D&D 5th Edition Rules

This is a compilation of rules for running a game in Orthonia using the D&D 5e system.

Elves

 * Subraces: High elves are referred to as raven elves, and wood elves are referred to as owl elves.
 * New subrace: Eagle elves
 * Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
 * Natural Athlete. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill. This trait replaces the Keen Senses elf trait.
 * Heightened Elf Weapon Training. You have proficiency with four simple or martial weapons of your choice. Three of these weapons must be either the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, or longbow.
 * Muscular Flourish. Whenever you make a Charisma-based skill check, you may choose to add your Constitution modifier to that skill check's result. You can't use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.
 * Rugged Toughness. Whenever you would gain one level of exhaustion, you may choose to ignore it. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Dragonborn

 * The dragonborn Breath Weapon trait reads as follows:
 * Breath Weapon. You can use your action to exhale destructive energy. Your draconic ancestry determines the size, shape, and damage type of the exhalation. When you use your breath weapon, each creature in the area of the exhalation must make a saving throw, the type of which is determined by your draconic ancestry. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 4d6 at 6th level, 6d6 at 11th level, and 8d6 at 16th level. After you use your breath weapon, you can’t use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Gnomes

 * Rock gnomes start the game with proficiency in their choice of gnome pistols and gnome harquebuses.

Aasimar

 * Aasimar have the following racial traits:
 * Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.
 * Age. Aasimar mature at the same rate as humans but tend to be quite long-lived.
 * Alignment. Due to their celestial heritage, Aasimar are often good. However, some Aasimar fall into evil, falsely seeing their view as righteous and wholesome. Their community-based nature means that Aasimar tend to be lawful either way.
 * Size. Aasimar are built similarly to most humans. Your size is Medium.
 * Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
 * Darkvision. Thanks to your celestial heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
 * Celestial Resistance. You have resistance to necrotic damage and radiant damage.
 * Celestial Legacy. You know the light cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the lesser restoration spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Once you reach 5th level, you can cast the daylight spell once with this trait as a 3rd level spell, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
 * Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Celestial.

Genasi

 * Genasi have the following racial traits:
 * Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
 * Age. Genasi mature at about the same rate as humans and reach adulthood in their late teens. They are often longer lived than humans, though.
 * Alignment. Genasi are independent and self-reliant, and can assimilate well with their surroundings. They tend towards a neutral alignment.
 * Size. Genasi are as varied as their mortal parents but are generally built like humans, standing anywhere from 150 to 180 cm. Your size is Medium.
 * Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
 * Subraces. The world of Orthonia is known to have four subraces of genasi: Wind, Earth, Fire, and Water, one for each of the main Inner Planes.
 * Subraces:
 * Air genasi:
 * Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
 * Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and either Primordial or Auran.
 * Breathless. You do not need to breathe, and are immune to drowning, suffocation, and effects that require inhalation.
 * Mingle with the Wind. You can cast the levitate spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
 * Earth genasi:
 * Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
 * Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and either Primordial or Terran.
 * Earth Walk. You can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without expending extra movement.
 * Merge with Stone. You can cast the pass without trace spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
 * Fire genasi:
 * Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
 * Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and either Primordial or Ignan.
 * Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. Your ties to the Elemental Plane of Fire make your darkvision unusual: everything you see in darkness is in a shade of red.
 * Fire Resistance. You have resistance to fire damage.
 * Reach to the Blaze. You know the produce flame cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the burning hands spell once with this trait as a 1st-level spell, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
 * Water genasi:
 * Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
 * Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and either Primordial or Aquan.
 * Acid Resistance. You have resistance to acid damage.
 * Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.
 * Swim. You have a natural swimming speed of 30 feet.
 * Call to the Wave. You know the acid splash cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the create or destroy water spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Alignment rules

