Dungeons & Dragons: 7 Homebrew Ideas Players Keep Using…

Perhaps the most important rule of Dungeons & Dragons is what's known as the "Rule of Cool," where Dungeons Masters are advised to prioritize players having fun instead of just sweating over the mechanical stuff. As such, it's no surprise that many D&D tables often have homebrew rules, as there might be some custom mechanics that work better for the table, the story, and the setup they currently have.

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However, some homebrew rules end up giving either players or enemies an immense advantage. When used incorrectly, these rules can result in very exploitable setups, ruining the spirit of luck and fairness in the game in favor of shenanigans that may not stay true to the premise of their story.

Critical Success And Natural Failures

A 20 Or 1 On A Non-Attack Roll Must Go Either Way

The D20 Test rules in Dungeons and Dragons — Image from the 2024 Revised Player's Handbook

THE HOMEBREW RULE	WHAT MAKES IT GAME-BREAKING
A Natural 1 or a Critical (Natural 20) on a dice equates to tremendous failure or a remarkable success	"Guaranteeing" a failure or a success based on Natural 1 or a Critical might not fit all situations — especially a Critical on a near-impossible situation.

Anyone who has played Dungeons & Dragons knows how climactic a moment can get when their character scores a 20 on a Skill Check — whether it's making the jump to safety, closing the monster portal in time, or even besting the D&D Evil Bad in a clash of swords. The same could go for a Natural 1, where failing to some degree could even result in a character meeting their doom. This added layer of thrill to Skill Checks, where a Natural 1 is a catastrophic failure and a Critical transforms an impossible task to an epic Hail Mary, is unfortunately against common rules.

In the 2024 Revised Rules for D&D 5e, checks are now further classified under D20 Tests. On top of combative Attack Rolls and defensive Saving Throws are Ability Checks — all of which need a d20 with Modifiers (natural or circumstantial) to describe the extent of an effect. Unfortunately, only Attack Rolls can get a Natural 1 or a Critical, with Ability Check results varying in effect depending on how close or far it is from the determined Difficulty Class.

Ignoring Spell Components

A Spell Focus Doesn't Exempt From Other Components

Spellcasting Focus Rules in the 2024 Revised Edition Rules — Rules in the 2024 Revised Edition Rules

THE HOMEBREW RULE	WHAT MAKES IT GAME-BREAKING
As long as a spellcaster has a Spellcasting Focus, they don't need other Components to cast Spells.	The War Caster Feat exists because a spellcaster cannot ordinarily cast Somatic Spells while holding other objects. Likewise, a Spellcasting Foci does not exempt a user from needing consumable Components.

A spellcaster channeling their Spells through an orb, staff, book, or even a necklace is a common sight in fantasy literature, so it makes sense for Dungeons & Dragons mechanics to incorporate it as a mechanic for spell-toting Classes as well. Thanks to a Spellcasting Focus, a spellcaster can opt out of fulfilling a spell's Material requirements since the Foci becomes their substitute. Why bother burning incense worth at least 10GP to cast Find Familiar when the Spellcasting Focus can do it, right? As it turns out, a Spellcasting Focus is more complicated than that.

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Under D&D rules, a Spellcasting Focus can only act as a substitute for Material Components if they aren't specified as consumables or have a cost attached to them. Alternatively, a Component Pouch can hold all Material Components with no cost value for free. Not only that, but a Spellcasting Focus does not exempt players from using Somatic and Verbal Components — which means they still need to be able to make gestures or speak words to cast Spells that require them.

Rolling A Critical On Initiative Gets An Extra Turn

It Should Be 20 Plus The DEX Mod

Critical Hits — Rules in the 2024 Revised Edition Rules

THE HOMEBREW RULE	WHAT MAKES IT GAME-BREAKING
Rolling a Critical on Initiative gives said player an extra turn before the Initiative Order starts.	An extra turn on a Critical can be a tremendous Advantage for the recipient, as they can prepare setups even before the battle occurs.

The Initiative Order is one of the most important aspects of combat in D&D. Players know that those who go first in encounters have the best opportunity to set up the other side for failure. So when homebrew mechanics allow players to get an Extra Turn if they roll a Critical on Initiative, it can be quite a game-changer, regardless of who secures this perk. In effect, this allows Nova builds to wreak havoc in two turns or close-ranged specialists to eliminate frontline enemies in one fell swoop. Imagine being an 11th-Level Fighter with the second Extra Attack: that means a minimum of three Attacks per turn and one turn of six Attacks with Action Surge.

In the original ruleset, Initiative is only affected by the Surprised Condition. With the original Fifth Edition ruleset, a Surprised character cannot take Actions and Movement in their first turn. This has spawned the infamous Surprise Round homebrew mechanic, which has led to a lot of advantageous positions for players and grisly encounters with monsters who capitalize on them. Meanwhile, Revised Edition mechanics now only take into account the Surprised Condition on Initiative Rolls, of which they provide Disadvantage to the affected party.

