5E rules hack for a West Marches style game

  Character Creation

The first hack I've made for 5e is changing character creation for a West Marches style game. I feel it's really simple, and also it gives more of an OSR feel. This forces players to not rely on their character sheet, but to rely on their own wits. I completely cut out backgrounds because I felt it was too much of a gimme, and far too powerful for the type of game I'm trying to run.

Standard Character Creation

• Roll 3d6.
• 1st level
• PHB and volos races only (Volos is my pick. You can pick any other book or just stick with PHB. But I'd stick with the one extra book only. It makes things simpler).
• PHB classes and most recent UA Ranger (Minor tweak: Primeval Awareness still uses spell slots and is reduced to 1/2 a mile. Just, too strong for my game since my hexes are 6 miles).
• UA classes on a case by case basis (I say this because there's some really cool stuff being worked on that I myself may gloss over. But don't be afraid to say "No" to something broken).
• No exotic languages unless your race/class specifies. For example, Dragonborns get draconic.
• No UA feats
• starting gold is based on class
• There are no backgrounds: any combination of 3 skills, languages, or tool proficiencies.
• Everyone buys their equipment with their starting gold.

Leveling Up

One of the more questionable components I've hacked is the leveling up system. It's way less forgiving than before, but feels more rewarding when you do level up. The requirements are as follows:

1. You must have the proper amount of XP
2. You must have the proper amount of Gold to level up
3. You must spend the time to level up
4. You must be back in town.
5. You must find someone to train with.

    Once you have all five of these prerequisites, you can then level up. It sounds like a headache, and just one more thing to book keep. However, it gives me and my players more verisimilitude. It feels like the world is persistent and real, and that they learn new techniques over time. The former just felt as if they were leveling up in a video game. The point of this is give a little more crunch. I use this at my table and had a lot of success. It breaks up the monotony of the same thing OVER and OVER again. We had some good RP moments that we wouldn't have had if this rule was not in affect, and also helps set a general pace for the party. Eventually, it's wise to just hand wave the RP moments unless the player chooses otherwise. But, it leaves the option on the table for things to be fleshed out if you so choose. Also, it pushes my players to want to explore(we'll get into this later), to want to gather riches, and find these long lost secrets. Because let's face it, if they don't explore, they don't level up. This is all subject to change. I may even go for straight up gold-for-xp in the future. But, for now, this works for me. Hopefully, if you decide to use this, it works for you too.

Character Death

This is pretty inevitable. But to combat the complete loss of a character, everyone has a set starting point if they die: 1/2 xp, 1/2 gold, and roll on the magic items table below that. I chose to do only consumables and rings since I may get a lot of complaints that their wizard wouldn't use a magical great axe.

Conclusion

    For the most part, this is some of the meat and potatoes of my games. It's served me well so far. It makes the players treasure their treasure more, and treasure their PC's all the same. Tell me what you think. Below are the tables I use. Steal them all, and enjoy them.

My next post will probably be on how I reward xp. I do it purely on exploration. Forgive the line spacing at the end. Blogger was really finicky with copying and pasting from docs into here. Until next time!

Starting Wealth by Class

Class	Gold
Artificer	5d4 x 10 gp
Barbarian	2d4 x 10 gp
Bard	5d4 x 10 gp
Cleric	5d4 x 10 gp
Druid	2d4 x 10 gp
Fighter	5d4 x 10 gp
Monk	5d4 gp
Paladin	5d4 x 10 gp
Ranger	5d4 x 10 gp
Rogue	4d4 x 10 gp
Sorcerer	3d4 x 10 gp
Warlock	4d4 x 10 gp
Wizard	4d4 x 10 gp

Beyond First Level

Note- This includes living expenses for the time being. This is considered all of your downtime for those days of leveling up.

Level	Prerequisites
Level 1 to 2	200 GP and 2 days of training
Level 2 to 3	500 GP and 3 days of training
Level 3 to 4	1500 GP and 3 days of training
Level 4 to 5	2500 GP and 4 days of training
Level 5 to 6	3000 GP and 5 days of training
Level 6 to 7	3200 GP and 6 days of training
Level 7 to 8	6000 GP and 7 days of training
Level 8 to 9	9000 GP and 8 days of training
Level 9 to 10	11000 GP and 9 days of training
Level 11 to 12	22000 GP and 10 days of training
Level 12 to 13	50000 GP and 11 days of training
Level 13 to 14	55000 GP and 12 days of training
Level 14 to 15	60000 GP and 13 days of training
Level 15 to 16	70000 GP and 14 days of training
Level 16 to 17	85000 GP and 15 days of training
Level 17 to 18	90000 GP and 16 days of training
Level 18 to 19	100,000 GP and 17 days of training
Level 19 to 20	150,000 GP and 18 days of training

