Written by “Jester” David Gibson

5 Minute Workday webcomic and blog:

New comics Tuesday & Thursday

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, and all other Wizards of the
Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.

This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with
permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version
1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue,
plots, storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game
Content or are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)

Open Content: Except for material already declared open by previous products, no material this book is Open Content.

5 Minute Workday Presents: Variant Rules ©2016, David Gibson and 5 Minute Workday Publishing, and published under the
Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
Alternate Skills Armour Variants
The following optional skills can be added, permitting The following variants modify how armour works in
characters to focus on different talents in campaigns that the game.
emphasise different skill sets. For example, a campaign
primarily set on a sailing ship or in the mountains might Damage Conversion
want to differentiate climbing and swimming, while a
campaign dealing with the intrigues of a noble court might This variant is useful for campaigns with lower magic,
require knowledge of noble families and the local legal especially healing magic, and allows warriors to recover
system. quickly between fights while also reducing the potential
Climb. You make a Strength (Climb) check to scale a lethality of fights: character are just as easily defeated and
sheer or slippery surface, maintain your grip after suffering knocked down, but less likely to be slain outright. This
damage, catch a falling ally, hang from just your fingers, or rules greatly increases the complexity of tracking heath by
move along an overhanging ledge. doubling the pools of hit points.
Law. Your Intelligence (Law) check measures your In addition to armour protecting its wearer from
ability to recall local and nearby laws and legal customs, as attacks by deflecting attacks, armour reduces the force of
well as some law enforcement procedures. You are aware blows so deadly wounds become mere bruises.
of the basics of regional trials and expected behaviour in Any time an armoured creature is hit by an attack and
court. You may also be able to remember the names and takes damage, they reduce - or soak - the damage taken
reputations of local barristers or judges. from each attack based on their armour, as shown on the
Nobility. An Intelligence (Nobility) check recalls local Armour Soak table. Only effects that require an attack roll
gossip and the affairs of court. With a successful check you have their damage reduced, and damage taken from a
can recite genealogies and complex lineages, are aware of failed saving throw or other sources is unaffected.
current fashions and trends, and know the subtle Damage soaked by the armour is nonlethal damage,
intricacies of noble behaviour. such as bruising or fatigue, and is tracked separately from
Forbidden Lore. You make an Intelligence (Forbidden hit point loss. Whenever a character regains hit points,
Lore) check to recall That Which Should Not Be Known they reduce their soak by an equal amount. When a
while also maintaining a grip on your sanity. You can character's soaked damage is equal to or greater than their
recite the contents of forbidden tomes or secrets that current hit points they fall unconscious.
might defy logic, or begin to comprehend the horrible Armour Soak
beings who lurk at the edges of reality. Armour Damage Soaked
Swim. A Strength (swim) check measures your ability Light Armour
to swim quickly or cover long distances, tread water, move Padded 1
quickly underwater, or fight against currents and Leather 1
undertows.
Warfare. Your Intelligence (Warfare) check measures Studded leather 2
your ability to recall tactics, military history, troop Medium Armour
movements, officer rankings, weaponry, uniforms, and Hide 2
military etiquette. Chain shirt 3
Scale mail 4
Breastplate 4
Half plate 5
Heavy Armour
Ring mail 4
Chain mail 6
Splint 7
Plate 8

1
 Resistances and Vulnerabilities. Damage taken is
Damage Mitigation reduced by the amour before being modified by any
Using the default rules of the game, missing a target in resistance or vulnerabilities are applied.
heavy armour might actually mean the blow connecting Monsters. Monsters that wear armour use the same
but deflecting harmlessly off the armour or not striking rules as adventurers. For simplicity, a creature with a
with enough force to penetrate the armour or cause harm. natural armour class is generally unaffected. If you wish to
This option adds an additional layer of complexity to convert a monster, a quick conversion is to half the
combat while reducing the abstraction of attacking Armour Class bonus they receive from their natural
armoured creatures. Armour confers a reduced bonus to armour and reduce damage by 1+ half their natural
Armour Class, but confers a reduction of damage allowing armour bonus.
a heavily armoured character to ignore lesser blows.
Characters using this rule will be hit more often, but Combat Fatigue
take less damage. Creatures that make many weak attacks
This option is designed to make combat and
will be less effective, as are creatures that rely on their high
adventuring more dangerous without adjusting hit points
attack numbers. Conversely, brutish creatures that have a
or healing. It gives the impression that regular combat is
high damage attack offset by a reduced chance of hitting
tiring while encouraging characters to rest between battles,
will be more dangerous.
and also makes prolonged battles deadlier, especially
Any time an armoured creature is hit by an attack and
against powerful foes.
takes damage, they reduce the damage taken an amount
Characters have a damage threshold that is equal to their
based on their armour, as shown on the Armour Damage
Constitution score + their level. (Use Constitution score +
Reduction table. Only effects that require an attack roll
CR for NPCs and monsters.) When a character takes
have their damage reduced, and damage taken from a
damage from a single attack that is greater than their
failed saving throw or other sources is unaffected.
damage threshold they gain 1 level of exhaustion.
As an action, a character can pause to catch their
Armour Damage Reduction breath, reducing their exhaustion by a number of levels
Armour Armour Class Damage equal to half their proficiency bonus, provided they have
Reduction exhaustion gained from this option. Once a character
Light Armour catches their breath, they cannot do so again until the
Padded 11 + Dex modifier 0 complete a short or long rest.
Leather 11 + Dex modifier 2 At the end of each short rest, a character removes any
exhaustion gained as a result of this option. Exhaustion
Studded leather 11 + Dex modifier 2 gained from other sources is unaffected.
Medium Armour Lingering Fatigue. A variation for those wanting
Hide 11 + Dex modifier 2
combat fatigue to last longer, instead of a short rest
(max 2)
removing all exhaustion, it gives characters the opportunity
Chain shirt 11 + Dex modifier 3
(max 2) to reduce their exhaustion. At the end of a short rest, a
Scale mail 12 + Dex modifier 3 character reduces their exhaustion by a number of levels
(max 2) equal to the number of Hit Dice they spent during that
Breastplate 12 + Dex modifier 3 rest.

Complex Ability
(max 2)
Half plate 12 + Dex modifier 4
(max 2)

Checks
Heavy Armour
Ring mail 12 3
Chain mail 13 4
Splint 13 5 This variant allows ability checks to require more that a
Plate 14 5 single success to achieve a task. It represents more
complicated tasks that take place over a longer period or
Magic Armour. Magical bonuses increase a character's involve a variety of different skills. Examples include
Armour Class and have no effect on their damage climbing up a tall mountain, completing a magical ritual,
reduction. navigating a dense jungle, or researching an obscure topic.

