









Zero's Player Handbook A Houserule Compendium for 5th Edition D&D

I. Table Guidelines Basic Etiquette Outlined below are several points of basic etiquette, that I as a DM expect to be adhered to by the players in my campaigns, and think are important for a comfortable flow of the game and to guarantee a pleasant experience for all participants. It’s not personal. Keep personal conflicts out of the game and don’t let disagreements escalate into arguments, we’re here to have fun. Location, location, location! If at all possible minimize background noise on your microphone and don’t play in common rooms unless you have the entire place to yourself. Exceptions can be made for certain circumstances but try and maintain a good atmosphere, it makes the game more fun for everyone. Have snacks! (but mute your mic.) Try and grab all your snackage before the game begins, get a few cold sodas and some chips, but mute when you’re chewing. Even better, have a quick meal before the game so you don’t get hungry. Quiet in the back. When the GM is explaining something try and keep chatter to a minimum. Many times important details can easily be missed if you aren’t paying full attention. When entering a new room, meeting a new person, or encountering a monster for the first time, it’s generally a good idea to take a second to hear what the GM has to say about it. Be on time. When the game starts is when the game starts. Being prompt is an important bit of etiquette and shows respect to both your fellow players and the DM. If you can't make the session due to an emergency or on longer notice an important family fest for example, just let me know as soon as you know and as long in advance as possible. If you want to be part of a campaign I run though, in general it is assumed that you are willing to reliably schedule around "game night" and show up, so we can continue or story with all adventurers on board. Too far is too far. If anyone at the table is uncomfortable with a situation or series of events, they’re perfectly justified in speaking up about it. The game might stop then while we discuss what happened and see how we can prevent issues in the future or it may continue with an after session or off week meeting to follow up. If something feels wrong, be sure to say something, no one will think less of you for it. You’re the hero! (but so are they.) It's easy to be caught up in a "larger than life" persona—that is actually the entire point of the game, really. That being said, everyone deserves and needs their moment in the spotlight to actually participate. Speak up and take action so you aren’t left behind, but be sure to let others get a word in once in a while. It’s a lot more fun if everyone works together. The Metagame Metagaming to a degree is okay, for example reminding someone of their own class features or capabilities in combat or standard play is perfectly fine, and is in fact encouraged. When discussing plans during combat you should consider how you would be communicating in-character to avoid the NPCs overhearing you. Granted, as long as you provide a reasonable explanation I will generally let it slide by. I’ve seen that before! If you recognize a monster and remember its weaknesses, it would be pointless and cruel for me to ask you not to use that knowledge. You may share it with the other players as well, but first I’ll ask you to make the appropriate check or explain narratively why your character would know that information. Profanity is a Free Action! Conversation in combat is perfectly fine as long as you keep it in-character. Shouting strategies across the battlefield might allow the enemies to hear what you’re saying though; be careful and creative with it, maybe even speak in code or give more subtle hints. If you talk for too long you could end up spending your turn. Whenever you’re close to crossing that line the GM will give you an appropriate warning and allow you to take your turn. Ignore the warning(s) at your own risk. DM Fiat It's okay to ask questions if you think the DM has fudged something important, we all have off days. At times a DM Fiat may be put in place for the purpose of the story or as a function of a homebrew ruling, but you should never be afraid to ask questions. Just try to not interrupt the flow of the game too much with questions that could better be clarified after the session. This is about fun. Regardless of what the rules and numbers say we are coming together to have fun—that’s the purpose of the game. If a rule or set of rules is ruining the fun by either making the game too challenging or not challenging enough we can ignore or adjust it; this is our story. The rule of cool. If it’s awesome, it’s probably possible, especially if it’s well thought out and implemented. Rules will bend around cinematic actions at certain points, especially if it’ll make a great story at a later date, but not EVERY time something happens. It’s coolest the first time, keep that in mind. But my other DM… Chances are there will be situations that I rule on differently than DMs you have played with in the past. This is natural, as we all can see different interpretations of the rules if not fully laid out or may choose to ignore or change them for a specific purpose. If a ruling is made and there is good reason for it, chances are it will stand, don’t lose sleep over it; just roll with it. Include this in your Application to any of my games to show that you have read these Guidelines: "Code Zero". 2

