quartz/content/Rules.md

Mechanics

• Auto Success/Failure on rolls of 20/1 for attacks, checks, and saves (called a d20 test).
  • This existed in 3.5 and am glad to see it coming back.
• Rolling a 20 on a d20 test will award you inspiration.
• If you use a tool that you are proficient with AND there is a relevant skill you are also proficient with, you will have advantage on that check. 
• No EVOCATION or CONJURATION spells can be cast through spellcasting features (including Pact Magic). Magic items will have reduced capacity and higher failure rate when trying to cast those spells.
• When reduced to 0 hp, the character gains 1 level of exhaustion. 
• Heroic Death: when reduced to 0 hp, a player can choose to instead have their character gain full hp and act as if they just benefited from a long rest. The character dies when they are reduced to 0 hp, suffer some other death effect, or 3 rounds (a round is a cycle of turns) have passed. 
• Characters will only receive a hit dice at every other level. For each level where a hit dice is not gained, a character may have +2 applied to stats OR gain a feat.
• Poison damage will always come with a saving throw. If the saving throw is failed, then the poisoned condition is applied. A creature with the poisoned condition will take damage (1 damage dice from the poison that caused the condition) at the start of their turn while the condition lasts (the creature will be allowed a saving throw when this damage is applied). 
• 1 gold = 1 xp. All characters will share the same level.

Ability Score Generation

• "standard array"
• Your character's starting ability scores will be 15,14,13,12,10,8 arranged in any ability score that you wish.
• Ability score modifiers from race (or if you are using a new character creation method) adjust those scores.
• This may seem less exciting (and it is), but it makes you all easier to kill, makes things "equal" amongst characters, and allows me to offer this:
• for each character that you retire, you will get +2 to a starting ability score of your next character.
  • No one wanted to retire their characters in Barakus, so I am creating a bit more of an incentive. Blame Wildermyth (which I am playing now) for my further fascination of trying to get your characters to retire.

Bans

• no dragonborn (and if you want to use playtest material, no aldari).
• studded leather armor as an armor type because I got really deep into historical armor discussions and everyone agrees that the studs do nothing.