2
 In a complex ability check, characters must achieve a
set number of successful ability checks to complete the
task. The complexity of the task is determined by the DC
of the check and the number of successful rolls required to
complete the task. Complex checks can be further defined
by a time limit, a maximum number of unsuccessful
checks, or an increasing penalty for failure.
Designing a Complex Check
Begin by determine the difficulty of the check and
roughly how many successes are necessary to succeed.
Decide if it is simple and requires only three successful
checks, moderate and requires five successes, or very
complicated and requires seven successes. It's important to
consider the characters when designing a complex check,
and pick ability scores or skills they are adept at, so there is
an appropriate chance for success.
Once you have determined the number of successes,
decide if there is any failure point. This is typically a time
limit, a set number of failures, or an increase in difficulty.
As a default, three failures should end a complex check.
For example, a complex ability check might require 5
successful DC 12 ability checks to complete the task. This
might need to be achieved before 3 failures are rolled, in
less than 8 rounds, or with each failure increasing the DC
by 2. The Sample Odds of Success table gives some rough
chances of succeeding on such a complex ability check,
assuming either a good ability score or proficiency in the
skill.
Sample Odds of Success
DC Number of Number of Failures or Chance of
Successes Rounds success
10 5 3 failures or <8 rounds ≅ 75%
12 5 3 failures or <8 rounds ≅ 50%
15 5 3 failures or <8 rounds ≅ 22%
There is not always a set failure point, and the variable
is instead how long it takes to complete the complex
check. Characters can keep trying until they succeed or
abandon the effort. But it is a good idea to try and work in
a failure, to keep the game moving and prevent the players
becoming fixated on a failed tactic.
Characters attempting to research the true name of a
lich can theoretically keep looking forever, provided they
have enough time to search and gold to pay their room
and board. However, you can rule that each failure
increases the DC, as the odds of finding the information
become lower. Or three failures might just mean the
information is not present. In contrast, characters
attempting to cross a desert wasteland fail when they run
out of food and water, not after a specific number of rolls.
3
Complex checks can use one ability score or skill or
several different ones. Including multiple ability scores and
skills allows more characters to potentially become
involved in a check, but does not always make sense.
Players should be encouraged to propose alternate skills,
but you have to decided on the plausibility. Skills that
could theoretically be used but make less sense might have
a higher DC or some other limit. Not every skill needs to
be useful in a complex check, and some might even be
detrimental, counting as one failure if not ending the
check altogether. Trying to use Intimidation on a king
seldom ends well, and will earn the party some contempt
at best and require some apologizes, if someone doesn’t get
clapped in irons and thrown in a dungeon.
Once you have finished designing the complex check
itself, consider the penalty for failure. Sometimes, failure
should be absolute; by not succeeding on the challenge the
character has not accomplished their goal. In other
situations, success might be guaranteed because of story
requirements, and thus the character instead succeeds at a
cost.
For example, if attempting to climb a towering
mountain, failure might denote being unable to make the
ascent and thus the character must travel the long way
around the mountains (or take the more dangerous route
through mines underneath the mountains). Alternatively,
if the goal of the adventure is at the top of the mountain,
then the characters must succeed or the story ends. In this
case failure means the characters still succeed at climbing
to the top but reaches the peak exhausted.
Alternate Uses. In place of granting a success, an
ability check might have an alternate effect. A check might
be used to cancel failures or add more time. Or a check
might grant advantage or reduce the DC for the next
character. Alternate uses works well for secondary skills or
ability scores.
Limited Uses. An ability score or skill might only
usable once or twice in a single check, after which further
successes fail to contribute to the complex check.
Multiple Stages. The nature of a complex check might
change part way through, as the situation evolves and
progress is made. Alternatively, a single large complex
check can be composed of multiple smaller complex
checks, with completion of each of the smaller complex
checks contributing a success to the larger check.