II. Expanded Skills and Abilities Detailed below are a few additions to Ability Scores and Skills, that I feel add to the gaming experience and offer more depth to your characters and their interaction with the world. New Ability Score: Sanity Sanity represents your character’s mental well being and ability to stay calm and collected in the face of unreasonable situations. It’s something to keep in mind before reading the ravings of mad old wizards put to paper or investigating the temple of a dark god. Sanity checks are uncommon as mental stability functions mostly as a passive resistance to loss of self-control and mental faculties. A sanity check can model attempts to push the limits of your mind or steel yourself against terror. Examples of sanity checks can be found below: Understanding the ravings of a lunatic

Recognizing insanity in others

Deciphering a piece of text written in a language so alien that it threatens to break a character's mind

Overcoming the lingering effects of madness

Comprehending a piece of alien magic foreign to all normal understanding of magic Sanity saving throws are typically made against one of the following: fear, horror, or madness. Each of these types of sanity saving throws have their own triggers as described below. In addition to those outlined there, more possible triggers may come up. Fear Fear saving throws are the least consequential of the three types of sanity saves. Common causes for a fear saving throw are listed below. Seeing a lesser abberation, greater undead, fey, or fiend for the first time.

Seeing a trusted ally or beloved friend killed.

Being surprised by a gruesome or grotesque creature. If your character fails a sanity saving throw against fear, he will suffer from the frightend condition for 1 minute. If he fails the saving throw DC by 5 or more, the duration of this effect increases to 5 minutes. A character can repeat the saving throw at the end of every turn to shake off this effect. Horror When a character is confronted by a nightmarish revelation or experiences a brush with oblivion, they must succeed on a saving throw against horror. Common causes for a Horror saving throw are listed below. Discovering a horrible and momentous revelation (soylent green is people!)

Discovering you are all alone against a powerful and malevolent supernatural force.

Seeing your entire party defeated at the hands of terrible supernatural beings If your character fails a sanity saving throw against horror, he will suffer from the frightend condition for 5 minutes as described in the above section for sanity saving throws against fear. If he fails the saving throw DC by 5 or more he will gain a short-term madness (DMG p. 285). Madness Madness saving throws are rare and highlight the toll of the extreme horrors your character is subjected to. Examples of events that might trigger a Sanity saving throw against madness include: Commiting a heinous act that goes against the beliefs and values of your character.

Reading a tome that grants your character insight into the mad outer realms.

Being tortured extensively or isolated from all human contact for long periods of time. If your character fails a saving throw against madness, he will gain a short-term madness. If he fails the saving throw by 5 or more, he gains a long-term madness instead. If he already suffers from a short-term madness while gaining another, you gain a long-term madness instead. If he already suffers from a long-term madness while gaining another, he keeps both effects for their full duration, and suffers an additional indefinite madness. The duration of every long-term madness effect you suffer while already being under the effects of two or more long-term madness effects is indefinite, until you are cured of your madness (See Curing Madness p.8) Reduced Sanity Any time a character suffers from a long-term or indefinite madness, the character's Sanity Score is reduced by 1 for each. A greater restoration spell can restore Sanity lost in this way, and a character can increase his or her Sanity Score through Ability Score Inreases gained by level advancement. New Skill: Spellcraft While the Arcana Skill handles the mechanical textbook understanding of magic very well, I feel the spellcraft skill of previous editions referring to one’s practical ability to cast spells, practice magic and use and craft magical items is a good addition to the roster of skills in 5e. Classes with a full casting progression such as the Sorcerer, Bard, Cleric, and Wizard are automatically proficient in this skill. Classes with half casting such as the Paladin, Warlock, Artificer and some other classes with the plan of entering spellcasting archetypes such as the Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster can select this as one of the skills granted by their class. The skill’s ruling attribute will vary from caster to caster. It is always based on the primary casting stat of the class they are using to cast a spell. Spellcraft checks will be uncommon outside of specialized forms of casting such as altering a spell in a nontraditional manner (possibly even mimicking the effects of sorcerous metamagic), casting collaboratively with another spellcaster or using spellscrolls from another spelllist. 3

