These are the rules for the Ravonn’s Tower campaign, current as of December 3, 2025. Sections in italics are clarifications or thoughts in process of being workshopped. They aren’t canon unless your GM says so. There are a lot of places with incomplete rules, for now.
Change log:
- December 3: Fast Travel rework, Encumbrance rework, Hirelings and Bastions
- October 9: Mostly small tweaks now that we have a lodge in play…
- September 17: Added Preparation Dice and Maneuver Mechanics. Added House rule section, increased number of Town Services
- September 10: Personal Expedition Downtime Activity. Prospecting rules. Chart a Path Expedition
- July 30: New ways to spend DP (Check out Patrols!)
- July 21: Fast Travel Change, Random Encounter changes, Gamemaster Glossary
- July 15: Added Fast Travel Rules
Campaign Premise
The campaign is based around the idea that back home, in the Old Kingdom, life is dull, the mysteries have all been solved, and the spice of life, danger, is missing. Here, in the New World, is adventure! An untamed land that needs hearty souls to travel across it and find its riches. And those people are you.
From the starting city, Ravonn’s Tower, the party goes on an expedition, traveling to wherever they are drawn. This can be a predetermined point, or just going to see the sights, whichever. Overland travel rules apply, which require changes to some of the rates of recovery of various resources D&D characters get. It also requires specific rules for dealing with encumbrance and time.
By the end of the session, the party returns to a safe haven, of which the Tower is the only one discovered or constructed at the start of the campaign. Here they can sell their finds, trade goods, and all of the other interactions that players might need, which includes interacting with the campaign’s premise, a crystal that trades valuable materials for what amounts to experience.
Welcome to Ravonn’s Tower
At the edge of a wilderness unexplored by known civilizations, stands a tower with a small hamlet built around its base. This is Ravonn’s Tower, named after the Archmage Ravonn who found a path here through the magical aether, and built the tower which is the lifeblood of this small community. There’s a lot of mysteries about the tower, as well as Ravonn himself, but there are some things that are known enough for day to day living.
First, the tower contains a large crystal set up by the Archmage Ravonn before his disappearance that functions as a teleportation circle that the Old Kingdom uses to transport people and supplies here and trade goods back to home.
Second, the crystal in the center of the tower accepts submissions of gold, jewels, and other valuable objects, sending them back to the Old Kingdom. They repay this service by sending power to the crystal, which empowers the donator as well as others beyond the donator to a lesser extent.
Third, each Adventurer of Ravonn has a magical necklace, the conduit of this power, that cannot be stolen or forged. It collects information that the wearer discovers, sending it back to the Crystal where it can be reviewed. Also, in dire circumstances, when the corpse of a necklace wearer is brought to the tower, they are revived. If all that is recovered is the necklace, they can be revived as well. The revived will have a debt to pay the crystal, but is able to adventure again.
Mechanically:
The tower counts as a Teleportation Circle.
The necklaces are a meta item. They don’t really exist as something you can interact with until someone has died. They allow players to use knowledge acquired at the table, as well as outside of the game from talking with other players.
Experience points are gained primarily by giving the Central Crystal items and gold. Each piece of gold is worth 1 XP; items are worth their gold value. 20% of your donation goes into the Reservoir, which sets the base XP of all characters. So if you donated 100 gp worth, you would get 120 XP, and other members of your party would also essentially get 20 XP.
Downtime Points
In this campaign, time passes differently than most games. First, for every day that passes in the real world one day passes inside of the campaign. This is represented by downtime points, a resource that represents characters having a bit of time to be productive after spending a day securing their room and board. In addition, characters who are not currently on an expedition also gain downtime points for each day of the expedition.
These points cannot be spent during an expedition, however after a session has completed or even between sessions, points can be used in a variety of ways, related to what a D&D character can do with a free hour.
Buying Time
The limited number of Downtime Points represents the character spending time doing various chores and errands to maintain their equipment and secure room and board. You can instead pay for these expenses and have more time.
When doing a Downtime Activity, you can choose to pay an additional 2 gp. This generates an additional DP applied to this activity for each time you pay this. This can bring the DP cost of an activity to zero, but you cannot bank any DP this way.
Downtime Activities
Personal Expedition: For an initial cost of 10 DP, you can travel a number of nodes away from your starting location equal to your level and perform one kind of Expedition Action, using 1 DP per Segment spent, up to 10 Segments. No encounters are triggered when performing a personal Expedition
Activities Requiring Proficiency
Craft a Healing Potion (Herbalism Kit or Alchemy Supplies). As per the PHB rules, with each day of crafting costing 8 Downtime Points. Requires proficiency with and access to a Herbalism/Alchemy kit, and 25 gp of materials.
