RTG D&D 5E Rules Red means latest changes

 

• Actions (RTG Houserule)

  • Help (Action) When you take the Help Action, you must meet the following requirement: 

    • You must be proficient in the check you are helping with

• Character Death (RTG house rule)

  • Depending on how your character dies, the DM reserves the right to bring your next character in at one level lower than your previous character.

• Combat

  • 1-handed and 2-handed weapons (RTG house rule)

    • If you attacked with a 2-handed weapon on your turn you do not have a hand free to make an unarmed strike as an attack of opportunity. Will apply the same rule to sword and shield wielders. You can AoO with what's in hand.

  • Cleaving through creatures (optional from the DMG)

    • If a melee attack reduces an undamaged creature to 0 hit points (actual damage), any remaining damage will carry through to another creature within reach of the attacker provided the attack roll was sufficient to hit

  • Combat Action Options allowed (optional from the DMG)

    • Armor Breaker - requires a heavy weapon (RTG House Rule)

      • You may use your bonus action and spend one of your attacks to hack away a target’s worn armor, natural armor, or shield.

      • When you do so, the attack roll is at disadvantage. If the attack succeeds and deals more damage than the target’s AC without the Dexterity modifier, it permanently lowers the target’s armor AC or shield AC by 1. Each target’s AC cannot be lowered by more than 3 and never below 10 + Dexterity modifier. Armor and shields with AC lowered to 0 are destroyed. Magical armor and shields cannot be damaged.

    • Climb onto a bigger creature

    • Counter Attack (RTG House Rule)

      • You may use your bonus action and spend one of your attacks to prepare a reaction that lets you follow an unsuccessful attack by a creature with a counter attack.

      • Choose a creature. Until your next turn, if the creature misses an attack against you, you can use your reaction to attack the creature. If it succeeds, you deal additional damage equal to your Strength or Dexterity modifier (minimum of 1).

    • Deflect and Parry (RTG House Rule)

      • You may use your bonus action and spend one of your attacks to prepare a reaction that deflects the strength of an attack made against you.

      • Until the start of your next turn, you may use your reaction against one enemy melee attack to soak some of the damage. Roll your weapon die, without applying modifiers and proficiency, and lower the damage from the enemy attack by that amount. If your roll is equal or higher than the damage dealt, the attack is parried and you gain advantage on your next attack against the same enemy.

    • Dirty Fighting (RTG House Rule)

      • If a creature missed with a melee attack against you before the start of your turn, or you're prone, you may use your bonus action and spend one of your attacks to make a 'dirty' melee attack against that creature, hindering its advance.

      • You make an attack roll and the target makes an opposed Wisdom (Insight or Perception) save. If you fail the opponent gains advantage on melee attacks against you until your next turn. If you succeed, you choose one effect:

        • Your target must make a Strength saving throw vs your Attack Roll to avoid being grappled

        • Your target must make a Dexterity saving throw vs your Attack Roll to avoid being Blinded or Suffocating until the end of its next turn

        • Your target must make a Constitution saving throw vs your Attack Roll to avoid being Stunned until the end of
          its next turn, or falling prone.

    • Disarm an opponent

    • Feign - requires a light or finesse weapon (RTG House Rule)

      • As a bonus action, you attempt to fake out your opponent.

      • You make an Intelligence (Deception) skill check opposed by your target’s Wisdom (Insight) check. If you succeed, you gain advantage on your next attack against that opponent this round. If you fail, you take disadvantage instead.

    • Momentum- requires a versatile wepoan being wielded 2-handed or a 2-handed weapon (RTG House Rule)

      • When you miss with a melee attack by less than 3, you may use your bonus action and your failed attack to build energy towards your next attack in the same turn. If you do so and next attack hits, you may reroll one damage die of your next attack then choose between the older and the newer value.

    • Overrun

    • Power Attack - requires a heavy weapon (RTG House Rule)

      • You may use your bonus action and spend one of your attacks to put more of your raw strength behind a blow using a heavy weapon, trying to deal extra damage.

