NEBELUN'SNEBELUN'SNEBELUN'S EXCERPTS:EXCERPTS:EXCERPTS: DEFENSEDEFENSEDEFENSE
Nebelun's Excerpts ’ elcome to this excerpt of Nebelun’s Pandect of Possibilities, a handbook of variant rules options for the fifth edition of Dungeons & The complete handbook is organized into chapters that align Dragons®. Within this tinkerer's tome, core with sections of the Player's Handbook or Dungeon Master's D&D® game mechanics are tuned and Guide. If the rules in that chapter catch your interest, give tweaked, reconfigured and re-imagined, but them a spin in a playtest or even a regular session - either as with an eye to keeping the distinctive feel (and W a block, or by picking individual options. Even the more compatibility) of D&D fifth edition. transformative options are designed to be friendly with game balance and involve minimal or no conversion. If they don't catch your interest, or fail to shine in the playtest, you can leave them and still try some of the other options. Although The core aim is a cohesive but modular set of optional rules everything in this ruleset is designed to play well together, that add useful depth for both roleplayer and rollplayer, each option also stands alone and you can simply take the without disrupting compatibility or accessibility. Fairness is a bits that suit your group's taste and style. central tenet but since they do tend to have a (pseudo) realism approach, some options will suit a grittier campaign setting. Some complexity is a given with increased depth. Stripped- If you like this excerpt, look out for other excerpts released down rulesets have their own merits and there are some over the coming weeks, or download a Pay What You Want great examples. However this not a stripped-down ruleset. copy of the complete Nebelun’s Pandect of Possibilities at This is unapologetically a buffed ruleset. Cohesive but in a DMs Guild. Please consider a short review/comment to let modular plug-and-play format so you can find the right me know it was appreciated - it would make my day. And if balance for you. You should feel free to use as many, or as few, you could spread the word, that would be great. of these options as suits your group: a pick-and-mix of variant rules for the discerning homebrewer, dice goblin, or curious If you liked it a lot and would like to do more, I would be experimentalist. Ingredients for a craft homebrew to have the very happy if you donated something to a charity of your right depth and bite to suit your taste. choice. Finally, the rules here have been extensively playtested in various iterations, but they are wide in scope and have transformative mechanics, so no amount of small group This is an except from the handbook, which is available as testing will find all the potential gaps. With wider use, there Pay What You Want on DMs Guild: Nebelun’s Pandect of will inevitably be issues and suggestions, so please let me Possibilities. The excerpt has been edited for simplicity and know at [email protected]. I will update the DMs to remove DMs Guild Creator Resources artwork for wider Guild document in the summer and you will be able to re- distribution. The full handbook has additional details and download the latest version then, with credits for additional options, as well as a richer, more illustrated, format. contributions.
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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. n this variant to the combat rules, attack success is influenced by the skill of the defender as well as the attacker. By bringing defensive ability into the attack roll, it doesn't need to be reflected in hit points, which can become more specifically health and toughness ("Damage and Healing", Nebelun’s Pandect of IPossibilities). To achieve this, two additional numbers are included when you calculate your Armor Class (AC): your proficiency bonus, and a -4 correction factor (which maintains balance with the core rules). So a level 5 fighter (proficiency bonus of +3), with a Dexterity of 15 (ability modifier of +2), and wearing scale mail armor (base AC 14), has an AC of 12 +2 +3 -4 = 13. At lower levels, this will slightly increase the chance of being hit (and the chance of higher damage from degree of success). While at higher levels, both will decrease. These effects balance well with the "Gritty Progression" option (page 9) and you should consider using both options together. A variant for the defense option is to use it alongside the "Proficiency Dice" option (Dungeon Master's Guide), allowing players to roll a proficiency die ("defense die") when defending, instead of applying the fixed proficiency bonus to their AC. Rolling your chance to influence an attack (and, with degree of success, its damage) can be fun for players and is intuitive. However, if you choose to use the defense option for monsters as well, it is easier and faster for the DM to use the fixed proficiency bonuses for the monsters. The defense option may also be used for monsters, with their However, to avoid conversions for monsters, you can instead proficiency bonus being determined by their challenge rating choose to apply the defense variant to PCs (and perhaps (Monster Statistics by Challenge Rating table, Dungeon NPCs) only. As mentioned above, the "Gritty Progression" Master's Guide), leading to the AC adjustment in the table option in the "Damage and Healing" section provides an below. This maintains the same balance as the standard effective counterbalance for the change in AC with level, so system when PCs and monsters have similar levels. would then also be used for PCs only. PCs will be hit slightly more often at lower levels but will have higher total hp, and Monster Armor Class by Challenge Rating they will be hit slightly less often at higher levels but will then have lower total hp. Monsters would simply work the way CR Proficiency Bonus AC Adjustment they do in the standard rules, avoiding any need for 0-4 +2 -2 conversion. Which is fine - a gelatinous cube really is more about absorbing hp than fencing with its pseudopodia. 5-8 +3 -1 9-12 +4 no change 13-16 +5 +1 17-20 +6 +2 Study Notes 21-24 +7 +3 If there is one main driver for change in this world, it is conflict. So if you are forced to fight, fight for 25-28 +8 +4 change. I have found that heavy objects produce the most effective change. 29-30 +9 +5 Insinoori Tonttu
POSSIBILITIES | DEFENSE 1 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. TinkeringTinkering withwith thethe LawsLaws ofof thethe D&DD&D MultiverseMultiverse
Within this tinkerer's tome, game mechanics are tuned or reconfigured in a set of optional variant rules that can add compatible depth to the world's greatest roleplaying game.
You are free to use as many, or as few, of these options as suits your group: a pick-and-mix of variant rules for the discerning homebrewer, dice goblin, or curious experimentalist.
If you like this excerpt, you can download the complete Nebelun’s Pandect of Possibilities at DMs Guild (pay what you want). Includes variant rules for: Degree of Success • Combat • Defense & Tactics • HP • Spellcasting • Overexertion • Weapons & Armor • Feats • and more
A craft homebrewed DMs Guild publication for
use with fifth edition DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®
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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.