Craft Magical items. As per the DMG rules, with each day of crafting costing 8 Downtime Points. Any magic item must assemble the raw materials. A roll for available Raw Materials can be done once for free each time returning from an expedition, but it costs 20 Downtime Points to roll again.
Craft Non-magical items. As per the PHB rules, with each day of crafting costing 8 Downtime Points. Crafting costs half the item’s gold value in materials, and takes 1/10th of its purchase cost in Downtime Points to make.
Scribe a Spell Scroll. As per the PHB rules, with each day of crafting costing 8 Downtime Points. Requires proficiency with Arcana or Calligrapher’s Supplies. The spell must be prepared for each day of crafting.
Bastions
A bastion is an adventurer’s home base, where they can invest in their hobbies and prepare materials they need to develop their skills.
When a character reaches level 5, they become eligible to erect their Bastion as per the rules in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. The following are the level 5 Facilities available in this campaign.
- Arcane Study (Has Prerequisites)
- Caravan (new option, see below)
- Garden
- Library
- Sanctuary (Has Prerequisites)
- Smithy
- Workshop
If you spend 7 DP, you can take a Bastion turn as if you spent 7 days in your Bastion. You can only take this option if you are in the same place as your Bastion.
New Bastion Option
Caravan
Level 5 Bastion Facility
Prerequisite: None
Space: Cramped
Hirelings: 1
Order: Travel
A caravan allows your Bastion to be mobile. Facilities can be designed to fit in covered wagons and can be packed away and deployed as needed.
Empower: Travel. When you issue the Empower order to this facility, you instruct its hireling to lead the caravan to the location you specify. The Bastion travels at the vehicle’s speed, 8 hours per day for the duration of the Bastion turn. The Bastion stops early when it reaches the specified destination or if something happens to stop your travel. The DM treats this activity like it was the Maintain order.
Bastion Disclaimers
- Bastion Options outside of the list above can be selected, but they’re going to be decorative, not functional
- Matt has no intention of rolling for Bastion Events. If you want to tell a small story about your fiefdom, go ahead
- Certain items from Bastions may not interact with the idea of moving very well, and others might not work well with the setting. There is probably a lot of discussion and fixing that will need to happen, but this should work for general rules. Caravan might fix some of them? *Shrug*
- Certain Magic Items on the Arcane Tables are not available in Matt’s Campaign. Check with him before crafting. (that’s a level 9 thing, I think)
Town Services
As Ravonn’s Tower Grows, more options for spending downtime and acquiring good gear are made available. These establishments will slowly grow more prestigious over time, but can have their development increase by completing Quests for the locals.
The available locations currently in town are:
The Cup and Crystal (Level 1 Tavern): Corin DeGrey was the first to jump at the chance to start a business in this new land. And he set up his tavern as a place for food and fun. Adventurers can often be found here during their downtime.
- 1 DP: Listen to rumors.
- 1 DP: Participate in a Low Stakes Gambling event.
Featherfoot Training Hall (Level 1 Salle) Jordan LaFoote of the Featherfoot Dragoons has been rescued and has opened a place to train.
- He can teach the Breakfall Lunge Maneuver.
- 1 DP: Weapon Drills. Gain a Preparation Die for Weapon Attacks.
Seville’s Witch Hut (Level 1 Store): A Grung has set up a place for potions and other strange remedies. He currently sells Seville’s Healing Potions for much cheaper than Snau Fa, but his are a little experimental.
- For 1 DP, you spend time as a test subject helper. Gain a Preparation Die for saving throws against magic and magical effects.
- Seville’s Potions of At Least
- Healing. (50 gp). Works as a potion of healing, with probably minor side effects.
- Climbing. (50 gp). Works as a potion of climbing, with probably minor side effects.
- Seville’s Potions of Delayed Featherfall (50 gp)
Snau Fa’s General Store (Level 1 Store): Run by a whitescale dragonborn. She has a bit of everything, and is never satisfied with the layout of her shop. Her prices reflect the fact that most items need to be shipped in from the Old Kingdom.
- Message a Sage: You correspond with learned scholars back in the old kingdom. DP cost is dependent on the difficulty of the question.
Squal’s Shinies (Level 1 Store). Run by Squal, an aarakocra. He seems more interested in buying gems, than in having stock to sell. He has a few art objects imported from the old kingdom for sale.