Defence Bonus
For campaigns focused where heavy armour is
inappropriate, this variant rule allows characters innately
to increase their armour class through skill. This option is
useful in campaigns such as a swashbuckling piratical
adventure where heavy armour seems ill suited; a primitive
world of stone and bone where civilization has not
advanced to metal armour; or a desert campaign of lightly
robed dervishes.
This option can also pair well with Armour as Damage
Mitigation or Armour as Damage Conversion options,
allowing players to choose between a higher Armour Class
or the ability to withstand hits.
All characters gain the following ability:
Unarmoured Defence
While you are not wearing armour you gain a bonus to
your armour class based on your proficiencies. You can use
a shield and still benefit from this feature.
If you are proficient in heavy armour, you can add one-
and-a-half times your proficiency bonus to your Armour
Class.
If you are proficient in medium armour but not heavy
armour, you can add your proficiency bonus to your
Armour Class.
If you are proficient in light armour but not medium
armour, you can add half your proficiency bonus to your
Armour Class.
Destiny
Fate and prophecy can play an important role, with
characters or even entire parties destined to complete some
task. This variant rule is similar to the hero points optional
rule found in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Characters using this option have significantly
increased survivability and potential effectiveness, allowing
them to have the opportunity to complete their destiny. If
only one character in a campaign has a destiny they have
the potential to out-shine other characters, so this should
be done cautiously. A destiny should be larger than a
desired character arc or personal goal, and the destined
action should have story or world ramifications; a destined
character is not merely seeking revenge, but prophesied to
meant to kill a despised figure. You should work with your
players in planning their destiny and making it work with
the campaign.
Characters with a destiny have advantage on all death
saving throws. Additionally, once per game session, a
destined character can choose to succeed at one task,
typically an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw. If a
4
number is required, the character is assumed to have
rolled a 20 (for purposes of attack rolls, this automatic
success is not a critical hit). This ability is lost when the
character fulfils their destiny.
Fate is a fickle thing however, especially when it
intersects with a game system where the dice can work
against destiny. There should always be some wiggle room
to reinterpret a prophecy. To quote J. Michael Straczynski
"Prophecy is a guess that comes true. When it doesn't, it's a
metaphor."
Dice Pool Checks
This variant rule replaces the d20 used in most checks
with 3d6. In addition to changing possible rolls from 1-to-
20 with 3-to-18, this dramatically changes of the odds,
shifting from an even 5% chances of any number to a bell
curve favouring results between 9 to 11. Characters using
this variant will roll an average result more often but
higher rolls will happen far less frequently.
In this system, higher AC is far more advantageous, as
a high number is less likely to be rolled. Because of this
and the fact the highest possible number is 18, you might
wish to reduce character's base Armour Class to 8 +
Dexterity modifier and similarly reduce the AC granted by
armours by 1 or 2.
Advantage and Disadvantage. Instead of rolling the
dice a second time for advantage and disadvantage the
character changes the number of dice. When a character
has advantage, they roll 4d6 and don't count the lowest
die. This increases the odds of success but retains the
minimum and maximum result. Conversely, when a
character has disadvantage, they roll 4d6 and drop the
highest die.
Alternatively, instead of dropping the lowest die when
you have advantage, you can total the result of the entire
dice pool, while disadvantage reduces the dice pool by 1d6
to a total of 2d6. Despite adding an extra dice, the average
result is only slightly higher than dropping the lowest roll,
but this option changes the minimum and maximum
result.
In both instances, you typically retain the rule that a
character can benefit from single instance of advantage at a
time. Alternatively, you could allow advantage to stack,
adding or removing multiple dice.
Natural 20s and 1s. For rolls that require a natural 20
or 1 (such as an automatic misses or critical hits) this rule
requires additional changes to maintain the odds. When
using this variant, any roll of 16 or higher where the lowest
number on any die is a 5 is considered a "20", and any roll
of 5 or lower where the highest number on any die is a 2 is
considered a "1".
 Options that increase the odds of a critical hit to 19-20
(such as the Champion fighter) become a roll of 15 with
the lowest number on any die being a 4, and options that
increase critical hits to an 18-20 become a roll of 14 with
the lowest number on any die being a 4.
Dread Pool
This optional rules adds random tension to non-
combat situations through growing pool of dice. It is well
suited to horror campaigns, but also works well for
adventures when extra tension is desired, such as exploring
a hazardous location or a formal ball with dangerous
nobles.
Place one or more d20s on the game table or other
location accessible by the players. This pool of dice is
known as the dread pool. Over the course of the adventure,
gradually add more d20s to the pool, typically one die for
every 30 minutes of play or after noteworthy dramatic
moments. You can also add dice to the pool after a
character uses their inspiration or scores a critical hit.
When a character attempts an action with no chance of
failure they roll the dice in the dread pool. If a 1 is rolled
on any of the dice they have caused an event: they
encounter a complication or something dramatic occurs.
After the dread pool has trigger an event, reduce the
number of dice in the pool by half to allow the tension
time slowly to rise.
The triggered event might be a random encounter, a
trap, an environmental effect, or even a planned event. A
character investigating a large chest in a crypt might
unleash a horde of clawing rats, a cloud of toxic putrid gas,
sound an alarm, or find a shocking item inside. A group of
adventurers exploring a haunted castle might be ambushed
by the vampire lord who calls it home or stumble across
the remains of an acquaintance. While attending a dinner
party disguised as nobles, the party might encounter a
hated rival (or close friend) and risk exposure.
Part of the impact of the dread pool is its continual
presence, the growing number of dice being a visual
reminder of the increasing odds of disaster. However, the
dice in the dread pool can be replaced by another physical
elements, such as a deck of cards or bag full of coloured
beads or poker chips, with 1-in-20 being a different colour
and denoting the event. (Tarot cards or a tarokka deck
would be especially appropriate.) There are a couple
advantages to this variant. This method allows the DM to
change the odds, by increasing or decreasing the number
of triggers. When players draw from the deck or bag, they
can also keep the item drawn, increasing the odds until an
event is a certainty. Especially if you keep adding cards to
5
the deck. Cards offer an additional possibility, with
different planned events for each card.
Escalation Milestones
This rule is designed to encourage and reward
characters for continuity to adventure rather than stopping
to rest overnight.
After every two encounters, the party reaches an
escalation milestone and gains an escalation die, which is a
d6. During a battle, a player can spend the escalation die,
rolling the dice and adding the result to an attack roll,
saving throw, or ability check. Once used, the escalation
die cannot be used again until the party rolls initiative.
Each additional time the party gains a milestone, the size
of the escalation die increases. On the second milestone it
becomes a d8, and after three milestones it becomes a d10,
and so on.
When the party takes a long rest the escalation die
resets and the party must reach a milestone to use it again.
Fame
An alternative to the faction renown system in the
Dungeon Master's Guide, tracking how well-known the party
is among the inhabitants of a region. It measures how
likely commoners are to be aware of the character, and the
chances of a local lord having heard of the party's
accomplishments.
Characters have a Fame score, which can be used to
make checks like other ability score. Fame represents how
likely a character is to be recognised by their name,
appearance, or deeds. A character with a high Fame is well-
known and stories of them are told far and wide. A
character with a low Fame is unknown or their actions
anonymous. Fame is neither positive or negative, and a
villain famous for their foul and despicable acts might have
just as high Fame as a noble warrior renowned for their
charity and selfless heroism.
At 1st level, a character's Fame score is 1. Unlike
regular ability scores, it is not rolled or purchased through
points. A character's Fame score can't be raised with
normal ability score increases, but each time a character
gains an ability score increase their Fame also increases by
2 as word of their skill spreads. As with other ability scores,
a character's Fame can't typically exceed 20 or fall below 1.
Other increases or reduction to Fame are awarded
based on a character's actions. At the end of a quest or
adventure, if you think a character's actions were
noteworthy or would be retold, you can increase the
character's Fame. Typically, only events that are witnessed
or where the effects are apparent increase Fame. Defeating
a warren of kobold bandits might increase Fame more
than killing a reclusive demilich, as the former has an
effect on commoners. However, adventures returning to a
town with treasure and telling the story of the demilich's
horrific tomb will allow the character's Fame to increase.
Typically, a quest or task needs to be an appropriate
challenge to increase a character's fame; the high level
character that kills the kobold bandits is not the stuff of
legends.
Fame Checks. Fame checks can be used in social
situations. A check might be used in place of Charisma
during negotiations or attempts to frighten a commoner.
Alternatively, a Fame check can replace a creature's
Intelligence check to recall information on the character.
You might also call for an Fame check when a character is
involved in one of the following situations:
 Gaining admittance into a private club
 Bargaining with a patron for higher wages
 In order to gain a discount at a store
 Convincing guards to look the other way
 Getting free room and board at an inn
Fame Saving Throws. You can call for a Fame saving
throw whenever the character's reputation would be
detrimental, such as when the character would rather not
be recognised or have certain past deeds recalled. You
might ask for a Fame saving throw in situations such as:
 Trying to avoid undue attention
 Store owners hearing rumours of the character's
vast wealth
 Word of past crimes reaching guards
 Poor beggars hearing tales of the character's
generosity