      • Make an attack roll with -5 penalty. If the attack is successful, it deals additional damage equal to 2 + Strength modifier or 2 + Rage Damage modifier, minimum of 1

    • Raise Shield (RTG House Rule)

      • You may use your bonus action to prepare a reaction that uses your shield to deflect an enemy attack.

      • Until the start of your turn, you may use your reaction against one enemy attack that meets or beats your AC by 1. If you do so, all nonmagical damage is negated and shield's AC is reduced by 1 (or 2 if the attack is critical hit). If shield's AC drops to 0, it is destroyed.

    • Reckless Charge (RTG House Rule)

      • During a Dash or Jump action, you may charge a target and make a single attack or a Shove attempt as a bonus action. The dash or jump must be in a straight line and you must move at least 10 feet. You cannot charge through any obstacle (creature or object) nor through hindering or difficult terrain.

      • An attack at the end of a charge deals one additional weapon die as damage. A Shove attempt has advantage and double push distance. Anyone attacking you after a charge has advantage until your next turn.

    • Shove Aside

    • Stealth Actions (RTG House Rule)

      • Gag Mouth

        • Once you successfully Grapple a creature, you can attempt to gag it and prevent it from making sounds.

        • Use your bonus action and make an additional Grapple check. If you succeed on this grapple, the creature is gagged while the grapple persists. A gagged creature cannot cast spells with verbal components and its speech is muffled and cannot be understood. When the creature is no longer grappled, it is no longer gagged as well.

      • Grapple from Stealth

        • When you successfully enter stealth, as long as your stealth roll is above the Passive Perception of anyone guarding, your first Grapple check always gains advantage.

      • Choke Hold

        • Once you successfully Grapple a creature at the neck or other vital spot, you can make an additional Grapple check to attempt choking it unconscious or dead.

        • Attempt the additional Grapple check at disadvantage. If you succeed on this grapple, your hands move to the creature’s vital point and start cutting the flow of air. On the creature’s next turn, the choker makes a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the creature’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the creature succeeds, the Grapple is broken. If it fails, it is Suffocating.

      • Silent Takedown

        • Rogues or anyone suitably trained or equipped with a silent weapon can attempt to incapacitate an unaware creature, through force or with tools such as a garrote. A creature must be Surprised or incapable of taking actions and reactions to be subject to a Silent Takedown. You may attempt a weapon attack using your Dexterity modifier or a choke hold with a Strength (Athletics) check. The check DC is equal to 10 + the creature's Hit Dice.

        • If you succeed, the target creature is considered Grappled, Gagged, and Suffocating; and suffers disadvantage on their first check to break the Grapple if they were Surprised.

      • Drag

        • Once you successfully Grapple a creature, you may spend your action and attempt a DC 10 Strength check to drag a creature of your size, at a rate of up to half your movement speed. The DC increases by 5 for creatures one size category larger and decreases by 5 for creatures one size category smaller. You cannot drag a creature more than two sizes larger than your own. If two or more creatures attempt to perform a Drag action, they gain advantage and only one attempt needs to succeed.

        • If the creature is not paralyzed, unconscious or restrained, it can attempt a contested Strength check on its turn to free from the grapple.

      • Coup De Grace

        • Conditions such as Paralyzed, Unconscious, or Sleeping that grant automatic critical hits against humanoid creatures allow you to deal one final blow that kills the target.

    • Tumble

  • Critical Hit and Fumble Charts (RTG house rule)

    • If you roll a natural 1 or natural 20 we will be referring to our Critical Hits and Fumbles decks. 

    • Each character can only suffer 1 relavent fumble per encounter.

      • If you draw a card and it doesn't apply, you will draw again if you fumble again later.

  • Flanking (optional from the DMG)

    • When making a melee attack, you get +2 to your attack roll if your opponent is threatened by a character or creature friendly to you on the opponent’s opposite border or opposite corner.

      • If more than 1 friendly creature is flanking with you you get +5 to your attack roll.

