot.
Amulet - Each amulet contains at least a sliver of a gem associated with an element. This amulet allows the spellcaster to replace the damage type typical to the spell with another damage type. When the wand is used in this way, it has a 10% chance of shattering after the spell is cast.

• Amber - Acid
• Sapphire - Cold
• Ruby - Fire
• Opal - Force
• Lapis - Lightning
• Onyx - Necrotic
• Jade - Poison
• Agate - Psychic
• Obsidian - Radiant
• Amethyst - Thunder

Druidic Focus
Sprig of Mistletoe - There is a 10% chance a spell cast with a sprig of mistletoe does not use up a spell slot.
Totem - A totem can be attached to a shield.
Wooden Staff / Yew Wand - Each staff or wand is carved from a special wood imbued with elemental magic. These staves and wands allow the spellcaster to replace the damage type typical to the spell with another damage type. When the staff or wand is used in this way, it has a 10% chance of turning to embers after the spell is cast.

• Willow - Acid
• Birch - Cold
• Redwood - Fire
• Oak - Force
• Spruce - Lightning
• Ash - Necrotic
• Hemlock - Poison
• Aspen - Psychic
• Maple - Radiant
• Sycamore - Thunder

 

[aco175]

I would say to only plan and design what you need but you seem excited to go for it. My thought is that things like focuses and holy symbols are only needed when they are needed unless a player is into the idea and wants to develop it. I would stay with the big things like gods and history of the area to start.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I would say to only plan and design what you need but you seem excited to go for it. My thought is that things like focuses and holy symbols are only needed when they are needed unless a player is into the idea and wants to develop it. I would stay with the big things like gods and history of the area to start.

Yeah, I'm just pulling in stuff like that since I've already designed it in the past and I get a kick out of it.

 

[Laurefindel]

This looks all cool, I’d have a lot of fun in such a campaign!

I’m concerned that it might be too much however. As much as I don’t want to rain on your parade, take it easy on your players. Only bring up what is relevant for their characters. Only bring up the general themes, not exactly how they’ll be supported for now. Focus on their wants and concerns. A new campaign can be overwhelming even for seasoned players, and an exhaustive list of houserules can worsen the feeling.

I hope you guys have fun!

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Dwarven Combat Training, Dwarven Armor Training, Elven Combat Training: If an elf or dwarf gains the same proficiency from their class, they may instead choose a vehicle, tool, instrument, or gaming set proficiency.

I like this one. This trait is often just thrown away.