Knowledge Skills The inbuilt skill system in many ways lacks a manner of addressing certain areas of knowledge, rather than fully reinstate all the knowledge skills of previous editions, I have elected to use categories augmented with the skill specialization system outlined below. The five categories of knowledge are as follows: General Knowledge, Academic Knowledge, Social Knowledge, Professional Knowledge and Occult Knowledge. All knowledge skills have Intelligence as their ruling attribute. Proficiency in some knowledge skills is automatically granted to certain classes while others require the use of one available skill specialization to unlock. General Knowledge All classes begin play proficient in general knowledge. It represents a character’s knowledge of common practices and information that could be considered almost below notice. It might be used as a model for an understanding of wives tales, the lyrics to a bawdy drinking song, etc. Academic Knowledge Bards, Clerics, and Wizards begin play proficient in academic knowledge, the Barbarian cannot take proficiency in Academic knowledge at the beginning of play. It represents information that is not commonly known to the public which is usually constrained to those with a good education. Depending on your background, you may be granted proficiency in Academic Knowledge as appropriate. It might be used as a model for the understanding of linguistics, geography etc. Social Knowledge Bards and Rogues begin play with proficiency in social knowledge, all classes may take it as a proficiency at the beginning of play. It represents an understanding of certain social circles, customs and etiquette. It might be used to determine a character’s understanding of the customs of a foreign land, how to act in the court of a noble, or any number of other forms of social nuance not immediately apparent to the uninitiated. A successful social knowledge check could grant insight into the behavior of an unfamiliar race or advantage on charisma and persuasion checks in the court of a king or lord through the use of appropriate protocol. Professional Knowledge No classes are automatically granted proficiency in professional knowledge, but all classes may take it at the beginning of play by expending one of their specializations. It represents information based around a profession and as such is required to be specialized. It might be used as a model for knowledge of engineering, architecture, dungeoneering, leatherworking, barrel making, etc. Occult Knowledge No classes begin play proficient in occult knowledge, and it can not be taken as a proficiency at all at the beginning of play. It is inherently hidden and represents information beyond the traditional purview of mortal understanding. Those who have any substantial amount of occult knowledge are generally mad in some way or at the least unstable in their mental faculties. It might be used as a model for understanding of dark truths about the universe, the origins and motives of evil gods, and understanding the nature of aberrant creatures or outsiders. Skill Specializations In many ways the skill system in 5e is well developed, but lacks a certain depth in my personal opinion. The Skill Specialization system is my attempt at remedying this lack of depth. Similar to the rogue’s expertise class feature, you can select a few varied tasks or subjects which you have a deeper understanding of, treating a skill check as not just proficient but as having expertise while dealing with that specialization. In the case that you already have expertise in the skill as a whole, rolls made with a specialization have advantage as a means to represent your experience with that specific task. A few examples of specializations are listed below: Acrobatics (Battle Positioning),

Survival (Plains/Forest/Tundra/Arctic)

Arcana (Summoning) , Arcana (Schools of Magic)

History (War) , History (Elven History)

Deception (Disguise) , Deception (Poker Face)

Persuasion (Bartering) , Persuasion (Legal Appeals)

Stealth (Silent Movement) , Stealth (Hide in Dim Light)

Investigation (Hidden Caches)

Etc. Refer to the table below to determine the number of specializations allotted to your character's class: Number of Skill Specializations per Class Class Number Artificer 3 Barbarian 2 Bard 5 Cleric 4 Druid 4 Fighter 2 Monk 2 Mystic 3 Paladin 3 Ranger 3 Rogue 5 Sorcerer 4 Warlock 4 Wizard 4 4