Stonewall Lumberyard (Level 2 Resource): After an investment from local adventurers, the Stonewalls opened an operation to provide lumber to the burgeoning town.
Stonewall Quarry (Level 2 Resource): After the success of their Lumberyard, the Stonewalls branched out into stone.
Temple of All Gods (Level 1 Temple): Father Grathod is the orc that plays the careful game of balancing the petty politics of all of the gods of the old kingdom, as well as the gods of this new world. Only one of them has been found so far.
- Remove a Curse: The nature of the curse in question may change the costs in gold and downtime.
- Pray to All Gods: 1 DP, gain a use of Heroic Inspiration.
- Pray to Dunatis: 5 DP, gain a Prep Die usable in Mountainous terrain
- Pray to Vanu: 1 DP, Father Grathod doesn’t know exactly what this blessing does.
Thread Bear’s Cloth (Level 1 Tailor): Ursula, a bear shifter, has come and opened up a shop. She has little dolls made of all of her repeat customers.
- 1 DP, you can get your clothes custom fit. Gain a Preparation Die for Stealth.
- Ursula sells Ghillie Cloaks (100 gp)
Whittle’s Workshop (Level 1 Crafter): An elderly halfling by the name of Whittle has set up shop. His hearing is bad, so make sure you pronounce it right; he gets defensive about his height.
- For 20 gp, Whittle will make a bespoke wooden figurine for you.
Guilds
The following Guilds in Ravonn’s Tower have many services available. Most notably, however, they have young, bright-eyed members who are looking to offer their services in exchange for some coin. And the Guild only takes a small fee…
Apprentice 50 gp
Journeyman 500 gp
Master 1,000 gp
The following Guilds offer Hirelings:
- The Chef’s Guild
- The Laborer’s Guild
Training
The following options are available to acquire proficiency in various tools and languages. This costs 30 Downtime Points, and 300 gold.
Languages
- Draconic from Snau Fa
- Dwarven from Clan Stonewall
- Gnomish from Luthra Chainmallet
- Grung from Seville
- Orcish from Father Grathod
Maneuvers
- Breakfall Lunge from Jordan LaFoote
Tool Proficiencies
- Brewer’s Tools from Corin DeGrey
- Chef’s Tools from the Chef’s Guild
- Miner’s Tools from Stonewall Quarry
- Lumberjack’s from Stonewall Lumber
- Jeweler’s Tools from Sqal
- Poisoner’s Kit from Seville
- Weaver’s Tools from Ursula
- Woodcarver’s Tools from Whittle
Investing
Times are tough in a frontier town. There’s a lot that needs to be done, and not as much resources to do it as people would like. Adventurers can choose to invest resources in the businesses around town. Most of them will pay out a small dividend.
It costs 100 gp to gain a share in a business. Every week in game, you’ll receive 5 gp back.
You can also choose to just donate instead, with no return on investment.
Quests
The shopkeepers and business folk of Ravonn’s Tower have goals they are working towards. Sometimes, adventurers can be part of these goals.
Quests are NPC requests that help develop the town. Many of them do NOT provide a sufficient monetary reward for the trouble they are. However, completing quests develops the businesses of Ravonn’s Tower, which allows them to provide better services and a wider variety of goods.
Expeditions
When it’s time for players to leave town, they go on an Expedition. The premise of the game relies on players returning to town at the end of the expedition, which might involve the “Fast Travel” rules below.
An Expedition can handle around 10 Segments of activity in a day. These are loose periods of time, somewhere around one and a half hours in duration. Trying to do more than this has a risk of exhausting characters.
Spending time in an area provokes the locals. Spending a lot of time in one area makes it more likely to be attacked by the dangers of the wilderness.
Expedition Actions
Build Structure (Stationary)
The wilderness is not static, and an industrious character might turn their energy towards making life easier in the future. Construction is part of that. Normally, these just take time and don’t require a check of any kind. Tools and tool proficiencies might be required for some structures, limiting the amount of assistance others can provide. The number of Segments required is split among people working on the project.
Construction Material is normally wood, but it can be stone or snow, whatever material is being used to build the structure.
Stone can be used as a Construction Material. As it’s heavier, it takes. 50% more Loot Slots of Material when used in place of lumber. The resulting structure is immune to fire damage.
Snow can be used as a Construction Material in places where it is readily available. It takes half the amount of labor and half the Loot Slots. Structures made of snow may be temporary depending on the weather.
Structures
Here are a few examples of things that can be built.
