Skill Specialization House Rule
Considering that skills are more overall encompassing and less defined in 5th edition I was thinking about when a character selects a skill they could specialize in one aspect of that skill.
For example: Nature includes: Recall lore about terrain, plants and animals, the weather, and natural cycles.
By specializing, the character would not have knowledge of all of these topics but rather select only one of them they are familiar with. The character would double their proficiency bonus in that one area. The other areas they would be clueless about as if they did not have the skill.
Skilled Feat House Rule
There really doesn't seem to be a way to add new skills after character creation or once you have taken the Skilled Feat. I was considering allowing characters to select Skilled Feat more than once in order to acquire learn new skills throughout level advancement.
I don't know why I am curious about this, but I am
Why are you so concerned with finding a way to increase not only the number of skills a character can have, but increasing the chance of skill success by +10% (by doubling the proficiency bonus)?
I would not use these house rules, but if you like them, use them, after all it's your game, play it the way that is fun for you.
I think its crazy to be completely static in skills after character creation. How is a character expected to learn new things in their life or is it more logical that once a character is created they cannot learn how to...
Make armor
Learn how to adept better in the woods
Learn how to fight better on a horse
Study and learn about the planes
Essentially I think the players hands are to tied after character creation.
Doubling the proficiency bonus in one aspect of a skill and losing out on all the other offerings that skill normally provides doesn't seem unreasonable to me at all. I'll be 11th level and having a +4 Prof. bonus in nature normally. With the specialization concept as described I know my way around geographically because I've looked at maps or travelled a lot. But I don't know how to find food, identify animals well, know anything about the weather or natural cycles of nature. I get +0 in all of these aspects. Overpowered?
Do you know where in the DMG: But keep in mind that the DMG has suggested rules for this sort of thing, like spending 250 gold pieces and 250 days learning to be proficient in a new skill.
Its possible that with the right skills adding here and subtracting there could be problematic. If it is I'll change it. If it isn't than its a campaign preference worth keeping IMO.
Can't put my hands on the DMG until later today, but when I do, I'll check it again, and if I am remembering correctly, give you the page reference for the suggested rule.
Found it, thank you. Another person mentioned this idea as well but I didn't look into it at the time. After reading it over I noticed that it applies to learning a new language or tool. Nothing about skills. Darn! It does indicate that the DM may consider allowing additional training options...such as skills perhaps? Maybe!
Page 231 of the DMG talks about giving characters special training as a reward, which could give them proficiency in a skill. This is part of rewards for in game quest completions. For example, if you wanted to reward a character with something other than money or magic, you could give them land, or keep, or training for a proficiency or a feat, etc..
Page 187 of the PHB talks about training to gain new languages and tool proficiencies, but also says that your GM may allow other types of training. I read this to mean "if you want a new skill proficiency, ask your GM."
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I made a conversion of the Sensei monk archetype for 5E, and one of its abilities was being an excellent mentor. This might even be a good idea for NPC teachers in general.
Basically, the mentor (a specialized NPC teacher) counts 1 day of training as a number of days of training equal to his or her proficiency bonus.
So a low level mentor could cut the training time in half, CR 5 mentor could reduce it by 2/3, a CR 13 mentor could teach you a new proficiency in 50 days instead of 250.
Alternatively, the reduction might be based on the mentor's Int, Wis, or Cha modifier. Or add one (or more) ability modifiers to the proficiency bonus.
In addition, I think it would be neat for a character to gain a new proficiency every few levels. Maybe 5, 9, 13, 17, or maybe 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19. Or maybe 2, 6, 10, 14, and 18? Not when most get feats. Spread it out a bit.
SmiloDan, I really like your idea about a mentor. Great thoughts, there.
I've been playing in a campaign with almost zero down time, so I was looking for a way to cook they system. :-P
One possibility is to give each player a free skill each time their proficiency goes up - that's easy to remember and not terribly overpowered, imo. (You could start PCs off with one less skill, if you were worried about them ending up with too many.
I definitely agree with allowing the skilled feat being able to be taken multiple times (especially in a small group).
I wouldn't double the proficiency bonus - the system is designed around not boosting numbers beyond certain limits and anything like that is going to start making the system creak, imo. What if the PC specialises and also uses the rogue or bard ability to double proficiency bonus? I think the numbers could get quite wild.
If you wanted a specialisation feature, I'd rather just make it a flat +2 bonus. Personally, I don't like reducing player options, so I'd also rather go for a -2 penalty on the rest of the skill (rather than being incapable). You could apply advantage for the specialty and disagvantage for the non-specialised components of the skill, but I think that's too much.
