Homebrew Rules What Has Worked Well in Your Campaigns?

[boblewis]

Hello

I am reaching out to tap into the collective wisdom of this community regarding homebrew rules and modifications for RPGs. Over the years; I've experimented with various custom rules and tweaks in my campaigns, and while some have been quite successful, others have not quite hit the mark. I am excited to hear about your experiences and perhaps gain some new ideas that I can incorporate into my own games.😇

To provide some context;  I have tried implementing homebrew rules to enhance role-playing depth; streamline combat mechanics, and create unique storytelling opportunities. For example; in one campaign, I introduced a custom skill challenge system that aimed to balance character skills and narrative choices, which added a fresh layer of engagement. On the flip side; a homebrew magic system I created for another game proved to be overly complex and ultimately detracted from the fun.

I am particularly interested in hearing about any custom rules or modifications you’ve implemented that significantly impacted your campaigns.

Have you used custom rules that significantly impact character progression / development? How did these rules enhance the role-playing experience; and did they lead to more engaging character arcs?

What modifications have you made to combat rules that improved the flow ;  excitement of battles? Did you introduce new types of encounters or adjust existing mechanics to better fit your campaign's needs? I have referred https://www.dragonslair.it/forums/forum/57-discussioni-gdr-generiche-cpq  Section dedicated to the discussion of the Role Playing Game but still need help . 

I’d love to hear about both successes and challenges you’ve faced with homebrew rules. What worked well; and what didn’t? Your insights would be greatly appreciated .

Thank you in advance for sharing your ideas and experiences!🙂

 

 

Thank you

[Zaorn]

Hello @boblewis,

 

I dislike to change the rules, the GDR are complex games and usually if you change something, you unbalance other.

And many people think that changing something could make the game better, and usually they don't interpretate fine all the rules.

 

I used some homebrew only to treat some social values, for example in a campaign the player had an hidden value that influenced their politic influence with the government of their state, depending on their actions and behaviour, but I didn't remember exactly, was not a complex mechanism.

ps: may be people of forum dislike you speak English.

[Lord Danarc]

I agree with @Zaorn. I don't like changing or introducing new rules because, even if the game is already unbalanced, none of us are game designers and cannot adequately evaluate the impact of each change.

Despite this, in D&D 3rd edition, I did change the rule related to spellcasting from a scroll, making it available only to those who could already cast spells of the level written on the scroll, and it worked very well.

In 5e, I'm not changing any rules, but I do a lot of reskinning. Basically, I use the existing rules but describe them differently, so from a mechanical point of view, nothing changes.

[D8r_Wolfman]

I don't usually use homerules, not because I don't like them, but because I've never felt the need to change something in my games; maybe it happened a few times with minor scenarios, but they were nothing important

in change, I do like to create a lot of homebrew material, from races to classes to feats, I really like converting something from previous editions of D&D into the current one, but unfortunately to this day I have not had yet the satisfaction to playtest any of them 🥲

[Zaorn]

5 ore fa, Lord Danarc ha scritto:

I agree with @Zaorn. I don't like changing or introducing new rules because, even if the game is already unbalanced, none of us are game designers and cannot adequately evaluate the impact of each change.

Despite this, in D&D 3rd edition, I did change the rule related to spellcasting from a scroll, making it available only to those who could already cast spells of the level written on the scroll, and it worked very well.

In 5e, I'm not changing any rules, but I do a lot of reskinning. Basically, I use the existing rules but describe them differently, so from a mechanical point of view, nothing changes.

Third edition was so unbalanced that it was impossible to don't use some homebrew!

🥸

[Lord Danarc]

12 ore fa, Zaorn ha scritto:

Third edition was so unbalanced that it was impossible to don't use some homebrew

Third edition was absolutely unbalanced, but we realized that balance wasn't so important. The only rule we changed was the one that allowed any caster to cast spells they shouldn't be able to cast. We applied all the other rules without any problems..

 

[Pippomaster92]

I usually add a lot of House Rules, especially in my D&D 5e games. I know the rules quite well and I know what to change and what not to alter. Some rules are fun, others turn out to be useless or too complicated or boring. You'll never know untill you try them on at the table.

Games are just packages of rules, toolboxes to be used to achieve a goal: to have fun. You should be able to change them as you like, even radically. The important thing is to explain to the players why such a rule is changed, and always be open to mediation.

 

[Lord Danarc]

I just realised that we use a HR in 5e. We banned the spell Silvery barbs.

[Bille Boo]

Hi @boblewis,

I love home rules and I've used lots of them in many editions of the game. Unfortunately most of them are undocumented, or documented in Italian only. But I can recommend this one (about encumbrance in D&D 5e), that I published for free also in English:

The Cucumber Rules (slot-based inventory for D&D) by BilleBoo (itch.io)

[Lord Danarc]

Thanks to a discussion on another topic, I also realised that we don't use passive abilities in campaigns I master. Actually, it seems that we use more HR in 5e thank in 3e. That's crazy!

[D8r_Wolfman]

1 ora fa, Lord Danarc ha scritto:

Thanks to a discussion on another topic, I also realised that we don't use passive abilities in campaigns I master. Actually, it seems that we use more HR in 5e thank in 3e. That's crazy!

why is it crazy? it is far more normal to add/change something in a poor ruleset than in a more detailed one, as in 5e vs 3.5

that's why I've rarely heard of HR in 3.5 games, while they're the bread and butter in the 5e days 😄

[Lord Danarc]

9 minuti fa, D8r_Wolfman ha scritto:

why is it crazy? it is far more normal to add/change something in a poor ruleset than in a more detailed one, as in 5e vs 3.5

because 5e is lighter from the regulation point of view, and we are not adding more rules to cover some gaps, but we are wiping out some of the existing ones 😄 

Moreover, someone doesn't agree with your point of view.

Il 3/9/2024 at 20:36, Zaorn ha scritto:

Third edition was so unbalanced that it was impossible to don't use some homebrew!

Even if it would be interesting to discuss who needs more HRs between a poor regulation or an unbalanced one.

Modificato 6 Settembre da Lord Danarc