Bridge, Rope – 4 Segments. A bridge of ropes that stretches over a short river or ravine. Requires 150 ft of Rope to cover a 20 ft span. This bridge is not usable by most beasts or vehicles.
Cache – At least 1 Segment. Secure Loot to recover later. Rations may need extra effort to protect them from creatures. A survival check is used to set the DC for how hard it is to be found.
Cut Ladder – 1 Segment to cut handholds into a 10 ft section of wood or stone.
Defensive Barricade – 2 Segments and 2 Loot Slots of material per 5ft of barricade.
Hunting Blind – 1 Segment. A character hiding in a Blind has advantage on a Stealth check to hide and on Survival checks while taking the Hunting Action. A blind can only provide this benefit to one creature at a time.
Improve Natural Staircase – 1 Segment per 30 ft of path. Reduce the DC of a tricky way up by 1. Requires mining tools.
Lodge – A Lodge is a building consisting of at least one large core building. It is often seen as a starting place for building a larger establishment. It takes 5 Segments of Skilled labor, 40 Segments of Unskilled labor, and 20 Loot slots of construction materials.
Shelter – 1 Segment and 1 Loot Slot of material. Makes a shelter for a better Night’s Rest. As long as materials are available, this single action makes space for 5 Medium creatures to be sheltered.
Watch Tower – 4 Segments – Make a 15ft tower out of wood posts. This gives advantage on Perception checks to creatures in the tower. Requires 10 Loot Slots of Construction Materials.
Skilled and Unskilled Labor
Characters with Proficiency in relative tasks, like Mason’s tools or Carpenter’s Tools, count as Skilled Labor. Characters without relevant Proficiency can only perform Unskilled Labor.
Crafting
Far away from easy supplies and tools, there’s not much that can be made. But there are a few items that might be worth working on while traveling.
Forage/Hunt
Foraging is about gathering food. Characters who Forage make a Survival Check at the end of the Segment, and gain supplies. Terrain type and other considerations, like danger and pressure will change the DC.
1 successful Segment of Foraging should net the character 1 day’s worth of food. The more impressive the skill check, the more secondary material is acquired. In hunting, this is furs, hides, antlers, etc. In foraging, these could be rare herbs.
Gather Resources
This activity is not intended for food items. This is for collecting material that is used as a resource somewhere else.
It takes 4 Segments to perform the Gather Resources action. This gives you 1 Loot Slot of that item, and you may make a check to see if you have gathered more than the minimum. This check is likely an Strength check, but certain Resources might take different abilities. As a general rule, a check of 20 or more will yield a second Loot Slot of material, and 30 or more will yield a third.
Additional Laborers
An unskilled Laborer assisting in Gathering gives +1 on the skill check.
A Skilled Laborer assisting reduces the amount of time taken to Gather Resources by 1 Segment, to a minimum of 1.
Patrol
Patrolling is actively looking for trouble. Roll the encounter die twice to see if you trigger an encounter. This activity needs to be done as a group.
This can lead to special encounters in the region you’re patrolling.
Prospecting
Prospecting takes a Segment to do the initial survey, and then an additional Segment to follow up on the traces that were uncovered. A successful Prospecting activity results in a character having staked a claim, which can be worked or sold.
When you prospect, you make a miner’s tools check. You have disadvantage on the check unless you have miner’s tools. If it’s under a 15, then it was simply time wasted with no consistent traces of material.
On a success, a list of five minerals is generated. Each mineral has a different DC. If you don’t hit that DC, you don’t detect enough of that mineral to have an idea of where to investigate it further.
For each of these 5 minerals, a d20 is rolled to determine the strength of the trace. For the amount the prospecting check beats that mineral’s DC, the d20 has a bonus to the roll equal to the excess.
d20 result
Lower No trace
10-15 Faint (DC+5)
16-18 Weak (DC +2)
19-21 Moderate (DC +0)
22-24 Strong (DC -2)
25+ Major (DC -5)
With a set of traces, the character can then choose which to follow. These traces remain viable until the character Travels away from where they were prospecting, or until they prospect again.
The DC to discover the vein is based on the mineral’s DC and is modified by how strong the trace is. This is an Intelligent (Miner’s Tools) check.
Traveling
Move in an intended direction. Over flat terrain, the party can move about 3 miles or 1 hex in 1 Segment. Different terrains can slow this down.
If the party has one or more characters who are Lightly Encumbered, the Travel action costs 1 additional Segment. If the party has one or more characters who are Heavily Encumbered, the Travel action instead costs 2 additional Segments.
