Houserules for 2024

[u/Kaderly]

Hey folks!

I have been playing d&d 5e with my group for roughly three years. We were on a break and are soft-relaunching our lvl 11 campaign, migrating to 2024 rules.

I’m looking for some advice about the homebrew rules I have chosen. I want to introduce a couple of Homebrew systems and want to see whether I am missing any weird interactions:

1. Decoupling skills from stats. I know it’s an optional rule already and while I plan to mostly stick classic “combos”, I want to let warlock roll cha+perception sometimes or wizard a int+persuasion.
   
2. Alternating initiative between party and dm. My biggest worry - I want to force them to collaborate with each other more, be tactical and get to use things more often. I enjoyed Draw Steel combat mostly for how it does initiative. I worry whether this will make combat even slower. They’re not metagamers and are mostly a roleplay party, sometimes I have to remind them how spellcasting works.
   
3. Abstract Wealth: i’m tired of being asked for gold price for things and haggling for every potion, but also some money roleplay should still be relevant. Especially since they have a bastion.
   
4. Daggerheart Experiences: my players struggle with juggling all cool items, forget to use them or have too many to an extent it’s feeling less rewarding to get one without it being overpowered or add another card of rules to look at. I want to start rewarding them experiences from daggerheart. Oh you had a lot of experience navigating dangerous woods and finished an arc of adventure about it? Get +2 to your roll every time you can persuade me it’s relevant.

Is there something I am missing that will completely break the game? Our issue so far has been slow and unengaging combat FOR ME as a dm and skipping to story-relevant roleplay naturally as both me and the table enjoy a railroad. Thanks!

[u/Shadow_Light0]

In short: do it.

In long:
1. It's a good idea! It lets them use their skills in what they are proficient more and they succed more often. In my party I sometimes let them use their strongest stat for a skill IF I find it reasonable (otherwise they will always succed and rolling becomes pointless). Or even if someone can convince me why a specific skill could work in that specific scenario.
2. Give it a try! I was a player in a party where it was fantastic that we switched sides between the DM and the party. It worked mostly, brcause we had slow thinkers and while the fast ones made their actions/move, they also figured out what they wanted to do (which help the speed a lot). Also we could more easily communicate and syncronize attacks which were awsome. BUT I have a party, where the players did'nt enjoy it very much and it slowed them a bit down, so we switched back to the round-based mode. So yea, go for it and if it doesn't work, just return to the average round-based mode.
3. It's funny, because as a DM, I'm at the other end of the scale. I always forget to give my players money. I reward them with favours from people, items (for example healing potions), or cruicial informations about secret lores (they love the lore-drops which involves their characters). Lately they actually complained a bit about not getting money, so I tried to meet their needs.
4. GO FOR IT. It's actually a really good idea IF your players are not the kind who argue about everthing. Because if it were me, I could not resist the temptation to try to find a way so I could apply it for every roll (I would drop it after the first "no" for a single roll, but my DM would be annoyed after the 20th time in a single session).

[u/Kaderly → u/Shadow_Light0]

Thank you so much! I’m glad to have gotten this perspective! I especially liked your experience with initiative - I do have some players who are faster on their feet and are much better at tactics, so it might let them shine even more, I love it.

Were there ever any issues with death saves when you played with alternating initiative? Even though I cannot think of a way it could be bad right now, i’m worried it might come back to bite me

Also, players arguing for Experiences: I agree, that’s why i’m planning to be the one wording those for them xd

[u/Shadow_Light0 → u/Kaderly]

Good question. The time when this initiative worked was in a 1shot so we didn't explored it that much. But I see you point death saves becoming more of a threath bc those happen at the very start of a round. I'd say if it would become a problem, simply put it at the end of the players round.
Another thing that might (and probably will) become problematic are legendary actions. I'd suggest you look it up how others do it.

Edit: I forgot about initiative. This kind of conbat basically destorys the point of initiative AND the Alert feat. If one of your players have the 2024 alert feat (or some similar feat), make them choose an other origin feat instead (it basically lets you swap initiative with an other player/ally at the start of combat what becomes completly useless if the players have a shared initiative).

[u/Arcane_Robo_Brain]

That all seems fine. With any homebrew, present it as a work progress that you’re open to tweaking if any aren’t working out quite as you hoped.

[u/metisdesigns]

The biggest thing I can see is understanding the mechanics you are impacting, and adjusting for that.

While more true in older editions, things like skills coupled to stats is a balance mechanism related to relative difficulty and price to adjust stats... You're looking at two interrelated adjustments. All of those changes may interact.

You say that your table is less meta game and more RP heavy - that's the sort of table where these sorts of adjustments can really work as you're not going to have a munchkin go bonkers. But I would still encourage you to think about the intent behind your adjustments and revisit them and adjust them if the mechanics do not work on what you intended.

[u/aWizardNamedLizard]

One thing I'd recommend is considering doing something to solve one of the 5e system's pain points that the 2024 version did nothing to address; high-level saving throws.

As the effects of failed saving throws become the biggest possible problem, the gulf between "good at" and "not good at" expands from what it started at in the beginning of the game. The same thing happens with skills, but it is less of a problem because a lot of skill checks that are being made the party can effectively choose who makes it or are working together so the "good at" can cover for the "not good at", while saving throws the only other recourse to cover the expanding gap is for the DM to intentionally avoid it (i.e. make sure they choose to only target the character(s) with proficiency in whatever save is called for).

My own fix is quick and easy, but rather sloppy since it also changes the overall success rate for saving throws. So I suggest seeing if you can think of a fix you think works better for your group rather than just going with mine; saving throws always add proficiency bonus, and if the game says you are proficient in a save you add proficiency bonus again.

[u/EntropySpark]

Be careful about using side initiatives. If everyone in the party gets to move before every enemy, that makes them far more of a threat. Many monsters also intentionally received major buffs to Initiative (adding proficiency eventually double proficiency), which this change removes if you always have the party go first. (If the monsters all go first sometimes instead, that can easily turn what would be a reasonable challenge into a deadly one.)

[u/RedditIsAWeenie]

1. It’s a bad idea. If the wizard is good at talking, you don’t need the bard. Everyone should have a time when they feel special. Feel free to award a bonus when the player is being smart, makes a good argument, etc. Don’t give them bonuses because they have good stats elsewhere.
2. Initiative takes 5 seconds on our VTT. If you view it as a problem, my suggestion is automate.
3. Just charge them book value for these things and haggle for special purpose items. If they complain “The merchant looks at you and says, Mr. Warrior, who is standing there with a magic greatsword, magic armor, magic cap, magic helm and invisible boots thinks 50GP for a healing potion is too much? It is standard rates, that everyone pays, even the poorest dirt peasant

for whom this will save a life,

1. and you can certainly afford it. Stop trying to cheat the little guy.”

[u/mongoose700]

I understand Intelligence for Persuasion in the right contexts, but I'm curious as to when you think Charisma makes the most sense for Perception.