A quest giver knowing of prior failures
A villain being aware of the character's skills and
capabilities
Losing Fame. Reputations needs to be maintained,
and characters that do not remain in the public eye risk
losing fame. For each month the character does nothing to
gain Fame, they must succeed on a Fame saving throw or
reduce their Fame score by 1. Fame gained from ability
score increases cannot be lost. (However, the mysterious
can be alluring; characters that are visible but deliberately
eschewing the spotlight might retain Fame, such as the
reclusive wizard living at the outskirts of town.)
Aliases. If a character successfully used a disguise kit or
magic to mask their identity, then deeds accomplishes
while disguised don't affect their reputation score. A
character can choose to adopt an alias (or nom de plume)
allowing them to track reputation separately for each
identity.
Group Fame. In place of each character tracking their
own fame, members of an adventuring party might share
fame. The group is collectively known for acts committed
6
individually by members of the party, for both good and
ill.
Glancing Blow
It has been said that heroes don't miss, their hits just
aren't always completely effective. This option is for games
where accuracy and regular damage are desired, such as
campaigns with a more heroic (or superheroic) tone.
Glancing blows are also useful in campaigns or adventures
where the party confronts large numbers of lower level
opponents, granting more opportunity for the PCs to
injure their numerous opponents (and potentially
increasing the opponent's chances of inflicting minor
damage).
When you attack but fail to penetrate your opponent's
defences, your attack still inflicts minor damage as you
soundly strike armour or thick hide. When you target a
creature with a melee or ranged weapon attack and your
attack roll misses by 4 or less, you have landed a glancing
blow and deal bludgeoning damage equal to the ability
score modifier used to make the attack. A glancing blow
does not count as a hit for any spells or abilities that can
be used on a hit. A cantrip can also land a glancing blow if
you would add your spellcasting ability score modifier to
its damage roll.
If your attack misses by 5 or more you completely fail
to hit the target. Similarly, if your attack misses because the
target is behind cover or a similar reasons then you do not
land a glancing blow.
Literacy
Being able to read might be uncommon in some
campaign settings. Commoners might only know a few
words related to their profession or perhaps their numbers
but little else. In this option, characters do not
automatically know how to read spoken languages, and
their level of literacy is determined by their background, as
shown on the Literacy by Background table.
Characters with a backgrounds listed as "Maybe" can
choose to be literate or not. Illiterate characters can choose
to either learn an additional tool proficiency (chosen from
artisan's tools, gaming set, musical instruments, or
vehicles) or be able to speak an additional language.
Literacy by Background actions, significantly reducing the number of spells a
Background Literate character can use in a single combat.
Acolyte Yes
Charlatan Maybe Prepared Cantrip
Criminal No (Spy variant, Yes) This option reduces the usage of cantrips during
Entertainer Maybe (Gladiator variant, No) combat, so spellcasters cannot rely on having combat
Folk Hero No magic at all times. This dramatically affects characters
Guild Artisan No (Merchant variant, Yes)
expecting to use cantrips to inflict damage, such as many
Hermit Maybe
sorcerers and warlocks.
Noble Yes
Outlander No
Cantrips can be cast an unlimited time each day but
Sage Yes have a casting time of at least 1-minute. However, a
Sailor No spellcaster can ready a number of cantrips, partially casting
Soldier No them in advance of time and swiftly completing the
Urchin No cantrip's incantation as an action. Readying a casting is a
slow process, taking twice as long to cast. A spellcaster can
Provided they have a tutor, a character can be taught to prepare a number of castings equal to their proficiency
read a language in 125 days. This costs 1 gp per day. At modifier.
your discretion, some basic comprehension can be gained
in half that time. Taxing Spellcasting
Low Magic Campaigns Spellcasting takes a physical toll on the caster with this
option, and repeatedly using magic leaves a spellcaster
The following options provide options for adjusting weary. This optional rule encourages spellcasters to use
the level and power of magic and spellcasting characters magic less often, spreading out spellcasting over the course
have access to in a campaign. You can decide if these of the day and favouring lower level spells.
options affect all spellcasting creatures or just those When a spellcaster casts a spell using a spell slot of the
without innate spellcasting. highest level they can cast they must succeed on a DC 10
Constitution saving throw or gain 1 level of exhaustion.
Longer Casting This exhaustion remains until the spellcaster completes a
short rest.
This variant rule slightly increase the time it takes to Exhausting Limitation. Optionally, when a spellcaster
cast spells with a casting time of 1 action, making it more has at least 1 level of exhaustion, they must succeed on a
difficult to cast spells in combat. This reduces the power of DC 10 Constitution check to cast a spell with a casting
spellcasting classes in combat, but does not reduce the time of 1 action. If this check fails, the spellcaster can still
number of spells a creature can cast in a day. choose to cast a cantrip that round.
Casting a spell takes a full round to cast as the
spellcaster slowly completes the magical rites. On their
turn, a spellcaster picks a specific spell or cantrip to begin
Magic Item Crafting
casting. If that spell has a casting time of 1 action, as an These rules augment the rules for crafting magic items
action the spellcaster begins casting that spell, and at the through downtime days, as found in the Dungeon Master's
start of their next turn, they decide to either expend a spell Guide.
slot to finish casting the spell or abandon the casting and
retain their spell slot. Finishing to cast a spell doesn't take Disenchantment
an action, and the spellcaster can immediately begin Skilled crafters can draw out the mystical energy of
casting another spell. If a spellcaster takes damage during existing magic items and use it to create new items.
the casting of a spell, they must succeed on a DC 10 Stripping the magic from an item often leaves the
Constitution saving throw as if maintaining concentration existing item weakened, with metals tarnishing or rusting,
on a spell or their attempt at casting fails. and other material rapidly aging. The process of
Twin Actions. A variation on the longer casting rule is disenchantment destroys most magic items, leaving only a
that beginning to cast and expending the spell slot both substance known as residuum. Residuum is a fine crystalline
require an action. This means casting a spell takes two dust, silvery blue in colour but shimming with a rainbow