III. Character Creation Rolling for Ability Scores The method used to determine Ability Scores will be to roll 4d6 dropping the lowest dice seven times, and afterwards assigning the sum to the seven Ability Scores in any order. You can reroll the whole Array if the rolled Array either does not include at least two Scores 14 or above, or has two or more Scores of 7 or below. You can continue to reroll until your Array as a whole satisfies these conditions. Character Options In general all official material released by Wizards of the Coast including the content intoduced in the Unearthed Arcana Column is allowed to be picked at character creation. All choices for classes, races and feats must be run by the DM though, and are allowed only up to his discretion. Depending on the Campaign world or setting some options might be ommitted, and not available or other options for races, subraces or special feats might be available. At the moment the Available Sources include: Players Handbook

Dungeon Master's Guide

Swordcoast Adventurer's Guide

Volo's Guide to Monsters

Elemental Evil Player's Companion

(Feat Compendium)

Unearthed Arcana Material Personal Feat On character creation you have to opportunity to create a minor personal feat for your character. This has to be created in the style of a normal feat as outlines as an option in Chapter 6 of the PBH, and should include a minor upside or Ability for your character, while also introducing a minor downside or flaw at the same time. Here you can get very creative and make your character feel truly unique while also creating plothooks and interesting roleplay opportunities at the same time. After you thought of something, contact the DM, and finalize the design with him. New Skills & Skill Specializations Don't forget to add the new knowledge skills and skill specializations to your character sheet as outlined in Chapter II of this rules compendium, and add the appropriate proficiencies and expertise cases that apply for your class and character. Alignment & Fitting In When creating your character and thinking about his place in the word and alignment, please be aware that in the games I run as a DM, parties are always assumed to be made out of cooperating and generally "good" minded characters. This does not mean that you can not pick an evil aligned character, but give him reason to cooperate, if only to pursue his maybe initially selfish goals. I don't allow PvP combat, stealing from your party members, or in general interparty rolls, if the other players has not given his explicit ok. 5

Starting Equipment To determine a character's starting equipment, the Variant Rule to roll for starting wealth by class from PHB p. 143 is in effect. Depending on the level your character starts at, he might also receive additonal funds and magic items. Please refer to the table below to determine your starting wealth. These funds can be used to buy any item available in the different equipment tables of the PBH, starting at p. 145. Only at character creation, you are also allowed to buy the different Equipment Packs and all included items listed on PHB p. 151 at the shown discounted price. Starting Equipment by Character Level Character Level Base Gold Gold Modifier Magic Items 1st Class Starting Wealth (PHB p.143) None None 2nd CSW + 50gp None None 3rd CSW + 100gp None 1 uncommon "wondrous"* item 4th CSW + 200gp None 1 uncommon "wondrous"* item 5th CSW + 300gp None 1 uncommon item 6th CSW + 300gp + 1d10 x 25gp 1 uncommon item 7th CSW + 400gp + 1d10 x 25gp 1 uncommon item 8th CSW + 600gp + 1d10 x 25gp 2 uncommon items 9th CSW + 800gp + 1d10 x 50gp 2 uncommon items 10th CSW + 1000gp + 1d10 x 50gp 2 uncommon items 11th 2000gp + 1d10 x 50gp 2 uncommon items, 1 rare item 12th 3000gp + 1d10 x 100gp 2 uncommon items, 1 rare item 13th 4000gp + 1d10 x 100gp 2 uncommon items, 1 rare item 14th 6000gp + 1d10 x 100gp 3 uncommon items, 1 rare item 15th 8000gp + 1d10 x 175gp 3 uncommon items, 1 rare item 16th 10000gp + 1d10 x 175gp 3 uncommon items, 1 rare item 17th 12500gp + 1d10 x 175gp 3 uncommon items, 2 rare items 18th 15000gp + 1d10 x 250gp 3 uncommon items, 2 rare items 19th 17500gp + 1d10 x 250gp 3 uncommon items, 2 rare & 1 very rare item 20th 20000gp + 1d10 x 250gp 3 uncommon items, 2 rare & 1 very rare item

*** "wondrous" item The term wondrous item in the table above means, that the starting magic items for 3rd and 4th Level fall under special restrictions. The uncommon magic item for these levels can only be taken from among the more utility focused items. Starting on these levels, characters should try to pick a flavourful magic item, that may be worked into the character's background, and not choose any magical weapons, armor or shields that give straight mechanical advantages in combat, nor a bag of holding.

