Tweaking Dragonbane to bridge the gap for a D&D 5e group – Seeking feedback on House Rules
Sorry for the translations, but i used gemini cause the wot i wanted to share
Hi everyone! I’m currently running a Dragonbane campaign and I’m really enjoying the system. However, I’m starting to think about some tweaks to make it more "digestible" for my long-time D&D 5e group.
I’ve DM’ed D&D for many years, and over time I’ve realized my main issue with "Heroic Fantasy" is exactly the "Heroic" part. I dislike how quickly mundane problems become trivial and how characters lose touch with the grounded world. Dragonbane feels like the perfect escape from that, but there are a few things I’d like to mitigate.
I’d love to hear if these ideas make sense or if anyone has tackled similar issues:
- Capping Skills & Reducing Mortality: I want to slightly reduce lethality while preventing "Over-specialized" characters. My idea is to remove the free Heroic Ability granted when a skill reaches 18. Instead, upon reaching level 15 in a skill, the player can choose between Robust or Focused. This encourages players to stop at 15 for most skills, meaning a Bane can still cause a failure, or at least force them to work for Boons.
- Talent Rework: I’m considering giving Fast Footwork and/or Defensive as baseline abilities, as they feel like "must-haves." I’m also thinking about awarding new talents at the end of every adventure (or every two, TBD).
- New Enemy Tier - "Deities": For the campaign I have in mind (Journey to Ragnarok), I’m thinking of adding a third category of enemy beyond NPCs and Monsters: Deities. I’d create a specific set of talents to convert "Monster" abilities into this new tier.
- Splitting Overused Skills: My players noted that Bushcraft and Awareness are rolled for almost everything. Does it make sense to split Bushcraft (e.g., adding a specific "Navigation" skill)? They felt similarly about Persuasion, but I’m wary of adding an "Intimidation" skill because it might end up like D&D, where Fighters only intimidate and everyone else only persuades.
- Attributes Utility: I want to make every core stat (STR, DEX, etc.) more relevant. For instance, using CHA for "First Impression" checks during random encounters or introducing "Attunement" for magic items. I’m also considering giving out a few attribute points to distribute every few adventures.
I realize I’m essentially trying to inject a bit of D&D into Dragonbane, but after 30 years of gaming, my habits are hard to break!
Of course, before I fully commit to these changes, I’m waiting to see Free League’s upcoming Nordic-themed rules and to progress further into the Dragon Emperor campaign.