Blackstaff Tower House Rules

Sneak Attack

• You can perform a Sneak Attack (Rogue ability) with a Finesse, Light, or ranged weapon.
• Normal: Sneak Attacks can normally only be performed with Finesse or ranged weapons.

Training

Proficiencies

• Characters can also learn new proficiencies with time spent in training. This training does not include any that is gained via other character mechanics, such as multiclassing, those gained by class advancement, or those gained from Feats.
• Armor or Weapon Proficiency: These can only be gained by level advancement or Feats.
• Saving Throws: These can only be gained by level advancement or Feats.
• Skills: It takes 500 days of training to learn a new Skill Proficiency.
• Tools: It takes 250 days of training to learn a new Tool Proficiency.
• Languages: It takes 250 days of training to learn a new language.
  • Language Group: If you already know a language in the same Language Group, it only takes 125 days of training to learn that new language.
  • Language Subgroup: If you already know a language in the same Language Subgroup, it only takes 80 days of training to learn that new language.

Hero Points

• A character starts with 5 hero points at 1st level. 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.
• Gain Advantage: A player can spend a hero point whenever he or she makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw to make that check at advantage.
• Gain a Reroll: On a failed roll, the player may spend a hero point to re-roll.
• Heroes can gain additional Hero Points through Social Traits.

Social Traits

• Personality Traits: These are simply quirks and habits of the character. They do not gain Hero Points.
• Bonds: These are the entities, places, and things that that character holds dear.
• Ideals: These are the personal beliefs and philosophies that drive the character's decision making.
• Flaws: These are the limitations, weaknesses, vices, and phobias that inhibit the character in some way.

Player-Generated Difficulties

• When you roleplay your character's decision making with these in mind, you can gain additional Hero Points.
• You must make a decision that is unwise, tactically unsound, or otherwise causes difficulties for you or the other PCs.
• If this decision is motivated by one of your Social Traits, the DM may grant you an extra Hero Point.
  • Bonds can motivate decisions in order to preserve or assist your Bonds.
  • Ideals can motivate decisions as part of upholding that belief or philosophy.
  • Flaws can motivate decisions because of the character's limitations or weaknesses.
• If you make such a choice, inform the DM of your doing so, and indicate which Social Trait you are motivated by.
• If the DM agrees, they will aware you 1 Hero Point. You may only gain 1 Hero Point in this way per encounter.

DM-Generated Difficulties

• The DM may also choose to take advantage of your Social Traits in order to make the scene more difficult.
• The effects of this may vary, but can include the triggering of traps, arrival of additional enemies, the infliction of disadvantage on a PC's roll or the addition of advantage to an NPC's roll.
• When the DM does this, they will award you 1 Hero Point. You can only gain 1 Hero Point this way per encounter.

Healing Rules

There are multiple ways for characters to gain the benefit of non-magical healing.

During Encounters

• Healing Surge: As an action, you may roll a number of your Hit Dice (maximum equal to your Proficiency bonus), and add your Constitution bonus to each die result. You recover that many hit points.

Short Rest

• Tending Wounds: There are two ways to end wounds by characters during a short rest.
  • Healer's Kit: You may use one use of a healer's kit to allow you to spend as many of your Hit Dice as you like to recover hit points. You may use this on yourself or on someone else. This constitutes both of your actions during the short rest.
  • Medicine Check: Alternately, another character may make a Wisdom (Medicine) check while working on you during the short rest. This is a DC 12 check, and constitutes both of your actions during the short rest. You may make a check for yourself, but this check is made at disadvantage.

Long Rest

• Recuperating Strength: During a long rest, characters recover up to half of their Hit Dice.
• Healing Rest: During a long rest, you may spend as many Hit Dice as you like in order to recover hit points. This comes about as a natural part of the long rest.

Lingering Injuries

• Anytime one of the following occurs, check for Lingering Injury, using that chart in the DMG.
  • When a character takes a critical hit.
  • When a character drops to 0 hit points, but isn't killed outright.
• Make a save based on the potential Lingering Injury; this is a Constitution save, DC 10 + the proficiency bonus of the attacker.