House Rules

Inspiration
Encounter tokens (white chips) add +2 to any roll (including damage rolls), you can only spend one encounter token at a time. Encounter tokens are given out after every combat encounter, and once every thirty minutes. Turning in three encounters tokens gains you an action token (red chip). An action token gives you advantage on any d20 skill, check, save, or attack roll. You can also gain an action token if it is the first time in the session that you've 1) gone to half your health, or 2) rolled a 1 on a d20 roll. An encounter token may be awarded if the player performed a particularly dramatic scene, came up with a creative solution to a problem, or (quite honestly) made me laugh. Tokens reset after a long rest.

0 HP/Dying state
Every round you roll your death save. While in this dying state your character is calling out encouragement and requesting help. You may choose to roll a death save and award a player an encounter token (does not matter if you succeed or fail on the roll), or you may elect to purposefully fail a death save and award a player an action token. If your character gains 1hp, they gain one level of exhaustion.

Long Rests
A long rest does not set your HP back to max. You may either 1) Remove a level of exhaustion, or 2) gain HD equal to half your character level, rounded down. You advance to the next level after you have gained enough XP to advance and after you have taken a long rest.

Short Rests
During a short rest, you may conduct a short rest as described in the PHB. A short rest requires 1 hour.

You may also use one of these skills to assist your fellow players or yourself, foregoing your own benefits of a short rest. All of these actions require a minimum of 1 hour to conduct.

Animal Handling:
By invoking your relationship with a beast creature of intelligence score 4 or lower which you have established a positive relationship with, you become more in tune and alert to your surroundings. Roll Animal Handling. For the next hour, you gain a bonus to your initiative and perception checks equal to 1/2 of the creature's CR, minimum of 1, as long as the creature is within 5 feet of you. Starting at DC10 you affect yourself. You may affect an extra ally for every five points you exceed this DC (eg, yourself and an ally at DC15, yourself and two allies at DC20, and so on).

Medicine:
While your companions are resting and healing, you can assist allies by performing rudimentary field medicine to help bind their wounds. Roll Medicine, DC10. You increase the healing gained by your allies spending Hit Die by +2 for every Hit Die spent. For every five points this DC is exceeded, you affect one extra ally (eg, two allies at DC15, three at DC20, and so on.) By expending uses of an herbalism kit, you add +2 to your result. If you are proficient with the kit, you may instead expend a use of the kit to roll this check with advantage.

Perform:
You stage a dramatic spectacle, encouraging your allies. Roll perform. For the next hour, the affected ally has advantage against fear effects. Starting at DC10, you affect one ally, and may affect an extra ally for every five points you exceed this DC (eg, two allies at DC15, three at DC20, and so on). Players decide among themselves which character will gain this benefit (including the performer).

Persuasion:
By conducting an inspiring speech, you bolster your allies to prepare for the next battle. Roll persuasion, DC 10. One ally within 30 feet of you who can see and hear you gains 1d6+ your CHA in temporary health. For every 5 points you exceed this check, you can affect one extra ally (eg, two allies at DC15, three at DC20, and so on).

Critical Successes/Failures
Rolling a 1 does not cause a failure, or for you to drop your weapon.

Rolling a natural 20 adds +5 to your skill check, save, ability check, etc.

Rolling a natural 1 subtracts 5 from your skill check, save, ability check, etc.

Potion Use
Using a potion (either on yourself or another player) uses a bonus action, not an action.

Vulnerability
If a creature is vulnerable to a certain type of damage, you determine the amount of damage, as per usual, then double it.

Critical Strikes
On a natural twenty during an attack roll, the attack automatically hits. If the attack came from a weapon attack, roll damage as normally, then add modifiers, then add the maximum amount of dice damage from the weapon.

Unless the spell specifically says so, spells do not cause critical damage.

EX: If you roll a critical strike with a rapier, have +1d6 to sneak attack and have hexed the creature, you roll 1d8 + 1d6 +1d6, add 8 (from your rapier) and 6 (from your sneak attack), and then your other modifiers and bonuses. If instead you cast Hunter's Mark on the creature, you will +1d6 to the damage, as Hunter's Mark increases the weapon damage, and does not deal magic damage.

Poisoner's Kit
If you are proficient with a poisoner's kit, you can apply a poison to your weapon or ammunition as a bonus action.