Freeform DND

By Chris C. (februarylibrary@gmail.com)

The Rule of d20: a result of 15 or higher is a success. Cosmetics and Aesthetics: race and class are purely for aesthetics, although appearance must conform to theme. The Rule of Combat: when combat occurs, combat rules apply. The Rule of Generality: most spells and items are described by their general function. For example, a flashlight illuminates only as far as the DM says it does no numerical stats. See Rule of Purpose. The Rule of Purpose: spells and item use must be preceded by deliberation of the reason for their use, except under the condition of Try Anything. The Rule of Try Anything: when the first attempt fails and it wasnt the dice you may try anything. The Rule of Consistency: if something worked once against someone or something else, it should work again to more of those somethings (or someones). Monsters in Your Face: monsters are always within breathing distance. They are in your face, always. Prepare ahead of time it becomes necessity. Once you enter the dragons lair it is in your face. The Rule of Inconvenience: try not to kill the PCs. Make things inconvenient. Have them lose an item or get an item damaged: slashed backpacks, pickpocketed wands, destroyed (mundane) weapons. Not everything needs to lead to combat. Quantum Conscious: the PCs are mannequins controlled by the actions of separate quantum conscious entities outside the Material. The PCs actions are controlled by the players, but their fate is determined in other ways (see Rule of d20). QC Corollary: For all the PCs know, the world only exists as long as they look in that direction (see Rule of Magic). The Rule of Magic: magic should be considered a strength. Spells even the so-called odds. Blindsight lets them observe the world beyond their vision (at least to a limit). When determining the strength and scope of a spell, see the Rule of Generality (and consult the Rule of Fun and No Fun). The Rule of Fun: Allow everything and anything until it becomes No Fun. Compile a sacred list of offenses (including yours) and enshrine it so your campaign remains consistent. The Rule of No Fun: Start over at level 1 and add restrictions that made the previous adventure No Fun. This will vary from group to group; its freeform, so I will not mention any homebrew rules here (or yet). The Rule of Failure: when the dice fail, the players lose something. A longsword is destroyed by the creatures carapace. Stepped Fails: That same masterwork longsword shouldnt break, and a magic longsword should never break except when subjected to acid (15+ save) or other exceptional circumstance.