      • When in doubt about whether two friendly characters flank an opponent in the middle, trace an imaginary line between the two friendly characters’ centers. If the line passes through opposite borders of the opponent’s space (including corners of those borders), then the opponent is flanked.

      • Exception: If a flanker takes up more than 1 square, it gets the flanking bonus if any square it occupies counts for flanking.

      • Only a creature or character that threatens the defender can help an attacker get a flanking bonus.

      • Creatures with a reach of 0 feet can’t flank an opponent.

  • Hitting Cover (optional from the DMG)

    • If your attack misses due to cover (+2 or +5) you instead may hit the cover, providing your final attack roll also beats the cover's armor class.  

  • Initiative (RTG House Rule)

    • If you are not present or do not respond when your iniitiative is called (pay attention during combat) you take the dodge action for the round​

    • Initiative Rush (RTG House Rule)

      • At the end of your combat turn, you may announce that you want to rush your next turn. If you do so, raise your Initiative for the duration of the combat by 2 + Dexterity modifier (minimum of 1). On your next turn after rushing you experience the following effect:

      • your first attack this turn is always at disadvantage

      • movement speed is halved during the turn, rounded down

      • bonus actions and class abilities can't be used this turn

  • Injuries (RTG House Rule)

    • Every time you fall unconscious you gain one Injury token. Write down the damage amount and type for each token. At the end of the combat encounter, roll on the Injury Severity tables (the DM has these) depending how many Injury tokens were accumulated during that encounter. The Injury token with the highest damage value decides the damage type of the injury.

    • Additionally, every time you roll a natural 1 on a saving throw against a spell or trap that deals damage, you gain one Injury token.

  • Massive Damage (RTG house rule) Suspended

    • If you take damage equal to or greater than 1/2 your maximum potential hit points, you must succeed at a DC 15 Constitution Saving Throw or suffer a massive damage effect as follows based on a 1d10 roll.

      • 1 = creature drops to 0 hit points

      • 2-3 = creature drops to 0 hit points but is stable

      • 4-5 = creature is stunned till the end of its next turn

      • 6-7 = creature can't take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn

      • 8-10 = creature can't take reactions until the end of its next turn

  • Non-Lethal Damage (RTG House Rule)

    • Non-lethal damage must be announced before damage is rolled, not after. You may announce that all damage dealt to specific creature is non-lethal and change your mind at any time. You may choose non-lethal damage only if you can concentrate while dealing damage.

    • Weapons without the Nonlethal property deal only 1 plus Strength modifier in non-lethal damage. Critical hits, spells and ranged attacks cannot be announced as non-lethal damage and may lead to accidental kills.

  • Rising from Prone (RTG House Rule)

    • Rising from a throw or fall is a difficult thing in the heat of battle. It takes training and skill to do so very quickly and even more so when faced with an aggressive adversary.

    • You must spend half your movement to stand from prone. When threatened, you must also make a successful DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletics check to attempt standing, with disadvantage when threatened by more than one enemy. Failure provokes an opportunity attack reaction from threatening opponents. If any of them beat your AC by more than 5, you remain prone.

  • Technique Fumble (RTG House Rule)

    • If you miss with a special attack that uses your bonus action, or its skill check fails, your next attack is always at disadvantage.

  • Unarmed Strike (One D&D playtest rule rule) An Unarmed Strike is a melee attack that involves you using your body to damage,  grapple, or shove a target within your Reach. Your bonus to hit with an Unarmed Strike equals your Strength modifier plus your Proficiency Bonus.  On a hit, your Unarmed Strike causes one of the following effects of your choice: 

    • Damage. The target takes Bludgeoning Damage equal to 1 + your Strength modifier. 

    • Grapple. The target must succeed on a Strength or Dexterity saving throw or it has the Grappled condition. The DC for the saving throw equals 8 + your Strength modifier + your Proficiency Bonus. This grapple is possible only if the target is no more than one Size larger than you and if you have a hand free to grab the target. 

    • Shove. The target must succeed on a Strength or Dexterity saving throw or it has the Grappled condition or you either push the target 5 feet away or knock the target Prone. This shove is possible  only if the target is no more than one Size larger than you.

