D and Did you know?

As with every overly brave (or foolish) new DM, I chose to run my very first campaign as a homebrew. Yes, it was the messy disaster you are picturing. But luckily I learned many important things from it! Most interestingly, I discovered how many rules I had never had to consider before, because they so rarely make it into a game. Naturally, I wanted to share them.

Cover and Stealth Interaction:
Creatures can use the Hide action to gain the benefits of cover, making it more challenging for enemies to target them.

Climbing on Bigger Creatures:
A smaller creature can climb onto a larger creature using an Athletics or Acrobatics check. The larger creature can attempt to shake the climber off with a contested check.

Suffocating:
If a character runs out of breath, they can hold their breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 + their Constitution modifier (minimum 30 seconds). After that, they must make Constitution saving throws or start suffocating.

Healing During a Short Rest:
Characters can spend Hit Dice to heal during a short rest, but they can only spend Hit Dice equal to half their total. This represents that not all injuries can be easily recovered during a short rest.

Stabilizing a Creature:
The standard rules for stabilizing a creature involve making a Wisdom (Medicine) check. However, any character can use their action to administer a healing potion, stabilizing the creature without a check.

Crafting and Lifestyle Expenses:
The Player’s Handbook contains rules for crafting items during downtime. Additionally, it details lifestyle expenses, which can affect a character’s standard of living.

Flanking:
The optional rule for flanking is found in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. It grants advantage on attack rolls when two characters are on opposite sides of an enemy.

Improvised Damage:
When a character uses an improvised weapon, the DM determines its damage. However, the weapon should be comparable to a weapon from the equipment list.

Jumping:
The rules for jumping cover not just distance but also height. The Strength (Athletics) check to jump is made against a DC determined by the DM based on the distance or height.

Disarm and Knock Prone:
The Player’s Handbook contains rules for disarming and knocking a creature prone in the “Improvising an Action” section, allowing for creative combat maneuvers.

Scroll Mishaps:
When a spell is cast from a scroll and the caster fails the ability check, a mishap can occur. The nature of the mishap is determined by the Dungeon Master.

Carrying Capacity and Encumbrance:
The rules for carrying capacity and encumbrance are often overlooked. Your carrying capacity is equal to your Strength score multiplied by 15. Your character can push, drag, or lift a weight in pounds up to twice their carrying capacity (30 times their Strength score). However, doing so may affect other aspects of your character’s abilities, such as their speed.

Squeezing into a Smaller Space:
A creature can squeeze through a space that is large enough for a creature one size smaller without penalty, but it is considered difficult terrain.

Identifying Magic Items:
The identification of magic items requires either the Identify spell or a short rest, during which a character can focus on the item and make an Intelligence (Arcana) check.

Long-Term Madness:
The Dungeon Master’s Guide includes rules for long-term madness as a result of spending too much time in planes of existence with chaotic or malevolent energies.

How many of these rules are brand new to you? Have you encountered these rules mid-game and been surprised that they’ve never come up before? Tell us in the comments below.