Altheya Homebrew Rules

## Homebrew

Mark has introduced a number of homebrew rules into Campaign 3, Altheya: The Dragon Empire. These may have been adapted from other games or systems, or may be entirely his own work. Where possible, they will be documented here (unless Mark chooses to put them on his Patreon, in which case there will be a link here to that document).

## The Rules

### Journeys

Journeys are a mechanic introduced by Mark Hulmes for campaign 3 - they were introduced in Episode 3: Into the Depths. The journey mechanics take heavy inspiration from the Lord of the Rings RPG.

Journey rules will be used when moving to lairs/dungeons or going to an unusual place. If following a well-travelled and paved road (such as the Imperial Highway), there is little risk of getting lost, so a simplified version of the journey rules is applied – roles are still applied but the guide will automatically succeed (since they are following a road).

There are four roles: **Guide**, **Scout**, **Quartermaster**, and **Lookout**. All four of these roles must be filled for the journey to start. If a party member takes on multiple roles, there is a penalty. Members who do not have an assignment may choose to provide the help action.

The **guide's** job is to navigate and lead the journey. The **scout** keeps an eye out for shortcuts or potential danger. The **quartermaster** keeps track of rations - on a long journey, this means food and water, but shorter journeys require keeping tabs on other forms of supply (e.g., like light sources if it is a dark area).The **lookout** is also looking for potential danger.

Mark has said the DC for journeys is generally 15. There is no specific check assigned to rolls; for example, a guide navigating in a forest may require a survival check, but weaving through a city could need persuasion as they attempt to gather information from locals.

If a check is passed, the party earns two progress points. If the DC is passed by more than five, the party earns three progress points. On a normal fail, there is one progress point given, but a fail by more than five results in zero progress points. In any case, there is always an event afterwards.

The guide always rolls to attempt to make progress. After their roll, a secondary roll is made to determine which party member experiences the event. They roll in turn to determine the outcome of said event. Success means avoiding problems - or even gaining a reward - while a failure can hinder the party.

Either way, the person who did the event loses stamina, which may manifest as levels of exhaustion at the end of the journey. After a journey ends, there is a constitution saving throw, the DC of which is affected by event successes or failures. Failing the saving throw means gaining a level of exhaustion.

Exhaustion in Campaign 3 means -1 to attacks, ability checks, and spell DC saves.

### Crucible of Fate

The Crucible of Fate is a mechanic that was added to Campaign 3 in Episode 4: The Lightless Chasm. It was tweaked slightly in Episode 5: Blood and Fire, and the rules were clarified.

Everyone (including the DM) rolls a d6 – on a result of 1-3, a dice is added to the DM pool, and 4-6 a dice is added to the player pool. When a die is spent, it goes to the other side to use later (e.g., DM uses a die, it goes to the players to use later). Players can use the points as they wish and do not need to refer to or get consent from other players to use them.

* Players can add/use Crucible of Fate dice in one of the following ways:
	+ Add a d6 to an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw (except death saving throws). The player must declare that the Fate die is going to be added before the initial roll is made, and can only add 1d6 to this roll.
	+ Choose to re-roll the result of a random event or other similar roll requested by the DM (e.g., on a journey, if an event is considered bad, the players can spend a Fate die to re-roll and see if they get a different/better result).
	+ Choose to add a minor beneficial element to a scene or an environment (e.g., to add a piece of cover to a battlefield, to establish a positive connection with a non-hostile NPC, to create a timely distraction, or to find a simple or common item when searching an area).
	+ Activate a destiny ability or power. Items or special boons that may be acquired that will have a “destiny ability” and may require Crucible or Fate points to activate them (further information will be given on this later in the campaign).
	+ Request a “devil’s bargain” from the DM. This is where a player wants to bend the rules or the narrative of a situation to attempt something unusual.

* The DM can spend Crucible of Fate dice a bit differently:
	+ Add a d6 to a damage roll or an ability check (NOT to an attack roll or a saving throw – this is connected to the maths and scaling of 5e and is much more exciting for the DM to do more damage than never to miss).
	+ Add a minor complication to a scene or an environment (e.g., to destroy a piece of cover or terrain, to establish a negative connection between an NPC and a PC, or to create an instance of bad luck (e.g., the players use a point to create good luck where a guard looks around at the right point for them to stealth past – but the DM uses a point to have a butler just happen to come into the room when unexpected)).
	+ Activate destiny abilities and powers (monsters and NPCs may have things to activate).