Backstories
As this campaign is not as big at tying characters to the world, although the gamemaster reserves the right to try, characters can use Backstories to provide a bit more return for knowing who they are.
A character has 2 items in their backstory that allow them to add their Proficiency bonus in specific circumstances. This can be applied to an already proficient check essentially providing Expertise.
Some examples of Backstory elements:
- Favored terrain
- Favored creatures
- Sworn foes
For a bigger example, a character could have been raised in a Swamp, giving a bonus to surviving there. Or if they are really good with horses, they could get a bonus on Animal Handling checks or other things related to horses. Or if you’ve dedicated part of your life to hunting dragons, you could gain the benefit.
This does not replace specific skills, just gives a boost in limited circumstances. Weapons do not get any benefit for being the focus of your backstory.
A character does not need to have these items figured out at character creation. Feel free to “reveal” the backstory elements as they come up. But once they’ve been revealed, they are set.
Claims
On returning to town, the party can ask the Gamemaster to stake a claim on the particular adventuring location they had delved or discovered that session. It becomes off limits to other parties until this party goes to a different location, or enough time passes that the claim doesn’t make sense.
This is intended to define a space that characters have a deep investment in clearing and understanding, not to say “Hey, you don’t get to go there.”
Encumbrance
A character can carry 6 hands worth of gear, and up to their Strength Modifier (minimum one) of Loot Slots.
Armor that is being worn does not count as taking up a hand.
Each weapon takes 1 hand. A 2 handed weapon takes 2 hands. A ranged weapon includes a set of its ammunition in the same set of hands. Additional “quivers” take an additional hand.
Rope, common light sources, spellcasting implements, potions, scrolls, et cetera, also take a hand each if they are at the ready.
Gear can be bundled into a Loot slot. A Loot slot of gear is 4 hands worth of equipment. It takes an Action to retrieve an item from a Loot slot. You must be adjacent to the Loot slot’s location to retrieve an item.
Carrying More or Less
You can choose to strain yourself, carrying more than is comfortable. This does slow the party down while Traveling.
Carrying 1 Loot Slot more than you’re able makes you Lightly Encumbered, which drops your speed by 10, and your AC by 1.
Carrying two Slots worth of extra items makes you heavily encumbered, which drops your speed by 20 ft, and your AC by 2.
You can choose to divest yourself of items. If you are carrying 0 Loot Slots and no more than 1 hand worth of items, you are considered Unencumbered. Your speed increases by 5 feet, and your AC increases by 1
Secondary Carrying
Adventurers wishing to be prepared for anything, or who wish to make the most profit possible, arrange for someone else to carry their gear (okay, sometimes adventurers can be lazy as well)
A hireling has a number of Loot slots based on their statistics.
A mount has their Strength modifier in Loot Slots if equipped with regular saddlebags, or twice that if they have a Pack saddle.
The number of Loot Slots a vehicle has is dependent on its statistics.
Fast Travel
To satisfy session constraints, Expeditions can begin with Fast Traveling. The Map has a number of nodes and paths that have been explored on previous expeditions. More can be discovered as adventures continue.
During fast travel, the party selects a destination and a path. For each movement required to get to the destination, player characters in the party take 4 points of damage. Paths with the boot icon take the number of moves listed instead of one, multiplying the damage taken from that path.
Certain paths show a triangle icon indicating a dangerous path. The number next to it is added to the damage taken.
This damage is taken on the way out to the Expedition, and the same amount is taken on the way back, although the party’s actions may have modified these numbers.
Player characters can choose to take damage for other characters. For every one point of damage you reduce from someone, you take two points of damage.
Unencumbered characters take half damage. Lightly Encumbered, characters take 1.5 times the damage. Heavily Encumbered characters take 2 times the damage.
A character with exhaustion… adds 1 damage for each move? Ouch.
Once the party decides to stop, the Fast Travel rules are exited until the end of the session, and a random encounter is rolled.
A character who reaches 0 hit points during fast travel dies.
Hirelings
Players can take their character’s money and hire assistance from the local guilds. The guilds who currently have a presence in the town are listed near the town services above.
Hirelings do no more than they are contracted for.
The price of a hireling depends on their rank in their guild. The price is for a single Expedition, no matter how long of a trek the journey is. A higher tier hireling gives the benefit of the lower tiers unless specified.
Apprentice 50 gp
Journeyman 500 gp
Master 1,000 gp
Chef – A chef does chores of cooking and cleaning, making the mealtimes for adventurers relaxing. They carry cooking utensils, special ingredients, spices, and water sufficient for their meals.