7
hue in the light. The dust is highly magical, effectively
being concentrated magic essence.
Disenchanting is a rapid process compared to
enchanting, taking only a single downtime day for items of
common and uncommon rarity, and five days for rare and
very rare items. The magic of legendary items makes them
resistant to disenchantment.
Residuum fetches a high price and even a small vial
can sell for hundreds of gold pieces. The dust is used to
craft magical items, replacing and amount of other magical
components and materials equal to the gold piece value of
the residuum. The value of the residuum depends on the
rarity of the item disenchanted, as shown on the Value of
Residuum table. Consumable magic items produce half as
much residuum.
Value of Residuum
Item Rarity Residuum Created
Common 75 gp
Uncommon 375 gp
Rare 3,750 gp
Very rare 37,500 gp
Legendary 375,000 gp
Residuum fetches a high price and even a small vial
can sell for hundreds of gold pieces. The dust is used to
craft magical items, replacing other magical components
and materials
Life Energy
Crafters can sacrifice a portion of their strength or that
of another living creature to accelerate the crafting process
or allow a non-spellcaster to create a magical item.
While spending a downtime day crafting, the crafter
can spend a number of Hit Dice to either double the gold
piece increment for that day of work or count as a
spellcaster for that day. The cost of any components
remains unchanged and must still be paid, but the item
can be crafted faster. The minimum number of Hit Dice
required is determined by the rarity of the item, as shown
on the Hit Dice Cost table. Spending twice the minimum
number of Hit Dice triples the gold piece increment, but a
creature doing so gains 1 level of exhaustion.
Hit Dice Cost
Item Rarity Hit Dice Required
Common 1 the turn of a creature you control, you can expend your
Uncommon 2 inspiration to grant that creature advantage on an attack
Rare 4 roll, saving throw, or ability check.
Very rare 7 Additionally, on a player's turn, you can expend your
Legendary 11
8
The Hit Dice need not come from the crafter or even a
single creature. Certain rituals can augment the power of
expended Hit Dice, especially if the donor is an intelligent
creature that is killed in the process, potentially even
reducing the gold piece cost for creating an item.
Salvaged Parts
Magical creatures can be harvested for their parts,
many of which contain innate magical powers and can be
used in the creation of alchemical and magical items.
Salvaging parts off a creature is a time consuming
process, and typically requires proficiency in either the
Medicine or Survival skill or in an appropriate set of tools.
The difficulty of the check to harvest ingredients is
dependent on the creature and type of parts being
salvaged, and is determined by the Dungeon Master.
Spending a short rest harvesting parts from a creature
provide enough ingredients to grant a discount on the
creation of a single magic item of a desire rarity, as shown
on the Amount of Salvage table. The exact value of the
harvested components is decided by the Dungeon Master.
Dragons, fey, and monstrosities contain parts of the
highest value. Undead, celestials, elementals, and fiends
provide salvage with half the value. Salvaged parts can
generally be sold for half their discount, assuming a buyer
can be found. Creatures must also be of a minimum
Challenge Rating for their parts to be used in the crafting
of a magic items of a particular rarity.
Amount of Savage
Item Rarity Minimum Challenge Maximum Discount
Common 4 25 gp
Uncommon 4 125 gp
Rare 7 1,250 gp
Very rare 12 12,500 gp
Legendary 18 125,000 gp
Master's Inspiration
This option allows the Dungeon Master to gain
inspiration, allowing the odds to turn in their favour or
misfortune to strike the Player Characters.
When a player spends their inspiration to gain
advantage on a roll, you gain inspiration. Like players, you
can only have a single instance of inspiration at a time. On
inspiration to give the Player Character disadvantage on an
attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. You can't use
your inspiration to impose disadvantage on a roll where
the player is spending inspiration to gain advantage.
Once you use your inspiration, you can't do so again
during the same encounter.
Personal Goals
In addition to quests awarded to the party by the
Dungeon Master, this rule allows players to have some
agency for their character's quests and goals.
Players can choose to give their characters self-
motivated quests, known as goals. Goals are tasks a
character wants to accomplish, a place they want to visit,
an item, they wish to acquire, or an individual they want
to kill. Goals are side-quests the player decides upon,
missions they assign to their character. Ideally, you should
work with your players when they decide on a goal.
As a general rule, goals should be secondary to the
story, personal side-quests unrelated to the main adventure
or related quests. A goal to slay the villain or an adventure
or even her bodyguard makes a poor goal as the character
will likely be in a position to achieve that goal without
extra work. However, trying to take the bodyguard alive to
stand trial in another city or redeem them would be a
more interesting goal.
Short-Term Goal. Immediate plans that can be
accomplices in a couple sessions or levels are good short-
term goals. They shouldn't involve much travelling, and
the character should have a good idea of how to
accomplish the task. When a character completes a short-
term goal they gain inspiration.
Long-Term Goal. Long-term goals take an indefinite
amount of time, and how to accomplish the task may not
be readily immediately. They should take several sessions
to complete, with a character finishing only one or two
long-term goals over the course of a campaign. When a
character accomplishes a long-term, they gain inspiration,
as well as additional second instance of inspiration.
Additionally, if the character uses their inspiration to gain
advantage, they can use this second inspiration to reroll
one of their d20s and take the preferred result. Once this
bonus inspiration is used, it cannot be regained.
Taint
Certain places and items are so befouled by dark forces
that mere exposure to them alters and corrupts creatures.
This is taint.
A book of necromantic rituals bound in human flesh
and inked in blood. A blighted wood twisted by a gate to
the Shadowfell. The wasteland where the death god
Karkus tore its way into the world, slaying every living
thing in miles. The black bladed sword used by an
9
antipaladin to slaughter hundreds of innocents. Thanatos,
the layer of the Abyss also known as the Belly of Death, and
home to the demon lord Orcus, Prince of Undeath. A
plain golden band that reveals its true nature when placed
in fire. All are examples of taint.
In many ways taint is a disease, only one that affects
both body and soul and is not easily cured.
After 8 hours of exposure to a tainted place or object, a
character must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or
gain 1 level of taint. This saving throw is repeated every 24
hours.
The DC is determined by the power and intensity of
the taint. Mildly tainted areas might have a DC as low as 8,
while particularly tainted and befouled areas and objects
might have a DC as high as 15.
Effects of Taint
When a creature has at least 1 level of taint, they
become mildly tainted and begin to manifest symptoms,
represented by a flaw. When a creature reaches 5 levels of
taint they become moderately tainted, and their flaw
intensifies, becoming more visible and pronounced.
Moderately tainted creature also have disadvantage on
Charisma checks. When a creature possesses at least 10
levels of taint they are severely tainted. Creature that are
severely tainted also have disadvantage on both
Constitution and Wisdom saving throws. When a creature
has at least 15 levels of taint they must succeed on a DC
15 Constitution saving throw at the end of each long rest
or die, succumbing to their corruption.
Mild Flaws
1d12 Flaw
1 My skin is leather and cracked.
2 I suffer uncomfortable pain in my joints.
3 My hair is stark white.
4 I'm occasionally filled with paranoid worries.
5 I become disorientated at random times.
6 It's harder for me to control my temper.
7 Sometimes I see or hear things that aren't real.
8 I suffer from a phlegmy, wracking cough.
9 My eyelid are large and swollen, obscuring my
vision.
10 I have pallid sunken eyes and cracked lips.
11 My complexion is pale and greyish, like a dead thing.
12 When I sweat, it's greasy and yellowish.
 Creatures that dies with at least 10 levels of taint rises
24 hours later as an undead creature of a Challenge Rating
equal to or lower than their level or existing CR. Raising
the creature from the dead prevents them from becoming
an undead, but destroying the body just causes the creature
to return as an incorporeal undead.
Moderate Flaws
1d12 Flaw
1 The black, lichen-like growth across my skin itches
incessantly.
2 My bones are warped and thick
3 I'm covered in reddened sores and scars resembling
burns.
4 My vision is cloudy from broken blood vessels.
