8 Common D&D 5E Rules You Didn't Know Were Homebrew

Written by Arlie Pallant

Rules and settings in our D&D games that aren’t strictly core content, created just for our tables are described as Homebrew. This could be anything from new spells to entirely new classes, but many of these rules have traversed the tabletops. We’ve taken a look at some fun common homebrew rules tweaks of Fifth Edition D&D. 

First Level Feat 

Have you played D&D enough times that first-level characters feel boring? Gain a first-level feat rather than waiting until the fourth level. This can be a great way of showing your character’s personality before subclasses and it’s also often a character’s only feat because ability score increases are a more popular option at the fourth level. For more control, Dungeon Masters (DMs) sometimes choose options for a player to select from based on their backstory.

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Critical Skill Checks

Natural twenties (rolling a 20 on the dice) usually give you double damage but people frequently extend this concept further and make natural twenties and natural ones an automatic success and failure to add some more luck to the rolling. This can create some great moments where you describe an impossible success and maybe create some fun lore about your character’s skills in the process. 

Critical Fumble

Adding on to the point before - rather than just having a natural 1 be a failure, DMs sometimes make a natural 1 a fumble where your character messes up in a small way. This was inspired by old versions of D&D which had fumble tables. Nowadays it’s done on the fly and can make for some hilarious moments. 

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Potions

Who uses potions as a main action? You have the options of using dodge, more effective spells or attacking, so potions fall to the wayside. Making players able to drink these with a bonus action makes these far more common in regular play. 

Hidden Death Saving Throws 

One of the most stressful moments of the game is when your character has just been downed in a long-running campaign and the DM says “Roll a death save.” Three misses and your character is either dead forever or until the characters can get some resurrection spells. How better to add to the tension than to not let the other characters know how close to death their comrade is? DMs either roll this themselves or get the downed player to roll in secret so that the other players can’t relax with meta-knowledge. 

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Flanking Bonus

Flanking - you either love it or you hate it (if you’ve heard of it!). It’s a rule where the players get advantage for attacking when an ally is within 5 feet of the enemy on opposite sides. It adds an extra thought process to the game, but considering advantage can’t stack if you get it from another source, and it’s guaranteed for every turn, many DMs changed it to a flat bonus like +1 or +2. 

Re-flavouring Weapons 

Nothing sucks more than having an idea for a cool character, and realising the weapon you want is terrible. Some DMs have made their own weapons tables, but a simpler rule I’ve seen on a lot of tables is that you can re-flavour any weapon to another weapon - as long as the DM agrees it makes sense. 

Concealing Spells 

This one works especially well for sneaky groups – players can conceal spells through a stealth check against the enemy’s passive perception. In core D&D, stealth or invisibility spells end the moment you cast, which can prevent some cool moments like a character using thaumaturgy to distract their foe. There’s a similar sorcerer ability, but as those cost points rather than a roll, it can be balanced alongside it.