  • Underwater  In addition to the PHB rules, if you cannot breathe underwater and take damage, you must succeed at a concentration check or lose your held breath.

  • Wounds (RTG House Rule)

    • If you take damage exceeding your Constitution score (minimum of 10) from a single attack, ability, spell, or trap that deals damage, you receive a Wound Risk. At the end of the combat round, make a Constitution saving throw at DC 14 + 1 for each Wound Risk during this turn, or you suffer a Wound. If this damage is higher than twice your Constitution score, you don't need to roll and always suffer a Wound. A critical success always resists, while critical failure always suffers the Wound.

    • Until end of combat or encounter, you lose 1 hit point at the beginning of your combat turn for each Wound you have suffered since the start of that combat. You can stop the bleeding damage during combat if you spend your action and make a DC 12 Medicine check.

    • Open Wounds can be removed with a Medicine DC 15 skill check and expending one use of a healer’s kit (contains 10 uses). A wound can also be removed with any kind of rest and the expenditure of a Hit Die. This die does not grant hit points, it only removes  the wound.

    • Wounds can also be removed with curative magic. Magic can cure both hit point damage and remove one Wound per die of healing. For example, magic items such as potions that heal 2d4+2 hit points also cure two Wounds.

    • If you have more Wounds than your level plus Constitution modifier (minimum of 3), you are immediately knocked unconscious. You keep the same number of hit points but are unconscious. If not stabilized before, in 2d4 hours you regain consciousness and lose one Wound. 

• Encumbrance (PHB optional rule)

  • Based on Strength

    • If carried load =< Strength x 5 you are unencumbered

    • If carried load >Strength x 5 and =< Strength x 10 you are encumbered

      • -10 to speed

    • If carried load >Strength x 10 and =< Strength x 15 you are heavy encumbered

      • -20 to speed

      • Disadvantage on all attacks, saves and ability checks that rely on Strength, Dexterity or Constitution

• Feats and abilities (RTG house rule)

  • Feats and abilities that refer to melee weapons will only be effective with melee weapon attacks.

  • Likewise feats and abilities that refer to ranged weapons will only be effective with ranged weapon attacks.

  • If anything causes you to have disadvantage on a roll, you cannot use the feat associated with that roll (so no great weapon mastery while restrained, no sharpshooter into the dark, etc.)

• Multiclassing

  • To use the multiclassing rules, you must have at least a score of 13 in the primary ability of all your classes.

• Party Inspiration Points (RTG House Rule) SUSPENDED

  • Inspiration Points are earned by the whole party of players. The party can earn up to 3 points per session and store points up to the number of players in the group. The party must agree when and how to spend the Inspiration Points.

  • The party earns Inspiration Points at the end of session with:

    • great roleplaying moments, deep storytelling with dramatic effect, rich detail in describing combat, or having appropriate fun

    • working together as a team to overcome extraordinary odds, defeating difficult opponents, and progressing the story when it is not openly directed by the DM

    • not having excessive small talk or phone use on the table (other than RP aids), actively listening or engaging with the DM, not distracting from the atmosphere of the game

  • The party may spend an Inspiration Point anytime to:

    • increase one player’s Initiative by +10 for one combat

    • regain one use for an ability that recovers with short rest

    • remove one failed Death Save or Injury Token

    • turn one already rolled Attack or Skill check by a player or DM into a failure or success. If a failure is turned into success, it is a partial success that may carry complications. Saves and Death Saves cannot be affected.

    • have the DM roll twice when rolling on a random effect table and the party chooses one of the possible results

• Skill check retries (RTG house rule)

  • When another player attempts a Skill check roll to gain new information (Investigation, Perception, History, Arcana, etc.) from the DM and fails, you may attempt the same check only if you have a higher Skill modifier than theirs.

• Speech (RTG house rule)

  • Speech is a free action but is limited to what you can say in 6 seconds on your turn (1 or 2 sentences at most).  Your character is limited to 1 word when it is not your turn, until it is your turn again.​