5 Along by back are sores which ooze blood, pus,
spiders or insects, maggots, or acidic green slime.
6 My gums are swollen, bleeding, and rotting.
7 I have uncontrollable bleeding from eyes, nose,
mouth, ears, or lips.
8 I suffer sudden fits of uncontrollable, disturbing
laughter.
9 My body is periodically wracked with violent seizures
and spasms.
10 The skin along by arms and torso is covered in
painful sores.
11 My lips shrunk back from my gums.
12 I have an innate disregard for hygiene and cultural
mores.
Cleansing Taint
It is difficult but still possible to reduce or remove a
willing creature's taint. Magical spells and performing
heroic actions are the most reliable methods of reducing
corruption, but cannot completely cleanse a creature. Rare
sacred areas and holy sites can completely purify creatures,
removing all traces of taint.
Spells can reduce a creature's levels of taint, but only to
a minimum of 1. Once a creature has become tainted,
mortal magic cannot entirely remove the spiritual stain. To
remove taint, the spell must be cast outside of a tainted
area. Creatures cannot reduce their taint more than once
per day. Spells such as greater restoration and heal reduce a
character's taint by 1. More potent magic, such as a wish
spell, can reduce a character's taint by 1d4 levels.
10
Severe Flaws
1d12 Flaw
1 The flesh of nose rotted away, leaving a skull-like
opening.
2 One of my extremities is mutated and deformed, and
it continually grows teeth that shrivel, rot, and
eventually fall off.
3 My spine twisted giving my back a pronounced
hunch.
4 Great swollen growths cover my body.
5 My skeleton is severely warped, and skull enlarged
and deformed.
6 My lungs are being eaten away from inside leaving
my breathing wet and labored.
7 One of my eyes fell out, leaving gaping socket that
glows with eerie green light.
8 My skin peels off at the slightest touch, leaving raw,
red flesh beneath.
9 I have almost irresistible murderous urges when I
least expect them.
10 My fingers or toes are webbed and scaly with small
suckers.
11 During moments of stress I regress to primitive,
primal behavior.
12 I'm compelled to eat inedible or still-living things.
Good deeds are another way to remove taint, but
simply helping people is not enough: to remove taint the
creature must ritually perform an exceptional task for the
sole purpose cleaning their soul. Like spells, good deeds
cannot normally reduce a character's taint below 1. Quests
can be assigned to a character, often as a holy mission by a
deity or member of the clergy, but occasionally a task can
be granted by a monarch or similar ruler. Simple deeds
(equal to a subquest) remove 1 level of taint, while longer
tasks remove 1d4 levels of taint. Prolonged and especially
dangerous quests might remove 5 or more levels of taint
(to a minimum of 0).
The final way of removing taint is to find a holy site
that is sacred to a particular deity or other force for good.
These are often located in remote or dangerous regions,
and require a pilgrimage or expedition to reach. Cleansing
at a holy site may reduce a character’s taint score to 0.
Sacred springs are the most common holy site, but many
other examples exist, such as secluded forest groves,
ancient stone circles, pools of cool green flames, or
waterfalls of golden liquid light.
Trauma
This option serves as an alternative to the Lingering
Wounds option from the Dungeon Master's Guide. It works
for campaigns where longer recovery from serious injuries
and dramatic blows is desired but does not change hit
points or permanently main the characters.
When something potentially inflicts trauma (see
below), the character must succeed on a DC 10
Constitution saving throw or gain 1 trauma. If two or
more triggers happen at the same time (a character is
reduced to 0 hit points by a critical hit) they have
disadvantage on the saving throw.
For each point of trauma a character possesses, after a
long rest they regain 3 fewer hit points and reduce the
number of Hit Dice regained by 1.
For each downtime day a character spends recovering,
they can make a Constitution check to reduce their trauma
by 1. The DC for the check is 15 +2 for every point of
trauma. Each consecutive day spend resting before
attempting the check reduces the DC by 5.
Inflicting Trauma
There are a number of potential ways of inflicting
trauma. Chooses which triggers you want in your game
depending on how common you want it to be to gain
trauma.
Critical Hits. When a character take damage from a
critical hit, they must make a save against trauma.
Dying. When a character is reduced to 0 hit points,
they must make a save against trauma.
Saving Throw. When a character rolls a 1 on a saving
throw against a damaging effect, they must make a save
against trauma.
Threshold. Characters have a damage threshold equal
to their Constitution score + their proficiency bonus.
When they take damage in a single blow equal to or
greater than their damage threshold, they must make a
save against trauma.
11
Variable Success and
Failure
The following options modify the result of rolling a
successful or unsuccessful check or attack roll.
Dramatic Success & Failures
This option encourages the result of extraordinary
checks to become historic.
When a player with advantage of disadvantage rolls
either two natural 1s or two natural 20s they have achieved
either a dramatic success or a dramatic failure. The action
is so dramatic as to be the stuff of stories and legends, and
word of the deed quickly spreads. Tales of the incident and
the character spread across the land, being told and retold
in taverns, sung in halls, and even recorded in historical
tomes. Even if the character is forgotten, their action lives
on. You are encouraged to relate to the players how the
deed lives on, and how it might become distorted or
exaggerated over the decades.
Increased Odds. The chances of rolling doubles on
two 20-sided die are roughly one-in-four-hundred.
Theoretically, this should happen once or twice in a
campaign, but with advantage and disadvantage, rolling
two dice is more common in 5th Edition than previous
editions. However, this might still be less frequent than
some DMs would like. For increased odds, a dramatic
failure occurs when a 1 is followed by either a 1 or 2, and a
dramatic success occurs when you roll a 20 followed by a
19 or 20.
Flourish & Complication
This option makes the result of ability checks and
attack rolls less binary, allowing both success and failure at
the same time or success at a cost. This option also adds
some narrative control to the game, giving players some
influence on events dependant on the die rolls.
When a player character or noteworthy NPC makes an
attack roll or ability check they roll additional dice, known
as the effect dice. If the result of the effect dice are positive,
the action has a flourish. If the results of the effect dice are
negative, the action suffers a complication. The player
suggests the possible result of the flourish or complication
and you either agree or proposes a variation.
Good flourishes and complications should be
flavourful but have limited mechanical effect. Flourishes
and complications that just grant advantage or impose
disadvantage are discouraged. A flourish could be an
opponent snagging their coin purse spilling coins across
the floor and a complication could be a felled enemy
collapsing onto a character and pinning them. But the
flourish or complication need not be the direct result of
the check or attack roll, and could be a timely but
otherwise unrelated stroke of good fortune or instance of
ill luck.
For example, a character makes a ranged attack with a
bow and the character suffers a complication. If the attack
roll had hit they might have dealt damage but broken their
bowstring, but if they missed they might have struck a
bystander. If they instead had a flourish, perhaps they
pinned an opponent to a wall with their hit reducing the
creature's speed, or twisted their target's helmet on a miss
requiring them to straighten their armour.
The simplest option for effect dice should be two
Fudge or Fate dice, with ++ being a flourish and - - being a
complication. As these dice are different, using them
prevents confusion with other dice and makes the result
easily identified. Alternatively, a d10 can serve, with the
result of a 10 being a flourish and a 1 being a
complication.
Fumbles
The opposite of critical hits, fumbles can occur when
an attack roll is a natural 1. Unlike a critical hits, a natural
1 is not an automatic fumble.
The following are few suggestions for what occurs on a
fumble. You can use one or all of them in your game (but
only one per fumble). Pick one or roll 1d6.
1 - Drop Item. The character must succeed on a DC 10
Dexterity saving throw or drop one random item that they
are holding, which it lands at their feet. If they fail the
saving throw by 5 or more, it lands 5 feet away from them.
2 - Opening in Defences. The fumble partially leaves
the character open to attack. One enemy within 5 feet can
make an opportunity attack with disadvantage against the
fumbling character.
3 - Snagged. The character catches their weapon or a
garment on an enemy. After fumbling on a melee attack,