Magic Item Reference For an easy way to check for the available magic items by rarity, please refer to this official table released by Wizards of the Coast, and the Dungeon Master's Guide for their descriptions. 6

IV. Variant & Houserules in Effect Character & Party Progression Milestone Leveling The party will level up via Milestone System, meaning your characters will advance in level when the party completes a certain quest or overall plotline. The speed at which this occurs of course depends on your actions, while out adventuring. How many threats did you eliminate? What secrets did you uncover? How much experience did you gain in fighting certain enemies etc. Replacement Characters If your character meets his unfortunate demise, you can create another character on the current level of the party, who will be introduced as soon as possible. Please be aware that, especially at higher levels, you are halted to come up with a fitting backstory explaining in greater detail the adventures your character has had to ascend to his level and status of renown. The party has a story to tell with all their deeds in the campaign so far, so your character has to have something to hold up to this standard and make him feel like part of the world. Rolling for Hitpoints gained on Level-up To increase the stakes and exitement of progressing your characters, you will always have to roll your hitdice to determine the increase in maximum hitpoints upon gaining a level. If you roll a natural 1 on this roll, you may choose to reroll once, taking this new roll even if it is another 1. You may not choose to take the rounded up mean hitpoints upon level-up Feats The use of Feats as presented in Chapter 6 of the PBH is allowed and even encouraged to make your character even more unique in both flavour and playstyle Feat Compendium Combat Additional Crit & Fumble Effects Critical hit and fumble charts add another layer of variability to combat encounters. A natural 1 or 20 goes from being merely a miss or double damage to an exciting escalation of danger by adding additional effects. If a natural 1 (Fumble) or 20 (Crit) on an attack roll gets confirmed by a second dice also missing or hitting the AC of the enemy respectively, a roll for an additional Crit or Fumble effect will be called. The DM maintains a curated Table of Effects with a plentora of interesting and potentially powerful effects for better or worse of both the party and the enemies they will encounter. Equipment Relaxed Encumbrance We will be using a system, that is a little bit more forgiving than the official encumbrance variant rule, but still will have you to think about the items you carry with you. At 2/3 of your character's carrying capacity (Strength x 15) he will be ecumbered, and when you exceed his carrying capacity your character will be heavily encumbered. At 1.5 times his carrying capacity you will be unable to move. Expanded Free Actions You character is able to interact with more of his equipment per turn. You are able to sheath/unsheath or equip/unequip two weapons of your choice per turn instead of one, or alternatively access an item you carry with you with a free hand after sheathing a weapon, or in reverse. Adjusted Potion Interaction Potions your character carries can be ingested by the use of a bonus action instead of an action. Administering a potion to another creature still takes an action. 7

