Homebrew Rules

Rest & Recovery

These rules replace standard short and long rest rules. Recovery requires safety, time, and trust — commodities not easily found.

Long Rest (Safe Haven)

A long rest represents true recovery — physical, emotional, and spiritual. It cannot be taken lightly.

Requirements:

• Can only be completed in a safe haven — a location the characters genuinely consider secure: a home, sanctified refuge, trusted sanctuary, or similarly protected space.
• A rented room, roadside inn, or hotel is not automatically a safe haven. The DM determines whether a location qualifies.
• Requires three consecutive days (72 hours).
• During this time, a character: cannot engage in combat, cannot cast offensive spells, cannot participate in strenuous activity beyond light travel, conversation, study, or routine daily tasks.

Benefits (at the end of a long rest):

• May spend any number of Hit Dice to recover hit points.
• One quarter of spent Hit Dice are recovered.
• All features that normally recharge on a long rest recharge.
• Up to 1 level of exhaustion is removed.
• If interrupted by combat, hostile magic, or initiative being rolled: the long rest fails and provides no benefit.

Short Rest (Overnight Respite) — 1 per Calendar Day

A short rest represents guarded recovery in uncertain conditions.

Requirements:

• Requires 8 hours.
• Up to 2 hours may include light activity: eating, keeping watch, reading, conversation, light travel.
• Can be taken anywhere, even in unsafe environments.
• If initiative is rolled during this time: rest immediately ends, provides no benefit.

Benefits (at the end of a short rest):

• May spend one Hit Die to recover hit points.
• Features that recharge on a short rest recharge.
• A character with spell preparation may change their prepared spells.

Rest Disruption

Rest is fragile. If initiative is rolled during a rest, the rest immediately fails — no benefits, no partial credit. Begin again from the start.

Unconsciousness

Unless otherwise specified by the effect that caused it: a creature that falls unconscious will naturally regain consciousness after 1d4 hours. This recovery does not restore hit points. Unconsciousness caused by magic, poison, disease, or other specific effects follows the duration stated in those effects.

Custom Death Rules

When your hit points reach 0, you fall prone and gain the Dying condition. At the start of your turn, roll a death saving throw.

On your turn, you may use only your action, bonus action, or move action — using one ends your turn.

• If you use your action: gain 3 levels of exhaustion.
• If you use your bonus action: gain 1 level of exhaustion.
• If you use your reaction while dying: gain 1 level of exhaustion.
• You cannot stand up from prone while dying.

Mighty Deed

Available to characters with the Deed of Arms feat or the Fighter class.

The Deed Die

Once per round when you make a weapon attack, you may declare a Mighty Deed. Roll the Deed Die alongside your attack.

Characters with the Deed of Arms feat roll a d4 (does not stack with fighter scaling).

Results

Example Deeds

• Knockback — Strike with such force the enemy is pushed back.
• Disarm — Deftly knock the enemy's weapon from their grasp.
• Trip — Swing low, knock the opponent prone.
• Stunning Blow — Strike a critical point, stunning briefly.

You can only declare a mighty deed before making the attack. The DM has final say on feasibility.

Design Intent

These rules assume:

• Safety is earned.
• Recovery is deliberate.
• Violence carries lingering consequences.
• The world does not pause simply because the characters wish it to.

Choose your havens carefully.