Long Rest Anytime, Anywhere

Resource Management Becomes Meaningless

Long Rest Rules in the 2024 Revised Edition Rules — Image from the 2024 Revised Edition Player's Handbook

THE HOMEBREW RULE	WHAT MAKES IT GAME-BREAKING
Players are allowed to take Long Rests anywhere, even in dangerous locations.	This eliminates the need for resource management, especially when given a chance to rest in a difficult dungeon.

Resource attribution is an important aspect of Dungeons & Dragons gameplay, especially for players whose bread and butter is the Spells they bring with them every day. A Spell with a hyperspecific use case is often dismissed as a useless D&D Spell, which is also why players are braver about experimenting with Spell effects, with Cantrips, or in locations they know they can recuperate with a Long Rest. For some tables, Dungeon Masters allow players to set up anytime, anywhere — especially with the popularity of Baldur's Gate 3 and the very minimal locations with no opportunity for Long Rests.

While it's helpful for players to recuperate their Spell Slots, allowing them to Long Rest anywhere can ruin the element of resource management in the game. Spells have to cost a Leveled Spell Slot to cement their value in D&D, as this forces players to think about what to do in any given situation: is now the best time to use a specific Spell, or is the Spell Slot better reserved elsewhere? This is especially important for players who tend to Nova their way through encounters, or to dish out as many high-powered Spells as they can in one go — even if it costs them the bulk of their Action Economy.

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Critical Hits Mean Max Damage Plus A Damage Dice

Crit Creep Builds Become Encouraged

Critical Hits Rules in the 2024 Revised Edition Rules

THE HOMEBREW RULE	WHAT MAKES IT GAME-BREAKING
When rolling a Critical Hit, the Maximum Damage available for that attack is taken on top of a regular Damage Roll.	This can encourage the creation of Critical-creeping builds instead of more diverse characters.

A Critical Hit is a significant achievement in Dungeons & Dragons, especially since they let players roll twice the Damage Dice associated with that attack. When paired with the right Feats, a Critical could transform into an Improved Critical (19 and not 20 to Crit) and even a Brutal Critical (add several Damage Dice when determining damage). Therefore a homebrew rule that introduces maximum damage on a Critical Hit plus another Damage Dice can seem way too powerful for a player's own good.

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This homebrew essentially encourages players to stick to a crit creep, or builds that encourage dice rolls or lessen the value needed to Crit in order to trigger them more often. Sadly, this can deter players from making more creative builds for the sake of netting higher damage. Not only that, but this can be especially deadly when applied to the enemy's side, as a lot of enemies often have extra abilities with deadlier damage output.

Free-Hand Casting

Holding A Shield Does Not Count As A Free Hand

War Caster Feat in the 2024 Revised Edition Rules

THE HOMEBREW RULE	WHAT MAKES IT GAME-BREAKING
Spellcasters are allowed to cast most Spells, even when holding a staff with two hands or having a staff and a shield.	Somatic Components denote gestures, often with a full hand. This means a hand grasping a shield doesn't count as a free hand that can make gestures, ergo stopping the Somatic Component. It's for this reason that a Feat like the War Caster exists.

Components form a crucial part of D&D Spells, especially for players who want to "perfect" their spellcasting builds for a tough campaign. After all, every Spell in the game has some sort of gesture (Somatic), spell words (Verbal), or even ingredients (Material) that need to be performed or used to produce the intended effect. An often-overlooked Component among these is Somatic, because there's not a lot of restrictive effects in the game that stop casters from ever moving their limbs.

As such, a common homebrew adjustment tables make is to give a bit more leeway for Spellcasters with Free-Hand Casting, where they can still cast Spells with Somatic Components even when holding a staff two-handed or when using a shield. This bypasses a fundamental Spellcasting rule in the game, where casters with both hands blocked from making gestures cannot cast Somatic Spells. It's also for this reason that the War Caster exists, as this is the specific Feat that allows casters to use Spells without a direct free hand.

Flanking Gives Advantage

Exploit Free Advantage When Conga-Lining The Enemy

Opportunity Attack Rules in the 2024 Revised Edition Rules

THE HOMEBREW RULE	WHAT MAKES IT GAME-BREAKING
An enemy flanked on any side by an ally will be attacked with Advantage.	Provides easy access to Advantage just by standing in the right spot, and enemies can be taken across a conga line for continuous Advantage-based attacks.

Most D&D tables — whether they're using the modern Fifth Edition or older editions with more Classes — have some rule about Flanking. In Fifth Edition, Flanking is an optional rule that gives Advantage to an attacker provided that their target is flanked by an ally on at least one side. This seems reasonable, as this implies there's an ally watching if the enemy will do something sketchy, and they're there to catch them. However, this rule was removed entirely from 2024's Revised Edition, specifically because it is open to abuse.

At its core, the free Advantage is easily exploitable if a party's frontliners just position themselves to flank the enemy or stand along their escape route. That way, not only is an enemy at risk of a guaranteed hit, but even Opportunity Attacks against them have Advantage. If a party can line up their team in a conga line, all PCs can walk past an enemy and attack with Advantage. Should enemies be allowed to enjoy Flanking for once, the whole party will also cry foul due to this same mechanic, as enemies tend to outnumber the party in most encounters.

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