the character must succeed on a DC 10 Strength saving
throw or become grappled by the target of the attack.
4 - Stumble. The character catches a foot on a jutting
object and must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving
throw or their speed is reduced by half until the end of
their next turn. If they fail the saving throw by 5 or more
they fall prone.
5 - Twist Joint. The character bends at an unnatural
angle and must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving
throw or take bludgeoning damage equal to their level.
12
6 - Wide Swing. The fumbled attack instead targets an
ally within 5 feet of the target that the fumbling character
can reach. The attack is rerolled with disadvantage.
Wealth
This option is for groups who don't like tracking
individual gold pieces and coins and want more
abstraction in their campaign. This optional rule is loosely
based on the system originally printed in d20 Modern.
Instead of tracking treasure, a character has a Wealth
score, that works like an ability score. Wealth represents a
character's total purchasing power. It doesn't just reflect
the coin in their purse or jewelry worn but also a
character's less tangible wealth, such as land, favours,
patronage, or even reputation. A character with a high
Wealth score might be physically wealthy, bejeweled and
laden with platinum pieces, or they might be esteemed and
well-connected allowing them to quickly leverage loans or
exchange debts.
At character creation, a player character begins with
the gear recommended by their class and background, and
has a Wealth Score of 5. Unlike regular ability scores, it is
not purchased through points or rolled. In other ways it
functions like the other six ability scores. As with other
ability scores, a character's Wealth can't normally exceed
20, but it can be reduced to 0 denoting no money or
possessions of value.
A can character can maintain their current Wealth
Score by spending one downtime day practicing a
profession. Doing so also allows a character to sustain a
lifestyle determined by their current wealth, as shown by
the Minimum Wealth Score per Lifestyle table. Character
can choose to live below their means, and choose any
lifestyle for which they meet the minimum Wealth score.
Minimum Wealth Score per Lifestyle
Lifestyle Wealth
Wretched 0
Squalid 1
Poor 3
Modest 6
Comfortable 8
Wealthy 11
Aristocratic 14
Wealth Checks. Wealth checks are used when a
character would spend money beyond that needed to
maintain their lifestyle. If the check succeeds, the character
has managed to accomplish the activity without negatively
affecting their finances.
Failure means the item is either not available or the
character has less money than they thought. Alternatively,
it might reflect poor bartering, loss at an auction, or a
failure to sell goods at an adequate price. If a Wealth check
fails by 4 or less, the character can choose to either fail to
gain what they were spending the money on, or reduce
their Wealth score by 1 but achieve what they were
attempting. If the check fails by 5 or more they reduce
their Wealth score by 1 and fail at whatever they were
spending money to accomplish. For extravagant purchases,
you might rule that success reduces the character's Wealth
score by 1 and failure reduces the score by 1d4+1.
You might call for a Wealth check when a character is
involved in the following activities:
 Purchasing equipment
 A night of carousing or celebrating
 Hiring a spellcaster
 Booking passage on a ship
 High stakes gambling
 Paying a hireling
 Bribing a guard
A character can use the Help action to assist another
character in making a Wealth check. However, if the check
is a failure, both characters suffer the penalty for failure.
Similarly, a party can pool its resources for large purchases
- such as purchasing a keep or sailing ship - in which case
total all the ability score modifiers before one character
makes the roll. Such large purchases reduce each
character's wealth by 1d4 on a success and 2d4 on a
failure.
Wealth Saving Throws. You might ask for a Wealth
saving throw to see how a character responds to sudden
expenses or weathers financial complications. Failing a
Wealth saving throw reduces a character's Wealth ability
score by 1, and failing by 5 or more reduces it by 1d4. You
can call for a saving throw on situations such as the
following:
 Repairing or replacing damaged gear
 Taxes owed to a ruler
 Fines for damage caused or crimes
 A failed investment
 A family member asking for a loan
Setting DCs. As this is an abstract system, there are no
set DCs for purchasing items. Determine the DC for
Wealth checks based on how likely it seems a character
should be able to purchase such an item, or how much of
a financial impact a purchase would be. An adventure
living a comfortable life might be able to purchase a new
longsword every few months, but a daily purchase would
be harder to sustain, while an aristocratic noble could
regularly afford new armaments.
Non-Player Characters. Monsters and NPCs typically
have a Wealth score equal to their Challenge Rating. The
Wealth of creatures that value treasure reflects the
valuables in their possession, either gold, gems, or trade
13
goods. Some monsters might not carry treasure but still
have a Wealth score, reflected in the value of their
remains, such as hide, fur, poison, claws, or other salvaged
parts. However, you might decide to make a creature's
Wealth higher or lower based on its reputation or value.
Legendary creatures such as dragons might have a higher
Wealth score because of the value of their scales, fangs,
and even blood.
Hoards are not factored into a creature's Wealth and
managed seperately.
Maintaining Wealth. A character has to work to
maintain their lifestyle and current wealth. If at the end of
a week, if a character has neither increased their wealth
nor spent any downtime days either practicing a profession
or managing their finances, they must succeed on a
Wealth saving throw or reduce their Wealth score by 1.
The DC of this saving throw is based on either the lower
of the character's Wealth score or their lifestyle, as shown
on the table below.
Lifestyle Maintenance
Lifestyle (Wealth) DC
Squalid (1) 6
Poor (3) 8
Modest (6) 11
Comfortable (8) 13
Wealthy (11) 16
Aristocratic (14) 19
Adventuring and gaining treasure can also sustain a
character's finances. Defeating and looting creatures with a
Wealth score that is within 4 points of theirs maintains a
character's wealth. Creatures with a Wealth that lower
than the character's by 5 or more do not maintain their
wealth.
Gaining Wealth
Characters cannot improve their Wealth score through
normal ability score increases. Instead, you raise or lower
their Wealth score based on their accomplishments in an
adventure.
Quest Reward. You can choose to raise a character's
Wealth score by 1 or 2 for completing a quest, such as a
royal reward or a paid bounty. Generally, a creature can
only increase a character's Wealth score if that creature has
a Wealth score higher than the character's.
Selling Magic Items. Selling an uncommon item raises
a character's Wealth score by 1 to a maximum of 10,
selling a rare item raises it by 2 to a maximum of 15, and
selling a very rare item raises it by 4.
 Treasure. A character that defeats a creature with a
Wealth score higher than theirs increases their own
Wealth score by 1.
Treasure Hoards. Looting a treasure hoard from a
creature with a Wealth score equal to or higher than the
character's increases their wealth by +1d4.
Variant: Business Ownership
Instead of using this system to track a character's
wealth, it can be used for handling business ownership. In
addition to tracking gold and treasure normally, a business
owner has a Wealth score that reflects the financial health
of their business. Wealth checks are used when spending
the business' funds for personal use or making
investments.
If using this system, a character can invest money in
their business to increase its wealth. This requires investing
an amount of gold pieces equal to price of a magic item of
uncommon or greater rarity, as per the rules for selling
magic items above.
Wound Points and Hit
Points
This rules option divides a character's health into the
physical (wound points) and abstract (hit points). This
system lends itself well to grittier campaigns where
characters are expected to recover slowly from serious
injury, as well as for Dungeon Masters dissatisfied with the
abstraction of hit points.
Wound points represent fitness and durability; hit
points represent energy used to avoid blows, skill at
deflecting strikes, and even luck.
At 1st level you have a number of wound points equal
to your Constitution score. At higher levels your wound
points increase by an amount equal to your Constitution
modifier (minimum 0).
Your hit points at 1st level are what you would
normally gain from your class at levels higher than 1st. You
do not add your Constitution modifier to your hit points.
For example, a 1st level fighter has 6 hit points while a 2nd
level wizard has 8 hit points.
14
Becoming Wounded and Dying
When you take damage you lose hit points first. When
you are out of hit points you begin to lose wound points.
At your DM's discretion, certain attacks might bypass hit