Starting gold beyond 1st level  Table

Level	Magic Item
2	1 x common
3	2 x common
4	1x common 1x uncommon
5	2x common 1x uncommon
6	2x common 1x uncommon
7	1x common 2x uncommon 1x rare
8	1x common 3x uncommon 1x rare
9	1x common 2x uncommon 1x rare
10	1x common 2x uncommon 1x rare
11	1x common 2x uncommon 1x rare
12	2x common 2x uncommon 2x rare
13	2x common 3x uncommon 2x rare
14	3x common 3x uncommon 2x rare
15	3x common 3x uncommon 2x rare
16	3x common 3x uncommon 3x rare
17	3x common 3x uncommon 2x rare
18	3x common 4x uncommon 3x rare
19	4x common 4x uncommon 3x rare 1x legendary
20	4x common 4x uncommon 3x rare 1x legendary

Magic Item Table by Rarity

Common Magic Items

1d10

1-5	Potion of Healing
6-10	Potion of Climbing

Uncommon Magic Items

1d12

1	Oil of Slipperiness
2	Philter of Love
3	Potion of Animal Friendship
4	Potion of Fire Breath
5	Potion of Greater Healing
6	Potion of Growth
7	Potion of Hill Giant Strength
8	Potion of Poison
9	Potion of Resistance
10	Potion of Waterbreathing
11	Bag of Holding
12	Ring of Warmth

Rare Magic Items

1d10

1	potion of gaseous form
2	potion of invulnerability
3	potion of mind reading
4	potion of stone giant strength
5	potion of superior healing
6	scroll of protection
7	staff of healing/6 uses then destroyed
8	Bag of Beans
9	chime of opening
10	potion of clairvoyance

Legendary Magic Items... still under construction. I have time.

OSR stuff

     Below you will find my rules-hacking for my homebrew world called Amnuel. It's set in a world that's similar to 13th century Europe, complete with it's own religious uprising, power struggles, and shit flowing through the larger cities streets. It's a fetid wasteland that has long since outlawed magic and recently began enslaving the Elven population. (cliche', I know, but I like that shit...). Dwarves are dirty drug smugglers that decided they'd take advantage of the humans lowly constitutions and peddle their opiate like mushroom drugs. These are typical of what type of dwarves you'll find on the surface. Rarely do they leave their subterranean wonderlands...

     Anyways, this is what I've been working on for some time. I've got a human Scout class and Witch Doctor class. The Witch Doctor is something I wanted to use in my game for a long time. I pulled some inspiration from here while creating it. This guys website has all kinds of disgustingly beautiful tables to parse over. I'd recommend any new or old GM/DM or whatever to go over there and read a little. It'll open up a new world to you.
   
     The scout is my answer to the lack of a human scout type class in this game. They're kinda in between a specialist and a fighter. Only gaining half of the hit bonus only using strung weapons, and increasing bushcraft and stealth as they level up, albeit slowly.

Disclaimer! These are works in progress. They're usable for what I need and they fit my worlds theme. If you don't like them, tell me why below and help me brain storm! If you do, also let me know. It's nice to hear from my fellow dungeoneers! Thanks!

     LotFP Hack for Amnuel

  Starting HP

Scout            4     

Witch Doctor  3

The Scout

    The wide open wilderness is home for the Scout. No other human has honed their skills as well as the Scout has for the untamed wilds. Scouts can be found leading a group of raiders to a forgotten tomb in search of treasure, or leading a search and rescue party through an unmapped portion of the landscape; Scouts are unmatched in the way of the traveler. The Scout is an expert navigator, huntsman, and trapper. They are invaluable when it comes to finding your way.

    The Scout begins play with a 2 in 6 chance in stealth and bushcraft in a wilderness environment, and an increase to their attack bonus using any strung weapons (short bow, long bow, crossbows etc..) by +1 every other level at a maximum of +5.

