Here are 20 table rules you can try in your D&D game. Read to the end for a bonus rule that can provide some especially memorable moments. I know it has at my table.
None of these are must-haves, but they might give you some ideas for your own group to try out. Some of these are variations or re-statements of canonical rules where different options are presented, while others have been a bit more ‘custom-made.’
In general, I’ve tried to limit the number of table rules in my groups to keep things simple. We also rotate in different players from time to time so keeping the list of table rules shorter makes it easier for them to assimilate into the group.
- No Evil Alignments
In our games, your character can’t be Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, or Chaotic Evil. And even if your character is technically a good guy, they also can’t go around doing things that match an evil alignment. That means no murder sprees, no killing unarmed and/or innocent NPCs, and no betrayal of fellow adventurers unless it’s funny and Dave really deserved it. Sorry, Dave.
- Called Shots Come with a Penalty
If you want to make a called shot, like aiming for the orc’s neck or shooting a goblin in the hand, you can absolutely try. It’s harder to pull off, though, so you’ll take a –2 penalty on your attack roll. If you land the hit, the DM will decide what kind of extra effect it has. Like the goblin now losing a hand.
- Reroll Off-Table or Cocked Dice
Any dice that roll off the table or land cocked, that is, not lying flat, have to be re-rolled. No exceptions.
- Rolls Must Be Witnessed
All rolls during play need to be witnessed by the DM or at least another player before you pick them up. Transparency keeps things fair for everyone, especially with Dave. I call BS on that time he claimed to roll six nat 20s in a row.
- No Digital Rolls for Stats or HP
When you roll for your stats at character creation, or later when you’re rolling for additional hit points, it has to be done with real dice, not a phone app. And it needs to be witnessed by the DM. The reason for this is rolling multiple dice, like 4 d6s, has a bell-curve probability. Using a random number generator often has a linear propability, and that’s just not cricket. Dave likes to use some phone app he wrote himself to roll character stats. Come on, Dave, did your character really have 18 in all six ability scores?
- Stat Rolling Method
Stats are rolled using the classic 4d6 and drop the lowest die. Once you’ve got your six numbers, you can assign them to your ability scores however you like to fit your character concept. And no changing the order after game play starts, Dave.
- Reroll 1s for New Hit Points
When your character levels up and you roll for hit points, if you roll a 1, you can reroll it. No one likes to get stuck with just one hit point on level up. Although we all thought it was pretty funny when Dave rolled nat 1s for new hit points three times in a row.
- No PvP or Offensive Actions
Unless we’re doing a special PvP session, you can’t attack or harm another player character. If you do, we may have to ask you to leave the group. We’re here to play together, not against each other.
- Inspiration Limits
In 5e games, only the DM can grant Inspiration, and you can only have one Inspiration at a time. But if you’re feeling generous, you’re welcome to give your Inspiration to another player (that’s actually a canonical rule in 5e, so this table rule is more of a clarification). Nobody has ever given Inspiration to Dave.
- Hands Off My Dice
No one touches another person’s dice without permission. Simple as that. Remember, kids, it’s bad luck to be superstitious.
- Death Is Permanent (Mostly)
If your character dies, you can play them again in another game, but not in this campaign, unless they’re resurrected, of course. Nobody has ever raised the money to pay for Dave’s character to be resurrected.
- Resurrection Comes at a Cost
Every time a character is resurrected, they permanently lose 1 point of Constitution. That’s canonical. Coming back from the dead leaves a mark. We have also had the rule that it takes a week to regain your hit points back to full, no magic healing allowed.
- Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff—but Restock!
We don’t track every single arrow, torch, or ration. But when the group reaches a place where they can resupply, they’re expected to stock up. Sometimes, though, we’ve had special one-shot adventures where resource management is baked in as part of the challenge.
- Two Strikes and You’re Out (Teens Group)
This applies to our teens group. If you miss two sessions without an excuse, your seat might be given to someone on the waiting list. Admittedly, this is particular to our group because it’s open to the public, not a private group. We want committed players at the table.
- Keep the Game Room Chill
We don’t debate politics, religion, or other hot-button topics at the table. This is a space to escape that stuff. This one’s been increasingly important in recent years.
- You Control Your Character
You can give advice and suggestions to other players, but every player has the final say on what their own character does. Respect their choices, even if you’d do it differently.
- New Players Join at Party Level
If a new player joins, they’ll roll up a character at the same level as the party’s lowest-level character, so no one is too far ahead or behind. Also, we don’t like to let the characters get more than 3 levels apart. This was more an issue in games that used old-school rules and hasn’t really been as much of an issue since we switched to 5e.
- Critical Rolls: Big Hits and Automatic Misses
A natural 20 means double damage, whether it’s a player or a monster rolling the dice. A natural 1 means a total miss, but nothing bad happens otherwise. Sometimes we play where natural 20s are just automatic hits without double damage, but typically only in dedicated PvP sessions.
- 3 Core Rule-books Only
Because many of my groups have players come and go, as is the case with many D&D tables, to keep things consistent we’ve standardized on the three core rule books for whatever edition we’re playing. This means no supplements, no custom character races or classes, no special feats that were published in some random fanzine, etc. And that means Dave can’t play a vampiric fairy dragon barbarian who can cast warlock spells.
- Arrow Recovery
When you fire arrows, 20% of them break or are lost (round up) and can’t be recovered after battle. The rest you can pick back up, unless, of course, the fight happened somewhere nasty, like underwater or in a burning field. This only applies if you’re counting arrows in the first place (which we usually don’t, within reason).
BONUS RULE:
- The 1% Rule – Divine Intervention
Every now and then, a player will drop to their knees and say, “I pray to my god for help.” When that happens, we roll for divine intervention.
The player states exactly what they’re asking for, says a heartfelt prayer, and rolls percentile dice. If they roll a 1, their god answers the call and grants the request. If they roll anything else, well… their god’s either busy or just not interested. Either way, nothing happens.
It’s rare for that 1% to occur, but when it happens, it’s unforgettable.