An Apprentice Chef prepares meals, invigorating the party. During Quick Rests, anyone spending a hit die can reroll 1s, using the new value.
A Journeyman Chef is always ready with a meal: During each Quick Rest, anyone spending a hit die can reroll 1s and 2s, using the new value.
A Master Chef prepares meals that strengthen and energize. Reduce the damage from Fast Travel movement by 1. During each Quick Rest, anyone spending a hit die can reroll 1s, 2s, and 3s, using the higher value.
Laborer – A laborer is a warm body who provides brute strength when required.
An Apprentice Laborer carries 2 Loot Slots of equipment in their pack.
A Journeyman Laborer carries 3 Loot Slots of equipment and can contribute Unskilled labor to the Build and Gather Expedition Actions
A Master Laborer carries 4 Loot Slots of equipment and can contribute Skilled labor to the Build and Gather Expedition Actions
Resting
Overland travel doesn’t mesh well with the game’s regular rules for resting. The speed of recovering spell slots is the big issue. So this campaign uses a form of the Gritty Realism rules.
The regular resting rules are to be ignored and the following rules apply. There are three types of rest in this campaign.
A Quick Rest can be taken any time a player chooses. The player must spend at least one hit die during this rest. It counts as a Short Rest. Normally, this is a meta action, and takes no time, assuming that characters are resting here and there. However, when the party is on a clock, a short rest takes a Segment.
When a character takes a Quick Rest, they regain 1d6 spent pieces of ammunition.
A Night’s Rest for most characters takes around 8 hours. At the end of this rest:
- Players recover one spent hit die.
- Players can spend any number of hit dice to recover that number of spell slots. (a 3rd level slot costs 3 hit dice.)
- Players can make a constitution saving throw to recover from effects that are reduced during a long rest, like levels of exhaustion or alterations to their hit point maximum.
- Players gain the benefit of a Short Rest, one that does not require them to spend a hit die
Adverse Conditions and ShelterIn the wild, there are all sorts of things that make restless restful. Mostly, the weather, but there may be other conditions that may cause the DM to declare the conditions as “Adverse.” In Adverse conditions, players must make a DC 15 Constitution Saving throw or lose the benefits of the Night’s Rest. If they are sheltered, however, they automatically succeed on this saving throw. If they are sheltered and the conditions are not adverse, they recover a second hit die and have advantage on the saving throw to recover from Exhaustion and other effects. |
Players can take a rest day, essentially resting for a full day. A character who elects to do this does nothing strenuous, which includes things like exploring, hunting, or other Expedition Activities.
A Long Rest only occurs in certain places. These are established and friendly towns, like Ravonn’s Tower, or in lodges specifically constructed for the purpose.
Specific Resting Rules
Classes:
- As a general rule, class features that recover on a Long Rest recover on a Night’s Rest, unless there are spell slots being recovered.
Species:
- Aasimar’s Healing Hands and Celestial Revelation recharge after a Night’s Rest
- Dragonborn’s Draconic Flight recharge after a Night’s Rest
- Dwarven Stonecunning recharges after a Night’s Rest
- Elves gain the benefit of a Night’s Rest in 4 hours.
- Goliath’s Giant Ancestry recharges one use after a Night’s Rest, and their Large Form feature recharges after a Night’s Rest
- Humans gain Heroic Inspiration after a Night’s Rest
- Orc’s Relentless Endurance recharges after a Night’s Rest
Feats:
- Crafter’s Fast Crafting feature happens at the end of a Night’s Rest
- Chef: The Replenishing meal does take time, so while it technically can be done during a Quick Rest, it makes more sense if there’s a Segment of time involved.
- Lucky recovers 1 luck point at the end of a Night’s Rest
- Weapon Master can change the mastery property at the end of a Night’s Rest
- Epic Boons probably mean Night’s Rest instead of Long Rest
Matt’s D&D Mechanics
This section is a selection of house rules that Matt uses at his table. These are optional or require DM buy-in to be used.
Certain sections from the Player’s Handbook are included here, with changes to the wording in bold. The heading lists the chapter and section heading being altered. Sections with an Asterix (*) are new)
Combat > Controlling a Mount
“If a Mount disengages, none of its riders may be attacked by an Attack of Opportunity.”
Equipment > Tools Proficiency
“If you have proficiency with a tool, add your Proficiency Bonus to any ability check you make that uses the tool. If you have proficiency in a skill that’s used with that check, you have Expertise on the check.”