                                                                      Saving Throws                                                                            _

Level        Experience    HP    Paralyze     Poison      Breath    Device    Magic           Stealth & Bushcraft

0**                       -          1d6         16               17             15           18           19                            1 in 6         

1                           0         1d6         14               15             13           15           16                            2 in 6

2                    2,000       +1d6         14               15             13           15           16                            2 in 6

3                    4,000       +1d6         14               15             13           15           16                            2 in 6   

4                    5,500       +1d6         11               12             13           15           16                            2 in 6

5                  11,000       +1d6         11               12             10           13           14                            3 in 6

6                  22,000       +1d6         11               12             10           13           14                            3 in 6

7                  44,000       +1d6          9                10             10           13           14                            3 in 6

8                  90,000       +1d6          9                10             10           13           14                            3 in 6

9                190,000       +1d6          9                10               8           12           13                            4 in 6

10              280,000         +2*          6                  7               8           12           13                            4 in 6

11              382,000         +2*          6                  7               8           12           13                            4 in 6

12+    +140,000/lvl         +2*          4                  5               8           12           13                            4 in 6

*Constitution modifiers no longer apply

**NPC only, player characters start at level 1.

The Witch Doctor

    Healers of their people, the Witch Doctor hails from the borderlands, the savage frontier, or the bitter forests. These people are practitioners of dark arts. Their source of divine power reaches from the spirit world. Where that resides is entirely up to the player: the underworld, the veil, purgatory, etc… The Witch Doctor practices a dying art that is being snuffed out by the holy light of The Scarlet Order. The practice is illegal, and extremely dangerous.

    Chants are your cleric spells you can cast per day. You have the same spell progression as a cleric, and all cleric spells of your casting level are open to you. The Witch Doctor must drink the fresh blood of an animal it just sacrificed and then fall into a trance. Once in the trance, it is impossible to break from it. Unlike other spell casters, you can move while casting. Suffice it to say, you must always be carrying a small sacrifice with you.

    Miracle is your ability to confer with the spirit world to conjure the impossible. Miracles, depending on how great they are, require some sort of offering: a soul, property, coinage, etc… In game terms, you’re trying to increase your chances, not gain a bonus to roll. So, making offerings will ONLY increase your “x in 6” chances. Be creative with your offerings. Describe what sort of deity you follow so the referee can determine if the offering is suitable. Sometimes your deity will put you on some sort of esoteric journey, and sometimes an offering is as simple as slaying a goat in its name. The referee will be the final judge.

 

    Referee note: Using miracles shouldn’t be used willy-nilly, so if the Witch Doctor fails by 2 or more, then do a cast the bones roll, ignoring successes. If it says success, it just flat out fails. If it is 5 or more, automatically roll on the That Which Should Not Be table. Remember this rule of thumb: The greater the miracle, the greater the offering needs to be. The exchange must be even, if not somewhat lopsided against the character. He is asking for a favor, after all… also, resurrection is incredibly dangerous using the miracle. The chances can’t EVER go over 1 in 6, and on a failure, automatically roll on the That Which Should Not Be table.

Level        Experience    HP    Paralyze     Poison      Breath    Device    Magic      Chants           Miracle

1                           0         1d4         16               13             17           15           16              1          1/Week -3 in 6

2                    3,000       +1d4         16               13             17           15           16              1          1/Week -3 in 6

3                    6,000       +1d4         16               13             17           15           16              1          1/Week -3 in 6

4                  12,500       +1d4         16               13             17           15           16              1          1/Week -3 in 6

5                  24,000       +1d4         14               10             15           13           14              2          1/Week -2 in 6

6                  48,000       +1d4         14               10             15           13           14              2          1/Week -2 in 6

7                  98,000       +1d4         14               10             15           13           14              2          2/Week -2 in 6

8                150,000       +1d4         14               10             15           13           14              2          2/Week -2 in 6

9                300,000       +1d4         12                 8             13           12           13              3          2/Week -1 in 6

10              380,000         +1*         12                 8             13           12           13              3          2/Week -1 in 6

11              480,000         +1*         12                 8             13           12           13              3          2/Week -1 in 6

12      +140,000/lvl         +1*         12                 8             13           12           13              3          2/Week -1 in 6

13      +140,000/lvl         +1*           9                 4             11             9           10              4          3/Week  0 in 6

14      +140,000/lvl         +1*           9                 4             11             9           10              4          3/Week  0 in 6

15      +140,000/lvl         +1*           9                 4             11             9           10              4          3/Week  0 in 6

16      +140,000/lvl         +1*           9                 4             11             9           10              4          3/Week  0 in 6

17+    +140,000/lvl         +1*           6                 2              9              7            8               5          3/Week  1 in 6

*Constitution modifiers no longer apply