Dangerous D&D (5e)
What if the whole game across 20 character levels could feel like the early-to-mid levels? In standard 5th Edition¸ characters after 10th level become extremely powerful: Most mysteries and problems can be casually solved by magic¸ and there is little risk of death or even defeat when facing most popular monsters. Many players feel characters are most fun to play¸ and DMs feel a campaign is most fun to create and run¸ in the first two tiers (1st-10th level). The tension is that players like frequently leveling and incremental improvement¸ but the standard class levels provide too much power and durability too quickly. Dangerous D&D is a variant system for keeping the game exciting and dangerous from levels 1-20 by stretching out growth of characters' durability¸ combat proficiency¸ and damage output-while maintaining the frequent progression and incremental improvement that players find so enjoyable in 5e D&D. This document consists of: Alternative leveling tables for officially published classes Adjustments to affected features for all officially published archetypes (as of 2019) Explanaton of how to adjust Challenge Ratings¸ XP awards¸ level-dependent bonuses to hit points and damage to keep in line with the alternative leveling Optional rules that the DM can choose from to make combat more dangerous¸ with real risk in every fight Optional "epic levels" (21st-30th) that allow characters to more gradually catch up to the maximum power of 20th level in the standard game (ideal for groups that want an epically long campaign in which their heroes become paragons or demigods) Update 5/2/2021 (version 5): Cleric proficiency progression corrected; bard Magical Secrets fixed with paladin/ranger spells; Lingering Injuries table given major revision; streamlined hardcore Wilderness Survival and random encounter system added; options for encumbrance and customized backgrounds added. Update 6/27/2020 (version 4): Preserve Life feature better adjusted by level; spell slot progression adjusted at 6th level for main spellcasting classes so their 1st-level slots no longer fall behind paladin and ranger; exhaustion level sequence slightly adjusted (so that level 1 and level 3 are 'half-steps' for the normal effects now at levels 2 and 4); typos corrected throughout. Update 2/21/2020 (version 3): Adjustments to epic level progression and XP requirements; calculating CR equivalent is simplified; mild rebalancing of progression at upper or epic levels for barbarian¸ monk¸ sorcerer¸ and warlock; rebalancing of arcane tricker and eldritch knight spell slot progression. Update 1/3/2020 (version 2): All class tables have been adjusted so that they have 1 hit die just at 1st level and then increase at 2nd level and every other level thereafter. Fighter features at early levels have been adjusted too. There is also a minor clarification to how the Spear Mastery feat is used.