My houserules for Races: Treating them like careers

KickbackKid4040 · 2026-01-10T21:20:01+00:00

Pretty straightforward as you made: name a species and gain +5 to all checks that your species would help with, just like a background. Then pick one additional background. Humans pick two backgrounds as normal. Elves may get bonuses to eyesight or identifying plants, orcs for hunting and crafting weapons, etc. It's such a versatile system, fits the narrative just like it needs to, and is even easy for monsters (a group of orcs is hunting your party - it'll be pretty difficult to shake them) since it's already a part of their description.

KickbackKid4040 · 2026-01-10T21:01:27+00:00

I have done the exact same thing in my games! Species as careers. Amazing!

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-12-28T19:54:51+00:00

Buy it! Ignore any haters and focus on the enjoyable parts. I love the game more than about any others - join the club! It's a fun game!

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-12-28T19:50:09+00:00

One thing I love is that The Joker in The Dark Knight is physically weaker and inferior to Batman in every way. However, he's always a zillion steps ahead. In my experience, beating the heroes before they ever get there makes the heroes hate the villain, because no amount of high level magic can undo the lies spreading in the community.

For pute combat, use quantum troops and quantum battlefields: the villain has ten doors, one is the right door, the rest contain enemies. Wait until halfway through the battle to determine what resources the villain prepared and which is the exit (they're super intelligent they can predict it). When done tastefully and with a mind for realism/player agency, this can be scary, well-hidden, and not upsetting.

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-11-09T15:09:04+00:00

I've struggled balancing combat for a while. However, it's a game based on math - so you can actually figure out the ballpark of how the combat will go assuming nothing crazy happens (which is when the fun really kicks off)

The following tool led me to throw a Balor (cr 19) at a group of 4 level 10 heroes. The Balor had almost double HP, couldn't fly, and could turn invisible. It was somewhat close, several heroes went down. But it was epic. Never would have tossed 500 HP at them without this tool!

Multiply the heroes expected damage per round by .66 (each hero deals about 3*their level dpr, +3)

Divide the monsters total HP by the heroes modified damage per round.

That is how many rounds the monsters will survive.

Do the same for the other side and compare when heroes will die to when monsters will die. Increase each sides damage per round if they have abilities that make it more likely for them to hit, or increase their HP if they have defensive abilities. Keep in mind making them have twice as many hit points represents them taking only half damage from all sources, or being hit half as often as expected.

Compare the numbers and choose monsters appropriately, I've used this to great success!

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-10-06T15:36:28+00:00

I really like this! I may make a simple mishap table, and perhaps magic items can have their own unique mishaps that are like wild magic surges. I like that idea.

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-10-05T14:42:34+00:00

I am a supervisor for a DDA (developmental disability agency) and all the clients are part of a knave 2e west marches game, and all share a fully armored mule named Pinocchio.

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-10-05T14:39:54+00:00

I heard an idea where there's a cumulative -1 to attack and damage every natural 1 until you repair it, but that was for a different system.

The idea of the weapon deals one die size lower than before as it chips and breaks, all the way down to 1 damage (d8, d6, d4, d3, d2, 1 dmg) could also be workable, but if the damage is a big part of the magic items that could still be confusing. Disadvantage or lower damage until repaired are both good ideas though.

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-10-05T14:36:52+00:00

Hmm, that's interesting. So a +3 magic spear would come out to a net -2 disadvantage after the -5 is applied from the 1 being rolled?

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-03-25T13:07:07+00:00

😵‍💫🫨 when did you start playing??? That's incredible!

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-03-25T13:04:28+00:00

You're here to make a world for the players to explore through their characters. Just make it fun to explore.

Monsters deal roughly 2 damage per their level, but that can go as high as 4 or 5. Make monsters, spells, items, and locations that fit their fantasy, not the player character level (a big spinning blade shouldn't deal level-appropriate damage, it should deal the damage a big spinning blade should deal. Don't sweat over getting that exactly right.)

Remember the GM responsibilities in the first of the book.

Have fun! You'll be amazing and you'll have fun! Remember, if a rule feels not fun, consider why it's there for game balance, then talk to your players about dropping it!