Equipment > Vehicles
It takes 1 action to retrieve an item from a vehicle.
Equipment > Vehicles > Sled*
A vehicle designed to be pulled over snow. A load can be carried as if it is half of the Loot Slots, or 1/5th the Loot Slots if the sled is being pulled over favorable terrain.
Equipment > Vehicles > Travois*
A pair of poles lashed together that functions something like a sled. A load attached to this vehicle can be carried as if it is half of the Loot Slots.
Equipment > Vehicles > Wheeled*
A load attached to this vehicle can be carried as if it is 1/5th of the Loot Slots. The vehicle travels at half speed in unfavorable terrain, and can often be unable to continue without a lot of effort. (##Man, I can write that better in the future)
Spells > Identify
“Components: An Art Object worth 100 gp, often based on pearls.”
Glossary > Art Objects*
Art objects are a type of treasure that is designed to be aesthetically pleasing, and not functional. They can sometimes be the foundation for magic items. Art Objects fit into the following general tiers.
Masterpiece 5,000 gp
Exquisite 1,000 gp
Precious 500 gp
Nice 100 gp
This value is based on the materials, the craftsmanship, and any cultural considerations. The value may change based on location.
A small art object is worth half of the base value, and a large object is worth twice as much.
Specific Objects may have additional modifiers.
Glossary > Moving a Creature*
If you are carrying or assisting a willing creature, you can move them as you move. It costs 1 extra foot of movement for every foot you move a creature. If the creature is unwilling, see Grappling.
If the creature is unconscious and you are carrying their weight, then they are treated as items for encumbrance. A small creature takes up 1 Loot slot, a medium sized creature takes up 2 Loot slots. Each size beyond medium takes 8 times as many loot slots.
Glossary > Climbing
“While you’re climbing, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in Difficult Terrain). You ignore this extra cost if you have a Climb Speed and use it to climb. Climbing certain surfaces may require a Strength (Athletics) check to attempt.”
“At the end of your turn, if you are still Climbing, you must make a Strength (Athletics) check to maintain your hold.”
Glossary > Climbing [Condition]*
While you are traveling via climbing speed, you are considered Climbing. The following rules are in effect:
Damage: If you take damage, you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw to maintain your Climb. The DC equals 10 or half the damage taken (round down), whichever number is higher, up to a maximum DC of 30.
Forced Movement: If through forced movement you lose contact with the surface you are climbing, you are no longer climbing.
Incapacitated or Dead. Your Concentration ends if you have the Incapacitated condition or you die.
If your climb ends without reaching a place to stand, you Fall.
Glossary > Climbing [Hazard]*
This list has a bunch of common DCs that form the basis for maintaining a Climb. These DCs can also be used as the DC for a Dexterity saving throw to catch yourself when falling.
Common Climbing DCs:
| Climbing up or down a wall with a secured rope | DC 5 |
| Climbing a knotted rope or a rope ladder | DC 5 |
| A surface with many ledges and places to place your feet | DC 10 |
| Climbing a rough surface, like a rock wall or a tree | DC 15 |
| Climbing an unknotted rope | DC 15 |
| Climbing an uneven surface that has handholds | DC 20 |
| Climbing an uneven surface that has no handholds | DC 25 |
A surface being slick with water adds +5 to the DC. Oil or grease adds +10 to the DC
Glossary > Dash
“You can attempt to Dash as a bonus action by making a Strength (Athletics) check. The general DC for this check is 15. On a failure, you fall Prone.”
Glossary > Falling [Hazard]
Replace the wording in the glossary with the following:
“A creature that falls takes 1d6 Bludgeoning damage at the end of the fall for every 10 feet it fell, to a maximum of 20d6. When the creature lands, it has the Prone condition unless the damage it took from the fall is less than the character’s level.”
“You can use a reaction to break your fall. Make an Dexterity (Acrobatics) check with a DC equal to the falling damage, or 15, whichever is higher. On a success, you have resistance to the damage. If falling into water, you have Advantage on the roll.”
Glossary > Grappled [Condition]
The section should add:
“Moving. A Grappler can drag or carry a creature it is grappling, but every foot of movement costs 1 extra foot unless the creature is 2 sizes smaller or Tiny. See also Carrying a Creature”
“Ending a Grapple. As an action or at the end of its turn, a Grappled creature can make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against the grapple’s escape DC, ending the condition on itself on a success.”
