House Rules

The following are house rules used in the Elysium D&D sessions.

One Character Per Session

Players may have multiple characters available to them, however they must only play one character at a time during sessions. Ideally, the character intended to be used should be confirmed with the DM to ensure content can be prepared, and to allow the DM to telegraph if a character should not be present to avoid lore inconsistencies or similar undesirable outcomes.

Critical Success / Failure

A natural 20 is considered to be the best possible outcome of a successful role. Similarly, a natural 1 is considered to be the worst possible outcome of a failure. While this does often mean that an action will be successful or failed, the two are not mutually exclusive; a critical success does not necessarily mean that anything becomes possible.

Sneak Attacks Out Of Combat

While out of combat and performing a stealth attack on an unaware creature, the player is able to instantly execute their target provided they pass relevant skill checks presented by the GM

Rule Of Cool

Be mindful that rules, at least how I consider them, are not constraints; they are the framework we work on. Rules are meant to be broken. What we’re trying to do here, besides having fun, is write a novel together. If 5ft of movement, a bonus action or a disadvantage ruin that novel: Fuck the rules!!! There isn’t a rule as important as the rule of cool - Seddik

5.5e vs 5e

We refer to the latest printed sources where possible, such as 5.5e or 2024 source books. However, if you prefer the ruling or behavior of a feature in a prior printed counterpart, use that instead.

For example:

• Feel free to Cast a Spell in your Action Surge or cast a Divine Smite without a Bonus Action.
• Cast a Spell as an Action, and another as a Bonus Action (the latter has to have a casting time of a Bonus Action, like Misty Step)

Flanking

In Nightmare, "flanking", where Advantage can be gained on an enemy due to Allies in a neighboring tile, must be BEHIND the enemy to grant +5 to the attacker. Advantage is not given.

• Heart of Gold uses the 2014 Adv Flanking Rules
• Nightmare uses the 2024 Rules