Hyrulean Guidelines
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System Reference |
Compendium
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Hyrulean content assumes the following rule changes are used. If you are running a campaign primarily using Legends of Hyrule, it is recommended your campaign uses these rules. If only using piecemeal content like a few monsters or races, you can safely ignore these.
See Variant Rules for additional rule changes to consider.
Contents
- Item slots more closely resemble the carrying limits Link has in most Zelda games.
- Well-supplied heroes bypass the paperwork of tracking trivial things.
- Rupees replace coins, with one rupee equaling one silver piece.
- Quick rests are used to speed up short rests, making it feel more like a Zelda video game.
- Magic points are used by most Hyrulean spellcasters to fuel their spells, replacing spell slots.
- Stamina points are used by fighters and opportunists to fuel their techniques.
- Target strikes are made with attacks to either hit monsters' weak points, or deal reliable damage at the cost of accuracy or stamina.
- No backgrounds are used during character creation, but you can still add one at the cost of proficiency points—a part of your class which functionally replaces your background.
- Bonus die is a die roll you can add to damage rolls or a d20 roll, and is granted by some effects like spells or feats. You can't add more than one bonus die to a roll.
- Improved two-weapon fighting helps to balance two-weapon fighters in Hyrule, and frees up the wielders' bonus action.
- Wisdom-based initiative not only closer represents how initiative would work in Zelda games, but arguably is more realistic and helps balance the six ability scores a little more.
- Other considerations list a few quick notes that aren't vital information.
Item slots
- This replaces "Carrying Capacity" or "Encumbrance."
You can comfortably carry on your body a number of handy items equal to your Strength score. Assume you have enough bags, pockets, or sheathes on your person to hold them. While you carry more items than this on your body, you have one level of exhaustion, plus an additional level of exhaustion for every 5 items you carry beyond your limit (to a maximum of level 5).
- A "handy" item is generally any object you could comfortably carry with one hand. Anything largely than this can still be carried in your hands, heaved on a mount, or stowed on a vehicle. The object just can't be carried in an item slot on your body.
- Up to 10 light items count as a single handy item. Generally anything smaller than your hand can be a light item instead of a handy item.
- Objects designed to be worn, like clothes or a suit of armor, don't occupy an item slot while worn.
- Food, water, rupees, and nonmagical ammunition are negligible items that never occupy an item slot if you have pockets or a bag to carry them.
- Some magic items like the adventure pouch and bomb bag can increase your item slots.
Well-supplied
Outside of a survival situation (as determined by the narrator), there is no need to buy or track food, water, nonmagical ammunition. Your character always has enough on-hand to get by, and restocks at convenient times without expending rupees.
Rupees replace coins
- See equipment.
The primary currency in Hyrule is rupees. All items in this compendium have their value listed in rupees. One rupee is equal in value to one silver piece.
Rupees appear as small, uniformly-shaped gems of various bright colors. Different colors of rupees are of proportionally different value. Just as a modern 10-dollar bill is worth 10 dollars, a yellow rupee is worth 10 “rupees.”
Conversions from silver and gold pieces are listed below.
| Green Rupee | 1 r | 1 sp |
| Blue Rupee | 5 r | 5 sp |
| Yellow Rupee | 10 r | 1 gp |
| Red Rupee | 20 r | 2 gp |
| Purple Rupee | 50 r | 5 gp |
| Silver Rupee | 100 r | 10 gp |
| Gold Rupee | 300 r | 30 gp |
*Any item which would cost less than 1 sp effectively has a cost of 1 rupee.
For the sake of simplicity, the narrator could elect to use only green rupees (1 sp each) for all transactions. If converting from gold pieces, simply times the amount by ten—or add a zero on to the end.
Quick rest
| If LoH content would be starkly underpowered if using 1-hour short rests, a sidebar such as this one will feature a suggestion for empowering the content to be more useful in a campaign that uses 1-hour short rests. |
- See rest.
Hyrule employs a variant of rest like one found on page 267 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Under this rule, long rests stay the same, but short rests are much quicker.