points and deal damage directly to wound points, such as
being attacked while helpless.
When you are reduced to 0 wound points you fall
unconscious. When you start your turn with 0 wound
points you need roll death saving throws normally.
Wounded. When your wound points drop below half
you become wounded. While wounded, any time you take
an action you lose a wound point and must make a DC 10
Constitution saving throw or fall unconscious. You can
repeat the saving throw each round to try and regain
consciousness.
Instant Death. When an attack reduces you to 0
wound points and there is damage remaining, you die if
the remaining damage exceeds your wound point
maximum.
Healing Wound Points
Whenever you would regain hit points, you can choose
to instead heal wound points. If you do so, instead of
regaining hit points for every 5 points of healing you heal
1 wound point. If you spend a Hit Dice to regain wound
points, you always regain at least 1 wound point.
While unconscious from being wounded, you cannot
regain hit points. When you would regain hit points, you
can choose to either heal wound points or gain temporary
hit points equal to the healing. While wounded, you
cannot regain hit points by spending Hit Dice or taking a
short or long rest.
Natural Healing. The rate you heal wound point
damage is dependant on the tone of your game. For a
heroic game, you recover half your wound points after a
long rest. For a gritty campaign, you only recover wound
points by spending Hit Dice. For campaigns in the middle,
you regain a number of wound points equal to your
Constitution modifier after each long rest.
Enemies
As this variant only slightly increases the overall health
of a character, it is easy to ignore the distinction between
wound points and hit points for monsters and NPCs.
If you wish to track a monster’s wound points, only
add half their Constitution score and assume they
automatically fail their saving throw when they become
wounded.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast,
Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc ("Wizards").
All Rights Reserved.
Definitions: "Contributors" means the copyright and/or
trademark owners who have contributed Open Game Content;
"Derivative Material" means copyrighted material including
derivative works and translations (including into other
computer languages), potation, modification, correction,
addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation,
abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be
recast, transformed or adapted;
"Distribute" means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell,
broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute;
"Open Game Content" means the game mechanic and includes
the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent
such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an
enhancement over the prior art and any additional content
clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and
means any work covered by this License, including translations
and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically
excludes Product Identity.
"Product Identity" means product and product line names,
logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts;
creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic
elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols,
designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes
and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio
representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells,
enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and
special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures,
equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos,
symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or
registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by
the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically
excludes the Open Game Content;
"Trademark" means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto,
designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its
products or the associated products contributed to the Open
Game License by the Contributor
"Use", "Used" or "Using" means to use, Distribute, copy, edit,
format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative
Material of Open Game Content.
"You" or "Your" means the licensee in terms of this
agreement.
The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content
that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content
may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must
affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No
terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as
described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions
may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this
License.
Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You
indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License.
Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to
use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual,
worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact
terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.
Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are
contributing original material as Open Game Content, You
represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation
and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed
by this License.
Notice of License Copyright: You must update the
COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact
text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You
are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the
COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you
Distribute.
Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product
Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, except as
expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the
owner of each element of that Product Identity. You agree not
to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark
or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing
Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another,
independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or
Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open
Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership
of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity
used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and
interest in and to that Product Identity.
Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You
must clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are
distributing are Open Game Content.
Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may
publish updated versions of this License. You may use any
authorized version of this License to copy, modify and
distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under
any version of this License.
Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this
License with every copy of the Open Game Content You
Distribute.
Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or
advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any
Contributor unless You have written permission from the
Contributor to do so.
Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply
with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all
of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or
governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game
Material so affected.
Termination: This License will terminate automatically if
You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such
breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All
sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be
unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the
extent necessary to make it enforceable.
 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the
Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards
of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip
Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman,
Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt,
based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002,
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb,
Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, based on material by Jonathan
Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker,Peter Adkison,
Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker
Swords of Our Fathers Copyright 2003, The Game Mechanics.
Mutants & Masterminds Copyright 2002, Green Ronin
Publishing.
Unearthed Arcana Copyright 2004, Wizards of the Coast,
Inc.; Andy Collins, Jesse Decker, David Noonan, Rich Redman.
13th Age Copyright 2013, Fire Opal Media. Authors: Rob
Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet. Edited by Cal Moore. Additional
editing by Simon Rogers.
5 Minute Workday Presents: Variant Rules Copyright 2016, 5
By 5 Minute Workday Publishing

Maneuvers & Commander

Archetype
27 new maneuvers and a new fighter martial
archetype

Diseases & Poisons

21 new diseases and 14 new poisons

Traps
19 new traps to stun, surprise, and sever!

Feats
22 new feats to customize your character