Healing & Resurrection Healer's Kit Dependency A character can't spend any Hit Dice after finishing a short rest until someone expends one use of a healer's kit to bandage and treat the character's wounds. Exhausting Unconsciousness Upon regaining Hitpoints or stabilizing after dropping to 0 Hitpoints and falling unconscious, your character will gain 1 Level of Exhaustion. Curing Madness A calm emotions spell can suppress the effects of madness, while a lesser restoration spell can rid a character of a short-term or long-term madness. Depending on the source of the madness, remove curse or dispel evil might also prove effective. A greater restoration spell or more powerful magic is required to rid a character of indefinite madness. Alternate Resurrection Rules Character Death can often prove to become a minor inconvenience in some campaigns once the adventuring party reaches a certain level, with spells being available to return fallen comrades from the afterlife with temporary setbacks, robbing a small element of danger and threat to future conflicts and challenges within the story. To eleveate the stakes and gravity to the death of a character, the following alternate rules are introduced: If a character is dead, and a resurrection is attempted by a spell or spell effect with longer than a 1 action casting time, a Resurrection Challenge is initiated. Up to three members of the adventuring party can offer to contribute to the ritual cia a Contribution Skill Check. The DM asks them each to make a skill check based on their form of contribution, with the DC of the check adjusting to how helpful/impactful the DM feels the contribution would be. For example, praying to the god of a devout fallen character may require an Intelligence (Religion) Check at an easy to medium difficulty, where loudly demanding the soul of the fallen to return from the afterlife may require a Charisma (Intimidation) Check at a very hard or nearly impossible difficulty. Advantage and disadvantage can apply here based on how well acted and thought out the contribution offered is. After all contributions are completed, the DM then rolls a single, final Resurrection success check with no modifier. The bse DC for this final Resurrection Check is 10, increasing 1 for each previous successful resurrection the character has undergone, to signify the slow erosion of the soul's connection to this world. For each successful contribution skill check, this DC is decreased by 3, whereas each failed contribution skill check increases the DC by 1. Upon a successul resurrection check, the character's soul (should it be willing) will be returned to the body, and the ritual succeeded. On a failed check, the soul does not return and the character is lost permanently, without the option to return to life by this type of resurrection ritual. Only the strongest of magical incantations can bypass this resurrection challenge, in the form of a True Resurrection or Wish spells. These spells can also restore a character to life who was lost due to a failed resurrection ritual. If a spell with a casting time of 1 action is used to attempt to restore life (via the Revivify spell or similar effects), no contribution skill checks are allowed. The character casting the spell makes a Rapid Resurrection check, rolling a d20 and adding their spellcasting ability modifier. The DC is 10, increasing by 1 for each previous successful resurrection the character has undergone. On a failure, the character's soul is not lost, but the resurrection fails and increases any future Resurrection checks' DC by 1. No further attempts can be made to restore the character to life, until a resurrection spell with a casting time higher than 1 action is attempted. Magic Items More difficult Identification To identify the magical properties of a magic item, the spell identify is required. Appropriate Skillchecks like Arcana or a Knowledge Check relating to the item may still be used to give hints about the possible properties before a magic item is properly identified. Attunement to a magic items can only be attempted after you know its properties by use of the identify spell, or after you have spent a long rest investigating the item and passed an appropriate Skillcheck, in which case you will know that you are able to attune to the item and get to know its properties that way. Universal Spellscrolls Every character with the ability to cast spells can try to use any spellscroll, even if the spell in question is not on his spelllist. To be able to achieve this feat, the character in question must always make a Spellcraft Check (Skill introduced in Chapter II), even if the Spell is of a level he can normally cast without making an additional check. Scroll Mishap A creature who tries and fails to cast a spell from a spell scroll must make an Intelligence saving throw. If the saving throw fails, a magical mishap effect determined by the DM will occur. Mixing Potions If your character is still under the effects of a potion when drinking another, or is pouring multiple potions with different effects into a single big container, the strange properties of the magic potions might result in unpredictable interactions. 8

Skill & Ability Checks Proficiency required To make your characters feel more unique, and give more meaning to the choice of skill proficiencies and skill specializations you take for them, only characters who are proficient in a certain skill or ability can make specific checks requiring them, and only one check can be made in any specific scenario. If none of the characters in the party is proficient, the one with the highest modifier might try it. Of course other characters might still help the character attempting the skill or ability check in their efforts by making use of the rules for joint or group checks on PHB p. 175, and the DM might also at any point specifically ask for a cooperative check if the circumstances and art of the check call for them. Ongoing Education Throughout your adventures and through special downtime activities, you can expand your characters skills and abilities, gaining proficiency in the use of tools and skills as well as raising some of your ability scores. 9