One possibility is to give each player a free skill each time their proficiency goes up - that's easy to remember and not terribly overpowered, imo. (You could start PCs off with one less skill, if you were worried about them ending up with too many.
I wouldn't double the proficiency bonus - the system is designed around not boosting numbers beyond certain limits and anything like that is going to start making the system creak, imo. What if the PC specialises and also uses the rogue or bard ability to double proficiency bonus? I think the numbers could get quite wild.
If you wanted a specialisation feature, I'd rather just make it a flat +2 bonus. Personally, I don't like reducing player options, so I'd also rather go for a -2 penalty on the rest of the skill (rather than being incapable). You could apply advantage for the specialty and disagvantage for the non-specialised components of the skill, but I think that's too much.
Actually I agree with your +2 -2 statement. Thanks
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The only house rule we've implemented so far is different types of fatigue. Barbarian rage fatigue from the berserker style only needs a short rest to remove, otherwise we felt that entire mechanic was way too punishing.
We've done the same for fatigue from chases, which are rules introduced in the escape from the abyss module.
I've implemented two house rules, but one of them is campaign-specific.
The campaign house rule was the introduction of NPC Cards as a way to stream line the large number of NPC allies the PCs may acquire at the beginning of Out of the Abyss.
The second was a change to Inspiration. Instead of me giving it to my players, instead players give it to other players. It's still done when a player role plays their personality, ideal, bond, or flaw; but this way makes the players learn each other's characters more. Besides, I have enough to do. :)
Encumbrance rules looked mess up to me. Going to have to spend some time looking at that closer too.
I strongly recommend this alternate system for 5e:
5e Simplified Encumbrance Tracking
Note: that's a link to EN World. Recently, ive been having issues with EN World links. If it doesn't work, Google search "5e encombrance simplified" and it should be the first link.
I strongly recommend this alternate system for 5e:
5e Simplified Encumbrance Tracking
Note: that's a link to EN World. Recently, ive been having issues with EN World links. If it doesn't work, Google search "5e encombrance simplified" and it should be the first link.
Thank you, I downloaded the files and will check them out. We will be starting to going through Castle Greyhawk (Greyhawk Ruins)this weekend and I will give them a try.
I think taking a skill or two instead of a stat increases/feat is reasonable as well.
I think taking a skill or two instead of a stat increases/feat is reasonable as well.
Agreed, that is a fair trade off, I'm surprised they didn't include that in the game. No problems with unbalancing or giving out to much to the PCs.
I had notes on some of the changes I'd make if I took the reigns as a GM for 5E, but I can't seem to find them at the moment.
Off the top of my head there were rules for alternate Dragonborn related to the outer and catastrophic dragons, changes to the weapon table to have it make a bit more sense (with standouts being reintroducing the High Crit weapon feature from 4E for certain weapons letting them triple the amount of dice rolled rather than doubling on a critical, adding a monk property along with a double property working pretty much as you'd expect as well as a few minor tweaks to weapon stats to better differentiate certain options from others), improving the spell point and ki point recovery capstones of sorcerers and monks respectively, improving healing on a short rest, races for a Legend of Zelda inspired campaign, how Rupees work and how to convert between standard currency and Rupees, adding new options to the Shove action, adding a new Trick action which encompassed some Pathfinder maneuvers such as Dirty Trick, Steal, and another I can't recall right now, ideas for additional Battle Master maneuvers with level prerequisites that provided abilities more appropriate to high level characters including a version of bladed dash, and others I can't remember. I'll have to find my notebook because a lot of it was stuff I hadn't gotten around to typing up.
And this was just the stuff I came up with before clarifications in the errata documents.
I use a couple houserules outside of changes that are mostly for the setting.
Fighting Style: Characters that receive the fighting style class feature may select any of archery, defense, dueling, great weapon fighting, protection, or two-weapon fighting regardless of what their class says is available.
Multiclassing: Paladin multiclassing prerequisites are now Strength 15 OR Dexterity 15 and Charisma 13
Hit Points: When determining hit points on level up roll 1d4 and add the difference between the 1d4 and your hit dice (ex. 1d10 = 1d4+6). Add your constitution modifier and other bonuses to hit points after as normal. First level hit points are still maximized per rules in the PHB.
Also use a revised version of the beastmaster ranger done by one of our players and grant one additional tool proficiency in an artisan/crafting tool at character creation.