To gain the benefits of a short rest, you need only rest 5 minutes, but at the end of the rest you must expend one of your Heart Containers (or "Hit Dice"). If you merely rest for 5 minutes without expending Heart Containers, you do not gain any benefits of a short rest. Since NPCs usually don't have Heart Containers, they usually don't benefit from short rests.
This changed rule is closer to Zelda games in which combat is routine and healing is quick. These quick rests can make sequential combat easier, but a concerned narrator can compensate for this by increasing the Challenge Rating of encounters.
Hyrulean classes are balanced assuming this rule is used. This is particularly noticeable with fighter, which is expected to burn through short rest reserves in every combat encounter.
Magic points
| Although Legends of Hyrule assumes magic points will be used, most applicable content will feature a sidebar such as this one. This sidebar will describe how the content can be used with traditional spell levels, if necessary. |
| Spell Level |
Magic Points |
|---|---|
| 1st | 2 |
| 2nd | 3 |
| 3rd | 5 |
| 4th | 6 |
| 5th | 7 |
| 6th | 9 |
| 7th | 10 |
| 8th | 11 |
| 9th | 12+ |
- See spellcasting.
Spells in Hyrule are ranked not by spell level but by magic points, a variant of the Spell Points variant rule described on page 288 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Hyrulean spells have levels, but are predominately listed by the number of magic points needed to cast them. For example, a D&D spell of 3rd-level would be listed here as a "5-point" spell. The adjacent table lists equivalents if using spell points to cast leveled spells, or if using spell slots to cast point spells.
The researcher and scion classes each provide a pool of magic points, and casting a spell requires spending a number of these magic points equal to the spell's point value. Some game effects can provide a player-character with a pool of magic points too, or increase the pool they otherwise have. Any character with magic points always regains them all upon finishing a long rest.
The sage class uses more traditional spell slots, but even these are ranked by the 13 point values instead of the 9 spell levels.
Stamina points
- See fighter and opportunist.
Only characters of certain classes gain stamina points. Stamina points are expended mainly to make target strikes, for techniques or some other class features, and for a few magic items.
Your stamina points are fully replenished upon completing a short rest.
Target strikes
- See combat.
Just before making a weapon attack roll, a player-character can make a target strike either by expending 1 stamina point, or by taking disadvantage on the attack roll. One cannot make a target strike if the attack roll would have disadvantage anyway.
A target strike generally aims for wherever the target is most vulnerable, such as gaps in a warrior's armor, or a monster's eye. This kind of target strike maximizes the damage dice rolled on a hit (e.g., treating 1d8 as simply 8), including any extra dice rolled as part of a critical hit or from other features.
Some creatures in Hyrule have specific weaknesses to target strike made against a part of its body, referred to as a "weak point." Generally, a player-character should be able to identify a weak point fairly easily unless it is specifically concealed. Making a target strike that targets a specific weak point (e.g., "I aim for its tail") induces a particularly debilitating condition or extra damage, as described under the Weak Point trait of a relevant creature.
Hyrulean classes are balanced assuming stamina points and target strikes are used. Consequently, some classes may be much weaker than official classes if these rules are omitted or ignored.
No backgrounds
For a player-character using a Hyrulean class, using a formal "background" is optional. The compendium encourages any player to create their own backstory independent of a background.
Each class gains Proficiency Points which replace most of the practical benefits of a D&D-style background. Nonetheless, a player-character can forgo some of their Proficiency Points to gain any traditional D&D background if that is desired. This option is detailed under each class's description of Proficiency Points.
Bonus die
- See Using Ability Scores.
Some game effects can grant you a "bonus die" for certain ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, or damage rolls. For example, the Ambusher feat grants you a d4 bonus die to your initiative checks, and opportunist's Sneakstrike feature adds bonus dice to certain damage rolls.
If you have several bonus dice which apply to the same roll, they do not combine. Use only the largest bonus die that applies.
Improved two-weapon fighting
- See combat.