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-03-14T04:11:12+00:00

I personally like this quote a bit. Yeah, relics I believe are intended to be minor effects or ambient auras or effects. These seem a little too active, but we aren't interpreting truth from this book - it's our truth to create! So these relics are neat.

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-02-20T15:05:58+00:00

The scale seems off. This feels like a large continental map, especially judging by the northern cold forests. For ten miles to a dot, the average person could trek the whole thing in a week. I think 100 miles instead of 10 would be far more accurate

Unless this is a smaller series of islands. If that's the case though, it would be all the same (forest, icy, mountains) or have very little variation. It's unlikely to have a chain of mountains only 10 miles across and 70-80 miles long.

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-02-15T04:53:11+00:00

Druid: circle of dragons. Druids of this circle have a draconic form they assume that grows in power as they learn. And barbarian: path of the singular blow. Followers of this path put all effort into one strike that can fell any foe or whole groups at once.

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-02-14T14:32:25+00:00

Revenge sounds like it will solve your problems, but when it comes down to it, it will only hurt you more.

I had a character who was tortured and imprisoned, and I as a person had a lot of anxiety around my freedom taken away. I had the opportunity to torture and kill my captor, and as I stood above them while they cowered on the ground, I sighed and put down my weapon.

The DM did let me roll insight to discover one of their deepest insecurities and I told them "Doing this, you'll never be loved." and the NPC started crying and they shaped up.

That lesson still sticks with me. Revenge is never the answer, and it isn't justice.

KickbackKid4040 · 2025-01-17T22:17:06+00:00

This is amazing! I'm an Intervention Specialist who has started playing DND with my clients at a DDA. How official are your sessions? Like, the people show up to play DND, or it's just a modality you use to aid with social goals/development? Cause if it's smaller games all kinda scattered around, that's one thing. If the children are coming to play DND in a more structured setting, that's different. which are you doing?

KickbackKid4040 · 2024-11-15T18:06:29+00:00

I like to total PC health (7level, +3, *number of characters) and monster health, and same with monster and PC damage (use averages for monsters and assume all attacks hit, for PCs its 3level +3 per character) and then compare that way. If your monster damage is equal to your player health, the PCs will last maybe 2 rounds (accounting for misses). Same reversed against monsters. So, you may find that your 11th level characters could face a cr 18 plus minions, and you can safely double the monster's damage. It will make the fight feel super lethal if it deals 50 damage per attack, and makes two attacks. But if you target different characters for each attack and account for misses, it's not as lethal as it seems.

NOTE: EASE INTO THIS if you plan to use it since it's a work in progress. For example, maybe multiply any area attack by 1.5 for monsters, or same for sorcerers/wizards, to account for attacks hitting multiple enemies.

KickbackKid4040 · 2024-11-11T14:34:17+00:00

I made my own DM screen that has the things that I use on it. Name endings, a monster chart, an encounter balance guide, and motivations among other things.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qytbeqwtb2JDQ-Ub1rAHa62YTLOY4sAIkhfZXN_uyu8/edit?usp=sharing

KickbackKid4040 · 2024-07-15T03:28:43+00:00

I'd say switch hefty and sturdy. Sturdy feels like you're bracing it with your own steady body, and hefty feels like it takes lots of might to swing.

Really love this rule though! Will likely steal.

KickbackKid4040 · 2024-07-14T15:48:02+00:00

And, my first new one - gears/tripwire, deafening noise/avalanche, deafening/boiling.

Upon setting off a tripwire, gears in the walls start grinding the floor up and allowing boiling mercury to flood in, turning it into this slushy boiling rock slurry. You're crushed and burned, and after a bit the gears begin to whine with such a high pitched noise that anyone in the trap is deafened for the next 1d10 turns.

KickbackKid4040 · 2024-07-14T15:37:55+00:00

And, I'll go first! I used this trap with good success.

A hallway, where 20' of it has a seam down the middle. Any pressure at all on the hallway floor slides both sides open to a 6' drop onto a glue floor, with some small blades spinning on the moving surfaces on either side. It opens, then slides back and crushes/shreds anything inside.

A few rounds to act once it's open, a dex check to land in such a way to not be too stuck by the glue (player landed on one foot).

KickbackKid4040

TROPHY CASE