Glossary > Grappling
The first part of the “Ending a Grapple” section should read:
“Ending a Grapple. As an action or at the end of its turn, a Grappled creature can make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against the grapple’s escape DC, ending the condition on itself on a success.”
Glossary > Influence [Action]
Collect Rumor: You may make a Charisma (Persuasion) check to listen in to other’s plans and receive a rumor about something they’ve learned.
Bribe: You can pay 10 gp to reroll the Persuasion check, as many times as you’d like.
New Items
Listed prices are the base price, and may not reflect the actual cost of purchasing the items in Ravonn’s Tower
Artisan’s Tools
Bucher’s Tools (15 gp): Cleavers, Chains, meathooks. Used for cutting creatures open and harvesting meat and components.
Miner’s Tools (15 gp): A pickaxe, shovel, other things. Used for prospecting and mining.
Builder’s Tools (20 gp): Shovel, hammer, axe, nails, rulers, plumb lines, levels, and other tools used in construction.
Lumberjack’s Tools (10 gp): An axe, a saw, wedges, and other tools for felling and processing trees into lumber.
Gear
Covered Wagon – 250 gp. The Wagon, but its tough canvas gives three quarters cover to occupants.
Ghille Cloak – 100 gp. A piece of specialized Stealth equipment that gives Advantage on your Wisdom (Stealth) checks made in places with a lot of plants to blend in with.
Rope Ladder – 20 gp. A piece of gear that can be secured to the top of a ledge by ropes or by iron spikes. The ladder is then unrolled, and can be climbed up or down. The default length is 30 ft.
Maneuvers
A maneuver is a combat trick that can be used in specific circumstances.
Breakfall Lunge
As a reaction when you take fall damage and land next to a creature, you can attempt to break your fall by making an attack. Make an Attack of Opportunity. The fall damage you take is reduced by the damage that you deal to the creature. This attack gains a bonus to damage when you reach levels 5 (1d6), 11 (2d6), and 17 (3d6).
Preparation Dice
Through their actions, characters can gain a Preparation Die. This is a d6 that can be used on a specific d20 roll keyed to the preparation that was done. A character can a number of dice up to their Proficiency Bonus for each type of Preparation.
Gamemaster Glossary
The bits here are some of the mechanics of how I’m running the campaign. I don’t think there is anything that can spoil your enjoyment of the game, although your mileage may vary.
Gambling
A character who gambles makes a related check. The particular ability score involved depends on the type of game, as well as the character’s approach. Intelligence, charisma, Wisdom, and Dexterity tend to be common ability scores.
Each gambling event has a certain amount of stakes. This determines how much is won or lost.
Stakes Dice
Low 2d6
Medium 4d6
High 10d6
This value is rolled and modified based on the result of the gambling ability check.
5- Lose 2x the value
6-10 Lose the value
11-14 Break even
15-20 Gain the value
21-25 Gain 2x the value
26+ Gain 3x the value
Item Prices
Each item available at Ravonn’s Tower has one or more multipliers to its price. When items are sold to the town, or deposited in the central crystal of the tower, the value of the item is put towards decreasing the modifiers. A lot of value needs to be sold in town before prices become more reasonable, however, anything and everything helps. The only thing that doesn’t help make things cheaper is walking home with empty pockets.
Landmarks
Landmarks are places that are unique enough to be the sort of place that anyone who has been there can identify it. They are also visible a distance away, meaning that it’s easy to navigate to them when nearby.
Multiple Characters
A player can have multiple characters in Ravonn’s Tower. They don’t share resources, but they can share knowledge, because trying to separate character knowledge sounds like a nightmare.
One of Matt’s rules for replacement or alternate characters is they have to be of a different class and species. No identical cousins or piles of dead bards.
Lodges
Part of the campaign is about moving away from the town. Establishing Lodges is the key mechanic for this. It is essentially a forward base that can be adventured out from. Characters can receive a Long Rest at a Lodge, but can only level up by bringing their gold to Ravonns Tower.
Unlike the Tower, Lodges have no mystical reason to not be attacked. It is conceivable that they might need to be protected or repaired.
Region Danger
So far, each region away from Ravonn’s Tower has had the danger increase by 1. This number is used to determine the CR of the normal creature that is found there. It also determines how long it takes for the region to recover its Pressure.
Region Pressure
Each region on the map has a number called Region Pressure. This is a number between 1 and 5. When an encounter is checked for, a d6 is rolled. If the value is equal or less than the Pressure, then an encounter occurs. If the foes that are attacking are eliminated, then the Pressure is decreased. This elimination is performed by characters performing Patrols and special actions.