 * Clerics must be at most one step away from the alignment of their patron deity. (e.g, a cleric of a neutral good god must be neutral good, lawful good, chaotic good, or true neutral). If a cleric ceases to be within this alignment window, they may keep all their cleric levels and powers but cannot take another level in cleric, unless they return to the necessary alignment or begin to worship a different deity that satisfies this requirement. As described in the PHB, the domain they choose for their subclass must be one that belongs to their patron deity.
 * Contrary to what the PHB says, an evil cleric may choose the Life domain, and a good cleric may choose the Death domain, provided that they are worshiping a deity that can provide it.
 * Druids must have the same alignment on the good/evil axis as the deity they worship. If they stray from this alignment, they keep all their druid levels and powers but cannot take another level in druid, unless they return to the necessary alignment or begin to worship a different deity that satisfies this requirement.
 * Paladins must be of lawful alignment. To be a paladin is, by definition, to be lawful. As for the good/evil axis, there is a little more flexibility. A "true" paladin has a good alignment; an evil paladin is known as a blackguard instead. If a paladin becomes evil, it trades its current subclass for the Oathbreaker subclass, as described in the Paladin page. If a blackguard becomes good, it trades the Oathbreaker subclass for any true Paladin subclass, according to the character's new outlook. If either becomes neutral on this axis, they keep all their paladin/blackguard levels and powers but cannot take another level in either until they attain the desired alignment.
 * While the Oath of the Ancients subclass is still a perfectly available option, the implications of its description might seem odd for a lawful character. Don't worry too much about it - follow your oath to the best capacity of your alignment. (I may write a different description for it later.)

Worship rules

 * Classes that use divine magic must worship a deity, who is their patron for their abilities and provides magic for them. If they stop worshiping this deity for any reason, they lose all class abilities (except for ability score improvements) relevant to that class, until they formally.
 * Clerics must worship a deity that is at most one step away from their own alignment. The details of this are highlighted above.
 * Druids must worship a deity that has Nature as one of its domains.
 * Paladins must worship a lawful and non-evil deity, and blackguards must worship a lawful and non-good deity. Additionally, they may not worship lawful neutral deities.

Spell rules

 * Cure wounds uses d10s as its dice, not d8s.
 * New spells:
 * Enhance undead: 2nd level necromancy (ritual), 30 second casting time, 30 ft. range, V/S/M (a handful of bone dust, a drop of pitch), 24 hour duration; This spell magically enhances undead creatures that are friendly to you. When you cast this spell, choose one of the following options, the effects of which last for the duration of the spell. While the spell lasts, you can end one option as an action to gain the benefits of a different one.
 * Disguise undead. Choose two zombies, ghouls, ghasts, wights, or vampires within range that are friendly to you. When you finish casting the spell, they take on an appearance that makes them look as though they are living people. Casual glances at the creatures won't betray the disguise, and only an Intelligence (Investigation) check vs your spell save DC will reveal that they are, in fact, undead.
 * Awaken undead. Choose two corporeal undead within range that have an Intelligence of 6 or less and are friendly to you. They each gain an Intelligence of 10, and gain the ability to speak a language you know and any languages it understands.

Miscellaneous rules

 * The "massive damage" rule is in effect. When a creature takes damage from a single source that is equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer an effect determined by a roll on the table below.


 * {| class="wikitable"


 * width="1%" align="center"|d10
 * width="20%" align="center"|Effect
 * 1
 * The creature instantly drops to 0 hit points.
 * 2-3
 * The creature instantly drops to 0 hit points, but is stable.
 * 4-5
 * The creature is stunned until the end of its next turn.
 * 6-7
 * The creature can't take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.
 * 8-9
 * The creature can't take reactions until the end of its next turn.
 * 10
 * The creature suffers no ill effects.
 * }
 * 8-9
 * The creature can't take reactions until the end of its next turn.
 * 10
 * The creature suffers no ill effects.
 * }
 * The creature suffers no ill effects.
 * }


 * The "hero points" system is in effect. Each player character starts at 1st level with 5 hero points. Each time the character gains a level, he or she loses any unspent hero points and gains a new total equal to 5 + half the character's level. A player can spend a hero point whenever he or she makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw. The player can spend the hero point after the roll is made but before the affect is applied. Spending the hero point allows the player to roll a d6 and add it to the d20, possibly turning a failure into a success. A player can spend only 1 hero point per roll. In addition, whenever a character fails a death saving throw, the player can spend 1 hero point to turn the failure into a success.

5th Edition pantheon

 * Adareos: Light, War
 * Beala: Life, Nature
 * Dradanus: Light, Tempest
 * Emandrel: Life, Light
 * Gaumain: Knowledge, Trickery
 * Urinda: Knowledge, Life
 * Avonans: Death, Life
 * Caemandra: Trickery
 * Corvit: Trickery
 * Lienne: Knowledge
 * Maki: Knowledge
 * Tromar: Nature, Tempest
 * Aliz: Knowledge, Trickery
 * Kraine: Knowledge, War
 * Galather: Death, Knowledge
 * Sazra: Death, Nature
 * Velrot: Tempest, War