One of the goals of playing 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons is to create epic moments with your character, along with your friends and the Dungeon Master. You can make powerful characters and brave through the wildest i🃏deas your Dungeon Master has, fighting monsters, uncovering ancient secrets, and saving civilizations - or perhaps even the entire world.

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Because of all your class features, spells, items, or more, sometimes you may have a creative and unconventional idea to solve an issue, only to sadly realize that the rules over the situation don't actually allow you to do the weird thing you wanted to. W💃hen that happens, you can use the Rule of Cool.

What Is The Rule Of Cool?

Two sphinxes in a desert in Dungeons & Dragons (DND).
Sphinxes by Hazem Ameen

The Rule of Cool is the act of temporarily ignoring a specific rule of the game for the sake of creating a fun situation or improvising a ruling for a situation that they don't cover. For example, suppose two player characters want to combine their attacks against the BBEG, making them dead꧋lier or having o𓆏ne attack provide an opening to the second one.

Are there rules for that? No. However, the DM might consider this idea and still allow it. It's a break of the core rules, but it can solve a situation the players are currently in, make it more memorable, and also make things more fun.

That's what makes the Rule of Cool so interesting - it allows your game to have unique moments that stand out compared to the rest of the game. You can 𓄧also use it for other situations, such as preventing the game from stagnating, among others.

When To Use The Rule Of Cool

Epic Moments

Tiamat attacking the city of Greyhawk in DND.
Tiamat by Chris Rallis

This one is the most common use of the Rule of Cool, where things such as allowing additional attacks, getting free critical attacks due to how they're being used, causing a lingering wound on the BBEG, and so on, can happen. What will happen exactly is hard to say because it varies from situation to situation, but the core idea here is letting players break the rules to do something epic.

Creative Solutions

A bard uses Inspiration on a fellow player character in DND.
Bardic Inspiration via Wizards of the Coast

Another fun example is when the player has a unique idea, like using a spell in a way that breaks its rules, but the way they're going about it makes logical sense or is just a fun way out. For example, maybe a player wants to use Animate Dead on a corpse that is not from a humanoid, or maybe they want to animate only a severed hand rather than a full corpse, which can give them a minion that can get into places the players can't, thus offering 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a creative solution.

When A Player Needs To Catch A Break

Dungeons & Dragons (DND) image showing a druid healing a barbarian.
Art by Martin Mottet

Rule of Cool is a good way to make someone play on training wheels. If you have a relatively new player, someone having a hard time understanding the rules, or someone rolling poorly all session long, you could use the Rule of Cool to give them an easier time. Not everyone might agree with this use of the rule, as you are, in a way, favoring a specific player, but it can 𝕴help keep someone who 🉐may not be having a good time to stay motivated.

Rule Of Cool Versus House Rules

Three players playing a card game in Dungeons & Dragons.
Three-Dragon Ante via Wizards of the Coast

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:House Rules are 🗹a common thing in D&D. Your party can choose to use them over the main rules, and because their core concept is about bending or changing rules, they can feel similar to the Rule of Cool in a way.

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However, the Rule of Cool is a one-time rule to address a specific moment of the campaign, while a House Rule is an alternate rule that the group agreed to use in the game. Sometimes, a Rule of Cool can be used to address a rule no one remembers at the moment and wants to improvise the solution rather than search for the core or alternate rulings, but it's still meant to be a one-time thing. In cases like this, it's up to the DM to see how this situation will be handled in the future should it come u♒p again.

The Rule of Cool is mostly improvised, as it's meant to be used as the moment arises. Ho♐use Rules are predetermined.

All that said, a Rule of Cool can be upgraded into a House Rule if everyone likes it. Going back to our first example, if the DM came up with a fun wa🌞y to integrate team attacks and everyone liked it, the group could turn it into a neꦉw rule for their campaign, now with more time to think about its details and make it a permanent part of their campaign from this moment onward.

Using The Rule Of Cool As A Player

A Party Of Adventurers stand on a cliffside poised for battle in Dungeons & Dragons.
The Sword Coast Adventurer's Handbook by Tyler Jacobson

Now, as a player, you don't get to decide when the Rule of Cool happens, but you can ask to do something that breaks the rules. There's nothing wrong with asking, 'If I attack during this flip, can I use my acrobatic bonus on the attack roll?' and seeing what the DM thinks about it. They might say yes, or you can also both rꦚeach an understanding; maybe you can make the attack with a disadvantage, or you will have to do a follow-up roll💖 to see how your landing goes.

There are two important details, though. First, don't use peer pressure to make the DM concede to applying one of these changes. Second, Rules of Cool are meant to be a specific exception under specific circumstances. As mentioned above, this isn't a House Rule and won't be applied any time something 🥂similar happens unless you and your group decide to turn it into a House Rule.

Using The Rule Of Cool For NPCs (Especially Villains)

A Candlekeep Sage pours over a table covered in books, scrolls, and lit candles.
Candlekeep Sage, by Kim Sokol

Most Dungeon Masters can already cheat and ben🍒d the rules as part of their smoke and mirrors when doing their part, so normally, it doesn't feel like the Rule of Cool is needed. However, it's more than okay to prepare or improvise cool moments for the NPCs, even if it breaks the rules. When should you do that, though?

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For instance, you can use the Rule of Cool to break the players out of a tough spot, where an NPC can save them - though we recommend having the NPC appear to offer support and help change the tide, and not solve the🦄 whole problem by themselves. NPCs don't need to steal the spotlight, especially notꦚ that hard.

It's also okay to prepare or improvise unique moments where the villain breaks the rules for a climatic situation. It can be a one-t🉐ime thing; you can have your cool moment of dread, and the fact that the villain can do something the players can't makes the bad guy even scarier. Just make sure this thing isn't going to break the game or instantly do something the players have no chan🀅ce of preventing.

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Your Rating

Original Release Date
1974
Player Count
2+
Age Recommendation
12+ (though younger can play ♕and enjoy) ☂
Length per Game
🌸 From 60 minutesꦅ to hours on end.
Franchise Name
Dungeons & Dragonsꦐ 🅺
Publishing Co
ꦯ Wizards of the Coast 🥃