Quick summary: the bastion system are rules to create a personal home / guild hall / fortress for your party with prices and special abilities.

Originally posted by David Nett on Twitter, the “I Know A Guy” house rule is intended to give all players a way to influence the story without handwaving away any difficult narrative situation the DM might want to put them in. The comparison that David used was the moment in Empire Strikes Back when Han decided to go to Lando for help, but wasn’t actually sure how Lando would receive him. In other words, the PC knows this person, but they don’t get to control what they do. The text of the rule is as follows:

In any situation (where it makes sense), a PC can declare “I know a guy,” and then quickly sketch that NPC & the relationship. Fewer details are usually better - that leaves room for the DM & PCs to play. Upon declaration, the NPC exists. Then, when the PCs try to interact with the NPC, the player who created that NPC makes a Charisma roll to see how the NPC reacts. Depending upon the situation, the DM may decide advantage/disadvantage applies.

Another Twitter user suggested implementing the rule with uses equal to a PC’s charisma modifier, minimum 1. I don’t like that version, because I think one of the benefits of this rule is to allow players with characters that don’t usually have as much to do in social interactions (read: martials and/or characters with low charisma) to participate in the story, as long as they are engaged and thinking about their characters. I might instead tie it to expending a heroic inspiration, which has some synergy with rewarding a deep connection to one’s character (through good RP) with a new way to shape the story.

To commemorate the opening of this server, and in the interest of preserving information, I thought I would re-post the all-time top homebrew thread from the subreddit, courtesy of /u/obsidiandice:

This rule came out of discussion with some fellow DMs, and several of us have adopted it to great effect.

Flashing Before Your Eyes

Any time you are incapacitated for your turn, the DM will ask you a question about your character or their history. If you answer the question, you get inspiration.

This has been amazing for reducing the frustration of characters getting stunned or knocked out without reducing the drama or impact. The player gets 30-60 seconds of spotlight time that keeps them emotionally engaged in the battle, and a mechanical reward that will help them shine when they return to the fight.

Here are some examples that have come up so far:

• Is this the nearest you've ever come to death? What are the closest calls you've had before?

• If you die in this battle, what is your proudest accomplishment?

• What is your biggest regret?

• What memory do you draw upon as you try to shake off the mind flayer's influence?

This gives players an avenue for sharing backstory that's memorable and dramatic rather than dry exposition. Anything you introduce will be great fodder for the DM to bring back in subsequent sessions.

Update: After playing with this rule for a few more months, I have revised it to, "The first time in a battle you are incapacitated for your turn..." I've found that the second time usually feels more forced and artificial, and granting inspiration every single round makes death saves too trivial.---