The following rule replaces the more restrictive rule used in official D&D for two-weapon fighting. Essentially, a character can gain the full benefits of using two weapons without having to lose their bonus action, and Hyrulean classes are balanced around this change.
When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon or an unarmed strike using one hand, as part of that same action you can use your other hand to attack with an unarmed strike or a different light melee weapon. If you can otherwise make multiple attacks as part of your Attack action, you can still only make one attack with your other hand. You don't add your ability modifier or any bonus dice to the damage of this additional attack, unless that modifier is negative.
If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.
Wisdom-based initiative
- See combat.
Hyrulean races and classes are balanced assuming Wisdom is used for initiative checks instead of Dexterity. In Hyrule, initiative mostly represents the character’s ability to perceive enemies, detect threats, notice vulnerabilities, and make decisions. It is much less considered a measure of physical agility; this is partially why Wisdom is used in place of Dexterity.
Also consider using the Group Initiative variant rule. While not for everyone, it can accelerate combat to give a more Zelda-like feel, and is particularly suitable for smaller groups of three or fewer players.
To help speed up combat, it is suggested that the narrator have initiative scores for monsters rolled in advance. Consider also including Round-Table Initiative, Moxie Dice, and narrative transitions between turns.
Other considerations
What follows are not transformative rule changes, but veteran players may wish to note these differences:
- "Hit points" and "Hit Dice" are instead referred to as "heart points" and "Heart Containers," respectively. This is a purely aesthetic change.
- The player who runs the game is called the "narrator." The term normally for this role is a legally protected trademark.
- Feats are an inherent part of the game. Under default rules a player of any race can gain one as early as 1st level.
- Downtime is structured differently.
- Typically, Hyrulean content which grants a bonus to AC includes the following line: "This bonus cannot increase AC above 25, before adding cover or a shield bonus."
- The ability score limits present in classic material are more clearly codified in Using Ability Scores.
Classes
- When you gain a level in a Hyrulean class and choose to roll for heart points, you can re-roll a 1. (This makes the average equal to the reliable choice, instead of being slightly lower.)
- Subclasses have a much larger effect on a character's capabilities than they typically do in classic material.
Equipment
- Some classic weapons are adjusted. The blowgun, lance, and whip each have an additional special property unique to each of them. The blowgun and trident are classified as simple weapons instead of martial. Several weapons' costs are adjusted to be more balanced based on each weapon's usefulness.
- Potions and most consumable magic items can be used with a bonus action instead of an action.
- Magic items are implied to be more abundant and available than they are in classic material. It's assumed player-characters can buy any common or uncommon magic items with relative ease.
- A few magic items are of even greater rarity than "legendary," which are referred to as "master." This sixth tier of magic item exists primarily to cater to canonical Zelda items with effects too powerful for classic standards, such as the clock or red ring. They don't appear in Treasure Chests.
Monsters
- The races listed in character creation and in the Navigation header are the most suitable races for player-characters, and are meant to replace races found in the Player's Handbook. However, this compendium also includes race traits for creatures as bizarre as octoroks and rare as horseheads. These unusual races cannot be used for player-characters under default rules. Weird races should only be allowed by the narrator on an individual basis. See races.
- Some creatures have a "Treasure Chest" text box that describes gear it can drop, omitting the need for a narrator to separately assign treasure. Generic Treasure Chests can be used for any creatures which don't have their own unique chest. See Treasure for full details.
- Many creatures, especially "boss monsters," are empowered to be more of a threat to a party than they are in their canonical appearances. If all transcriptions from canonical Zelda were as mathematically accurate as possible to canon, few creatures would be any challenge to a party full of adventurers. In-world this can help emphasize just how unbelievably capable the legendary hero actually is.
- Many creatures have alternate stat blocks to represent different Challenge Ratings. Sometimes this reflects Zelda lore, such as red tektite versus blue tektite. Other times it is merely to enable narrator options, as is the case with chilfos.
- Many creature pages have a cost or wage listed. These prices are based on the creature's capabilities, and not the creature's disposition, the market's supply-and-demand, or Hyrulean culture. As with all prices these should be adjudicated by the narrator.
